un lugar de bandidos para cristo

Jesus Loves You, This I Know, Pt. II

2010-03-08T07:00:00.000-06:00

Jesus Loves the Porn Star.

This chapter alone may have been worth the price of the book. Craig, founder of XXXChurch, went on a speaking tour with one of the most well known porn stars in America, Ron Jeremy, to debate the merits and dangers of pornography. Pretty bold huh? Pastor vs. Porn Star. It may seem unlikely but Craig has gotten to know the man behind the wild career and he and Ron have formed a strong friendship despite their striking differences in lifestyle and beliefs.

During this speaking tour Craig makes mention of many Christians who expressed much hate for him and his cause, believing that Craig associating with a known porn star is hurting Christendom more than it is helping. He also makes mention of Ron’s friends and how they were much more accepting of him, a pastor, than the Christians were of Ron, a porn star. Think about that. The pastor is embraced more openly by the porn industry than Ron would be at most churches.

Do we see the problem here? Didn’t Jesus come not for the healthy, but for the sick? Not to call the righteous, but the sinners? And shouldn’t we be known for the same? Shouldn’t the Christian community be known as the most welcoming community in the world? After all, we all at one time were no different than Ron as far as our soul was concerned; separated from God. And we needed the grace of God to ensure us that we were indeed welcome in His presence, just as we are. As it currently exists, we often want people to come only have they’ve left their sickness at the door. Craig is living out a great example of how we can meet anyone, chief sinner or saint, and love and respect that person, even if they show no interest in “conversion.” This is how we can show the unconditional love of our Savior, Jesus Christ.

Jesus Loves You, This I Know

2010-03-05T10:01:00.004-06:00

I picked up this book at the recommendation of a youth pastor friend. Also, one of the authors is Craig Gross, founder of XXXChurch, and I had wanted to read something by him for awhile.

This was a pretty quick read. Each of the ten chapters focus on a specific kind of person that “Jesus Loves.” Jesus Loves the Bitter and Betrayed. Jesus Loves the Broken. Jesus Love the Crook. Initially, I thought this formula would ruin the book for me. After reading a chapter or two I almost gave up on it, assuming it would be the same thing in every chapter; Here’s a story of a stereotype, here is why the stereotyped person gets misunderstood/overlooked/etc, and here is why Jesus loves this person. While this is partly accurate, I’m very glad I got past the first couple chapters and through the rest of the book.

The same friend that recommended this book also tweeted the following this morning: “Self-Help books rarely contain great stories. Ironically, great stories help.” Great stories help, and that is precisely what this book is made of. Here are my thoughts on the first of two chapters that really stood out to me.

Jesus Loves the Outcast.

The other author, Jason Harper, has a favorite coffee shop that he likes to write in. Coincidentally, this coffee shop happens to sit “on the edge of the loosely dubbed Lavender District, the epicenter of Sacramento’s gay culture.” This part of town is where Jason met Gay Joe. Gay Joe had formed a very unflattering (although probably deserved) opinion of Christians in general. He had witnessed firsthand some very hateful things said by a prominent Evangelical leader and had made up his mind regarding Christ followers in general.

After meeting Gay Joe, Jason invited him to coffee, not knowing if he would accept. He did. After meeting many times for coffee, Jason and Joe got to know one another as friends. Later, Jason apologized to Joe for the pain he had endured from the faith community. He shared with him the love and acceptance that he believed Christ would have given unconditionally, even though the Church had withheld it up to that point. To his critics who question why Jason would associate with people like Gay Joe, he responds, “Because that is where Jesus would be found spending time. He would be hosting a party...where others could come to learn about his unconditional love.” I love this. Not a place where others could come and learn Christian rules, or how to overcome their lifestyle, or even the steps of the Roman Road, but a place where they could be loved.

Jesus loves the outcast, regardless of how “religion” that may dictate otherwise. How can we orient our lives so that we do the same?

A Generous Orthodoxy, Pt. II

2010-02-24T13:37:00.001-06:00

From Chapter 3, “Would Jesus Be a Christian?”

“....Has he (Jesus) become...less our Lord and more our Mascot?

In Jesus’ day, “Caesar is Lord” was the political pledge of allegiance, required in a way not unlike, “Heil Hitler” was required in the 1930s and early 1940s in Nazi Germany. To call Jesus “Lord” meant that there is a power in Jesus more important that the power of the king of the greatest state in history. To say “Jesus is Lord” was then (and should be now!) a profoundly political statement - affirming the authority of a “powerless” Jewish rabbi with scarred feet over the power of Caesar himself with all the swords, spears, chariots, and crosses.” (McLaren, 90)

I found this chapter very insightful as McLaren examined our modern view of who Jesus was and how he called his followers to live. His conclusion essentially is that we’ve taken the things that suit us while ignoring the teachings that rub us the wrong way, ending up with a “Buddy Jesus” that we’re satisfied with while believing that the King/Master/Teacher knocking on our door is in fact the imposter.

We often live as though Christ’s teachings are mostly circumstantial. That he meant what he said, but only if certain rules apply. Yes we should forgive, but not if the person in question did something really wrong (murder, terrorism, etc). And certainly not if this is their third or fourth offense. Of course we should give to the poor, but not if its “their own fault” that they’ve become poor. And definitely not if the poor person is an alcoholic or drug addict.

We’re fine calling Jesus “Lord” as long as we’re referring to “Buddy Jesus”, the one whose rules aren’t absolute as much as they are guidelines that can be ignored if logic dictates a better way.

“Buddy Jesus” is not an option for the followers of Christ. We cannot mince his teachings. When he said to forgive, we must. When he said to love our neighbor, we have to, regardless of how unloveable they appear (or actually are). When he said to serve, this cannot only happen when it is convenient. It is our task to live as Christ, especially when it doesn’t make sense to do so in the eyes of the world. It is our choice to embrace a watered down gospel or to rise to the standard Christ placed before us, however hard it may be to accept.

Thoughts on "A Generous Orthodoxy" Part I

2010-02-17T18:17:00.004-06:00

I don’t know what I believe about God. I know a few things that I think about God, about who He is and why He does things, but I wouldn’t say I know much more than that. I want to know more though. I want to know the whys and the hows and all that stuff. I’ve also struggled with much of what I feel is the “common knowledge” of God, and how so often I’m content with that surface level kind of knowledge.

I had been looking for a scholarly but accessible systematic theology for some time. These two qualifications made it rather hard to find what I was looking for. Either a book (or collection of books) would be far too scholarly with footnotes outnumbering actual text, or it would seem to be a “My First Bible: Theology Edition” kind of book. While not really a systematic theology by definition, Brian McLaren’s “A Generous Orthodoxy” provided me much of what I was hoping to find in a book devoted to the study of who God is.

However, while I had been looking for an easier to read, laid out plan of who God is and how He operates, reading McLaren’s book challenged my faith and trust of any such all encompassing encyclopedia of theological matters. In his closing chapter he quotes Vincent Donovan:

“The day we are completely satisfied with what we have been doing; the day we have found the perfect, unchangeable system of work, the perfect answer, never in need of being corrected again, on that day we will know that we are wrong, that we have made the greatest mistake of all (emphasis mine)” (Christianity Rediscovered, 146).

Without knowing it, I was actually desiring that which Donovan describes as the “greatest mistake of all.” Whoops. Close one. This is not a new struggle for me though, and I also assume, for many others. Who doesn’t want a nicely packaged version of who God is? Who wouldn’t spend a few days reading a book if upon completion, the reader suddenly “knew God through and through.” This was what I had been seeking and what Donovan warned against.

McLaren is the first to admit that he doesn’t have it all together. In fact, he readily admits to knowing that his own orthodoxy is probably as off the mark as any one else’s. This isn’t because he believes that he is wrong as much as he knows the total indescribability of that which we seek to observe, learn about, label and keep in a box. God is beyond systematic theologies. His will is beyond orthodoxy. He is beyond any attempt we make to describe or learn about His true ways and being. Because of this, any attempt we make to nail down an attribute of our Holy Father (including referring to Him with names such as “Holy Father”) falls drastically short of reality.

However, this does not mean that we do not try. And in this book McLaren seeks to understand and apply many of the common interpretations of orthodoxy that populate the minds of people worldwide regarding our Creator and His will for our lives. This is why the subtitle to his book reads as follows:

“WHY I AM A missional + evangelical + post/protestant + liberal/conservative + mystical/poetic + biblical + charismatic/contemplative + fundamentalist/calvinist + anabaptist/anglican + methodist + catholic + green + incarnational + depressed-yet-hopeful + emergent + unfinished CHRISTIAN.”

Now, I am not going to give my thoughts on the entire book. McLaren simply covers more than I want to re-hash here. Instead I am going to look at a few of what I felt were his most compelling chapters, the ones that stand out to me above the rest, challenged my thinking the most, and made me stretch my perception of who God is and how I relate to him.

Kai Buwalda

2010-02-17T16:20:00.002-06:00

This post is for my brother, Kai.

Kai,

Yes, I am going to completely ignore the fact that this post is happening exactly one year from the last post. I hope you're satisfied you sucker. Enjoy a Starbucks VIA on me. It's a new kind of coffee or something, I don't know.

Marc

Starbucks Instant

2009-02-17T13:14:00.004-06:00

Fellow Coffee Drinkers,

If you're anything like me you'd never drink instant coffee if a fresh cup was available instead. I've really only consumed instant crystals once or twice, and both times found myself in a "choke it down" type of situation.

Well there is soon to be a new option for those too busy and needing coffee on the fly. Welcome....Starbucks VIA Ready Brew.

I really have no idea how this will distance itself from the competition, but it's coming from Starbucks so I have high expectations.

Check out the Starbucks store website and pre-order yourself a free sample here...

Starbucks VIA Ready Brew

David After Dentist

2009-02-12T15:45:00.004-06:00

This is too good not to pass along. And Brett (aka Brett, "The-Brettman-Doesn't-Ride-In-The-Backseat" Strickland), any chance you feel you can relate with this kid?

The Grammys

2009-02-07T16:03:00.004-06:00

I'm pretty sure I don't like the Grammys. Maybe I do, but I don't think so. My general thoughts about them are that they mostly celebrate artists like Beyonce, Amy Winehouse, Justin Timberlake, Rihanna, and Maroon 5, while ignoring artists and bands actually out there creating, writing and performing their own innovative and new music. They throw awards to established greats like Springteen or Dylan periodically, but they seem to spend much more time on the best pop sensations of the last year.

I suppose my problem is this; Typically, they only seem to reward numbers, or at least the general consensus among the american consumer. Sell the most records/stay the most popular for a year, get the Grammy. I understand the attempt at logic here but I think they're giving they general consuming public more weight than they (we) deserve.

Maynard Keenan, of Tool, had this to say; "(the Grammys) cater to a low intellect and they feed the masses. They don't honor the arts or the artist for what he created. It's the music business celebrating itself. That's basically what it's all about."

The Academy Awards on the other hand, don’t seem to run into this problem. So what if The Dark Knight, Iron Man, and Indiana Jones 4 brought in the most money this year? While I enjoyed the Dark Knight as much as anyone, no one really expected any of these top 3 box office films to be nominated for best picture. Or what about 2007 Best Picture winner No Country For Old Men? It was beat in the box office by 35 other movies, including Norbit, Ghost Rider, Rush Hour 3, and Alvin and the Chipmunks. The average rating of these films on IMDB is 5.2, with No Country in the top 100 with an 8.3.

Can the Grammys do anything about this? Do they even want to change their image and try to portray the idea that they actually award the “best,” and not the best selling, music of the year? I’m curious because I feel that their lineup of performing artists this year is rather progressive. Coldplay, M.I.A, Lil Wayne, Paul McCartney, Jay-Z, and even rumored Radiohead (accompanied by the USC marching band!) makeup the list. Yes, Rihanna and Katy Perry are also performing, but I think the Grammys are moving in the right direction. Maybe in a few years we’ll even see some genuine indie artists playing, or who knows, maybe even accepting an award.

Thoughts?

The Wrestler

2009-01-31T01:53:00.001-06:00

I was worried I had overhyped it to myself. I’ve done this in the past and was afraid that I had convinced myself that this film was going to be much greater than it actually had the potential to be. Then when I read that it wasn’t nominated for best picture or best director, I was sure I had made some wrong assumptions about “The Wrestler.”

There was no need for worry.

This film blew me away. The emotion Rourke pours into his role as “Randy the Ram” might very well be the single most convincing performance of (at least) the past year. This is one of those films that you don’t just believe what the actor is saying. Instead you spend two hours in the shoes of the character, absorbing every punch, cringing at each harsh exchange, feeling the pain and hope that comes along with living as “The Ram.”

While Rourke was amazing (and he really is), he couldn’t have done this by himself. Darren Aronofsky’s direction of this film is incredible. One aspect I particularly enjoyed were the shaky hand held cameras used at specific times to give the gritty impression of following The Ram as he moved from locker room to backstage, then out and into the spotlight. This viewpoint is utilized more than once, each time reflecting the paths that the lives of Randy and Pam are following, ones that they might change if they only believed they could.

Marissa Tomei mirrors Randy’s life as his middle aged, stripper friend Cassidy, struggling in her own right with her empty, lonely life, and similarly aging body. I found her entirely believable and deserving of the best supporting actress nom she received.

There is so much more I could say. The intensity inside the ring being balanced by the respect (and even intimacy) of The Ram’s fellow wrestlers. The way Randy relates to the kids in the trailer park where he lives. The piercing references to Randy as a Christ figure. Even the closing song by Bruce Springsteen as the credits wait to roll; it’s all beyond incredible.

I really think its a shame that this film is being passed up for two of the three awards it is certainly deserving of. Hopefully Rourke gets the Oscar for best actor. Then if we’re lucky, this might mark the beginning of his return to award winning films and hopefully more performances even a fraction as good as in “The Wrestler.”

Dead Man's Bones

2009-01-30T16:42:00.004-06:00

My friends Seth and Hunter and I meet up on Friday mornings to catch up, share how we're doing, and pray for each other. It's been a great time for me personally, and for a number of reasons.

1. Prayer is good (especially outside of church) and this group helps me remember that.
2. Sometimes Seth makes coffee and I like the creamer he buys.
3. We almost always talk about and listen to new music. Today was no different.

In regards to #3, I want to pass something along that Seth shared with me today.

Have you seen The Notebook? What about Half Nelson? Definitely Remember the Titans.

The common theme? Ryan Gosling of course.

So what does this have to do with #3? Answer: Dead Man's Bones. Ryan Gosling and pal Zach Shields put together a little music project in between his acting career. And not only a music project, but a concept album. The concept? The supernatural. Now assuming they're at least marginally talented, what could make this any better? Answer: Using a huge children's choir with kids ages 5-17 as your backups. Yup. Awesome. I know.

So check them out. Let me know what you think. Thank Seth for the tip.

Politics

2008-10-03T11:47:00.003-05:00

This year is different. For the first time in my life I really feel excited and passionate about an election. I made it a priority to watch the first presidential debate, as well as the vice-presidential debate last night. This is something I've not done before. Four years ago I would have changed the channel when I turned on NBC expecting The Office, only to find "boring news."

Perhaps this is the case because this year I am different, as are those around me. Four years ago my little brother wasn't driving trucks for the National Guard in Iraq. Four years ago I was certain homosexuality and abortion were the two most decisive issues in my political decision making process. Four years ago I was a student, and really couldn't care less about our nation's economy as I lived in my college bubble taking loans to fund my education. Four years ago I wasn't a youth pastor working in the lives of students wanting to know how Christians should act regarding the war, gay marriage, immigration, etc.

Yeah, this year I am different.

I think the thing that is most different however, is my idea of who God is and what his will for his creation looks like.

These past four years I’ve become more convinced that God is less concerned about rising oil prices and more concerned about young Iraqi and American, men and women, killing each other.

These past four years I’ve become more convinced that God is less concerned about a person’s sexual orientation, and more about making sure the rest of us love that person unconditionally and without limit, as Christ loves the Church.

These past four years I’ve become more convinced that America hasn’t the faintest clue what humility is. I wonder what it would be like to not be the first to speak (praise or condemnation), but to wait and listen to the ideas of those around us instead of assuming our answer is the only correct one.

These past four years I’ve become more convinced that forgiveness is a lost art. It’s suitable for children learning to play well with others and for “churchy people” but too old fashioned or illogical to ever factor into national security or foreign relations.

So what to do? I have no answers. I guess I’m not really sure if any of the candidates do either. I seem to find what I think are biblical ideals in each candidate. The thing is, I also find things I feel are unbiblical.

So where do I go from there? I pray. And I vote. I pray that God would be glorified regardless of who sits on the earthly throne at the White House. And I pray that God would draw the heart our our president closer and closer to Himself. And then I vote. I vote for the person whom I believe reflects the most Christlike world view, even if that candidate isn’t aware that is what he’s doing.

Yeah, this year is different. But so is the world. And its my hope that this next year will be even more different, if only because of a uniquely God shaped imprint upon it.

Lord, Save Us From Your Followers, Part II

2008-04-22T10:14:00.007-05:00

A pastor of a church in Jonesville, S.C. is making a little stir with the message he chose to put on the church's sign. No, he didn't use "God Answers Knee-Mail, "Seven Days Without Prayer Makes One Weak" or even "Forbidden Fruit Creates Many Jams." However any of those may have been better than the "Obama, Osama, humm are they brothers?" that he decided to go with.

Pastor Roger Byrd said that the message wasn't meant to be racial or political. (Humm, indeed)

"It's simply to cause people to realize and to see what possibly could happen if we were to get someone in there that does not believe in Jesus Christ," he said.

Just wonderful Pastor Byrd. Thanks for the reminder. Because we all know how well Christians fair in office (ex: Presidents Nixon (Quaker), G.W. Bush (Methodist)) and how poorly those without Christ do (Lincoln, Washington, Jefferson-all known as Deists).

The church apparently is made of 70 members and while I realize that their 70 votes may or may not have a dramatic impact on the upcoming elections, I think the bigger issue is that this 70 member church is the church making news right now. It's the church non-religious people are thinking about and allowing to shape their own opinions about who the body of Christ really is.

I suppose this is just another reminder to me about the importance of using the pulpit to preach the love of Jesus Christ and not spreading my own views under the guise of what true Christian living looks like.

Lord, Save Us From Your Followers

2008-04-17T12:20:00.002-05:00

Does our faith in Christ strengthen or divide the relationships that surround our daily lives? I'm not referring to the relationships we value and protect, but the relationships we share with the random people we cross paths with. The relationships that we choose to pursue, or walk on the other side of the street to avoid.

Obviously we'd hope it strengthens them through love, patience, kindness, and all those other good things that come along with following Jesus. If this is the case however, why is there such a distrust of many Christians and Christian organizations? Why don't hurting people go to the church? Where do these feelings come from and more importantly, how can we combat those (mis?)conceptions?

I came across a group today that seems to be doing that very thing; acting like Christ in every sense of the word. Check it out here. Warning; could be convicting.

Dinner, coffee, blogs.

2008-04-10T16:50:00.002-05:00

I was fortunate enough to have dinner with Adam Wren and Jon Bell last Friday night at the FlatTop Grill here in Fort Wayne. It was great to meet up with these guys and spend time catching up over dinner and at Starbucks afterwards.

One of the topics that came up had to do with the ways we’d each been keeping up with music, films, politics and the world around us, specifically since leaving behind the college days where keeping up with these areas was almost automatic. Having to be a little more intentional to stay up with the times, the blogosphere has become one of our main resources of current news, trends and changing times.

We decided to exchange emails with the specific blogs we wanted to share, but I thought a blog post itself may be more convenient while also inviting others into the conversation. So, below are a few of my frequently read blogs that you may find interesting. Please respond with your own.

Seth Godin. Call him an idea man. His posts are succinct, direct, and incredibly insightful.
Church Marketing Sucks. The name says it all.
TechTheology. God, ministry, technology and music.

One more thing. Heard of a blog reader? Check this out if you haven’t. It'll save tons of time.

Mile High Tower (nearly)

2008-03-31T15:36:00.002-05:00

I'm almost hesitant to link this post seeing how incredibly unbelievable it is and that tomorrow is April Fools Day. Apparently some oil tycoon billionaire is planning to construct the worlds tallest building, dwarfing the current #1 by nearly 3000 ft. The new building is going to be constructed in Saudi Arabia and will total 5250 ft high. Yup, 30 ft. short of a mile. A freaking mile tall!

Once again, my apologies if this turns out not to be true but was too incredible not to pass along.

Mile High Tower

Promises Fulfilled

2008-02-01T15:59:00.000-06:00

I’m relatively sure I’ve lost whatever reader base this blog may have once had by posting on average a pathetic once a month. This post may not be the resurrection of my blog some readers (my mom) would like it to be, but I wanted to put this up anyway. I know it’s late for a “Best of 07” list (already February) but I’ve had a few friends ask for music suggestions and I’ve told myself I would post a Fav Albums of 2007 for 5 weeks now. By the way, I would love to hear your favorites of 07. I’m sure I missed a lot of good stuff out there. Here we go...

My Favorite Albums of 2007
Broken Social Scene Presents: Kevin Drew, Spirit If...
I’ve been hooked on Broken Social Scene since I heard (and was slightly creeped out by) Anthems for a Seventeen Year Old Girl while eating dinner at my friend Maggie’s house a number of years ago. If I was forced to describe BSS I think I’d settle on highly instrumental indie pop. The (at times) 20+ member group is still present on this album, but with Kevin Drew (founding father) at the helm for songwriting and lead vocals, it seems a little trimmed down from their other stuff. This album can draw you into each song, or provide wonderful background tunes. Favorite track, the garbled campfire tune When It Begins.

Jay-Z, American Gangster
I’m really not a big fan of the hip hop scene. I pretty much limit myself to Wyclef Jean, Ghostface Killah, and Jay-Z. Since The Black Album, I knew that Jay-Z was one of the few artists who could really transcend his genre, and appeal to people outside of the hip hop community. This album is not the soundtrack to the movie of the same name. Apparently ‘Hova was inspired by the film, went home and pumped out this soulful gem, filled with slick, beautifully crafted language, and plenty of trumpets and horns. Check out Roc Boys for a little taste.

Arcade Fire, Neon Bible
For some reason I decided not to like this band after their breakout smash album Funeral. I gave there acclaimed second album no notice, and I really don’t know why. I was fine with ignoring it all together until I came across this link. And like that I was sold. I went out and bought the album, even if for only the title track Neon Bible. I wasn’t disappointed. Download Antichrist Television Blues immediately.

Band of Horses, Cease to Begin
I’ve read at least 5 reviews likening Band of Horses to a meeting between My Morning Jacket and The Shins. I’d say that was cheapening their uniqueness if it didn’t feel so accurate. While I was skeptical that this album would top their first, Everything All the Time, I knew it was one I couldn’t pass over. And wow, I’m glad I didn’t. It doesn’t really have the breakout jams like Funeral or Great Salt Lake, but the genuine lyrics and echo-y vocals by Ben Bridwell make this at least as good, if not better, than their first album. Personal favorite is No Ones Gonna Love You.

Iron & Wine, The Shepherd’s Dog
This album surprised me. One of the reasons I had come to enjoy Sam Beam so much was for his choice to regularly forgo the clatter of a full band. I’d come to cherish the simplicity of his quiet guitar plucking and his own whispery, image laiden lyrics. And then I was met with multiple guitars, piano and even backup vocals (!!) on the opening track, “Pagan Angel and a Borrowed Car.” I was turned off only momentarily until I was brought back in by the reassuring sounds of Beam’s vocals, hardly diminished by the presence of a full band. And it isn’t ever really a full band sound. He never loses the ability to make me feel like I’m overhearing someone playing music not meant for the general public. It takes a special person to relay that sense of vulnerability and honesty through music, and Sam Beam is that person. Get Resurrection Fern, then go listen to it on repeat, by yourself.

The National, Boxer
1. Acquire album. 2. Get past lead singer Matt Berninger’s somber vocals, and listen. This is certainly one of those “acquired tastes.” It took me a few listens before I really began to connect with it. But then, oh then, it was wonderful. The horns, the fluctuating tempos, the driving percussion. Pitchfork called this “the rare album that gives back whatever you put into it.” This was the case for me. These songs really became personal, with moods all their own, and more and more so as I grew familiar with it. Download Racing Like A Pro or Fake Empire and try not to fall in love, I dare you.

Radiohead, In Rainbows
Can you not love Radiohead? I mean seriously, wow. Since the release of the groundbreaking Kid A, I’ve anticipated their subsequent releases with a ferocity I reserve for no other band. And while my anticipation for this album was no different, in another way, it was totally different. In case you didn’t hear, Radiohead, one of the biggest and most popular bands on the planet, gave this album away for FREE. One of the only bands that could get away with charging as much as they wanted, only asked their fans to pay as much as they wanted. On their website, buyers could pay as little or as much as they wanted for this record. Some paid none. I paid a little over $5.00.
All that aside, this album is incredible. Following the Radiohead-esque theme of making music that sounds totally different from everything else they’ve made previously (with the exception of Kid A and Amnesiac), this album stands alone as one of their best examples of innovative music releases in recent memory. I’ve said enough. Listen to 15 Step and decide for yourself.

Okkervil River, The Stage Names
They’ve been described as “hyper-literate” rock. And no, I don’t know what that means, other than their lyrics seem to go far beyond the standard amount of story telling in music, without hitting you over the head with an intro, plot, and rising and falling action. When I listen to this record I can’t help but feel like Will Sheff is talking (yelling) to me and trying to convey something terribly important, real and present to him. Not a lot of music gives me that sense of realism, especially every single time I listen to it. And maybe that’s why I love this so much. Whether I’m driving in the car, washing dishes, or lifting at the gym, this album always hits me with the “first time I heard it” emotional response. And it’s not just this individual album, but nearly their entire collected works that affect me in this way. Okkervil River is one of the few bands that give me the experience of feeling as if their music may in fact, be mine. That I wrote it and performed it and know exactly what it means, because it belongs to me. I doubt this album hit the top spots on many critical “Best Of..” lists, but for me, this is my favorite album of 2007.

(Updated) And just in case you need more, please check out the songs For Real below and Westfall

The Gods Aren't Angry

2007-12-01T00:57:00.000-06:00

I drove to Indianapolis this evening to hear Rob Bell speak on his “The God’s Aren’t Angry” tour. I took with me my lovely wife and three senior high students from church. Rob was speaking at the Murat Theater in Indianapolis, a wonderful venue for a speaking engagement. I listen to the Mars Hill podcast on a regular basis and often utilize the Nooma videos in my messages at 707 (our Sun night youth program). Needless to say, I was very excited to hear Rob in person and not via MP3 or DVD format.

I found myself engaging with Rob on two levels. The first was with the actual spirit and intention of his message. Rob walked (ran) us through a literal history of of the world as it relates to man and our aspirations to connect with divinity, for mostly selfish reasons. He began by outlining the myriad pagan faiths that dominated early man’s attempts at that quest. He then examined God’s first moment of reaching out to man when He initiated communication with Abram. Rob pointed out that this was the first time that Man didn’t make the first effort to appease a god, but that God spoke out of a desire to bless Man.

He took a close look at the story of God asking Abram to sacrifice his son Isaac, a story that I admittedly have trouble dealing with or even comprehending. Noting the historical context of the time that made it extremely predictable for a god to demand the sacrifice of one’s son, Rob showed how it may not have been such a leap of faith for Abram to be willing to sacrifice Isaac. Everybody was doing it. Why not this new god as well? The thing that set this new divinity apart was the ram that He provided. This was a first; that He would stop Abram before he took the life of his son and provide another sacrifice for him. This was new. And it was huge. This could only come from a God that wasn’t about blood as much as love.

I could try to go on and further condense Rob’s epic re-telling of a story I thought I knew all to well. I won’t though out of the reality that I would only butcher in a few minutes what no doubt took months to research and prepare. My recommendation; buy the DVD whenever it comes out. Extremely worth it. More than a sermon, lecture or lesson. Perhaps all three and then some.

The second way that I felt myself engage with Rob tonight was through his skills as a communicator. Simply, wow. I can’t think of many people that can control such a large, nearly empty stage as he did. His gestures were large and expansive. His movement was natural and fluid. Not to mention the fact that he spoke for close to two hours at a breakneck pace without even a note card of an outline. Impressive to say the least. I found myself drawn in by his stage presence and presentation and hoped that I would someday be a fraction of the communicator that he was tonight.

All in all, “The God’s Aren’t Angry” was "epic" (thank you Adam Wren, whom I was fortunate enough to run into at the theater). I highly encourage anyone to pickup the dvd when it is released.

All Worth Checking Out

2007-11-29T20:20:00.001-06:00

And I really believed that my next post would be about music. However I've stumbled upon some articles and blogs online that I've really enjoyed and want to pass along to anyone with some free time to spare. Music reviews/recommendations to come (someday).

Pastor Harleman explores a Christian's role regarding the horror genre (fun for iwu students who cant watch R rated movies)
Cinemagogue

Worship House Media is giving away free media every weekday until Christmas. Recommended for anyone in ministry who could use some good media. For free.
Worship House Media

FYI, I'm a dork and I like videogames, get over it. This is for anyone who has enjoyed videogames over the past 15 years. Top 100 games of all time. Lots of debatable choices. Lots of nostalgia.
Top 100 Games

Here's some music for ya; Tons of free full length concerts. Broken Social Scene, Neko Case, New Pornographers, Okkervil River, even Ben Gibbard if you go for enough back. Great resource.
NPR Concerts

That's all for now. Please pass along anything you've been cruising thats worthy of a read.

Leave me alone! I like my Hootie cd!

2007-11-14T20:18:00.000-06:00

Acquired taste is distinguished from ordinary taste in that it stems from a decision to like something instead of the direct discovery of personal satisfaction. (wikipedia)

Coffee, aged cheeses, fine wine, dark chocolate, tobacco. I don’t think that the majority of people enjoy their first taste of beer. Or their first cigarette (choke, cough). Or first cup of black coffee. Truly enjoy, say the way a person may instinctively take a liking to a type of candy or a certain fruit. There is something simple about these things. They’re sweet. They have distinct and simple flavors.

Dark chocolate on the other hand requires some work. As the wikipedia definition lays out for us, it is an acquired taste that comes from a decision to enjoy. It’s not instantaneous. I must choose to appreciate the complexity of dark chocolate, fine espresso, an imported cigar, or a Belgian ale.

All that being said, I’ve recently been coming to the realization that music can be as much of an acquired taste as any of the aforementioned consumables. This most likely isn’t much of a surprise to my friends who I consider music connoisseurs, but I thought I might still share my coming of age tale regarding my own evolving musical tastes.

Jason is my music guru. He married into my family 8 years or so ago. It must have been 6 years ago at a family Christmas that he and I began to talk about music. I have no idea who I said I was into (at worst, probably the Goo Goo Dolls; at best, Bob Dylan), but was blown away when he whipped out his cd collection and starting flying through artists I “had to listen to.” He left me that day with a band called Bright Eyes. This guy sounded like he recorded in his car, or in a basement. His voice wavered and broke so much it often sounded like he could have been crying. Or had some kind of bronchial virus. That was my first helping from the table of acquired tastes in music, but thankfully far from my last.

It wasn’t until a few years later in college that Jason and I began talking music on a regular basis. His conviction that I still wasn’t listening to enough “good music” lead him to send me numerous cd’s in the mail. He sent me such favorites as Slint’s Spiderland and Sunny Day Real Estate’s How It Feels to Be Something On. Mind you, at time my most rotated CD was Dave and Tim, Live at Luther College. I wasn’t ready for the complexities of creative and truly original (indie) rock. When Jason called to hear how much Sunny Day has changed me life, there was a rough silence when I told him I didn’t really like them very much. I had in fact, quickly skipped through a few tracks, and not hearing much that caught my attention, went back to Trippin Billies.
Jason seemed to take offense to this. He told me bluntly that if I didn’t like that band, that perhaps he could dig up his old Hootie and the Blowfish album or something else that might be more up my alley. The conversation ended shortly after that.

He wasn’t mad. Probably just frustrated that I didn’t see what was in front of me; an incredibly complex album, one that deserved at minimum two or three full listens through before appreciating all that was there. Today, this is one of my favorite albums. It simply needed for me to choose to want to enjoy it. I had to make an effort to uncover what made the music “good.” There were no catchy radio ready rhythms. No anthem-esque choruses. But what was there was rich. It was intricate and easily glossed over if not taken slowly. Fortunately, his Hootie comment forced me to give the CD a full first, then second listen.

Ask any barista how they feel about gas station coffee. Or a wine geek about a pinot from a box. They know there is no comparison. They’ve made the cross over and couldn’t go back to their earlier preferences if they wanted to. It just couldn’t happen.

I don’t think my music is better than anyone else’s. To each his own, honestly. But I do know that growing to embrace an album only after three full listens, or hearing a band make music that sounds literally like nothing else on the face of the earth, these are the things that make music worth listening to. Music like this will never get played on the radio. But it will do something else that radio music will never do; Evolve into the next song no one has ever heard of, but will change your life.
______________________________

All that being said, I think I’m going to use this post as small launching pad to discuss a few of my favorite influential albums you may or may not be familiar with. Some recent, some not so recent. I hope I’m not coming across as elitist, that’s the last thing I want. I just felt like sharing some lesser known bands that I think you all would truly enjoy if you gave then an honest listen through. Comments please?

apologies

2007-11-14T20:15:00.001-06:00

Hello faithful few

You may have noticed how I left this blog to die in the desert of neglected internet promises like so many others have done before me. I'm sorry for that. No excuses, I just didn't feel like writing for a few months there. Regardless, I'm back (i hope). This first post is about music. Later I think I'll post about my life. Maybe put up a few pics if anyone would enjoy that sort of thing. Just let me know. I'm in your debt.

M

Bowman Tendencies

2007-08-29T08:32:00.000-05:00

Last night I attended my first Administrative Council quarterly meeting at our church. At these meetings we discuss various committee updates as well as hear reports from each program area in the church. Program areas are things like the Music dept, Children's ministries, Media, and yes, Youth Ministries. The meeting itself was pretty uneventful, even with the chocolate cookies that someone brought.

There was however a point in the meeting that I found myself reminiscing of days of yore on Bowman Leadership. The leader of our church's prayer ministry opened the meeting with devotion and prayer. As he closed, I glanced down to the agenda and saw that the next order of business was to accept the minutes of the previous meeting. Apparently my church has not (yet) had to learn the same lesson as Bowman Leadership 04-05 did.

For those readers unaquainted with Bowman Leadership meetings, the most coveted places of honor in the meeting were being officially noted as the person who motioned to accept the minutes, followed in importance by the person who seconded the motion. This was something that occurred directly following the opening devotions and prayer, and is where the problem lay.

You see, while we would sit fairly quietly though the devotions and the first half of the prayer, as the inevitable 'amen' began to creep on the holy horizon, the entire group began to open their eyes, waiting for that litttle word, solely so that they could shout "MOTION TO ACCEPT THE MINUTES!!" (Looking back it evades me as to why this was such a coveted honor). Obviously this caused somewhat of a lack of reverance for the latter half of the prayer, so I think we tried to pray for the serious stuf at the beginning. Regardless, this happened at every Bowman meeting I can remember. (until of course the fateful day that our Resident Director became frustrated with our lack of respect and moved the entire motioning process to a different part of the agenda).

This brings me back to last night. Sitting in my first Ad Council meeting of my life, I thought maybe I could impress a few big guns in the leadership if I, the new guy, was the first to motion to accept the minutes.

"Wow," they would mutter, "this is his first meeting and he knew exactly what to do!"
"What an intelligent and responsible youth pastor we've hired. Who thought he knew Robert's Rules of Order?"

As Randy closed in a solemn 'amen,' I confidently began "I mo...."
And Sue, an older woman across the room interrupted "I motion to accept the minutes"

In my shock I completely forgot about my second chance for glory as someone else seconded Sue's motion. And just like that, the moment passed me by. Apparently this Ad Council has more in common with Bowman Leadership than I ever imagined. Who knew?

free coffee

2007-08-25T16:05:00.000-05:00

Hey friends. Here is an ad for some free coffee. I already consume the vanilla biscotti coffee most mornings during Sportscenter and enjoy it thoroughly. Enjoy.