The Loss Of A Friend

This past Tuesday, we had to put our cat Kramer to sleep. He had been struggling with renal failure for a couple of months, and we had been doing all we could to help him - changing his food habits, giving him subcutaneous fluid injections among other things. It was not enough, however, and on Tuesday morning we came to the realization that he was going to start really suffering and we didn't want that to happen. So went to the vet that morning and had him put to sleep. I don't know if most people leave the room when it happens, but we didn't. I wanted him to feel comfortable and know that we were there. I pet him while it happened, and I was expecting his eyes to close and him to fall asleep before dying, but he kept his eyes open and died.

There are two kinds of people - those who see pets as just pets, and those who see pets as a part of their family. I am one of the latter, I've always felt that way, and I've always had a heart for animals. I think if I wasn't in ministry, I would probably be a veterinarian. Anyway, the loss of my friend has been really hard the last couple of days, and I thought that writing about him would help me overcome some of my sadness and help the grieving process. I found the following questions from a website that helps pet owners grieve the loss of their friends.

*** How did my pet come into my life?

Debby and I before we were married bought a dog that was supposed to be a rat terrier/beagle mix. I had bought a condo and so we took her over to the condo, where we found out over the next couple of days that Debby was allergic to her fur. Thankfully, we found a family from the church I was working at who were looking for a dog, and so it was a perfect fit. We also found out later on that this dog became a huge dog, which would have been interesting in a condo.

When we got back from our honeymoon, we decided to start looking for a pet, so we went to the Dumb Friends League in Denver to see the shelter dogs. We didn't really find any dogs we liked so we went to the cat area. I did not want a cat, personally - I had always considered myself a "dog person". I had one cat when I was little and he had run away, so I wasn't really interested in having a cat. But we went, and saw two different cats we liked. One was a Siamese looking miserable looking kitten; the other was a gray tabby cat. We saw the kitten first, and he made us laugh by falling into the trash can and running around the room. The second cat was kind of boring. There was another family who was interested in the kitten, but because we saw him first, we got first dibs, so we bought him. He was such a little guy who had been found in a dumpster with his brother. He had ear mites, so when we took him home, we had to clean out his ears for the first month or so. This "Siamese" cat actually turned out to be a Ragdoll cat. A ragdoll is a newer breed of cat that isn't as hard and sinewy as most cats are, they are mostly floppy and squishy. That was almost ten years ago, and Kramer lived with us and became our "first baby."

*** How did my pet get his or her name?

We were really stumped on what to name him. None of the names we had thought of fit. One day, however, we were watching Seinfeld, and Kramer had somehow got his way into the entertainment center where the T.V. was and was hanging out right underneath the T.V. He had a habit of running into a room and sliding in, kind of like the Kramer on Seinfeld came into Jerry's apartment. When the T.V. show came back on again and Kramer from the show did his thing, we knew we had our name. He has had other nicknames as well, but Kramer was his original name.

*** What was special about my pet?

Kramer really was more like a dog than a cat - he was playful, energetic, friendly, and very devoted to us. He was very easy to train, and actually liked to play fetch with little foam balls that we would throw to him. He liked to play with Q-Tips - we had to supply him with some after he started getting used ones out of the trash. He loved to hang over my shoulder and hang out while I was walking around the house and such. He became more and more of a lap cat as the years went by. He loved to watch "birdie friends" - in Dallas, we had these tall bushes that came up to our second story windows, and he would sit on a bed and watch the birds inside the bush and he would make this really funny chattering noise while he was watching them. When we would come home from being gone somewhere, he always met us at the door. When I was gone longer than he thought I was supposed to be, he would howl until I got home.


*** What special moments / life events did we share / endure together?

We moved a lot in his ten years of life - we are in our fifth house in ten years - and so he got to move around with us quite a bit. Each time we moved states (from Colorado to Texas, Texas to Arizona, and Arizona to Ohio) - he would ride in the U-Haul truck with Dad. This past move, which was the longest move, it was just he and I in the truck (with my friend driving the other U-Haul truck), and so we got to spend a lot of time over the three days of the move. He was good about it, never complained really, but I'm sure it was hard on him. He loved to explore the house. When Noelle was born, he was still part of the family - obviously he had to share time with a baby now, but he seemed to be okay with it. He still got plenty of time from his Dad. He would come up and listen to me playing my guitar, and one of his favorite spots to lay down was in my guitar case.


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It all ended too quickly, which I think is one of the reasons why it's so hard right now. It was hard to see his life begin to decline as he struggled with kidney problems, but he was good about it. I wish he could have lived another ten years, but I'm glad for the time I had with my buddy Kramer. I miss you, buddy.

A Worship Leader's Worst Nightmare

See the mighty worship leader.

He prowls around the stage like a ferocious beast. He sees an unsuspecting worship song lurking on the music stand. The mighty worship leader bares his teeth, hunkers down and gets ready to pounce.

The mighty worship leader starts the song, forgetting that he has not removed his capo from his guitar. He begins the song, unsure of why it sounds so different. As he starts, the song is too high for him, yet he continues on. After all, he is the mighty worship leader. He is leading by himself at this point - just his voice and his guitar.

The pre-chorus comes much too quickly, however, and the scrumptious prized worship song is yanked from the mighty worship leader's jaws. At this point, the rest of the band comes in, all in the key that the song is supposed to be in. The mighty worship leader is defeated as the two keys collide. Human sacrifice, dogs and cats living together - mass hysteria.

Behold how the mighty worship leader has fallen.

(to find out what in the world I'm talking about, go here and laugh yourself silly.)

100 Ways To Take The Yawn Out Of Your Relationship With God: 1-25

I'm trying to quit caffeine. It's really tough some days, some days not so much. I have found out that caffeine is the reason why I'm having strange sensations happen in my legs - deadness, tingling, etc. So no more coffee for me. Which means I yawn a whole lot more. I find myself occasionally yawning in my relationship with God, especially when everything is the same all the time.

You see, sameness anesthetizes our spiritual lives. It's so easy to get into a rut - read two chapters of the Bible followed by a quick prayer. No thought necessary (yawn), and it's done.

What we need from time to time are rut levelers, ideas that energize our relationship with God and open us again to the wonder of his gift of salvation through Jesus. I think I found these in an old Discipleship Journal magazine back in college and have kept them throughout the years. Today, I bring you number 1 through 25:

1. Telephone a prayer partner dailly and talk to God together for five minutes.

2. Do a study of the Synoptic Gospels - Matthew, Mark, and Luke. How are they similar? How are they different? Why did God give us three books that have many of the same stories in them?

3. With a friend, visit three churches where Christians worship in very different ways. Talk about the experience. How was God honored? How did He speak to you?

4. Teach a preschooler to sing a motion song that says something special about Jesus.

5. Write a letter to God praising Him for how you are made - your mind, your body and your skills.

6. Buy ten cards and send them to people who need to know they are loved by God and remembered by you. William Law, 1686-1761, in A Serious Call To a Devout and Holy Life, wrote: "Isn't it strange that people place so much emphasis upon going to church where there is not one command from Jesus to do so, and yet neglect the basic duties of our ordinary life which are commanded in every page of the Gospels?"

7. Plan a hospitality event in your home. Invite people from your church who need a party, not the people you know and enjoy most.

8. Pray aloud in a group.

9. Give God a tithe of your time - teach Sunday School, visit the sick, baby-sit for a young mother, fix and elderly person's car.

10. Every day for a week, list the times during that day when you suspect you disappointed Jesus. Consciously try to shorten the list as the days progress.

11. Read a biography of a faithful missionary or preacher.

12. Bake your church's Communion bread. Pray for church members as you bake.

13. Get to church ten minutes early. Spend time praying that God's presence will be felt throughout the service.

14. Take a walk alone in a park or field and pray aloud to God.

15. Read a novel written by a Christian. Talk with a friend about what the author was trying to accomplish. Was God glorified through this art form?

16. Each evening put all your pennies into a penny pot. At the end of the year, give the money to a Christian organization. Encourage your children to participate.

17. With a trusted friend, share a temptation that often traps you. Make yourself accountable to this friend as you work to overcome the temptation.

18. Study a book of the Bible until you "own" it.

19. Plan a family meal time discussion around the topic of what Jesus has done for each person.

20. Tape record the testimonies of elderly relatives. Encourage them to tell stories of how they met Jesus and how He guided them at key points in their lives.

21. Visit a museum and study several paintings with biblical themes. What do they suggest about the nature of God? What insights do they provide?

22. Listen to an audio tape/cd of Scripture being read. If you are a visual learner, close your eyes and allow your mind to pain pictures of what you're hearing. If you are a kinesthetic learner who enjoys moving while you learn, allow your body to express what you are hearing.

23. Sing a hymn to God; pay close attention to the words.

24. Each Sunday look for someone who has done something special to make the service work: preacher, person who made the coffee, usher. Let that person know that his or her gift of time and abilities was noticed.

25. Write a special prayer for each of the children who touch your life. Give them a copy of your prayer, perhaps on their birthdays.

The Parable Of Ann Coulter And The Tax Collector

Whatever you think about Ann Coulter (if you're a conservative, you probably love her. If you're a liberal, you probably hate her) - she certainly speaks her mind.

Coulter was interviewed recently on TBN - yes, that TBN - doubtlessly for promotion of her new book called Godless. In this interview it was very clear that although Coulter says she's a Christian, she's not well-versed, if you get my drift. During one part of the interview, Coulter made it clear that she wasn't fond of liberals. In fact, she said, with all sincerity, that part of her time spent in prayer were for liberals as well as thanking God that she wasn’t one.

If Ann Coulter was well-versed, she would know that she actually prayed a prayer from the Bible (and no, it wasn't the Prayer Of Jabez):

"To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else, Jesus told this parable: "Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood up and prayed about[a] himself: 'God, I thank you that I am not like other men—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.'

Have mercy on us, Lord.

Your First Car

On a different website, someone in their blog had the idea of telling everyone what their first car was and any memories of that first car. I liked the idea so much, I've decided to include it in my blog.

My first car was a 1978 Datsun 200SX (as you can see above). It was the exact same color as the one above - a lovely orange-red rusty color. I bought it for a hundred bucks from my stepdad's co-worker; it was well worth the cost.

I don't have very many memories of that first car, because it only lasted a year. I really liked that car a lot, though. It had some pretty good accelerating powers in it, and it was a decent car overall. Like I said, it only lasted a year, though. I was driving to a church basketball game, when all of a sudden black smoke started pouring out of the heating vents and the engine. I busted a gasket or something. Well, that was it for that car, and I was back to borrowing my stepdad's blue Nissan Sentra, definitely not as cool as the good ol' 200SX.

What about you? What about your first car?

How Rich Are You?

Go here and find out where you stand in the line of richest people in the world. I found out I'm the 103,478,261st richest person and in the top 2% of richest people in the world.

As I've said before, it's all a matter of perspective, isn't it?

It certainly makes passages such as:

23Then Jesus said to his disciples, "I tell you the truth, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. 24Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God."

and

24"But woe to you who are rich,
for you have already received your comfort.
25Woe to you who are well fed now,
for you will go hungry.
Woe to you who laugh now,
for you will mourn and weep.

and

10But the one who is rich should take pride in his low position, because he will pass away like a wild flower. 11For the sun rises with scorching heat and withers the plant; its blossom falls and its beauty is destroyed. In the same way, the rich man will fade away even while he goes about his business.

and

1Now listen, you rich people, weep and wail because of the misery that is coming upon you. 2Your wealth has rotted, and moths have eaten your clothes. 3Your gold and silver are corroded. Their corrosion will testify against you and eat your flesh like fire. You have hoarded wealth in the last days.


a little more convicting - for me.

07-23-06 Post-Element Post #1

Yeah, that title is confusing. Just the way I like it. :^)

Anyway, this past Sunday was our second Element worship gathering, and I think it went pretty well. There was a lot of work involved with getting all the video stuff done, but it was worth it. I really enjoyed listening to people tell their stories, and I think that is something there should be more of in a church, don't you think? It seems like relationships in a church setting can stay pretty surfacey if there isn't an opportunity to have the chance to share your story.

During the "Wind can be Healing" segment, I was about ready to go up myself again (I had already shared a story during the first one, hoping to get the ball rolling) - thankfully, Rochelle and Jay both shared their stories, which were very good. However, I thought it would be a good idea for me to post what I was going to share if no one else got up to share:

My mother battled lymphoma for four years before passing away when I was eighteen years old. She passed away on my middle brother's birthday, something that has been hard on him since that day. When you're eighteen years old, you have all of these changes that take place in your life, i.e. leaving home for school, figuring out what you want to do with your life, etc. - that it's quite easy to take your pain and suppress it for a long time. Which is what I did. Four months after my mom died, I left my home state of Colorado and headed out to California. I had a couple of good friends who also were attending the same college, so familiarity was a good thing.

However, I noticed towards the end of my freshman year, that my life was beginning to slowly unravel. I had not dealt with my mother's death, and it was beginning to fray the edges of who I was and who I had become. I started becoming reclusive and distant from everyone and found myself at local parks and the beach by myself just staring at inanimate objects for hours. I returned home for the summer and bottled up my pain again by joining a band (I was the drummer, if you could believe that) and working at Dairy Queen. This was a good schedule for me because I spent very little time with my family and thus was not often reminded of the missing family member. I would sleep in until 1 p.m., work from 2 p.m. until 12 a.m., then it was off to practice (we actually practiced at a morgue, because one of the band member's dads was a mortician) for a few hours and then off to bed again.

My sophomore year began back in California, and of course me and my friends started trying to hit on the new freshmen girls. I became pretty good friends with a few of them, including one named Amy. As I started to get to know her, I found out some stuff about her life - including the fact that her mother was going through the exact same cancer situation that my mom did. I really wanted to just run away from her and not have to deal with the pain. But over a couple of weeks, the Holy Spirit kept on prodding me and telling me that the only way I was going to be able to heal from my mother's death was to help Amy cope with her mom's struggle with cancer (and ultimately, dying from it). It was one of the toughest times of my life. As Amy would share with me her struggles, anger, and resignation - I found myself reliving the exact same emotions.

The Holy Spirit was right in the end, though. When I attended Amy's mother's funeral and was able to help her through the healing process, I felt myself healing. Sometimes you have to help others around you heal for you to be able to heal as well.

Matthew 6:33, CACV*

"Seek ye first what you are going to eat, what you are going to wear, which house you are going to buy, which car you are going to drive, which job you are going to take, who you are going to marry - and then, if any time is left, and if it's not too uncomfortable, please do something for the kingdom of God."


* CACV - "Comfortable American Christian Version"

Perspective Is Everything

If you have food in the fridge, clothes on your back, a roof over your head and a place to sleep, you are richer than 75% of this world.

If you have money in the bank, in your wallet, and spare change in a dish somewhere, you are among the top 8% of the worlds wealthy.

If you woke up this morning with more health than illness, you are more blessed than the million who will not survive this week.

If you can attend a church meeting without fear of harassment, arrest, torture or death you more blessed than millions of people in the world.

If you hold up your head with a smile on your face and are truly thankful, you are blessed because the majority can, but most do not.

We are hugely blessed.
We need to remember it and keep our lives in perspective and our hearts open to God.
Jesus too has something to say about who are the truly blessed. Matt.5.
They are those who know their need of God.
Those who mourn for what is not right in them and in our world.
Those who are teachable, and hunger and thirst for a better justice and righteousness.
Those who leave behind a preoccupation with self and look outward beyond themsleves to see God at work in our world and its trouble.
To see the beauty, mercy and grace of God in the unexpected places of life and follow Jesus there.

--From a website of Lenten practices

40 Days In The Desert

I've been thinking and praying for ideas for the upcoming worship gathering this Sunday called Element. This month's theme is on Wind, and although I'll be blogging about that later this week, some other ideas for future Element gatherings have popped up in my head. I've been thinking a lot lately about the temptation of Jesus in the wilderness/desert and how we went 40 days without eating or drinking. This thinking has coincided with my thoughts concerning what I gave up for Lent this past year. I had never given anything up for Lent ever and just considered it a Catholic thing and didn't have any interest in it. This year, I participated - but for some reason, the giving up thing didn't really feel like much of a sacrifice. However, after finding myself at both a website concerning lent as well as an interesting idea that xxxchurch has come up with (called the Starving Jesus tour), I've figured out what my approach is going to be for next year. Rather than just giving up something for 40 days, I'm also going to commit to giving of myself to something for 40 days - some type of service to God over that 40 day period.

Here is the Lent website I found. It's a loop of images and words that really made me make up my mind about Lent next year.

The Next Big Thing...

is a band called Leeland - named after lead singer/guitarist/wunderkind Leeland Mooring. Their CD debuts on Essential Records August 15th, and from what I've heard, it sounds incredible. I agree with CCM magazine's editor, who believes that this debut album "surpasses the debut of SonicFlood and comes near to equaling when Delirious first hit the scene".

You can check out their myspace website here (you can listen to four of the songs), and you can see a video from their first single called "Sound Of Melodies" at the Relevant Magazine website, in the area called Relevant TV. Their video is usually in the top 3 of requests, so find the name Leeland, click on "watch video" and enjoy.

Amazing Chalk Drawings

I am impressed.

If you go here, you will see some amazing chalk drawings done on streets by an artist named Julian Beever. The 3D drawings are absolutely amazing. I especially like the one where people are avoiding the "hole in the sidewalk", even though it's just a 3D drawing.

Have fun!

Recent Sufjan Stevens News

Very good news for those of you who like Sufjan Stevens' music, as I do:

- Sufjan is going on tour in the fall and will be performing songs from Seven Swans, Michigan and Illinois with a "new symphonic context", which sounds really cool. Here's the full scoop.

- He is also releasing another CD next Tuesday! No, it's not state #3 of his idealistic dream of putting out a CD for each of the fifty states. (He better get working on a new state pretty soon, methinks.) It's called "The Avalanche" and it has 20 something tracks of songs recorded during the Illinois sessions. You can hear some of the songs through an audio stream starting here. Right now part 3 of 4 is playing, I'm a little upset that I didn't get to preview parts 1 and 2, but part 3 sounds pretty good - including a new rendition of Chicago.

Enjoy!

The Good Life

I'm always looking for other writings that expound on things that I'm currently thinking about. I came across a great article from The Internet Monk concerning "The Good Life". If you remember awhile back, I blogged about a great article I read in Harper's Magazine, of all places (I find myself picking up this magazine and reading through it every time I go to Barnes and Noble these days) about American Christianity and about the fact that even though the phrase "God helps those who help themselves" isn't found in the Bible (it's actually a quote by Benjamin Franklin), that Christianity in America reflects this phrase more than anything you can find in the Bible.

The above article continues this train of thought - although the Harper's article writer calls this American church phenomenon a tragedy of sorts, the Internet Monk goes quite a bit further and calls it idolatry.

Pope Must Not Be A Coldplay Fan

Silence modern music in church, says Pope
By Malcolm Moore in Rome
(Filed: 27/06/2006)

The Pope has demanded an end to electric guitars and modern music in church and a return to traditional choirs.

The Catholic Church has been experimenting with new ways of holding Mass to try to attract more people. The recital of Mass set to guitars has grown in popularity in Italy; in Spain it has been set to flamenco music; and in the United States the Electric Prunes produced a "psychedelic" album called Mass in F Minor.

However, the use of guitars and tambourines has irritated the Pope, who loves classical music. "It is possible to modernise holy music," the Pope said, at a concert conducted by Domenico Bartolucci the director of music at the Sistine Chapel. "But it should not happen outside the traditional path of Gregorian chants or sacred polyphonic choral music."

His comments prompted the newspaper La Stampa to compare him with Pope Pius X, who denounced faddish classical and baroque compositions and reinstated Gregorian chants in 1903.

The Pope's supporters argue that the music played during Mass is a vital part of the communion between worshippers and God, and that medieval church music, with the liturgy, creates the correct ambience for perceiving God's mystery.

Cardinal Ersilio Tonini, the Archbishop of Ravenna, said:"Mass is the presence of Christ and the music adds so much more when the harmony allows the mind to transcend the concrete to the divine."

But Cardinal Carlo Furno, grand master of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem, said it was "better to have guitars on the altar and rock and roll Masses than empty churches". The use of modern music was a "sign of the vitality of the faith".

The argument is part of a wider debate about the Latin Mass, restricted in the Vatican II reforms of the 1960s because it was seen to be putting worshippers off going to Church.

The Pope believes that if Latin Masses are reintroduced, more Catholics will learn the words to the Gregorian chants that he advocates.
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Go Carlo, go Carlo, go go go Carlo.

The Queen Of Iowa

I've always been a big Andrew Peterson fan.

I think one of the reasons is that he was a Christian college boy, just like me - of course, I went to Pacific Christian College in California, and he went to Florida Christian College in - um, Florida. I did kind of date a girl who lived in Florida and went to school with Andrew, so I feel like there's at least that connection. Anyway, his first CD has always been one of my favorites, and his second CD was pretty good too. I listened to his third CD at a weird time in my life, and so I kind of dismissed him and lost track until his fantastic Christmas CD called "Behold The Lamb Of God". We might be doing a little Christmas musical based on this CD this year, so cross your fingers. Anyway, he has another CD that came out kind of recently called The Far Country. It's truly great stuff. One of the songs is called The Queen Of Iowa, but since I bought the CD off of iTunes, I didn't ever really understand what the song was really about, until I read the article I have posted below:

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Hands down, our favorite part of Gospel Music Week is the McCain Guitar pull, a private, invitation-only event that always kicks off the week. The phenomenal artists at this year's event included Tom Hemby, Matt and Sherry McPherson, Andrew Peterson, Muriel Anderson, and the incomparable Phil Keaggy. As amazing as all of these artists were, the highlight of the evening for us was when Andrew shared the story behind the heartwrenching song The Queen of Iowa from his latest project, The Far Country.

"Last January, Ben Shive and I got a call to do a concert for a church in Iowa," Andrew explained. "One of the reasons they asked me to come was because there was a woman who was a member of the church that was dying of AIDS, and they asked if we would go to her house and play some songs for her before the concert.

"As it turns out this woman had been brutally raped fifteen years before, and had contracted AIDS as a result. Since that time she has gotten brain cancer and lung cancer and all sorts of maladies that should have killed her. No one could explain why she was still alive. The church found out her story and they just started loving on this woman and her family. She was not a Christian at that time, but several years ago she and her husband accepted Christ.

"We had to wash our hands really well and take off our shoes before we came into the room. There was this woman lying on the couch who had not opened her eyes in a week, but they told us they knew she could hear us because some times she cried. So we sat down and started playing the songs her husband had requested. We barely made it through, and as we played she opened her eyes and started crying.

"What a gift. On the way home on the airplane I tried to write down all the things that God was doing with my heart after that experience. And in my journal I wrote, 'Tonight I met the queen of Iowa.'"

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I really like Andrew Peterson. This story is one of the reasons why.

Rob Bell Interview Podcast

Thanks to John, I bring you the Catalyst Podcast. This time, Rob Bell is interviewed. Past Catalyst Podcasts include Donald Miller (of Blue Like Jazz fame), Erwin McManus and Tim Sanders (Yahoo!).

You can find the podcast here. Enjoy!

My Top 5 Influential Emerging/Missional Books

There was no way I was going to be able to narrow it down to just one book. Only one book that was the most influential when it comes to my thinking along the emerging/missional line? Please. That would have hurt.

So, I give you my top 5 books. These are the five books that have influenced me most when it comes to developing an emerging/missional view of church. They are in the order of when I read them (from earliest to latest)


- A New Kind Of Christian by Brian McLaren

The first time I read this book it was like a whole different world opened up right in front of my eyes. It was a new way of looking at church, my life in Jesus, and my responsibility and role as both a Christian and a minister. The story that unfolded before me - which was told in a fictional way - felt like my story was being told. I could relate to what was happening to Dan Poole and his family, because it seemed so eerily similar to what was happening to me. I was burning out when it came to church work, and there were all these incongruencies between what I had been taught all my life and what was really what I was supposed to be doing and living. I'm so grateful for reading this book when I did, because it really saved me from continuing to despair that I wasn't cut out for ministry - at least the way ministry was done in the American middle-class church.

- Blue Like Jazz by Donald Miller

Kind of a strange pick, I guess - considering that Miller's book isn't really about the actual emerging/missional movement. But some of the questions that he asked himself in his journey throughout the book were some of the exact same questions that I was asking myself. His description of his days at the college he attended in Oregon as well as the church that he started attending as well (Imago Dei in Portland) seemed so refreshing, so real, so enticing to me. The fact that he could break out of the Christian culture bubble became a seed of hope in my life.

- Rich Christians In An Age Of Hunger by Ronald Sider

Just like Blue Like Jazz, this really isn't a book about missional/emergent thinking. But if you really believe that missional living is the way to go, like I do - this is the kind of book that will spur you to actually live like Jesus would live if he was here on earth today. The statistics that are given in this book are amazing - and sobering at the same time. I began to realize through reading this book that the American Church for the most part really does exist for itself. There are many problems in the world that would be alleviated if we as a church would rise up and actually care about injustice, poverty and suffering. This book has also inspired me to form a life mission as well- called The Salt Of The Earth Project (something I'm still working on).

- Velvet Elvis by Rob Bell

Rob Bell is a one-of-a-kind guy. Which is refreshing. Because there are a lot of people out there who are doing church work and who are trying to be a Rick Warren or a Bill Hybels or whoever is supposedly famous in church pastor circles. Rob Bell's church is an amazing testimony to the power of God, and what happens when a church decides to be authentic and real and actually pursue missional living. This book challenged some of my presuppositions on the life of Jesus and most definitely made me look at some of the stories in the gospel in a whole new light. Just the chapters called "Yoke" and "Dust" were worth the price of this book. I have used several illustrations from this book in my own "teaching" during my time of worship on Sunday mornings, and I have had countless number of people come up to me to thank me because it made them think of something in a new way. Don't thank me. Thank Rob Bell.

- The Shaping Of Things To Come

This book, out of all the other books, has appealed to me from an intellectual point of view. I would say that the other four books spoke to my heart; The Shaping Of Things to Come speaks to my mind. Can you believe that two guys from Sydney could make so much sense as to what's wrong with the American Church and what can be done to fix it? The great thing about this book is that the authors are actually doing church the way they are describing it as how it should be done. (One of my little beefs with McLaren - his church in Maryland isn't really structured the way you think it would be if someone who is on the forefront of emerging/missional thinking was leading it, as McLaren is.) There are some ideas in this book that I have never really thought about but are very intriguing to me - rather than building a church building, what about building a coffeehouse/art gallery/live music venue/etc. and have church there (and open it up to the community the rest of the time) among others.


Honorable Mention: Your God Is Too Safe, SoulTsunami, The Present Future, Dangerous Wonder

Who Is The Lord's Supper For?

Thanks to Tim Samoff, who put a short audio clip in his blog from someone else's church. In this audio clip, the minister (I assume) is making some comments about The Lord's Supper (he calls it The Eucharist, same thing) - and he touches on something that I've been thinking about for awhile. Who is communion for? Is it for Christians? Is it for members of a church? Is it for all? Is it a "club privilege" for only those who have decided to place their membership at a local church? If forgiveness is involved with communion, is it open for all?

I think that this explanation is where I'm kind of leaning. I think it's obviously an explanation that goes against the grain of most churches, even my own perhaps - but I don't think it's one of those things that is essential to be in agreement on. At least I hope not, because then I may be in trouble!

My Emerging/Missional Bookshelf

A couple of things about this picture (click on it to enlarge):

1. I had to put all of the books that have influenced my emerging/missional thinking all together onto one shelf. They were not already that way. Some were in the bookshelf, some were scattered around my office floor, some were in the bathroom.

2. There are a couple hard to read ones because the book jacket is gone. My daughter likes book jackets. She likes taking them off of my books and then hiding them.

3. You'll notice that not all of these books necessarily fall under the "emerging/missional" category. I put several books on that shelf that have influenced my thinking and have brought me to where I'm at today because they were asking some of the same questions that I have been asking for years. These books would include Your God Is Too Safe by Mark Buchanan and Dangerous Wonder by Mike Yaconelli.

In case you have a hard time looking at this picture (it came out surprisingly well), here are the names of the books:

- The five books above on the shelf above the main shelf: Emerging Churches by Gibbs and Bulger, Breaking The Missional Code by Stetzer and Putnam, A Generous Orthodoxy by McLaren, Unlearning Church by Slaughter, and The Shaping Of Things To Come by Frost and Hirsch.

- The four books on top of the books on the main shelf: Radical Reformission by Driscoll, Dangerous Wonder by Yaconelli, Blue Like Jazz by Donald Miller, and The Divine Conspiracy by Willard.

- The main shelf: Carpe Manana by Sweet, Soul Salsa by Sweet, SoulTsunami by Sweet, Postmodern Pilgrims by Sweet, Messy Spirituality by Yaconelli, The New Kind of Christian trilogy by McLaren, Velvet Elvis by Bell, More Ready Than You Realize by McLaren, The Relevant Church by several people, The Church In Emerging Culture by several authors, Stories of Emergence edited by Yaconelli, The Externally Focused Church by Rusaw and Swanson, Traveling Mercies by Lamott, The Gutter by Gross, Out Of The Question...Into The Mystery by Sweet, Jesus In The Margins by McKinley, Emerging Worship by Kimball, Rich Christians In An Age Of Hunger by Sider, Your God Is Too Safe by Buchanan, An Unstoppable Force by McManus, The Multi-Site Church Revolution by Surratt and 2 others, Following Jesus by N.T. Wright, The Secret Message Of Jesus by McLaren, The Challenge of Jesus by Wright, The Irresistible Revolution by Claiborne, The Present Future by McNeal, and No Perfect People Allowed by Burke.

Next post will be the answer to this question: Which book(s) have influenced you the most in your thinking these days and in what way?

Mark Driscoll Explains The Emerging Church (kind of)

Okay, so I said my next entry will be the books that have shaped my missional/emergent thinking so far. I need to find my camera first. But until then, this video is an interview with Mark Driscoll, who pastors Mars Hill Church in Seattle (not to be confused with Mars Hill Bible Church of Rob Bell fame). Mark Driscoll has been on the forefront of the Christian postmodern movement for the last several years. His book The Radical Reformission: Reaching Out Without Selling Out is a good read and will probably make my photo of books that have influenced me.

This video is interesting because Driscoll talks about the Emerging Church movement and breaks it down into four separate "movements" within the Emerging Church movement, which is helpful to understand what's going on. Here is his list of the four (EDIT: I also have included the designations that the book Breaking The Missional Code uses in describing at least the first three groups, and the fourth designation that I'll give that coincides with the other three 'R's):

1. Emergent - confusing in that it's almost the same word as Emerging, Driscoll labels this group as a more liberal theological group than the other three, and it seems that he almost wants to call them heretical, but doesn't. (By the way, this group would include Brian McLaren and Tony Jones) Breaking The Missional Code calls this group "The Revisionists."

2. the House Church movement - which is basically a group of evangelicals who are trying to minister to the Postmodern culture in different ways, one big way of which is the house church movement. Breaking The Missional Code calls this group "The Reconstructionists."

3. Traditionalists - these would be mainliners who are just trying to change their music and services in order to appeal to more of a postmodern culture. This group is changing the externals (the look) without changing the internals (what I call "Orthodoxy and Orthopraxy"). These are "The Relevants" according to Breaking The Missional Code.

4. New-Reformed Missionals: this group are Reformed in their theology (think Calvinist to paint a broad brush) but who are trying to be missional in their approach to postmodern culture. This group is what I believe Driscoll would fall into. Especially considering that this video is from the website "Desiring God", which is the web site about John Piper, who is a Calvinist. And in keeping with the 'R's, I'll designate this group (to quote Mark Driscoll) "The Reformissionals."

I think it's interesting how different all four groups really are, yet they are all labeled as the Emerging Church movement. All are trying different things and approaching missional thinking in different ways. It will be interesting to see which of these are "fads" and which of these have staying power and will be most effective in reaching the postmodern culture.

Emergent/Missional Reading

The above picture is from Tall Skinny Kiwi's blog (real name: Andrew Jones) and is a picture of the 50 books on his Emerging Church Bookshelf.

I don't have 50 books on the Emerging Church - but I'm getting there. It's interesting to see how my book choices have changed throughout the years. In college, I snapped up every Max Lucado book I could find. After college, it was Philip Yancey (who still is my favorite author, I think). And then it was Leonard Sweet. Now, it's a lot of books on the emergent church and missional theology.

Next post will be a picture of the books that have influenced me most (at least so far) when it comes to emergent/missional thinking.

Never Mind.

Well, they lost. Almost came back to beat the Tar Heels, but came up short.

So now - I guess I can get back to my non-sports life since there is no one to root for.

Remember The Titans

Well - my Colorado Avalanche took a nosedive in the second round of the NHL Playoffs, so I couldn't root for them for the rest of the quest for the Stanley Cup.

And then, the team I wanted to win the NBA finals - the Dallas Mavericks - just lost game 6 of the finals to the Miami Heat, which means the Heat have won it all.

What's a guy to root for now?

THE TITANS!

That's right, those Cal State Fullerton Titans. I'm not a big college baseball fan at all, but I do root for the Titans. The Cal State Fullerton campus is right across the street from the college that I went to, and one year the baseball players for some reason ate in our cafeteria. The roster for the Titans that year included Phil Nevin, who now plays for the Texas Rangers I believe (he has played for several teams in the last few years which makes him hard to keep track of). Most CSF sports were and are horrible (they got rid of their football team when I was in college, because it stunk so bad.), but their baseball team has always done well - in fact, they won the whole thing in 2004 and in 1995 (they took second my senior year of college).

Anyway, the Titans are once again in the College Baseball Tournament Bracket, hoping to make it to the College Baseball World Series. They came back with three runs in the ninth to beat Georgia Tech in an elimination game, and then tonight they came back against the number one seeded team, Clemson. Now they have to beat North Carolina twice in order to make it to the World Series. Go Titans!

McLaren Responds To Critics

Over on Brian McLaren's website, I just read a fantastic response from Brian McLaren - one of my favorite authors and thinkers - to critics of the Emergent movement. I think McLaren's a pretty humble guy, and it shows in what he writes. He uses a phrase from the book that "put him on the map", so to speak, A New Kind Of Christian. That phrase is called "above the line". What McLaren means by this is that it seems like there are always two differing sides to an issue that are polar opposites. However, when you look at the Gospels, Jesus refuses to take one side or the other when it comes to issues. His thoughts on the issue is always "above the line".

McLaren looks at nine different aspects of the Emergent movement - aspects that he has noticed has drawn criticism from "both sides" of the argument. For example, some people would say that when it comes to humility within the Emergent movement, the leaders of Emergent are too humble and should be bolder sometimes. Others say that leaders within the Emergent movement are cocky because they think they know all the answers and what's coming that will revitalize the church from its death throes. McLaren believes there's a position that is above the line.

I encourage you to read this article in its entirety. It's very thought-provoking, a little wordy - but worth the read.

What I Learned During My Summer Conference

I went to the Willow Creek Arts Conference in Chicago this past week. Here are some things I learned:

- I don't like the O'Hare Airport at all.

- Waiting in lines at the O'Hare Airport is not fun.

- Going to a conference by yourself to a city you've never been to is kind of strange.

- Willow Creek Community Church is very large.

- I would give my left eye to have the kind of budget and equipment that Willow has for their arts department.

- Wrigley Field is a pain to get to (parked at the airport, took the blue line from the airport to the Addison exit, took a bus to Wrigley Field) but it's definitely worth the pain.

- A church organizational structure based on giftedness rather than hierarchy is a pretty neat way to make decisions.

- Schaumburg is a nice Chicago suburb to drive around.

- Planning for a service way in advance actually works.

- Collaboration between all parts of the creative process creates a dynamic that God honors.

- There is a law that states that out of all of the 52 weeks that are in a year, the one week that you are gone from your home is the week that your daughter will have to go to the emergency room because she's sick.

I enjoyed the Willow Creek Arts Conference - but I think next year I will go back to the Saddleback Worship Conference. One thing I like about Saddleback's conference over Willow Creek is that at night there are things you can do on Saddleback's campus during the conference - concerts, coffeehouse shows, hanging out, etc. But overall it was a good conference.

Superman As The Christ Figure?

I used to be a big fan of comics and superheroes, although for some reason, I've never been that fond of Superman. I don't know why - I guess perhaps back in the day I just didn't like any superhero who was that invincible. I mean, other superheroes had one, maybe two powers. Superman has many, many. And although some weaknesses in superheroes were downright stupid (The Green Lantern's power had no effect on the color yellow. Yellow? "Oh, no - here comes Lemon Scented Palmolive Man! I am foiled!"), Superman's weakness (Kryptonite) just didn't seem that great.

Anyway, I know a lot of people are looking forward to the new movie. I'm not, really. I still haven't seen the latest X-Men (perhaps I'll go see it this week). I don't know why they need to resurrect the franchise. Of course, if they do as good of a job resurrecting Superman as they did Batman (the last Batman movie was great), maybe I will go see it.

Well, I found this interesting article concerning an author of a book who compares the superhero Superman to Jesus. It is an interesting article, and I can definitely see some of the similarities. And I guess you can use Superman as a way to introduce people to Jesus, although the only places I see this working is perhaps the comic book or game store down the street. Well, I guess Paul's statement that he became a Jew to win the Jew, a Greek to win the Greek, etc. applies here. Maybe I need to dig myself again into superhero lore in order to win the comic book geek.

BFF (Best Friends Forever)

A little bit of movie actor trivia:

Everyone knows who Vince Vaughn is, right? I mean, he's been in a ton of movies, especially lately (Dodgeball, The Wedding Crashers, etc.) And now he's in a movie with his supposed girlfriend or something, Jennifer Aniston.

Vince Vaughn's best friend is also in this new movie, he's the guy whose picture is above. Vince and Peter became best friends after doing an After School Special on T.V. together back in 1990 or so.

You may not recognize his best friend now.

But I'm sure if I showed you a picture of Ralphie - the kid who wants the gun in the classic Christmas movie A Christmas Story - you would recognize him right away.

Pretty crazy, huh!

Sufjan Stevens: Busted!

Sensational title, huh!

You know I love the Sufjan - I have three of his CDs (not counting the three Christmas CDs he put out) and I listen to them a lot. My wife rolls her eyes everytime she comes into my office and I'm listening to him, she thinks his music is very weird and that I'm ready to join a commune or something after listening to a Sufjan CD.

I thought that this was an interesting interview with Sufjan by BustedHalo.com (hence the Busted title). Now that Sufjan Stevens has become "popular" or at least "critically acclaimed", I'm interested to see what his musings on his next CD will be about. Will he continue to wonder about faith and life in general while weaving stories about particular states? Or will he back off this time (as it seems he's wanting to do according to this interview)? Hopefully we'll find out soon.

And Now For Something Completely Different...

Okay, so I really haven't had much to say - been too busy to really think. Okay? So, I decided to do something different.

As a worship arts minister, you would think that worship music would be constantly flowing in my head and brain. Nope. There is music that I'm constantly thinking about, constantly singing in my head - but it isn't worship music. What is it?

Veggie Tales, of course.

My almost 3-year-old daughter loves Veggie Tales, and so we listen to the CDs in the car ALL THE TIME.

One of her favorites is the Silly Songs CD. It also comes in DVD format, and is a countdown of the top 10 silly songs that have been featured on Veggie Tales videos.

Here is how the top 10 came out:

10. Endangered Love
9. The Dance Of The Cucumber
8. Larry's High Silk Hat
7. The Water Buffalo Song
6. The Song Of The Cebu
5. The Yodeling Veterinarian Of The Alps
4. His Cheeseburger
3. Love My Lips
2. The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything
1. The Hairbrush Song

Well, in this amazing post, I'm going to do my own top 10 - actually top 11 - and why I ranked them this way. Most of you won't care. But for those of you who have kids who love Veggie Tales, you'll understand. Here's the countdown:

11. The Dance Of The Cucumber

I really despise this Veggie Tales song. Not because it's sung in Spanish or anything, but because Bob translates Larry's song while Larry is singing, which makes it very hard to follow and very, very annoying.

Best lyric: none

10. The Hairbrush Song

Yes, this song is loved the most by Veggie Tales fans. I don't like it. I don't think it's very good musically or lyrically. I think it's boring. This song also could be number ten because I have to sing it to my daughter every night before bed as well.

Best lyric: "Why do you need a hairbrush you don't have any hair?"

9. The Water Buffalo Song

This is the first Silly Song ever made, and you can tell. It's not very creative or exciting.

Best lyric: "I took my buffalo to a store, got his head stuck in the door, spilled some lima beans on the floor..."

8. Larry's High Silk Hat

Creative and original, taking a famous operatic song and making it into a Veggie Tales classic. I like it, but not better than the other seven in front of it.

Best lyric: "A great big squash just sat upon my hat!"

7. Endangered Love

A song above love for a manatee named Barbara who is in a soap opera and doesn't know French. Yes, it's strange. But I really like how Larry dances with his stuffed animal manatee. Good stuff.

Best lyric: "Please don't go. I must. Don't go. I must. Don't, don't. Must, must!"

6. The Song Of The Cebu

This one and number five probably get switched in my mind in ranking every day. I like the slide projector aspect of this Silly Song. I like the three cebu - the sick cebu, the sad cebu and the mute cebu. Very creative.

Best lyric: "Mute cebu is grunting and waving, mmmmmmmmmmmmmhhhhhhhhhmoo moo."

5. The Yodeling Veterinarian Of The Alps

The best titled Silly Song. This doesn't make the very top, though because the transition between the barbershop quartet and the other stuff is kind of weird.

Best lyric: "He's gone a little loopy, in case you haven't heard. Here's a bottle of penicillin for your sickly arctic bird..."

4. Love My Lips

The last four are very, very close for me. This one is great, but not as great as the top three.

Best lyric: "Ten days after I turned eight, got my lips stuck in a gate. My friends all laughed, and I just stood there until the fire department came and broke the lock off with a crowbar and I had to spend the next six weeks in lip rehab with a kid named Oscar who got stung by a bee right on the lip and we couldn't even talk to each other until the fifth week because both of our lips were so swollen and when Oscar could speak, he spoke in Polish, and I only know like three words in Polish, except now I know four because Oscar taught me the word for lip: Usta."

3. Do The Moo Shoo

You may have wondered why the original Silly Song countdown had ten and I have eleven. This is why: because in the Silly Song countdown DVD, the contraption of Silliness breaks down, so Pa Grape tells Mr. Lunt and Larry the Cucumber to make up a song to buy him some time to fix it. Larry can't think of anything, so Pa Grape throws him a Chinese takeout menu, and he and Mr. Lunt come up with a song by singing the different entries. It's pure genius.

Best lyric: the whole song. "Chicken! Kung Pau...CHICKEN! Mongolian...CHICKEN! Sweet n' Sour...CHICKEN! Cashew...CHICKEN! Do the Moo Shoo - Moo Shoo, moo shoo, moo moo moo moo shoo...(do the moo shoo) PORK! Mandarin...PORK! Barbeque...PORK! Sweet n' Sour...PORK! Spicy Shredded...PORK! Do the Tofu! Tofu Tofu to to to Tofu...STOP! Break a fortune cookie! Beware of grape with wooden mallet. Ain't that the truth."

2. His Cheeseburger

#1 and #2 are so close, so so close. His Cheeseburger was my favorite for a long time. And the fact that Chuck E. Cheese plays it almost made me make it number one. But not quite. This is the first Silly Song not sung by Larry, and Mr. Lunt shines through. It's a song about a gourd named Jimmy and his love for cheeseburgers. Deep, man. Deep.

Best lyric: "'Cause he loves you cheeseburger with all his heart, and there 'aint nothing that can tear you two apart. And if the world suddenly ran out of cheese, you would get down on your hands and knees, and if someone accidentally dropped some cheese in the dirt, he would wash it off for you, wash it off for you, clean that dirty cheese off just for YOU! You are his cheeseburger..."

1. The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything

Yes, the number one silly countdown song. I know Pa Grape would be happy, because he was rather sad that the song that he got featured in only made it to number two in the original countdown. What's great about this song is after Pa Grape and Mr. Lunt sing about the "pirat-y" things they have never done because they don't do anything, Larry goes off on the strangest list of things he hasn't done that aren't even related to pirat-y stuff. It's classic, and original. Great stuff.

Best lyric: "Well, I've never plucked a rooster, and I'm not too good at ping-pong, and I've never thrown my mashed potatoes up against the wall. And I've never kissed a chipmunk, and I've never gotten head lice. And I've never been to Boston in the fall..." then later: "Well, I've never licked a spark plug and I've never sniffed a stink bug and I've never painted daisies on a big red rubber ball. And I've never bathed in yogurt, and I don't look good in leggings...Pa Grape: "You just don't get it, do you?" And we've never been to Boston in the fall."

Just in case you're wondering, I didn't have to look up the lyrics. I know them all.

You Think You Got Game?

Then take this U2 Quiz that deals with their spirituality in interviews, lyrics and more. I consider myself a U2 afficionado, and I got some right, but there were several that I was stumped on and actually surprised about. Especially the ones that involve Adam Clayton. I've always considered U2's bass member as someone who didn't consider himself a God-follower, but he is really just more private about his faith than the other ones.

The Story Of Menashe

In the book The Crooked Shall Be Made Straight, Israeli writer S.Y. Agnon tells the story of a simple, godly man named Menashe. He runs a grocery store that slowly goes broke because, being so generous a man, Menashe cannot bear to ask money from customers who cannot afford to pay. His ruthless competitors eventually run him our of business, and he has to resort to travelilng from town to town begging. The village rabbi takes pity on poor, decent Menashe and gives him a letter commending him as a good and honest man who is deserving of charity.

Menashe begs for over a year, eventually collecting enough to restart his business. On his last night on the road, before returning home to begin his life again, he lodges at an inn and happens upon a local con man. This man is as vile and contemptible as Menashe is good and upright. When he sees Menashe's letter of commendation from the rabbi, his eyes light up. "If I had a letter like that I would never have to work another day in my life," he glowers, and then offers Menashe a substantial amount of money to purchase the letter. Tempted by the opportunity to virtually double his money and knowing that he no longer needs the rabbi's letter, Menashe sells the document. Then, with more money than he's ever seen before, he decides to celebrate his good fortune. Perhaps motivated also by shame at having sold the honorable rabbi's letter, Menashe gets horribly drunk and in his stupor is robbed of everything he has, even his prayer shawl. With not enough money to get home, Menashe is reduced to begging again.

In the meantime, the liar and con man is set upon by robbers and murdered. His body is mutilated beyond recognition, so that when his corpse is found with Menashe's letter in the pocket, it is immediately assumed that it is in fact Menashe who has been murdered. His wife is notified of her husband's death. Some months later she remarries, and a year later she gives birth to a son just as the destitute Menashe drags himself home. He arrives in town just as his wife and her husband are celebrating the circumcision of their child.

Menashe, the decent man, is in a terrible dilemma. If he reveals his identity, he will effectively end his wife's new marriage by revealing it to be illegal. He will also brand her child as illegitimate, causing him to be an outcast in the Jewish community. Unable to destroy the lives of those he loves, he retreats to the cemetery outside the town. There he confides in the custodian by telling him his tale of woe. The custodian takes pity on this sad, godly man and keeps his secret and supplies him with food and shelter. When Menashe dies shortly after, the custodian has him buried in the very plot his wife had arranged when she thought him dead two years previously.

What does this story mean? It is a parable about losing one's name and finding it. When Menashe was a decent, kind man, his good name was his passport, as symbolized by the rabbi's letter. When he sold the letter, he was acting out of character by doing something for a quick dishonest buck. By selling the letter, he literally gave away his name. It was if the real Menashe ceased to exist. Only later, when he performs his immense act of self-sacrifice, does he receive his name and therefore his identity again. By being buried under his own gravestone, his name is restored. Menashe is alive again (ironically at the point of his death).

Our actions are a representation of our name, our integrity, our identity. When we abandon the high calling to live like Christ, we abandon our Christian identity. We are not saved by our own actions, but we are known by them. Jesus told his own disciples that they would be known (identified as followers of Jesus) by how much they loved each other. Their actions typified their name.

- From the book The Shaping Of Things To Come

Create Your Own Caption #6

Legos Just Got Cooler...

I've never been a big Lego fan, I didn't play with them much as a kid because I wasn't really that creative back then. However, I'm always amazed at the different uses for them. There are now three Legoland parks with lego creations, rides, etc.

However, I stumbled upon a site that made Legos even cooler. It's a website that illustrates Bible stories using Legos. How cool is that?

I'm So Proud...

of my wife Debby. If you know her, you know she has long hair. She's pretty much had long hair for all but a couple of years of her life.

A month ago, she heard that a girl who was battling cancer and who had lost all her hair was in need of a "hair donor" who would be willing to cut off ten inches of hair so that this girl could have a wig.

Today, she got the ten inches cut off. And she donated it to this little girl through the organization Locks Of Love. I'm proud of her, because I know her hair means a great deal to her. It's all about making the little (or big) differences in someone else's life. :)

Everyone's An Expert...

I have to admit that lately I've really needed a good laugh, so where else to find a good laugh but the internet? Today I laughed like crazy at this short video from BBC news. During one of their actual newscasts, the newswoman interviews a man who she believes to be an expert in the field of computer business and she asks him several questions about the legal battle between Apple Computers and the Beatles' Apple record label. The guy who she is interviewing was obviously brought in to do something else, as you can tell at the beginning of the clip - when he gets introduced, he becomes very nervous since he knows that he is in the wrong place at the wrong time. Classic. (There are two versions of this movie, I picked the one where BBC explains what's going on because it helps make sense of it).

Enjoy.

The Truth Must Dazzle Gradually

"Like lightning to the children eased
Through revelation kind
The truth must dazzle gradually
Or every man be blind."

- Emily Dickinson

I have submerged myself into what I am beginning to call "missional kingdom theology". Pretty much every book I'm reading right now (except for another quick reading of The Da Vinci Code, since we're doing a series on it soon) is focused on the idea of what it means to live as a missional-minded person who believes Jesus when he says "The Kingdom of God is within you." Books by Brian McLaren, N.T. Wright and others have smacked me across the head with some interesting new(old) ideas.

However, I'm beginning to feel "the bends" - I've submerged myself too quickly without allowing the pressure within me slowly acclimate to the pressure of my surroundings, in this case, missional kingdom thinking. I am now in the process of taking one book at a time, reading slowly, writing down my thoughts, and allowing God to work through these books in such a way that I will be ready to make appropriate changes to my life and ministry in due time.

The truth must dazzle gradually.

Brian McLaren on The Da Vinci Code Movie

I thought this was an interesting interview. I laughed out loud when McLaren says that the Da Vinci Code novel has caused possibly less harm to Christianity than the Left Behind novels. Here you go...

------

Brian McLaren on The Da Vinci Code
An interview by Lisa Ann Cockrel
With The Da Vinci Code poised to go from bestseller list to the big screen on May 19, pastor and writer (and Sojourners board member) Brian McLaren talks about why he thinks there's truth in the controversial book's fiction.


- What do you think the popularity of The Da Vinci Code reveals about pop culture attitudes toward Christianity and the church?

Brian McLaren: I think a lot of people have read the book, not just as a popular page-turner but also as an experience in shared frustration with status-quo, male-dominated, power-oriented, cover-up-prone organized Christian religion. We need to ask ourselves why the vision of Jesus hinted at in Dan Brown's book is more interesting, attractive, and intriguing to these people than the standard vision of Jesus they hear about in church. Why would so many people be disappointed to find that Brown's version of Jesus has been largely discredited as fanciful and inaccurate, leaving only the church's conventional version? Is it possible that, even though Brown's fictional version misleads in many ways, it at least serves to open up the possibility that the church's conventional version of Jesus may not do him justice?

- So you think The Da Vinci Code taps into dissatisfaction with Jesus as we know him?

McLaren: For all the flaws of Brown's book, I think what he's doing is suggesting that the dominant religious institutions have created their own caricature of Jesus. And I think people have a sense that that's true. It's my honest feeling that anyone trying to share their faith in America today has to realize that the Religious Right has polluted the air. The name "Jesus" and the word "Christianity" are associated with something judgmental, hostile, hypocritical, angry, negative, defensive, anti-homosexual, etc. Many of our churches, even though they feel they represent the truth, actually are upholding something that's distorted and false.

I also think that the whole issue of male domination is huge and that Brown's suggestion that the real Jesus was not as misogynist or anti-woman as the Christian religion often has been is very attractive. Brown's book is about exposing hypocrisy and cover-up in organized religion, and it is exposing organized religion's grasping for power. Again, there's something in that that people resonate with in the age of pedophilia scandals, televangelists, and religious political alliances. As a follower of Jesus I resonate with their concerns as well.

- Do you think the book contains any significantly detrimental distortions of the Christian faith?

McLaren: The book is fiction and it's filled with a lot of fiction about a lot of things that a lot of people have already debunked. But frankly, I don't think it has more harmful ideas in it than the Left Behind novels. And in a certain way, what the Left Behind novels do, the way they twist scripture toward a certain theological and political end, I think Brown is twisting scripture, just to other political ends. But at the end of the day, the difference is I don't think Brown really cares that much about theology. He just wanted to write a page-turner and he was very successful at that.

- Many Christians are also reading this book and it's rocking their preconceived notions - or lack of preconceived notions - about Christ's life and the early years of the church. So many people don't know how we got the canon, for example. Should this book be a clarion call to the church to say, "Hey, we need to have a body of believers who are much more literate in church history." Is that something the church needs to be thinking about more strategically?

McLaren: Yes! You're exactly right. One of the problems is that the average Christian in the average church who listens to the average Christian broadcasting has such an oversimplified understanding of both the Bible and of church history - it would be deeply disturbing for them to really learn about church history. I think the disturbing would do them good. But a lot of times education is disturbing for people. And so if The Da Vinci Code causes people to ask questions and Christians have to dig deeper, that's a great thing, a great opportunity for growth. And it does show a weakness in the church giving either no understanding of church history or a very stilted, one-sided, sugarcoated version.

On the other hand, it's important for me to say I don't think anyone can learn good church history from Brown. There's been a lot of debunking of what he calls facts. But again, the guy's writing fiction so nobody should be surprised about that. The sad thing is there's an awful lot of us who claim to be telling objective truth and we actually have our own propaganda and our own versions of history as well.

Let me mention one other thing about Brown's book that I think is appealing to people. The church goes through a pendulum swing at times from overemphasizing the deity of Christ to overemphasizing the humanity of Christ. So a book like Brown's that overemphasizes the humanity of Christ can be a mirror to us saying that we might be underemphasizing the humanity of Christ.

- In light of The Da Vinci Code movie that is soon to be released, how do you hope churches will engage this story?

McLaren: I would like to see churches teach their people how to have intelligent dialogue that doesn't degenerate into argument. We have to teach people that the Holy Spirit works in the middle of conversation. We see it time and time again - Jesus enters into dialogue with people; Paul and Peter and the apostles enter into dialogue with people. We tend to think that the Holy Spirit can only work in the middle of a monologue where we are doing the speaking.

So if our churches can encourage people to, if you see someone reading the book or you know someone who's gone to the movie, say, "What do you think about Jesus and what do you think about this or that," and to ask questions instead of getting into arguments, that would be wonderful. The more we can keep conversations open and going the more chances we give the Holy Spirit to work. But too often people want to get into an argument right away. And, you know, Jesus has handled 2,000 years of questions, skepticism, and attacks, and he's gonna come through just fine. So we don't have to be worried.

Ultimately, The Da Vinci Code is telling us important things about the image of Jesus that is being portrayed by the dominant Christian voices. [Readers] don't find that satisfactory, genuine, or authentic, so they're looking for something that seems more real and authentic.

World Fair Trade Day

This weekend is a special weekend for many people as they celebrate Mother's Day.

Now you have another reason to make it special.

May 13th is World Fair Trade Day. Fair Trade is something that is very important in our world today as more and more world-conscious people are realizing how unfair a lot of trade practices are and thus are turning to companies who treat poor laborers fairly by paying them what they are worth.

I would encourage everyone to figure out how they can help make trade fair in the world today. Learning what you can do is part of the figuring out.

Review of Hillsong United's new CD "United We Stand"

Thanks to Kyle, a guy on my worship team, I have just recently discovered this worship band - the youth band from Hillsong Church in Australia. I have done a few Hillsong songs, but I've been veering away from them recently because they just aren't the style that we're looking for in worship.

Hillsong United is, however. The first CD I heard was Look To You, and immediately I liked it. We have started to do the song "Salvation Is Here" recently and it's been a good song to introduce.

The latest Hillsong United CD is out and without further adieu, here's my review of it, song by song.

Song #1: An Introduction - 10/10

I love how this CD starts out - a minute and a half instrumental that reminds me of Coldplay or U2. It then blends right into song #2.

Song #2: The Time Has Come - 8/10

Again, reminds me of Coldplay's and U2's more upbeat songs. I really like this song - I like the different changes, and the bass player for Hillsong United kicks. Of course, so does the guitarist and the drummer and the...

Song #3: Take It All - 6/10

I think I will like this song better the more I listen to this CD, but to me it seems like a hard song to introduce into worship.

Song #4: From God Above - 7/10

One thing I like about Hillsong United is that their songs musically don't seem to be very formulaic, a problem I find in other worship artists (see Chris Tomlin). This is an interesting song, to say the least. I like it.

Song #5: From The Inside Out - 10/10

My favorite song on this CD, at least so far. I love the words, I love the melody, I love how they sing the "Everlasting your light will shine when all else fails" part as part of each verse, then towards the end it becomes part of the chorus. Brilliant. We are introducing this song this coming Sunday, and I'm excited.

Song #6: Came To The Rescue - 10/10

Song #5 and #6 pack a powerful wallop together. This is one that I'm going to suggest my female worship leaders introduce, I think they'll like it. I love the sound of the guitar on this song, it's killer.

Song #7: A Reprise - 10/10

The organ starts out this reprise, and it sounds great. Then that killer guitar from song #6 comes back. Then quietly the refrain from the last song comes through:

In my life, be lifted high
In my world, be lifted high
In my love, be lifted high

It builds and builds coming to an incredible crescendo with everyone singing and playing loud. I would love for our church to be as responsive as this.

Song #8: None But Jesus - 8/10

The first song on this CD sung by a female leader. It's a very soothing song, and I really like the lyrics. I also like what sounds like an e-bow in the background. I love e-bows. I need to get one of our electric guitarists to get excited about learning how to play one.

Song #9: Selah - 6/10

I like the sound, but it's rather bland.

Song #10: Fire Fall Down - 9/10

A long, long song (almost eleven minutes!) but it's incredible. The music reminds me of one of Delirious' slower songs off of Glo. Do I have to mention again how much I love the guitar work on this CD? This is the kind of stuff I would like to see us move to - we've been doing a little more experimentation like this (Invitation Fountain by The Violet Burning, throwing in some U2 riffs here and there, more dramatic pauses, etc.), but I want us to do more. Of course, this song builds as well into a full out audio arsenal.

Song #11: Revolution - 7/10

It's an interesting song, to say the least. I'm not fond of the chorus - either the lyrics or the melody, but I love the verses. Almost ska-like!

Song #12: Kingdom Come - 8/10

When the song first started, I really wanted to not like it, because it sounded similar to a couple other songs on this CD, notably the first one. But then the chorus hit, and I realized I really liked this song.

Song #13: No One Like You - 5/10

Too repetitive. But I know that on each CD they have a song with repetitive words, so maybe I'm just digging here.

Song #14: Sovereign Hands - 6/10

Sounds a little too much like the main Hillsongs stuff.

Song #15: The Stand - 7/10

This is a long CD. I think my judgment is getting cloudy because of how long this CD is. But this is a solid song.

Song #16: Selah - 7/10

Nice instrumental. Getting woozy.

Song #17: Hallelujah - 8/10

Great way to end this CD. Yes, it's repetitive, but it's better than Our God Reigns off of the new Passion CD. Interestingly, it also contains the words "Our God Reigns". Hmmm.

Well, that's it. A lot of songs, you definitely get your money worth. And I wholeheartedly recommend this CD. It is an incredible worship CD. And you get a DVD with it, which shows you when they did these songs live. Very passionate, very moving. I love it.

Boycotting Fiction

Zach has it so right when it comes to the latest boycotting movement by Christians. This time, let's have everyone boycott The Da Vinci Code.

That's right, folks. Let's boycott a fictional movie based on a fictional novel. The movie producers are probably freaking out right now - no, not over the boycott. They are probably excited about the amount of publicity that this dumb boycott will give the movie, which means more money for them and for the movie itself.

This reminds me of the huge boycott of The Last Temptation of Christ - a movie based on a fictional novel. The movie wasn't presenting their version of the gospel as truth. It was just a different idea (that perhaps took it a little too far).

Boycotting fiction. Another smart idea in the annals of Christendom.

Review of Passion's New CD "Everything Glorious"

Well, I've listened to it for awhile now, so I think I can make a pretty good review/analysis of this CD.

Song #1: Awesome Is The Lord Most High - 7/10

I think this song doesn't start off very well, and it's Tomlin, which means it's going to be too high for me to sing in the regular key - I always seem to have to change the key with Tomlin. But it's a solid song.

Song #2: Glorious - 7/10

Again, too high. But I really like the interraction between Tomlin and Christy Nockels on this song.

Song #3: Party - 0/10

This is now my least favorite Passion song. It's stupid. And this is an indicator of an annoying feature of this CD - worship leader starts the song, pauses for 30 seconds to work the crowd up, and then starts it up again (see later songs to see what I mean)

Song #4: Jesus Paid It All - 10/10

One thing I do love about Passion is that they do a great job of taking hymns and jazzing them up. This one was led by Kristian Stanfill, my favorite worship leader as of right now. I heard from a friend of mine that a couple of people from his church went to the Passion event, and when Kristian came up and started leading, they said to each other, "Who is this guy?" My response to that is "who the heck cares who it is? Was he not on your list of pre-approved worship leaders? Because his name isn't Chris, David, Charlie or Matt? Grrr."

Anyway, this is my favorite song on the CD.

Song #5: All We Need - 8/10

If you know me, you know my dislike for Charlie Hall's involvement with Passion. I just don't like his songs. His latest CD, Flying Into Daybreak, has left me pleasantly surprised, however, and I really like this song off of it. I took off two marks because of the annoying electronica that starts this song.

Song #6: Center - 7/10

Again - pleasantly surprised.

Song #7: We Are Yours - 5/10

Don't like the sound of this song.

Song #8: You Never Let Go - 7/10

Or as I like to call it, Blessed Be Your Name Part 2. But I like the idea. I think there should be more Lament type songs written, and Matt Redman has written two good ones.

Song #9: I Stand Amazed - 7/10

Another great reworking of a hymn. I like Tomlin's voice on this one. Again, too high.

Song #10: Everything Glorious - 5/10

I was disappointed in David Crowder most of all with this CD. I didn't like the ones off A Collision for the passion CD. He should have gone with Foreverandever, etc. and Wholly Yours in my opinion. This new one doesn't impress me at all.

Song #11: You Are My Joy - 5/10

Here we see the feature of starting the song, waiting 30 seconds, and starting it up again - again. What's the point? If it's to work the crowd into a frenzy, why don't you just drop live scorpions from the ceiling? It's a lot more effective, and you don't have to waste a song doing so.

Song #12: We Win - 3/10

Putting this song on a worship CD reminds me of the time when I took my student ministry to a conference. Actually, I think our worship band was the band for the conference. Anyway, the speaker closes out his message and says, "Let's pray. Dear Satan..." We were all a little perplexed at first, to say the least.

How does this relate? Because who is the song "We Win" directed to?

We've already won and you don't stand a chance...

It doesn't sound like a song directed to God, does it? David Crowder, what happened to you on this CD?

Song #13: Our God Reigns - 5/10

Disappointing ending, in my opinion. Let's sing the same thing for six and a half minutes! Yes! No.

Extra Song #1: Salvation Is Here - 9/10

This song was not included on the full-length CD but was offered on an early release EP from iTunes.

Again, Kristian Stanfill does a great job. This song is a Hillsongs United song, one of my favorites. I don't think it's as powerful as the original Hillsongs version, but it's still great. I don't know why this song didn't make the final cut, personally.

Extra Song #2: Made To Worship - 7/10

This was also offered on an early release EP from iTunes. I like it. Good song.

So Long Red Wings

Yes, I know that the Avs did not play the Wings in the playoffs this year, but this was the only appropriate picture I could find.

I'm not going to rub it in too much, Red Wings fans...

And I am sad to see Yzerman go.

But still - seeing that I had no expectations that my Avalanche were going to do anything this year, it's very weird that they're moving on and the Red Wings aren't.

Oh well, always next year. Cheers!

B Collision

I'm a huge David Crowder Band fan. I thoroughly enjoyed the latest CD called A Collision - although to be honest, I don't feel like a lot of the songs translate well in a congregational worship setting.

Which is why I was disappointed with the song selection of Crowder songs off the latest Passion CD. You Are My Joy is a good song - but I really didn't like the way it was done.

We Win seems like it's a song directed to the devil - "'cause we've already won and you don't have a chance" - yet it's on a worship CD.

The newest song by DCB, called Everything Glorious just hasn't hit me right yet.

So when I heard that they were going to release another CD called B Collision, I was rather unexcited. I figured it would be another "mash-ups" type CD like Sunsets and Sushi.

But then I found out it was going to be acoustic renditions of songs off of A Collision. Now I'm excited again.

Have Mercy On Me A Sinner

"That stuff Jesus warned us to beware of, the yeast of the Pharisees, is so infectious today in the camps of both liberals and conservatives. Conservatives stand up and thank God that they are not like the homosexuals, the Muslims, the liberals. Liberals stand up and thank God that they are not like the war makers, the yuppies, the conservatives. It is a similar self-righteousness, just with different definitions of evildoing. It can paralyze us in judgment and guilt and rob us of life. Rather than separating ourselves from everyone we consider impure, maybe we are better off just beating our chests and praying that God would be merciful enough to save us from this present ugliness and to make our lives so beautiful that people cannot resist that mercy."

- Shane Claiborne, "The Irresistible Revolution"

Now THIS Would Be An Interesting Thing To See (Not Necessarily Experience Though)...

The Grace Whisperers

A few months ago I was reading two similar books at the same time: The Present Future by Reggie McNeal (I need to get back to going through this in my posts, I know) and The Shaping of Things To Come. I became so excited about what I was reading in The Present Future that I completely forgot that I had not finished the other book until recently. So I went and got an oil change and started reading through it again.

I found myself rereading a chapter that starts with the story of the man that inspired the movie The Horse Whisperer. This man grew up in Montana on a ranch and several times over experienced the traditional way of breaking wild horses. After seeing how this traditional way was a pain to ranchers and obviously not fun for the horses, he wondered if there could be a different way to tame wild stallions. He noticed during his observances that wehnever a horse was separated from the herd and left to wander alone in the mountains it often became sick, even to the point of near-death. This left him wondering that if these animals had such a powerful, innate instinct for connection, that this instinct could be used to tame them.

This is how he developed the idea of horse whispering. He would get into the corral with the untamed mustang and would stay as far away as possible without leaving. He refused any eye contact between him and the horse. He would then move slowly away from the horse with his head down. Even though the horse would snort and pound the earth and circle the corral, he would still not even acknowledge its presence. However, within an hour, he would have the wild mustang saddled and carrying a rider quite happily. The secret is this: these wild horses need contact with others so much, they would rather befriend their enemy than be left alone. The sad thing is that even though this man showed the Montana ranchers a better way to tame these horses, most ranchers still do it the traditional way.

The writers of The Shaping Of Things To Come compare this to the church. Even though the Horse Whisperer had discovered a better way of taming horses - by listening to them - the old Montana horsemen won't budge. "They've been braking horses their way for generations. Why should they change now?" In the same way, traditional methods of evangelizing non-Christians have usually included "bludgeoning them into a recognition of how broken they are. To crush their spirit. To tear them down and bring them to their knees." The authors then give an analogy about Charley and Sara (from a man named Gene Greitenbach), which is great. Charley and Sara hang out together, but Charley sees too many of Sara's faults to be romantically interested in her. One day it dawns on him:

The way to help Sara is to date her. If we were to go out, my strengths would rub off on her, and she would be far better off for it. It will require sacrifice on my part, but it's the least I can do. Charley marches up to Sara's door with a book entitled 100 Things Sara Needs to Change in Order to Become a Real Person. He rings the doorbell. When she answers, he shoves the book in her face and states, "I've decided it would be best for you if we date. When you finish reading this, I'll be waiting in my truck!"

Traditional ways of doing evangelism don't work anymore. It isn't enough to just shove a tract in someone's face or go door-to-door and make evangelism cold calls. Here are some mistakes that churches make when it comes to evangelism:

1. Telling people to make friendships with non-Christians specifically to "win them to Christ". As Rob Bell says, if love has an agenda, is it really love? We should be making friendships with people who don't know Jesus because we are honestly interested in their lives and want to have them as a friend - not to get them to come to church.

2. Believing that conversion is a one-time sudden event. People don't come to Jesus very often in a dramatic instant conversion, a la Paul in Damascus, anymore. As Brian McLaren says, we need to "count conversations, not conversions." A 1992 study in England found that over 70 percent of those who became Christians during that time did so gradually, not suddenly. In fact the report said that the average time for someone to convert to Christianity was four years. Four years! I can't think of any model of evangelism right now that includes a four-year window for evangelism.

3. Viewing conversion as the final product in someone's life. Conversion is a beginning, not an ending - yet we in the church tend to work really hard at trying to get people to come to Christ, but when they do become a Christian, we move on to the next "project". We need to develop ways to help those who have just become God-followers grow in their relationship with Him. This includes mentoring, accountability, and more.

Does the church have the guts to stop "taming wild horses" the traditional way and begin to whisper grace into people's lives, or will we continue to break people's spirits to get them to convert because that's the way we've always done it?

I'm All For Modest Swimwear...

but this is rather ridiculous.