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.
Thursday, June 29, 2006
Wednesday, June 28, 2006
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.
---
Go Carlo, go Carlo, go go go Carlo.
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.
---
Go Carlo, go Carlo, go go go Carlo.
Tuesday, June 27, 2006
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:
--------
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.'"
-----------
I really like Andrew Peterson. This story is one of the reasons why.
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:
--------
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.'"
-----------
I really like Andrew Peterson. This story is one of the reasons why.
Monday, June 26, 2006
Rob Bell Interview Podcast
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
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
Saturday, June 24, 2006
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!
Friday, June 23, 2006
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?
Thursday, June 22, 2006
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.
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.
Wednesday, June 21, 2006
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.
Tuesday, June 20, 2006
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.
Tuesday, June 13, 2006
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.
Friday, June 09, 2006
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.
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.
Thursday, June 01, 2006
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.
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