The Men Who Loved Music

We talk a lot here about different songs, movies, and books that are particularly truthful or insightful.

Jimmy recently mentioned to me the (in my opinion, somewhat far-fetched) idea of getting permission from some of our favorite artists to do a "liquidthinking compilation" cd. Well, I've found the next best thing.

Apple iTunes has a new toy on its music store called iMix, where you can publish the mixes you make and share them with friends. You'll need to download iTunes, but that's okay, because if you don't already have it, then we're keeping you from looking very foolish in front of your friends by making sure you get it. It does require Windows 2000 or XP, so for those of you who are still living in the nineties, it's time to upgrade that OS.

Right now, there are only 10 songs on there (at 99 cents apiece), but we'll be adding more constantly, so check it often. If you'd like to go shopping, then the easiest way to do this is to email me, and I'll forward you the link (it includes both the link to download iTunes as well as the link to our iMix). Be sure it's me (stephen) that you email. I am the gatekeeper!
posted by Stephen at 2:09 PM | |

 
Why Argue?

I've been engaging in some conversation with the good people over at Sarah Angeline's blog about the topic of using swear words. I found Sarah's blog after clicking the link from a comment she left at the Real Live Preacher's website. She wasn't happy about the fact that some Christians cuss (and, given her responses to my comments, that some defend those who choose to).

Now I've started to wonder why it is that I engage in dialogues like this.

I must admit that part of it is just my penchant for debate. I like it. I find it invigorating, and gets my mental juices flowing. But I still wonder if anything of real value comes out of it.

I would like to see Christians focus less on the "nine nasties", most of which I don't believe to be nasty; we've simply made them such. If we all, as a society, decided that swearing was not "inappropriate" tomorrow, would there be any reason to believe that such actions would have eternal consequences? Some things are absolute, I agree. Murder is wrong whether we say it is or not. I simply have trouble putting "swearing" into the same category.

Anyhow, back to the real issue. I would like to see the church focus more on those things that are of eternal consequence. Recently, the news has reported a dramatic increase in the number of innocent people who have been found guilty of crimes they didn't commit, some who were on death row. These people have been forced to give up years, sometimes decades, of their lives, and they didn't deserve to. Anyone who can think logically can also deduce that we have probably executed numbers of people who were innocent.

Where is the church in this issue? Where are we volunteering to be an advocate for these people? Where are we giving up our resources to make sure that those people, who are released from prison after 15 years with little more than bus fare, don't fall through the cracks of a system that really let them down? Instead, we are wasting time condemning brothers and sisters who use language that we don't like.

So I would like to see us focus on those things... those things that people lie awake at night worrying about. No one lies awake at night and says, "Man, I used a swear word today." Yet countless people wonder how they will feed their kids, or what their reason for existing is, or how they'll beat a system that seems set on taking the joy out of life.

So is there value in having these dialogues? If the point is just to legitimize the act of swearing, then no. There is no eternal value in using swear words, just as there are no eternal consequences. But if the dialogue serves to refocus the attention of the church onto those things that we should be about, like loosening the bonds of injustice, setting the captive free, and healing the sick, then there might be some value.

Or maybe I'm just trying to justify my having a little bit of intellectual ping-pong.
posted by Stephen at 6:32 PM | |

 
Are You A Salesperson?
I had missed this post over at John O'Keefe's blog. Good points.

And I was reminded of this quote from Big Kahuna by Jamie:

“It doesn't matter whether you're selling Jesus or Buddha or civil rights or 'How to Make Money in Real Estate With No Money Down.' That doesn't make you a human being; it makes you a marketing rep. If you want to talk to somebody honestly, as a human being, ask him about his kids. Find out what his dreams are - just to find out, for no other reason. Because as soon as you lay your hands on a conversation to steer it, it's not a conversation anymore; it's a pitch.” --Phil (played by Danny Devito)

Big Kahuna was based on a screenplay called The Hospitality Suite. Zedler and I had a copy for a while, hoping that we could perform it somewhere live. It would be great for any church willing to risk it.

posted by Jimmy at 10:37 PM | |

 
It seems like a few people have been finding my old post concerning "the book" I had mentioned last year in which I gave chapter outlines for Church™: A Disenfranchised Christian’s View of Ecclesia Americanus. Maybe it has something to do with the Emergent Convention going on this week, or its just a convergence of certain mystical and cyber powers. Whatver the case, for those interested, I haven't forgotten it. I've actually done a little research this year and am planning to spend a large chunk of the summer trying to hash it out. I think Stephen is actually going to co-author with me...which is a great thing. (Stephen, you are going to co-author this thing, right?)

I haven't considered the chapter titles or layouts in a while. I guess I should go back and check it out myself.
posted by Jimmy at 9:47 PM | |

 
Empty
I feel empty...and it's a good thing. I have nothing to say, which means now I can be quiet, listen, and enjoy God's presence.

I sort of had a vision/imagination last night where I pictured Jesus and me sitting on the deck in my backyard. It was in the cool of an early morning. Both of us were drinking coffee and staring off into a hazy nothing. No words were spoken. We just sat there. After a while we looked at each other for a second like we were going to say something, but then we laughed like two friends who share some kind of inside jokes or too many close calls, and we didn't need to say anything to bring the memories of them flooding back. Then we continued drinking our coffee and staring off into the haze with little smiles on our faces.
posted by Jimmy at 10:10 PM | |

 
Ten Things I've Loved About Churches

In light of comments on a recent post I have decided to write ten things I love about Churches.

1)The small town Baptist church I became a believer in was full of people who really cared for me.
Some were very legalistic others genuinely cared for me and prayed for my soul diligently.
2) As I sat through many years of sermons, I believe I have heard some that were inspired by the Spirit of God and they moved me, challenged me and brought my heart to worship my Savior.
3)Through the struggles with my son's illness individuals of our church gave of themselves financially and physically to help our family in many ways.
4) My time as a youth pastor has brought me some of the best relationships I've had in my entire life that I cherish to this day.
5)ok , ok the gym is pretty cool and my kids like all the games
6) When my wife and I were dating we use to hang out "talking" in the church parking lot til late at night.good times.
7)I really like unsweetened grapejuice. Especially in half swallow increments, even at meal times its the only way I can drink it.
8)Potluck dinners rock.
9)Nothing better for latenight hide and seek than the inside of a church building.
10)Those really cool tracts in the foyer that were half horror flick, half gospel. Two or three of those could get me through any sermon.
posted by Andy at 9:32 PM | |

 
More Money=More Ministry?

I think if a church had more money it could give more to the poor and assist those in need.
But does that really happen? What is the effectiveness of the dollar in a church. What's the ROI?

Today more money equals more salaried positions, bigger buildings and higher politics.
Ministry can be supported with money. There is no doubt about that. But in a day and age when we have no community can more money, more staff and more buildings bridge the gap?

Ministry takes time, it's an investment in another's life. It's awkward and intimidating. It's not about trying to flip a switch or "fix" someone. Its about living life with someone, being there in good times and bad.
I think that is what our culture fears most,intimacy, vulnerability, humility. Sadly the church has manipulated people for so long it is the last place people want to feel vulnerable. Money won't fix that problem. I think it makes it worse.
posted by Andy at 7:20 PM | |

 
Do WHAT With My Territory?

I can't, for the life of me, imagine why anyone would pray, a la The Prayer of Jabez, to have their territory ENLARGED!!!

Personally, I'm having trouble treading water in the territory that I've been given. And the thought of asking that it be made bigger is unfathomable to me. It would require of me either the height of naivete or a self-destructive desire for pain.

Not that I'm saying everyone who asks this is a masochist. I'm just saying I'd be a fool to do it.
posted by Stephen at 11:22 PM | |

 
Some Things I want to do on my Vacation to Tulsa: (june 21- July 5)
1. See This Movie with the guys.
2. go to coffee with the Tulsa gang... if they'll let me come.
3. Spend at least one late night at Bennigan's.
4. Play golf at least once.
5. Eat at Zio's, Abuelos, chick-fila, taco bueno, and something delicious off the new doyle grill.
posted by riddle at 3:37 PM | |

 
I'm Doomed to Remember a Boy with a Wrecked Voice

Here's an excerpt from John Irving's A Prayer for Owen Meany:

When I complained about church, I complained about the usual things a kid complains about: the claustrophobia, the boredom. But Owen complained religiously. "A PERSON'S FAITH GOES AT ITS OWN PACE," Owen Meany said. "THE TROUBLE WITH CHURCH IS THE SERVICE. A SERVICE IS CONDUCTED FOR A MASS AUDIENCE. JUST WHEN I START TO LIKE THE HYMN, EVERYONE PLOPS DOWN TO PRAY. JUST WHEN I START TO HEAR THE PRAYER, EVERYONE POPS UP TO SING. AND WHAT DOES THE STUPID SERMON HAVE TO DO WITH GOD? WHO KNOWS WHAT GOD THINKS OF CURRENT EVENTS? WHO CARES?"

To these complaints, and others like them, I could respond only by picking up Owen Meany and holding him above my head.
posted by Stephen at 12:03 AM | |

 
Quote:

"If the Gospel propositions are necessary for "accepting Jesus," what if those real and necessary propositions are embedded in the human lives of the Christian community? Incarnated? Does the Story have to be "told" to be believed? What if the Story is lived and received? And I affirm that it is not the Hindu story or Buddhist story, but the Jesus Christ story." - John Frye
posted by riddle at 11:50 AM | |

 
How Easy
There's a part of me that I've decided will never go away. I'm not sure if it's an addiction or simply a mind trained to view things in a certain way. I can think like church™ on a moments notice. If you put me in the right atmosphere, I can be an idea man with the best of them.

Today Amy and I visited a church I where I worked for 8 years as a youth pastor. They were having their first service in a new facility (which they bought from another church). The sanctuary seats about 1500 and today there were about 1100 in attendance. We're still close to many families and individuals in the church and on the staff. It's kind of like a family reunion any time we get a to visit...takes us forever to get into a service due to the shaking of hands and hugs, and then we go through the same process when we try to leave.

It is an exciting time for them as they have moved into this nice facility. I have a hard time telling them that none of it impressess me...so I don't tell them. But it is funny how I can sit in a service and know instinctively what would make it "better". How the subs should be felt, not simply heard, in a space that size. I know how the video screens could be used more effectively. Heck, I even know what they should be doing outside the service. How the the lobby should be set up. How they should redo the room that used to be a library for the former church. What would make the children's area more attractive and efficient. Why they should have had a barbeque after the service for all the first-time visitors for this first Sunday in the new facility instead of sending them away. The ideas just don't stop. I guess I've been trained well.


posted by Jimmy at 9:37 PM | |

 
Now Discuss

"Any Christian who is not a hero is a pig."
--Leon Bloy
posted by Stephen at 6:45 PM | |

 


Broadway Hymn

A while back ago, Jimmy posted some perfectly barbaric lyrics by that SECULAR band, U2. Personally, I was offended.

Christian's music should be sacred, and there's nothing more sacred than...

old show tunes.

Joking aside, if you've never seen the musical "Man of La Mancha", you need to. There's an old film version of it with Peter O'Toole and Sophia Loren, so go get it. It's the story of the Christian life. My favorite is when Don Quixote sings his quest. The song describes all the "hopeless purpose" of living a life attempting to achieve something that one can never achieve, at least here... But we do it anyway.

To dream the impossible dream
To fight the unbeatable foe
To bear an unbearable sorrow
To run where the brave dare not go
To right the unrightable wrong
To love pure and chaste from afar
To try when your arms are to weary
To reach the unreachable star

This is my quest
To follow that star
No matter how hopeless
No matter how far
To fight for the right
Without question or pause
To be willing to march into hell for a heavenly cause
And I know if I'll only be true to this glorious quest
That my heart will be peaceful and calm when I'm laid to rest

And the world will be better for this
That one man, scorned and covered with scars
Still strove with his last ounce of courage
To reach the unreachable star

God help us, we are all men of La Mancha.
posted by Stephen at 10:05 PM | |

 
Purity Pledge

Wow,
I just watched about 200 12 year olds pledge their sexual purity to God and their entire church. on TV.
Can someone explain that to me?
what is the value of pressing preteens to plege sexual purity?
I understand the need for sexual purity. But the whold plege makes me sick to my stomach.
If a kid decides on his or her own to make a pledge to God then that's great.

My understanding of scripture is we let our yes be yes and our no be no.
We dont make pledges, but if we do we better keep em.

Whats the point?


posted by Andy at 8:36 PM | |