flowers in the mud

Are We Making Disciples

2011-12-06T03:14:00.001-08:00

Christianity Today has a new project brewing.

Check it out:

http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2011/december/making-disciples-global-gospel.html

Some Random Thoughts on 9-11

2011-09-11T09:22:00.000-07:00

U2 helped us heal...Their hope and faith album "All That You Can't Leave Behind" was released almost a year before 9-11, and the band was in the midst of touring, but they essentially became a big part of helping America through those tough times. They were the first big band to play New York after that day, and the songs from "All That You Can't Leave Behind" seemed to be prophetically written for that time, and then there was this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tk5SuyoNiYA

Wilco's essential "Yankee Hotel Foxtrot" was also seminal during those days, but from a different angle. I will let John Hendrickson of the Denver Post put it much more eloquently than I ever could:

http://www.denverpost.com/entertainment/ci_18855447

Peace, and I hope and pray that finally this day will just be the darkness before the light, and that 9-11 will finally be put in its place when He returns.

Love God and love your neighbor.

RIP John Stott

2011-08-02T14:03:00.000-07:00

One of the giants of modern evangelicalism passed away last week. He will be missed. Over at Jesus Creed, they had a great bit on him from Christianity Today and Mel Lawrenz, here is a good part:

Stott demonstrated spiritual leadership not because he built an organization or led an institution. He led by planting the seeds of truth—widely, deeply, continually, over a period of decades. In John Stott’s final public address he raised the question: what are we trying to do in the mission? In his mind the answer was unambiguous: to help people become more like Christ.
The core elements of Stott’s leadership-by-truth-telling are within our grasp immediately, and Stott would probably be the first to say so. We must…

1. Make personal devotion to God in Christ our highest priority.

2. Live consistently, with integrity. Resist the temptation to develop a public persona.

3. Develop core disciplines like Scripture reading and mediation, prayer, work and rest.

4. Trust in the unchangeable truth of Scripture. Go deep in our study of it.

5. Prepare public talks with a focus on substance. Look for the connections and orders of our ideas.

6. Value relationships with other leaders. Be a mentor without having to be called a mentor. Follow natural patterns. Don’t reduce discipleship to a program.

7. “Read” the truth of God written in the natural world. Stott was an avid ornithologist. His cumulative knowledge made him a world expert. This was both an avocation and an act of worship. Like many other Christian leaders, Stott practiced a full awareness of God’s presence and work, and that included participating in the Creation with a developing sense of awe and wonder.

How should we plant churches?

2011-07-15T09:55:00.000-07:00

http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2011/julyweb-only/theendofchurchplanting.html

Here is a good article about the state and future of "planting churches."

A good read and a lot to think about.

The State of "Christian" Music

2010-08-21T06:27:00.000-07:00

Here is an interesting post from Scott McKnight over at Jesus Creed about Contemporary Christian Music and my thoughts below.

http://blog.beliefnet.com/jesuscreed/2010/08/whats-happening-with-christian.html

From my viewpoint there are two major issues with CCM.

1. CCM arose and was justified (partially at least) during much of the 70s and 80s out of fear. I don't think this was intentional, nor am I suggesting a conspiracy of some sort, just that evangelical's fear added to the milieu, in a significant way, that saw the rise of CCM When I was growing up in the 80s in evangelical circles there was a lot of time and energy spent on showing the dangers of rock music. Contemporary music at best dealt with sinful topics and at worst was a front for Satanism. Not a small amount of ink, and Sunday school material was spent on warning young Christians of the danger of contemporary music from ACDC to Richard Marx (yes that anyone would be worried about Richard Marx is funny). So as kids we were taught to fear music and then hauled off to Petra and Stryper concerts, where often we had the sense that while on one hand there was a sense of belonging and identification with this Christian music, on the other hand it somehow wasn't quite as good as what our non-Christian or mainline friends were listening too. It also removed us from another point of relevance with our friends. The problem is that fear is no way to motivate people, and no way to create an artistic environment. Or maybe better, a culture of negation (we are not that) is not a conducive argument for sublime music. By the end of the 80s and into the early 90s most evangelical teenagers and young adults who had grown up with this sense of fear, where realizing that there Sunday school and parents were wrong. First of all, the music that they were worried about ACDC, Judas Priest, and the lothario Richard Marx, were not what we were listening to. By the end of the 80s U2, REM, and Depeche Mode were the cultural music icons. The artistic emptiness of a lot of the hair bands and pop music of the previous decades had been revealed by the next the burgeoning "alternative" music scene. What is more, for the most part all my non-Christian friends survived these dangers. Most today are doctors, lawyers, engineers. They have kids and stable lives, even some have become Christians. The interest in this "dangerous" music was in actuality nothing more than the time honored tradition of youthful rebellion and swimming in the cultural tides of whatever was cool at the time. Now I am not saying that all this music is benign, nor am I saying that there weren't folks who got caught up in some harmful subculture or thinking that was associated with this music that in the end harmed them, but I think we can all agree that for most the part music was not the sole contributor to their problems. Nonetheless, the great downfall of Christianity and American culture that was to occur because of the influence of rock music never happened. Churches could have been a lot more successful at teaching kids how to judge for themselves the artistic merits or lack there of, of the music of their day. In any case, eventually a generation of evangelicals awoke to this reality, which led to the further irrelevance of CCM.

2. CCM music was never innovative, it was always imitative. Because of the fear narrative, CCM often was just filling a vacuum; i.e. since we can't listen to "secular music" we need a substitute to match up to the trends of our day. Most CCM music was simply whatever style of music was popular with Christian themes and culture inserted into. Even The Simpsons saw the reality of this situation pointing out the Christian rock was just rock music with the word "baby" changed to "God." I even remember that when Third Day came out they were mainly touted by most my friends as "sounding like Pearl Jam." Moreover, the production levels and song craft were often way below the quality of mainstream music. This was also coupled with the stringent format requirements of what constituted CCM music (clearly Christian and positive lyrics, a fairly vanilla-radio profile, and clean cut image) and the strong sense of evangelical cultural control pretty much squashed any hint of creativity, artistry, or innovation. Interestingly, these things and their ambiguous and uncontrollable nature is often what is needed to create good art. Now I am not saying that the "secular music" world is packed with innovation, to the contrary most music is a copy of something else. Amatuers borrow, professionals steal. Nonetheless, CCM artists never had the freedom and creative license to find the right mix of timing, history, and personal identity to create something great and timeless, like "Highway 61 Revisited," "Yellow Submarine," "The Joshua Tree," or "Ok Computer." Therefore, their music is almost (with a few exceptions that are often marginalized within the CCM movement) always simply imitative, usually a few beats behind the popular culture. I mean even Derek Webb can't put one curse word on a CCM album. This is not to disparage the personal artistry of many Christian artists, but just to realize the serious constraints of the CCM context. Of course the one Christian band who almost intuitively saw this trap, and avoided it, is U2. A band that early on flirted with the Christian music industry, but then chose to reject it completely, became arguably one of the greatest rock bands ever. Interestingly, it was when they were artistically most out on a limb, with "Achtung Baby," "Zooropa," and "Pop," and the entire ZooTV and PopMart performance as art concerts, that they were the most criticized and ostracized by Christians. What is more interesting, is that much of the intellectual inspiration for the this phase in their career grew out of CS Lewis and a church in England that was using multi-media in worship. Never mind that the core message of this phase to was to show the emptiness of the secular-consumeristic narrative of the Western world and in the tradition of the Psalms point people to love and God. In any case, U2 set an example that was followed by other Christian artists and musicians who rejected the false narratives and dichotomies of evangelicalism critique of popular culture and music. U2's success and their maintenance of their faith and artistic integrity served as a possible model for many. That combined with the Christian's exploring other bands and artists with strong faiths, or at the very least a willingness to delve into the topic (Johnny Cash, Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, The Hold Steady, POD, to name a few) in an authentic and creative way, has further trivialized CCM. Basically, the imitation and control of the CCM culture has essentially exposed it for what it is, an fairly empty, inauthentic, and vacuous medium. Its just not that good. I had a professor in seminary who liked to play a song from CCM radio and then a song from U2, and then point out the poor theology and un-biblical qualities of the CCM song, while showing the sound Christian theology in the U2 song. Sometime within the last decade, basically for a lot of people CCM became irrelevant, so much so that evangelicals in my generation who like a CCM type band, will always preface their enjoyment of said band by saying, "they are a Christian band, but they are really good." In many ways, once pastors started using movie clips and non-Christian music in their sermons, one had to realize that evangelical's thinking on art and popular culture had radically shifted. CCM became more and more irrelevant.

I don't think these are the only challenges facing CCM, I think there are many other issues out there, often equally associated with evangelical culture. But, I do measure the maturity of evangelicalism as I have noticed more and more the number of evangelical friends and acquaintances who listen to fairly "important" music, but who don't listen to CCM music, aside from worship music. That is even a shift from 10 years ago, where I still felt the need to defend my choice of music and a twinge of guilt for abandoning CCM to the majority of my evangelical friends who listened exclusively to CCM. In the end, people want to listen to something that is high quality, something that is real and authentic, something that hits them somewhere in the gut, something sublime, unfortunately that is few and far between in CCM.

Some Good Blogs

2010-07-07T09:56:00.001-07:00

Here are a few blogs that I have been enjoying lately.

Scott McKnight's is probably one of the best:

http://blog.beliefnet.com/jesuscreed/

Darrell Bock, is a top notch scholar, and while he doesn't post that much, there is always something good.

http://blogs.bible.org/bock

Also, like this one from Michael Patton

http://www.reclaimingthemind.org/blog/

Also, really enjoying reading Miroslav Volf's collection of essays, Against the Tide: Love in a Time of Petty Dreams and Persisting Enmities . Its pretty brilliant.

Ending Hunger..... And a few other things

2010-02-26T08:53:00.000-08:00

A good read, about a new book and the real issues about hunger and how the church can help.

http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2010/february/27.40.html

-Also, just started reading N.T. Wright's "Surprised by Hope: Rethinking Heaven, the Resurrection, and the Mission of the Church. So far, its a brilliant book. His defense of the resurrection is amazing. Also, he is moving towards a more robust view of the mission of the church, as being more than just getting people into heaven, and more about renewing the earth and establishing God's kingdom here and now.

- Looking forward to Johnny Cash's second posthumous album with Rick Rubin, "Ain't No Grave.'

- Been really into Ryan Adams lately. Good song writer, but a little inconsistent.

Best Songs of the Decade

2010-01-19T02:36:00.000-08:00

Here are a few of my favorites from the last decade. Trying to get a list of albums coming soon. And yes, I am a bad blogger, as I haven't updated the sites in a while. Sorry, but I will try to stay on top of things now:

I and Love and You- Avett Brothers

Wagon Wheel- Old Crow Medicine Show

Beautiful Day- U2

High Water- Bob Dylan

Jesus Walks- Kanye West

Our Love- Rhett Miller

Jesus, etc- Wilco

You Said Something- PJ Harvey

Hurt- Johnny Cash

Beer Run- Todd Snider

Devils and Dust- Bruce Springsteen

The Seed 2.0- The Roots

Hey Ya- Outkast

Outfit- Drive By Truckers

Cochise- Audioslave

Ramblin Man- Mark Lanegan and Isobelle Campbell

Methanphetamine- Son Volt

Shipping Up To Boston- Dropkick Murphys

Little Hood Rat Friend- The Hold Steady

Revival- Soulsavers

You Will Miss Me When I Burn- Soulsavers

Crazy- Gnarls Barkley

One Wing-Wilco

Seven Nation Army- White Stripes

Clocks- Cold Play

Carry Me Ohio- Sun Kil Moon

Guided By Wire- Neko Case

Running the World- Jarvis Cocker

The Middle- Jimmy Eat World

B.O.B- Outkast

Georgia Hard- Robbie Fulks

Thrash Unreal- Against Me

The Galway Girl- Steve Earle

New York, New York- Ryan Adams

Moment of Surrender- U2

Maps- The Yeah Yeah Yeahs

A Place Called Home- PJ Harvey

Aftermath-R.E.M.

We Are All Made of Stars- Moby

Things Have Changed- Dylan

Beverly Hills- Weezer

All You Need Is a Red Guitar, Three Chords and the Truth

2009-10-01T04:21:00.001-07:00

Saw this the other day. Maybe rock n roll can really change the world.

Mega pastor and sometime celeb explains how Bono is helping lead Christians into the fray of fighting global poverty and injustice.

http://www.usnews.com/blogs/god-and-country/2009/08/19/bill-hybels-what-bono-taught-me-about-fighting-poverty.html

No Line on the Horizon

2009-06-13T07:33:00.000-07:00

Satan loves a bomb scare, but he won't scare you

Only love can heal such a scar 

Shouting to the darkness, squeeze out sparks of light

Stop helping God across the road like a little old lady

God is love

Hear me, cease to speak that I may speak

Lines from U2's new album "No Line On the Horizon." One song is "Unknown Caller" about a broken and searching man receiving texts messages with no service, but from who? Cleary the Biblical allusion "Be still and know that I am God" is in play here, and like most U2 albums, God (and Christian faith) plays a big part of the album.

U2 have typically done things in threes. From the post-punk, new wave, garageness of "Boy," "October," and "War"to the Americana inpsired gospel of "The Unforgettable Fire," "The Joshua Tree," and "Rattle and Hum," to the postmodern, disco-electronica, pessimistic irony of "Achtung Baby," "Zooropa," and "Pop," U2 are currently finishing out the end of their current thematic cylce. What began in 2000 with the boundless optimism and energy of "All That You Can't Leave Behind"comes to frution in "No Line" with the bands most spiritual and dare I say "Christian" album. I mean if a line like "Where might we find the lamb as white as snow" isn't overt enough for you, then what is?

God, Biblibal references, and faith have always played a big part in all of U2's work. For a band that has been overly critiqued in the evangelical world as not being "Christian"enough, there body of work boasts a depth of theological insight and spiritual authenticity for those who have been paying close enough attention. Bono has said its important to "Listen over the rhythm that's confusing you" and for many who have taken the time to listen, wrestle, and spend quality time with their work, there have been ample instances of God being "in the house."

"No Line" is nothing short of a call to "stand up for" your God, live a life of faith or "vision over visibility," and ultimately to magnify the creator. Its an honest and unabashed call to faith, as if Bono has appointed himself the worship leader of the world (as if he hasn't done this already).

Musically it sounds like U2 but certainly in a different direction, there are alot of world music influences here, and the usual atmospheric pop symphonics that come from working with Damiel Lanois, but there are also some just good old hard driving rock songs. Gospel and hymnn music also play a strong part in the musical progression of the album. "Moment of Surrender" has a strong gospel groove and chorus, while "Magnificent" and "White As Snow" both feel like modern day re-workings of old hymns.

Overall its a great album, and it should be listened to as an album. Frankly, I think it might be one of U2's best up there with "Joshua Tree" and "Achtung Baby." It is at times daring and new but always feels like U2, casting itself backwards into the U2 cannon referencing previous themes, sounds, and lyrics. Clearly U2 is telling a narrative throught their music and its progression, and in "No Line" they are pointing to the comedy of life and the world, or that the world will end in comedy, or will end happily Another blogger explains this concept much better here: http://theologykungfu.blogspot.com/2009/03/comedy-of-u2s-no-line-on-horizon.html

Over the next weeks I will take some time to dive into each song, addressing their meanings and theological wieght.

A Hole In Our Gospel

2009-06-13T07:26:00.000-07:00

26,000 children under the age of 5 die every day from poverty. They die from totally preventable causes. Its a shocking a statistic, there are many more just like it. Rich Stearns the president of World Vision recently wrote a book challenging the church to well.. get off its rear and start taking the Bible and Jesus seriously and their commands to love and serve the poor. Its a good read.

http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2009/juneweb-only/123.53.0.html

So what can you do? What can I do?

Evangelicals and Catholics Together

2009-01-25T09:24:00.000-08:00

Here is an interesting read. Its an interview with Charles Colson, one of the key players in ECT (Evangelicals and Catholics Together). He has alot of good and interesting things to say, even pointing out that the Pope is Augustinian.

http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2009/januaryweb-only/103-51.0.html

Ok, and restarting the blog here, so keep looking back for more stuff more frequently.

Peace

Movies You Need to See

2008-05-12T20:01:00.000-07:00

I know, I know. It has been awhile since I last posted. Two kids will do that to you, especially when one is a newborn. The good news is that I have some time to write now, and also I caught up on all the great movies of the last year. So here in no particular order are some movies you need to see...

There Will Be Blood- Simply a powerful movie. Everything works here, the music, the writing, the cinematography, and Daniel Day Lewis is of course brilliant. This is the story about two men, their greed and lust for power, and how ultimately it destroys them both, as they show they are both willing to sell their souls for the gold they hope they can gain. The final line of the movie is a poetic flourish fitting this tour de force.

No Country For Old Men- A tense and taught chase movie that contemplates the abscence of God in a violent world. Excellent acting and a story line that will keep you on the edge of your seat. Bardem is creepy and Jones brings pathos and longing to this film and to humanity.

Juno- A great comedy that avoids the trite twists and turns that we would usually see in movies like this.

Dan in Real Life- Steve Carrell shows some range in probably the best Hollywood style romantic comedy in recent years. This one is funny and feels fresh.

The Darjeeling Limited- Bittersweet story of three brothers trying to mend their lives and relationships on a train in India. Wes Anderson takes us on a spritual journey again, heals our souls, and gives us lots to look at in the kalaidescope spinning of India.

Michael Clayton- George Clooney is the man. Here he plays a middle aged bagman, fixer cum lawyer, with gambling and financial issues and less than a worthy character. He gets the chance to redeem himself. This is a movie that asks some tough moral questions and shows a man agonizing over doing the right thing.

Le Vie En Rose- Marion Cotillard is amazing playing the life of the tragic French singer Edith Piaf. A sad movie about a talented but sad life.

The Lives of Others- Older German movie dwelving into the abuses of the East German state polices spying and meddling in the lives of normal people. One man, beginning to see the cracks in the system and its corruption, has to make a moral choice of whether to interfere or not.

Gone Baby Gone- Solid effort from Ben Affleck about private investigators searching for a kidnapped child. Tons of questions relating to justice, morality, ends justifying the means, and making the right choice in a fallen world are brought up here. Some of the movie is hard to beleive but the final understated scene will leave you haunted for days.

Zodiac- A historical movie spanning over a decade... I though for sure this one would fall flat, but in the end it works great, telling the troubling story of a serial killer who terrorized San Francisco and the men who tried to catch him, but never did.

Ratatouille- Creative, inspiring, and lots of fun.

I'm Not There- A Bob Dylan fan's movie as it should be told. This is a surrealistic, impressionistic film where six different actors play the varying life stages of Dylan. His music is seemlessly blended throughout. I want to see this one again. For the uninitatied this will be a confusing movie.

More on it later.

Ok and here are a few other movies I really liked:

3:10 To Yuma
American Gangster
The Simpsons Movie
The Bourne Ultimatum
Amazing Grace
Volver

Best of...

2008-01-03T20:03:00.000-08:00

Ok, its that time of the year, the end of it anyways, when everyone is putting out "Best of ..." lists. Well, I haven't had as much time this year to keep up with all the music and movies coming out this year. Actually, I have hardly seen any new movies, but I have a lot I want to see.

I have kept more current musically and can reccommend some new albums this year. So here is my list of some of my favorite albums this year, in no particular order.

The Scene of the Crime, Bettye Lavette and The Drive by Truckers
Great soul/blues album. Bettye has a tremendous voice, distinct, dirty, and beautiful all at the same time. The Drive by Truckers, out of tremendous respect, lay down a great southern rock album with twinges of blues and R&B for the world weary wisdom of a legend like Bettye. What real rock music should sound like.

The Once Soundtrack, Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova
If you haven't seen the movie, you should. A kind of Lost in Translation set in Europe, where two strangers meet, fall in love, write and play beautiful music for less than a week and then move one from each other. The music is stunning, a series of break-up/relationship songs sung with profound depth by Hansard and highlighted by the Irglova's delicate voice and piano work. Its a beautiful and evocative album.

Blue Sky Blue, Wilco
Alt-country, modern hipsters put another great album out. After two almost avant-garde, experiments in sound, Wilco tones this one down to its more folk and jazz sensibilities. There are still the un-expected turns in sound and melody that Wilco likes to throw at us, but there are also some pretty folk and pop moments here too. All in all, its another strong album not made for radio.

Ok and some movies that I have really enjoyed this year...

Ratatouille
Oceans 13
Once
The Darjeeling Limited
Paris I Love You

And some ones I really want to see...
There Will Be Blood
American Gangster
Gone Baby Gone
I'm Not There
3:10 To Yuma
No Country For Old Men

Back at It

2007-12-18T19:14:00.000-08:00

Ok, its been a crazy couple of months and my blogging activity has been way down. My son is now 5 months old and life is getting more stable. So the blog is back on, and I hope to post more regularly in the year ahead. As for now here are some tidbits of things that are coming to the blog and well just some randon stuff.

Peace.

Coming soon...

Finish up the Power of the Gospel in the 21st Century series.

Review of "The Darjeeling Limited."

A look at the music of Bob Dylan.

A look at some of the other good music and movies out there.

And some interesting things to mull over in the next few days...

"I was born along way from where I was supposed to be. I was just trying to get home."- Bob Dylan

"Money doesn't talk, it swears."- also Bob Dylan

Mega Trends

2007-09-14T08:58:00.000-07:00

Ok, sorry. I have been away for awhile. Our son Mathis was born just five weeks ago, so our time preparing for that and then well trying to keep our heads above water since the birth, have kept me busy. But things are returning to normal.

So back to the blog...

A few more things to consider are two mega-trends so to speak, that are going on in our world. These mega-trends although not always prevelant in our thinking and day to day conversation, basically influence the entire world, from the coffee we drink to the movies we watch to who is what our next door neighbor's son thinks.

These two trends are post-modernism and gobalization.

In the Christian world we often want to reduce everything down to a good or bad equation. We ask, if something is Christian or good and should be accepted, or if it is bad and should be rejected. This is a fundamental problem, because post-modernism and globalization are part of our world culture, they are the context we live in. We can not escape them. Naturally, there are some aspects of both that are positive and negative. As such, both of these trends need to be viewed as neutral, in that they are the context we live in and minister in. Post-modernism and globalization like any context (modernism, US consumerism, etc.), are both dangerous to the gospel, while also providing salient points of connection for ministry. As Christians we need to oppose the aspects of these trends that are anti-Christian and dangerous, but we can also embrace aspects that are helpful and even possibly Christian. In a word, we need to be careful students of our world and culture, retaining our distinctly Christian belief and mission while incarnating the gospel of Christ's love relevantly.

More to come...

Trends (part 3)

2007-06-22T20:24:00.000-07:00

Ok, and now for some exciting and positive trends.

The Explosion of Majority World Christianity
A hundred years ago, Christianity was primarily an American and European movement. Today the locus of Christian influence lies in the "Majority World" (or Global South), or what we once called the "Third World" or "Developing World." We use the term Majority World because it signifies that 4/5ths of the world's popluation lives in either Africa, Asia, or South America. The church is experiencing its most steady and rapid growth in the Majority World. Philip Jenkins wrote about this in his must read The Next Christendom: The Coming of Global Christianity, pointing out that the Majority World christianity is growing at astronomical rates. The average Christian today is actually poor and African.

This is tremendous news, because the gospel has gone out and not returned empty. Missionaries from India, Mexico, Korea, China, and Kenya now go out all over the world preaching the gospel in word and deed. These are exciting times as the gospel is going out from everyone to everywhere. Most likely it will be believers from Africa and Asia who will complete the task of world evangelization.

With this come some challenging opportunities. One is the need for partnership instead of patriarchal mission. The other is to begin to allow leaders and thinkers from the Majority World to begin to have a greater impact on our Western theologies, methods, and perspectives. As Christians in the West we need to create space and opportunties for Christians from the Majority World to take leadership, add insight, and construct together a team oriented and multi-cultural framework for mission. Also, our own assumptions and hermenuetics will be challenged and forced to be re-thought as Majority World Christiantiy (which is much more supernatural, urgent, vibrant, and atune to the marginalized) continues to interact with the West. African, Asian, and Latin American theologies are adding to the riches and depth of the christian tradition. We should begin to drink from their wells.

The Growth and Influence of Pentecostals and Charismatics
One of the most under reported, but most amazing news stories of the 20th century was how a handful of people in the early 1900's started a movement within Christianity which now (loosely) claims some 500 million people. That is also to say that the majority of Christians in the world are also oriented towards pentecostal or charismatic (being the movement of pentecostalism that moved into and renewed the mainline churches: Methodist, Anglican (see Alpha), Presbyterian, Catholic, etc.) expressions of faith.

Pentecostalism in general has helped Christianity spread rapidly throughout the globe, with its emphasis on the power of the Holy Spitit, the supernatural (a commonplace issue in the Majority World), radical transformation, social transformation, holistic healing, and the belief that anyone (no matter how poor or uneducated) can and should be a minister of the gospel. Moreover, these basic Biblical beliefs have also highly influenced many outside the pentecostal movement in areas of worship, healing, mission, and service. In my one life, it has been my interactions with poor and marginalized (but extremely smart) pentecostals, who firmly believe in the power of the gospel and for God to show up in a powerful ways, that have forced me to re-consider the gospel and what exactly the Bible is saying. Sure there are issues within the pentecostal world, but pentecostalism in may ways has helped to continue to fan the fire of mission and social transformation.

The Rise of a Truly Global Church
There is a beautiful image in Revelation of people from every tribe, tongue, and nation worshipping God. In our world today, this is becoming more and more the reality. The church is a multi-cultural unity of God's people. I firmly believe that it is in the diverse and many tongued worship and service of our God, that the true and complete face of the church will be finally expressed. That is, every cultural has its unique expressions, perspectives, lessons, and perceptions to add to the service of the King. Until they are all in place, the body of Christ here on earth is not fully complete.

And so we come to the knowledge that God as he promised is building his church from all the nations, near and far. All the nations will be blessed. This has far reaching implications for the world-wide body of Christ. It hopefully will be an expression of unity and love in the Holy Spirit through humility and service to each other, regardless of our cultures and histories. It will hopefully be an amazing witness of Christ's love as whites and blacks, Jews and Arabs, Tutsis and Hutus, come together to worship and serve. The unity of a global church can also bring to bear tremendous global resources (spiritual, intellectual, and physical) to finish the tasks of fulfilling the Great Commission and in completely loving our neighbors. Could a unified global church eradicate extreme poverty? Defeat the AIDS pandemic? End senseless wars? Bring God's blinding love to the most unreached and dark places in this world? The answer, I believe is yes.

The above are all good things, and as we as a church move forward in worship of God and mission to the world, we must bear these issues in mind, or we may miss something.

Interregnum

2007-06-22T20:15:00.000-07:00

Have not posted in awhile, but I wanted to add this in as it strongly applies to my previous point about Islam.

Just read a great interview with Brother Andrew, who ministers openly to Muslims (and radical ones at that) at Christianity Today.

http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2007/juneweb-only/125-52.0.html

Its a challenging and insightful read, and I tend to want to agree with him, that as Christians we should even be reaching out in love to the most radical of Muslims. Certaintly some would disagree with him, but grace, forgiveness, and love have an amazing way changing the world.

The most recent U2 album is titled "How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb?" The answer of course is: with love.

The Trends (Part 2)

2007-05-26T20:14:00.000-07:00

Slavery and Injustice

There are arguably more slaves today in the world than during the height of the African slave trade in the 18th and 19th century. Today at least 12 million people are victims of forced labor. At least 1 million people are trafficked across international borders every year, 80% of them are women and children and are part of the global sex trade, and annually 1.2 million children are trafficked into some form of forced labor.

At many levels in our world corruption, injustice, and exploitation still operate at a widespread level. The powerful and evil prey on the weak and poor. Those with out a voice or a place at the table of power and influence, are often run over by the systems of the world from corrupt governments, to wars, to unfair trade agreements, to corporate greed run amok. Who will be a voice for the voiceless, who will stand up for the meek and oppressed? Possibly the Sprit filled community of God's love?

Environmental Issues

This can be a controversial one for many of us in the West. But, no matter where you stand on the issue of global warming, it is clear warrant in the Bible that we are to care for God's creation. The reality is that in many places in the world this is simply not being done, and regardless of whether we as westerners are to blame (or we feel like we need to clean our consciouses) environmental contamination causes suffering and imbalance throughout our world. That is to say nothing of the growing ground swell of concern, anger, and frustration from the developing world and postmodern generation (some of them distinctively Christian voices) crying out for something to be done. Can we be relevant in the world, if we continue to ignore one of the world's greatest fears, especially if it resonsates with biblical theology?

World Migration

In the states we are currently highly attuned to this trend. At the same time, Europe is facing a major change in its demographics as millions pour into the continent from Africa, Asia, and even Latin America. The world is truly on the move. Immigrants leave their countries of origins for a number of reasons, these namely include: economic motives, fleeing war or instability, and fleeing religous or political persecution. Also, millions of people live as refugees in a state of idefinite waiting and insecurity. Moreover, 11 million people are officially stateless, that is they have no legal claim to citizenship in any country.

While some see this trend as a major burden on the world, others might see it as a major opportunity for the gospel. Certainly, the Bible has much to say about immigrants and refugees (after all Jesus lived as a refugee and immigrant also), and is a salient point of how God's people can offer mercy and grace in the world. What is more, the flow of people both Christian and non, allows for the wider spread of the gospel and often the opportunity for it to penetrate cultures in unique and creative ways (Romanian evangelical churches in Spain or Penetcostal Mexican churches in the USA) as the gospel continue its unstoppable march from everywhere to everyone.

The Rise of Islam

Here is another trend that as Americans we are keenly aware of, although Islam has held considerable sway over world history before. Still, the rise of radical Islam and its onslaught of terroism of violence in our modern context has created instability and fear throughout the world. This is to say nothing of the strong growth of Islam in the US and Europe, its missionary advancement (both peacefully and violently) in Africa and Asia funded by the various Gulf states, and the continual persecution of Christians and other non-Muslims in most Islamic nations. Clearly, there is considerable friction between Islam and the various cultures and societies that exist in opposition to its homogenous and all encompassing worldview.

How do we as Christians live in this type of world, offering love and Christian witness, but also truth and justice? How do we love our Muslim neighbors?

Despite the sometimes gloomy news often coming from the Muslim world, one story that is almost non-existent in the media, is the amazing and steady growth of Muslim background beleivers. While numbers and facts are hard to guage and closely guarded (for security reasons), suffice it to say, that most of the news coming out of the Muslim world is one of dramatic growth, miracles, faithful service, and actual sightings of Jesus.

The Trends (Part 1)

2007-05-15T19:17:00.000-07:00

I want to use this next bit to overview some of these trends. So here is a quick overview of each one. Its certainly not exhaustive, but there are plenty of sources on the website, if you desire further info and research.

HIV/AIDS Pandemic and Other Health Issues
Its been said that HIV/AIDS pandemic is the greatest health crisis in the history of the world. The numbers are staggering: 6,000 people infected every day; 8,500 people die every day; and currently around 45 million people are infected around the globe. The majority of those infected live in Sub-Saharan Africa (and are women), with growing rates in Russia, China, and India. In some countries, entire generations have been wiped out by the disease, so that life expectantcy has dropped to as low as 27. Flatly, HIV/AIDS is devasting nations, cultures, economies, and families. That is to say nothing of the close to 20 million AIDS orphans (and growing).

AIDS has also been called a crisis of hope, in that the stigma and lack of care and treatment for the majority for the majority of the people infected leads also to a spiritual devastation of despair.

Add to this the fact that millions of people (in Africa, where 80% of malaria cases are treated at home, the disease kills one child in twenty before the age of five.) die each year in undeveloped countries from diseases which are completely preventable and treatable, such as malaria. That is to say, that millions are dieing each year of disease that we in America and Europe do not have worry about. The resources and intelligence exist to save and better millions of lives (especially within the western church), however the question is: "Does the theological and pastoral will exist?"

Children at Risk
The AIDS issue with its rise of orphaned children also poors into this trend. Essentially, Children at Risk refers to the millions of young children (the weakest and most vulnerable of humanity) who live in the developing world who are at risk of serious exploitation. This exploitation often comes in the form of sexual slavery (there are 2 million child sex slaves) , labor exploitation(there are 246 million child laborers), or child soldiers (300,000 children are currently forced to be child soldiers). Moreover, over 150 million children are estimated to live on the streets. These numbers are quite staggering.

Does the gospel have anything to offer these children? Does Christ's admonishment to let the little children come to him, have any bearing on this present day darkness?

Global Poverty
Today, more than 1 billion people live on less than a dollar a day. Also, 3,800 children die every day from diseases associated with lack of access to safe drinking water, inadequate sanitation and poor hygiene, and 2.6 billion people, or 42 percent of the world's population, have inadequate or nonexistent access to proper sanitation. Grinding poverty is also a spiritual issue in that it crushes people, denigrates their value, and keeps them from living as God intends them.

The Bible has actually alot to say about poverty, and how a follower of Christ deals with the poor. We must realize that as believers God calls us to care for and act on behalf of the marginalized and weak. At the same time, we must be cognizant of the fact that much of our comfort and wealth is often predicated upon the poverty and exploitation of others. How do we as Christians act for the poor, in our particular situation?

All of these trends have much in common, in that they are connected and feed off of each other. They each breed further suffering and marginalization that exsacerbate the other problems. What is more, they mainly affect those in the developing world, those who are most weak (women and children), and those who have no access to the instituions and means of bettering their lives.

The Power of the Gospel in the 21st Century (Part I)

2007-05-01T13:18:00.000-07:00

So here goes. How do we as Christians live in the 21st century and truly be salt and light? Or how do we think and act Christianly in our context? To answer this question we need to look at our context, our world, for we no longer live in an fragmented world of isolated communities. We live in a multi-cultural, connected, globalized world, and there is no denying it. Especially, as Americans or Europeans we rub elbows in our streets with immigrants from Latin America, Africa, and Asia. We eat exotic foods shipped from exotic lands. We read on the internet about news and events as they happen. We buy stocks in companies investing in nations like China, Kazahkstan, and Brazil. And we travel (in the matter of a day or less) to see, taste, and experience the world outside our own country.

So what is the state of this global world? In this first part I want to take a look at several trends affecting the world today, and thus also affecting world Christianity and mission. In part two I want to look at two mega-trends that tie all of these together in some sense for the Western world, those being globalization and postmodernism. In part three, I want to start to unpack our Christian theology to look at how we might live in light of our context and in light of the power of the gospel of Jesus Christ. A couple of books, that I would seriously reccommend, that helped me to think through this are: The Changing Face of World Missions: Engaging Contemporary Issues and Trends by Pocock, VanRheenen, and McConnell; and Bible and Mission: Christian Witness in a Postmodern World by Richard Bauckham.

Here goes.

Trend 1: HIV/AIDS Pandemic and Other Health Issues

Trend 2: Children at Risk

Trend 3: Global Poverty

Trend 4: Slavery and Injustice

Trend 5: Environmental Issues

Trend 6: World Migration

Trend 7: The Rise of Islam

And some positive trends...

Trend 8: The Explosion of Majority World Christianity

Trend 9: The Growth and Influence of Pentecostals and Charismatics

Trend 10: The Rise of a Truly Global Church

In posts to come, I will discuss these trends abit more in their scope and meaning. But suffice it to say, as Chrstians these are things that we should all be aware of and reflecting about.

Everything You Know Is Wrong

2007-03-24T13:47:00.000-07:00

For Christmas my wife bought me the DVD of U2's ZooTV concert from the early 90's. Watching it brought back memories from my first year in college, when I went with my roomate to see my favorite band in concert. As the first song began, Zoostation, with its clanky drums and cathchy feedback, huge TV monitors flashed words and slogans to the audience. The one that was most repeated, and seemed to be the core agument of the night, was boldly "Everything You Know Is Wrong." For an 18 year old just off to college this was a rather jarring and disconcerting statement, and unfortunately for me I missed the point, leaving feeling that U2 had maybe betrayed me. But, with more than enough years to reflect and think, I can now see the true genius of this statement. I can now see that this was a gospel message.

"Everything You Know Is Wrong," was the same message that Jesus was preaching. All that he had to say, grinded and clashed with the the world and its ways. God would not send his Messiah with human power and might. He would not crush his opponents. This was a world of power, retribution, and harsh justice. Yet, His servant would suffer and die on a cross. He would set up a kingdom where service and love ruled. He would seek out and identify the sinners, the poor, the least of all. He would stand up to the corrupt, the wealthy, and the oppressive. He would set up an upside down kingdom. You will be saved by grace and not of your own works.

And so U2 was screaming out a gospel message to a post modern, consumeristic, hyper-individualistic, relativistic culture that finds meaning through money, power, sex, in short in satisfying the ego. This is all wrong. Completely wrong. And there were the other messages as well..."Believe"... "The Universe Exploding Because of One Man's Lie "... "Mock the Devil and He Will Flee You"... "Guilt is not of God"... "Love."

I have come along way in my faith since 1992, but I have come to realize more and more, that the message of Jesus is that "everything we know is wrong." We are in a world gone mad, and often that madness seeps into our faith and expression of it. We pick up the Bible sometimes to find justification for our lives, our assumptions, and our cultures, but how often do we pick it up knowing that everything we know outside of Christ, outside of his word, is essentially wrong. Our message to the hurting and fragmenting world is that "everything you know is wrong," Jesus has a better way. Our message to ourselves is that "everything we know is wrong" and we need to really work to live out the Christian message, the Christian witness, of love, grace, truth, and hope in Christ.

The message of Christ should still be jarring and rebellious to the world and to our lives, just as it was 2000 years ago. It should leave us with forgivenss and mercy and at the cost of God's own suffering, peace with Him, but it should also remind us that we are called to change, to act, to serve, and to love in this world against the ways and powers that be, so that His kingdom may come. This world is all wrong.

But what does this look like in the just dawned 21st century. Over the next weeks and months I want to turn this blog to my thoughts on what it means to be a witness for Christ in the 21st century. I want to start by addressing the major trends of our world both positive and negative and reflect theologically on them. Then I want to develop some major theological points that must be held high and practiced for us as Christians to truly address this century as "salt and light."

"Everything You Know Is Wrong" and whenever we get closer to Jesus he will reveal the parts in us that are.

Amazing Grace

2007-02-25T12:42:00.000-08:00

There is a new movie out in the states called Amazing Grace, about the life of William Wilberforce, a English politician and committed Christian who worked tirelessly to abolish the slave trade. I have not seen it but all reviews are saying that its a great inspirational story of a man of faith and how his drive and commitment changed the world.

Concerned Christians and other NGO's are also using the film to highlight the problem of slavery today. Actually, there are more people enslaved today then there were during the height of the abhorrent slave trade of the 16th through the 19th century. There are over 30 million people today living as slaves. One million people become slaves each year, and 75% of them are women and children. Some are forced into manual labor, and others are trafficked around the world as sex slaves. They are kept in place by violence, fear, intimidation, and ignorance.

As Christians, people of love and grace, we should certainly be concerned about this global injustice. In fact, we should all be doing something about this horrible evil that is a great offense to our God of grace, truth, justice, love, and compassion. God calls us to bless others, to bring about his kingdom of justice and mercy, and to preach the gospel of his love. Slavery is a direct affront to all of these things. The magazine Christianity Today is particularly sounding the call to Christians to take action and fight this global problem.

There is a great article by Gary Haugen, president of IJM, about the problem and what can be done.
http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2007/march/16.40.html

There is also a good story about the general issues involved with modern day slavery.
http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2007/march/13.30.html

Stop the Traffic is a helpful website with some action points. You can sign a global declaration against human trafficking.
www.stopthetraffik.org

Also, Make Way Partners is a Christian ministry working against slavery in Sudan and Romania.
www.makewaypartners.org

Like William Wilberforce and a group of Christian abolotionists before, we too in our day can begin a work that can change the world, and free millions from physical and spiritual oppression.

Ten Albums Part III

2007-01-17T06:50:00.000-08:00

7. At Folsom Prison- Johnny Cash. Classic and quintessential Cash, both the bad boy of couuntry music and the redeemed sinner are in view here. This is a landmark historical live album and really has anyone besides Johnny Cash been cool enough to record an album in a penitentrary? (See also the follow up At San Quentin). Here Johnny took Jesus' words about visiting the prisoner literaly and his banter and connection with the prisoners (preserved in the live recording) bring a gritty warmth to the album. The music is great too, standard Cash tunes like Folsom Prison Blues, I Still Miss Someone, Jackson, and Give My Love to Rose are here. Also, Johnny sings fiercely and wryly about crime and its inevitable heartbreak in songs like Cocaine Blues, Busted, The Wall, and 25 Minutes To Go. Of course the greatest thing about any Cash album is that big as a mountain baritone voice and the power it commands. Whether singing about love or murder, its always finely tuned to the tone and character of the story at hand. It demands to be heard, and beneath it is the clear ring of truth and integrity.

Essential Tracks: Folsom Prison Blues, Cocaine Blues, Jackson, I Got Stripes

Key Lyric: I got stripes, stripes around my shoulders/ I got chains, chains around my feet/ I got stripes, stripes around my shoulders/ And them chains, them chains they're about to drag me down

8 and 9. Yankee Hotel Foxtrot and A Ghost is Born- Wilco. Bold sonic discord and melody borrowing from folk, punk, jazz, blues, rock, country, classical, pop, and the kitchen sink. Former Uncle Tupelo singer/bassist Jeff Tweedy finally came into his own as a songwriter and well, flat out musical genius on these albums. I am not going to lie to you, this is not radio friendly music, nor is it what I would call accessible, but it is beautiful, daring, and at times breathtaking (did they really use a xylophone as the central instrument on their opening track?!?!). Yankee Hotel Foxtrot was orignally rejected by Reprise records, they told Tweedy to redo it. Tweedy promptly bought back the rights to his contract and put the album on the inernet for free. In the end, a subsidiary of Reprise bought the album (for alot more money) and it went gold. Artisitic liscense and the common man finally won.

Tweedy and the band mix and match sounds and melodies in such a contrasting and complementary way, that at first listen you are never sure exactly where they are going with it all. But trust them, these guys know what they are doing and if you give it time, you will be rewarded. You actually have to listen the music here. Moreover, it tells the story just as well as the lyrics from the ginger xylophone on I Am Trying To Break Your Heart that devolves into a scratchy alarm clock you feel the sheepishness of the druken and remorseful protagnist trying to patch up his relationship to the bitter-sweet strings on Jesus etc. about a man trying to comfort his lover.

A Ghost is Born followed in the footsteps and is just as quirky and surprising, but its beats and hooks are alot more catchy. They will leave you humming for days after a serious listen. Theologians and Handshake Drugs also have a serious groove, and the rock riff on the 9 minute long Spiders could have been a hit on the radio had it done been on well a 9 minute song. Here the songs take on artistic integrity, addiction, suffering, relationships, and love all to Wilco's amazing sonic landscape. A few of these songs can be frustrating in their meandering style and deconstructionist finality, but the majority are challenging and rewarding musical compositions about life.

Essential Tracks: I Am Trying To Break Your Heart, War on War, Jesus etc., Pot Kettle Black, Theologians, The Late Greats, Handshake Drugs, Hummingbird, Company in My Back

Key Lyric: Tall buildings shake/ Voices escape singing sad sad songs/ Tuned to chords strung down your cheeks/ Bitter melodies turning your orbit around

10. Achtung Baby- U2. When I first heard (with eager anticipation) the opening single for U2's first album of the 90's, The Fly, I was more than a little taken back. What happened to U2? Well for one, in my opinion, they made one of the greatest rock albums of all time, but for another they were trying something new and daring, and well they had the guts and the integrity to do it. No longer were U2 the earnest young men of rock conviction, but now they were loud, distorted, slightly obnoxious, and into electronica, disco, and dance music. What they were still, was the kings of iconic lyrics, memorable melodies, and brilliant song writing. With Achtung Baby and the subsequent Zooropa and Pop, U2 dwelved into European modern life, postmodernism, and the silliness of it all. Kind of an open letter to western civilization in all of its decadence, hyper-individulism, and pointless consumerism. What they offered through the "rythym thats confusing you" was an essentially biblical answer. In fact much of the album, while also understood as love songs, tells parts of the gospel story. Until the End of the World is about the Last Supper and Judas's betrayla of Jesus, with a final offer of grace and salvation offered at the end. Whose Going to Ride Your Wild Horses could be about Peter and Jesus. And Mysterious Ways is a treatment of John Baptist and the Holy Spirit. The rest of the album deals with love, the falleness of the world ("The universe exploding 'cos-a one man's lie"), relationships, and hope. At the time I had never heard anything like it, and no one expected it from U2. It was both loud and profane in its sound, as well as beautiful and thoughtful. Just the the fact that probably the most poignant song of the 90's, One, is on this album makes it great, but from the distortion and clanking of Zoo Station (about the reunification of Europe), to the dicso dance groove of Mysterious Ways all of these songs are worthy of consideration. Listen closely, and let the boys from Ireland show you that the stuff of this world is all an illusion, and the only things worth anything in it are love and God. Its been their main point all along.

Essential Tracks: One, Ultraviolet, Until the End of the World, Mysterious Ways, The Fly, Acrobat

Key Lyric:No, nothing makes sense, nothing seems to fit./ I know you'd hit out if you only knew who to hit./ And I'd join the movement/ If there was one I could believe in/ Yeah, I'd break bread and wine/ If there was a church I could receive in./ 'Cause I need it now./ To take the cup/ To fill it up, to drink it slow./ I can't let you go.

10 Albums Part II

2007-01-07T07:04:00.000-08:00

4. Hitchhike to Rhome- Old 97s: Named after a Johnny Cash song (Wreck of the Old 97) these four guys from Dallas, blended country, power pop, and punk to create a sound distinctly their own, which with singer Rhett Miller's comedicly clever and witty lyrics capture exactly what it was like to be a slacker Dallasite both in love with country and rock music. That is to say, the Old 97's capture a moment for many people of my generation, just graduated from college, cool, optimistic, and completely Texan. While some of their later work Too Far to Care and Fight Songs were more polished and well received, Hitchhike was the Old 97's in their original element. Here are songs about lost love, cheating girlfriends, broken hearts, unrequited passion, and crime (all country standard themes). Moreover, there is a certain rock-a-billy/honky tonk groove that retains a specific hipster/alternative edge to all the music. These guys made it cool for all the kids in Deep Ellum with their horned rimmed glasses, Doc Maarten's, and Tripping Daisy t-shirts to love and apreciate country and their Texas roots. This is a fun album, that will make you laugh.

Essential Tracks: If My Heart Were a Car, Wish the Worst, Doreen, Stoned

Key Lyric: If my heart were a car/ You'd have stripped it along time ago

5. Hollywood Town Hall- The Jayhawks: Critically acclaimed, this is a beautiful and heartfelt album, that comes right out of the heartland of America. In the spirit of The Byrds, harmony and melody are the key words here. The two lead singers, Mark Olson and Gary Louris, share harmonies that are both elegant and exhilirating, both with such unique and un-imitatable (is that a word) voices. With these two part harmonies, come catchy guitar hooks and well layered songs, with rock and folk emphases. They also are not afraid to rock out. There is not a bad song on the album. The lyrics themselves give us glimpses of stories in progress, and transfer feelings and sentiments of sadness, longing, faith, and hope more than actual story lines. The Jayhawks with both Olson and Louris would go on to make only one more album together, before Olson retired from the group to take care of his wife, singer Victoria Williams, who had been diagnosed with multiple-sclerosis. Tis a pity, Louris kept the band together and put out a number of solid albums, but nothing that ever matched the beauty and harmony of this album. P.S. I had a friend whose first date with his future wife was to a Jayhawks concert, so they can't be bad.

Essential Tracks: Waiting for the Sun, Crowded in the Wings, Two Angels, Clouds

Key Lyrics: Your words hung high in the rafters/ And settled down like rain/ Remain happy ever after

6. All That You Can't Leave Behind- U2. The second but not the last U2 album in the list. After experimenting with dance music, electronica, and ironic self mockery, U2 went back to playing straight forward, honest rock n' roll on this album. The opening Beautiful Day quickly became the anthem of this first decade of the new millenium, with its hope and faith ("See the bird with the leaf in her mouth/ After the flood all the colors came out) and was timely and relevant enough to help heal a mourning nation after 9-11 (they were the first band to play a big concert in NYC after the attacks and their performance at the following Super Bowl was a patriotic, pastoral, and touching memorial to those who lost their lives). U2, as Bono liked to say, were re-applying for the job of best band in the world, and this album earned them the job. The ablum follows the typical U2 album formula of a series of rock anthems, soulful ballads all touching on the U2's favorite themes of love, relationships, faith, and hope ending with the beautifully simple Grace a meditation on God's mercy. What is most amazing about this album is how worshipful it is. Elevation and Grace are basically worship songs and could work in any church service. When I Look at The World is a treatment of Christ's enduring love and compassion for the world. In the end, the album's thesis is that through our lives in this transient and temporal world, it is love that is all that you cannot leave behind. Through it all you get what you would expect from U2, a perfect blend of guitar, bass, drums and voice producing songs of worth that have the power to change your day, make you ponder life, or get you through some of your hardest moments.

Essential Tracks: Beautiful Day, Walk On, Elevation, Kite

Key Lyric: You're packing a suitcase for a place none of us has been/ A place that has to be believed to be seen

10 Albums (That Shaped my Life) Part I

2007-01-02T07:05:00.000-08:00

Ok, its a hypothetical, but a fun one to think about anyway, but what if you had to go live in isolation on a desserted island for awhile and there was only room for 10 cds. Which cd's would you take? And they have to be albums, not mix cds of your favorite songs. So here goes mine,

1. The Joshua Tree- U2: Probably U2's most loved album and truly a great one, if you don't own it, stop reading this, drive to Best Buy and purchase it. Now!! The music begins U2's exploration of American genre's such as blues, gospel, country, and folk, all done up to The Edge's elegant and beautiful guitar arrangements. Add in Bono's earnest, yearning lyrics about love, faith, and political oppression, and the word"soaring" comes to mind. I remember I first achieved U2 consciouness when the Joshua Tree came out in the late 80's and I saw a video for "Where the Streets Have No Name." Famously (and illegally) shot on top of a hotel in downtown Los Angeles, so U2 could give a free concert, you could see the playful rock n' roll rebelliousness in their eyes, but also a softness of integrity and compassion, as they sang and played with purpose, a song that seemed to echo out of the Bible, as if David had written it himself. To a 13 year old like myself, they were cool, but they were important also. I will never forget that moment of waking up to U2, and The Joshua Tree was the first album of U2's I ever owned. Almost 20 years later, its still a classic album.

Essential Tracks: Where the Streets Have No Name, With or Without You, Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For, Running to Stand Still

Key Lyric: You broke the bonds/ You loosed the chains/ You carried the cross/ And my shame/ You know I believe it.

2. Highway 61 Revisited- Bob Dylan: Dylan's epic masterpiece, and as usual a strikingly confrontational piece of rock n' roll history. Folk legend Dylan plugs in, and makes a straight-forward rock album, with heavy blues influences. The album jolted the musical world, showing that the social consiousness and poetry of folk music could be tapped in rock music, brining Dylan a whole new audience and improtance; while at the same time, completely alienating the snobbish folk set, who labeled him a "Judas." The music here is meandering and loud, almost and at times improvised. Dylan sneers through it all telling modernist tales of isolation, absurdity, sadness, achings for redemption, and even sometimes hilarity. Here Dylan is taking on the underlying dissatisfaction and aimlessness of the world around. The album exudes rock and roll attitude, and contains arguably the greatest rock song ever Like A Rolling Stone, with its jaded and cutting character study of "miss lonely." Not only is it a living relic of American cultural history, but its also a beautiful layered piece of art, full of great organ hooks, crescendoing guitars, and Dylan's lyrics, which leave the listener diggin deep with every listen. Flat out just a great rock album, with Dylan's keen lyrical and literary wit.

Essential Tracks: Like A Rolling Stone, Queen Jane Approximately, Ballad of a Thin Man, Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues

Key Lyric: Everybody said they'd stand behind me/ When the game got rough/ But the joke was on me/ There was nobody even there to call my bluff/ I'm going back to New York City/ I do believe I've had enough

3. No Depression- Uncle Tupelo: Before alternative country became moderately popular (for people of my age and generation) three young men from eastern Illinois put out a volatile and charged album that mixed punk, folk, country, and the gut feelings of injustice of the American dispossesed. Think Woody Guthrie meets Nirvana. You know from the opening sonic guitar riff on Graveyard Shift that this album was special, and could get your heart racing. With Jay Farrar's clear and earnest voice, and socially conscious lyrics, and bassist Jeff Tweedy's rock sensibility, Uncle Tupelo in one album defined a musical movement and coined the term "No Depression" that would help to describe and label and launch a multitude of up and coming bands. While Tweedy (who sings on a number of the cuts) was still coming into his own as a song writer, he still provides some solid moments on Screen Door and That Year. Still, its Farrar who shines brightest, singing about small time, blue collar, alcoholic malaise and nailing that American country/folk sensibility every time. You deeply believe his voice and lyrics, they are honest, true, and angry, yearning for something better, even salvation: "whiskey bottle over Jesus/Not forever/ Just for now." The two great influences of rock, both country and blues, were expressions of the poor and dispossesed in both the black and white community, and thus Uncle Tupelo stays to the roots. Also there is still time for a brillant cover of the Carter family spiritual No Depression about life during the Great Depression. In this, Farrar and Tweedy show they drink from the great well-spring of American music linking the future with the past. If you are even remotely interested in the fusion of country and rock, this is an essential album to own.

Essential Tracks: No Depression, Graveyard Shift, Whiskey Bottle, Life worth Livin

Key Lyrics: I'm going where there's no depression/ To a better land thats free from care/ I leave this world of toil and trouble/ My home's in heaven/ I'm going there

Next week three more albums.

The Importance of Song

2007-01-02T06:52:00.000-08:00

Well we just finished with the Christmas season, and as I was reflecting and reading abit this year, I stumbled across The Magnificat" in Luke 1:46-55, which is Mary's seemingly spontaneous response to finding out she was pregnant with the saviour of the world. Its a song of joy at God's action in the world to bless her and to bring about righteousness and justice in the world.

Essentially its a song, bursting forth from Mary's innermost heart and passion. Clearly, it shows Mary to be more than an idle, quiet wall flower that we in the Protestant tradition often want her to be. Here she is a brave woman concerned with the salvaiton of her people, righteousness, and the downfall of evil rulers. In a recent Christianity Today article, Scot McKnight makes the case that Mary is a revolutionary against evil, sin, and corrupt rulers.

The Magnificat also shows the importance of song in the Bible. The Old Testament (perticularly the Psalms) has lots of song and music, and here in the tradition we see Mary pouring out her soul in an expression of the coming kingdom of God. Songs have the power to carry meaning, feeling, and most of all truth. They are important in almost every culture in the world, as a way of passing on story, tradition, moral codes, and truth. They can make us cry with sadness, laugh with joy, or investigate profound questions. Sometimes they just make us feel that sublime moment of equilibrium when all in the world seems to be right. However, most of all songs, like Mary's help point us to God.

Next up: 10 albums I can't live without.

Three Cords and the Truth: Bob Dylan, "Modern Times"

2006-11-29T11:51:00.000-08:00

In the first seconds of the intro track "Thunder on the Mountain," Dylan links the ever developing story of American music from its ancient past to its still bright future and at the same time plugs Alicia Keys. How? Well, Dylan besides obviously being an Alicia Keys fan is also the golden strand of American music that spans from Woody Guthrie to well almost every American musical genre. Starting out on rebellious folk music (which was inspired by his hero Guthrie) Dylan made rock n' roll a serious artistic medium, in that he was the first to play rock with serious and poetic lyrics containing a biting social commentary (see "Highway 61 Revisited," this album convinced a band from Liverpool that pop and rock could be about more than holding hands).

Throughout his career he has dabbled in and mastered almost every traditional American music form including country and gospel. Anyone who is anyone in popular music has a debt to pay to the man. And so it is here with "Modern Times" that Dylan turns into that deepest and most primordial of American art forms, the blues. Here is an album full of the human condition, to mention another Dylan album a "World Gone Wrong." Women leave, death is nearby, the world is cruel, there is failure and pain, lives are gambled away, all to a kind of antebellum, turn of the century sensibility. At times, Dylan's lyrics seem in tune with David's lament songs, too many women, too much excess, too many enemies. Still, Dylan turns quickly to the redemptive. A good life with a good woman is near at hand. Loyalty and love are the remedies, repentance is there for the taking, and God is nearby waiting to enact his kingdom and enact holy justice. Dylan's lyrics are ripe with meaning and every song functions on several levels, but often they point to romantic love or they point to God.

Gigabytes of memory could be used up plumbing the depths of his lyrics, so I won't try to exegete them in full. Sin and pain are real and deserved but it is only the love of a woman or God, and probably both that can save. "Spirit on the Water" reminisces God's creation and the fall "I can't go to paradise no more/ I killed a man back there" and the timeless tension between man and woman, mirrored in Adam and Eve. "Beyond the Horizon" points to the eternal with themes of love, forgiveness, and the hope of fulfilled life for at the end of the "rainbow life has only begun." Here there is a nice image of forgiveness and starting over in the new kingdom where: "My wretched heart is pounding/ I felt an angel's kiss/ My memories are drowning/ In mortal bliss." "Thunder on the Mountain" points us to Moses and Mount Sinai, with God's presence throughout. It seems to be addressed directly to God, with promises of almost prophet like service, with the steely swagger of an old West gun for hire. The world is broke and bankrupt and it needs someone like Moses to step in and fill the gap, with an eshcatalogical fulfillment of: "Thunder on the mountain rolling to the ground/ Gonna get up in the morning walk the hard road down/ Some sweet day I'll stand beside my king/ I wouldn't betray your love or any other thing."

Through these themes of love, redemption, sin, mercy, justice, and loss strung across time from the Old Testament to turn of th century America, Dylan shows us that these themes still ring true and important in even our supposed modern times. In this he shows us that the blues are as old as Moses and just as relevant today, as they have ever been, to both Americans and humans. Never mind that his album debuted at number one, Dylan is just as effective and palpable as he was 40 years ago.

To Get You Through The Night

2006-11-12T13:27:00.000-08:00

So here are some recommendations for you all out there who are looking for something new to listen too or read. This is what I have been conversing with lately.

Music:

What's Going On?- Marvin Gaye
Gaye's most spiritual album. Full of praises and laments to God. Innovative and experimental, but still connected to Gaye's gospel roots.

More Than This- Jon Abel
Full disclosure. I don't typically like to spend alot of time listening to praise and worship music, outside of church. Often it seems very homogenous and way too slick. But, Jon is a personal friend whom I believe in. So after final review: this is a great album. Catchy with great lyrics, and Jon has a great voice. There is alot of craftsmanship in these well thought out and often profound songs. They are worship songs from a fresh and honest perspective.

Infiniment- Jacques Brel
I learned about this crooner from a recent trip to Brussels. I don't understand what he is singing in French, but it sounds down right cool. You could call him the French Frank Sinatra, with a tobacco etched smooth voice.

Books:

Free of Charge: Giving and Forgiving in a Culture Stripped of Grace-Miroslav Volf
One of the deepest and most profound expositions of the Chrisitan life in light of God's grace. How much God loves us and forgives us, and how we are to respond to it. This book will challenge you and encourage you. It is an essential read for any Christian, or anyone interested in Christianity.

Fever Pitch- Nick Hornby
Hilarious and poignant memoir for those of us who have a strong connection, fanaticism, or debilitating psychosis, for a sporting team. He loves Arsenal (a London soccer team) but for anyone else, just substitute the Cowboys, Spurs, Longhorns, or Red Sox. Women read this to understand us silly men better

Where the Streets Have No Name

2006-10-31T13:35:00.000-08:00

See previous posts.

So after having a rock star (which I respect very much) challenge my faith and how I live it out in light of the AIDS crisis, I asked God to give me an opportunity to be a part of what He was doing in helping to minister to this terrible situation. A few phone calls to my church, and the next thing I knew I was going to monthly meetings with several moms and grandmoms, (I was the sole male, one thing I did learn also was that God loves to bring people together to do his will), who all had a deep passioin to show God's love to children suffering form AIDS. As a side note, all of these women quickly became my heroes as they strove to challenge their community and friends to make a difference. Together we strove to "kick the darkness till it bleeds daylight."

A few months later I found myself recruiting doctors and anyone who was interested to go to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia to visit, serve, and love people dieing from AIDS. God answers prayers, be careful what you pray for, I got my first trip to Africa. I got a trip to one of the worst places on the earth, but also one filled with the most beautiful people and grace and hope and love.

As my rock star "friend" has sung about Addis, being a place where the streets have no names, I can say that this is true. Most of the city (90% slums) has no recognizeable streets and certainly no street names.

Addis is a seething city of impoverished humanity. The sights and smells are overwhelming. Teems of young children in tattered rags begging for money crush you with a sense of helplessness, and worse yet, hopelessness.

We visited people dieing of AIDS, families suffering with this plague. Our doctors took care of them, we listened to their stories and we prayed with them. Through these visits I learned much. I learned the power of presence. That being with someone, showing love through your presence, your presence to a modern day leper, shunned by friends and family, is transformative. God's love compels us to simply visit, listen, and pray and for those who are outcasts, this presence is an incarnation of Christ's powerful love. People in Ethiopia turn to Christ simply because the people of Christ are the ones who visit them, care for them, and love them. This is the power of Christ's presence to the hurting of the world.

I also learned about suffering. On my second trip to Addis we visited a woman who was suffering horribly from TB, she was in a great deal of pain. We prayed for her and tried to comfort her, but in her suffering eyes, I saw Christ, in that I knew the true suffering Jesus had done for me. I say this not to trivialize this woman's pain, but to hold high the scripture of Matthew 25:41-46, where Jesus says he was sick but people did not care for him, and that whatever you do for the least of these, then you do also for Christ.

In any case, I believe that I learned much about my God from the people of Ethiopia suffering from AIDS, and what is more, the project we have worked with (check the link to the right: Ethiopia HIV Project) has seen that people who are loved, cared for, and given spiritual hope see their health improve to the point where many of them begin to minister to others. Grace given is a powerful thing that has the power to transform, physically and spiritually.

So I found in Ethiopia, dirt and despair, but I also found hope, grace, and the power of Christ. The power of love to turn people to God and change lives despite horrible tragedy. Flowers in the mud.

A line about Addis from "Where the Streets Have No Name" goes:
I'll show you a place
High on a desert plain
Where the streets have no name

Recently in concert, Bono has changed the lyric to reflect our eternal hope of heaven and redemption:
I'll show you a place
With no sorrow or shame
Where the streets have no name

The hopeless streets of Addis will one day transform into the hopefilled streets of heaven (we won't need street names there).

I have seen this change first hand.

Revolution of Compassion, II

2006-10-08T07:24:00.000-07:00

See Previous Post

Ok, so I know what some of you are thinking: well what does this have to do with sharing the gospel, that should be our main focus? This used to be my perspective on the issue.

Stick with me here. First off, we should be committed to evangelism and sharing the salvific message of Jesus Christ's death and resurrection for our sins. Second, we want to be biblical and essentially Christian, that is we want to obey the call of God's word in our life and live that out as a tangible and real Christian experience. So here are a few things for your consideration.

1. From the very start Genesis says that humans are made in the image of God. That is to say, humans are God's image bearers and they are inherently worthwhile, valuable, and important. The have an ontological dignity and an eternal purpose in glorifying and relating to God. Each human, no matter where they live or no matter what their status is valueable. They are so valueable to God that he sent his son to die on a cross for their redemption. Every human, even the AIDS plagued prostitute and the incorrigible sinner bears the image of God. Thus, we should be deeply concerned about all people (as God is) and especially evils in this world that remove the value and dignity of human personhood.

2. The chasm between evangelism and humanitarian work (as it were) did not always exist, and in essence, biblically it does not exist. In the past, committed evangelical Christians have paved the way for acting on issues of justice and mercy. William Wilberforce, toiled tirelessly to end the evils of slavery in England. William Henry Shepherd was a Presbyterian missionary in the Congo, who at the turn of the century defied the King of Belgium (at great peril) by speaking out against the slavery, injustice, and genocide that was perpetrated upon the people of the Belgium Congo (knowingly by the Belgian government). However, in the 1920's liberalism crept into the churches with the advent of the Social Gospel, which in short stated that man could bring about heaven on earth through advancement and good works. The Social Gospel was devoid of the life saving and transformational message of faith in Christ. In a reactionary move to save the gospel, evangelicals moved to a ministry mindset of evangelism only. Humanitarian and mercy work was abandoned to draw a strong distinction between them and the liberals. All that was needed was to save people's souls. The area of serving people's needs and hurts was abandoned almost completely.

Today things are changing. Rick Warren calls it a second reformation. A reformation of the heart, a reformation of the way we live out the Christian life. Moreover, this is a reclamation of biblical ministry. More and more, Christians are seening the need to do holistic ministry. People are reading the bible from perspectives of the new Christian movements in Africa, Latin America, and Asia, and we are begining to set aside our white, middle class readings of the Scriptures. How can you do ministry in Africa if the Bible does not have something to say about AIDS, disease, and poverty, and if the gospel and Christians cannot offer something to change these ills. Moreover, Christians like Billy Graham, Bono, and organizations like World Vision and International Justice Mission are calling Christians to a deeper biblical understanding of mission.

3. Holistic ministry. Read through the gospels. He spends alot of time with or talking about the poor, the week, and the oppressed. Jesus who is announcing the advent of the Kingdom of God calls for the proclamation of the good news, but at the same time he heals people, he comforts the afflicted, he stands up and actually identifies with the oppressed, the poor, and the incarcerated. Jesus does both proclaim the gospel and serves the "poor in spirit" of the world. These two aspects of ministry go hand and hand (I will eventually write a more in depth explication of the gospel's focus on helping the poor and oppressed) and are motivated out of a deep love and compassion for the lost and hurting of the world. The gospel and God's Kingdom are both physical and spiritual. If we don't buy the western dichotomization of spiritual from physical and realize that to be truly human is to be both, then we see that the gospel has direct implications for our entire being, in this life and the heaven to come. Compassionate evangelism and compassionate mercy and service are two side to the same coin. They should not be divorced, especially if this is the way Jesus did ministry.

4. Relevance and context. How can the gospel of God's love, grace, power, and kingdom be relevant in contexts where immense suffering is taking place? Where there is hunger, sickness, and oppression, how can Christians (motivated by the love of Christ) not offer succor and relief? In a globalized world, how can we Christians in the west (attempting to live out the Christian life) not be deeply concerned for the relevant issues of our world; hunger, poverty, AIDS, child slavery, etc? If we are to be salt and light, how can we ignore the greatest darknesses of all time?

Is the gospel truly powerful and life transforming? Or is it merely a quick in to heaven, a nice pot luck dinner on Sunday nights, and prayer requests for a more congenial boss? Can it tackle the major sins and oppressions of this world, or is it self help- feel good mantra?

If the church is to be trully relevant in our global context, we must be motivated by Christ like compassion to act out against these horrible things. We know that they do not please God. We know that Christ calls us to action. A church that does not act missionally and convincingly against these evils, in grace and love, fails to be a church thatis enacting its mission, both to fulfill the Great Commission and the Great Commandment. Love of God and love of neighbor are at the heart of both. Moreover, when we demonstrate God's compassionate love to "the least of these" both the least and the great, must take stock of what we are doing and ask why. In causing them to ask "why," we force them to see Jesus, and in so doing preach the word in deed. A professor of mine liked to say, "Love never has to be defended, only explained."

5. Love and Grace. Christ's amazing forgiveness for us, as we were still deplorable and condemnable sinners demonstrates to us his powerful love and grace. If we receive such riches and blessings completely undeserved and free of charge, completely despite our selves, then should we not also pass this grace along. In fact, Christ commands it. He calls us to forgive other completely and he calls us to give of ourselves without hesitation. Therefore, our grace should not just flow to our friends and family, but to all our neighbors, and especially those who might be "samaritan" to us; the AIDS sufferer, the prostitute, the orphan, the inamate, and the impoverished.

In summary, evangelism and humanitarian aid endeavors are not diametrically opposed ways of serving God. They are both in fact part of being a whole and biblical Christian. They are when combined a complete way of serving and doing ministry, as Jesus did. As Christians we should be involved in both areas and be striving to bring the two together as much as possible. We preach the gospel and help the poor and oppressed. In God's upside down kingdom, where the last shall be first, we as Christians should be identifying ourselves with the weak, the poor, and the last of all.

Hopefully, as the church turns towards doing both equally with all of its might and resources, people will see our good works and glorify the Lord.

More to come on the issue in the future, and how it took me to Ethiopia.

Revolution of Compassion

2006-09-24T07:38:00.000-07:00

One of the big issues in my life over the last two or three years has been the HIV/AIDS pandemic, and specifically how it is affecting Africa. The numbers are disturbing and overwhelming. Millions of children orphaned, millions dead, and over 30 million and growing living with the virus. Many of these millions infected are children who contracted it from a parent, or a unwitting wife who received it from their husband, or a young girl forced into prostitution, or tragically raped.

An entire generation is being wiped away. In some places, life expectancy is dropping to 27. People are sick and can't work. Children have to provide for themselves and can't go to school. The societal and economic burden for African countries facing this pandemic, as you can imagine, is too much to bear. At the same time, the spiritual toll is equally as crushing. People face a life of despair, stigma, and hopelessness. I heard someone say that AIDS is more than a health crisis, it is a crisis of hope. Millions of people are being thrown on the junk pile of worthlessness, forgotten by the world, their neighbors, and in some cases the church.

For along time, I forgot about these modern day lepers. Afterall, they were people who had made bad decisions, lived immoraly, they were just receiving what they deserved. For a long time, the church ignored these people and their growing numbers, and so millions died and whole nations began to disentegrate. There were alot of reasons for this apathy from the western church, bad theology, ignorance, our own insularity to the pain of the world, a 24 hour ratings and marketing driven news cycle that would rather give us tabloid fodder than real news and analysis. But thankfully for me and lots of other people this began to change.

Myself, I was challenged by a rock star, who bluntly pointed out that God is about grace and love, and if we truly loved him, then we would be his intruments of grace and love to the hurting of the world. I also went to seminary and read the Bible from a non-white, middle class, consumeristic perspective, and realized that the Bible talked more about radically loving others and caring for the weak and poor, then it did about how I should dress, what music I should listen to, or what movies I should see. Professors changed my way of looking at the Bible, christianity, and Jesus. Jesus wasn't a watered down Santa Claus, he was the God/man who loved the world so much he died for their sins, to give grace and love to all people, Jesus hated injustice, unlove, pain, death and sorrow. Radical love and grace that knows no bounds and saved me from my own horrible sin, that is what Jesus is about.

So, I really had to rethink things. The narratives of the New Testaement show Jesus spending a lot of time with sinners, the sick, prostitutes, the bottom rung of society, because as he said himself, he came "to seek and save what was lost." These people desperately need God, his hope, his love, his compassion, and his healing. And if he radically loved us and saved us from a mcuh deserved condemnation, so why would we not radically love the hurting of the world? If Jesus was concerned about the poor and outcasts of the world, then why would we not also be concerned with the same types of people in our time?

And now for something completely different

2006-09-24T07:15:00.000-07:00

Well, this is a first post. So hello and welcome, if by some chance you decided to stop and read this blog. Hopefully, from time to time someone will. I am hoping that this blog can be a bit about what I am thinking and reflecting on this year. Kind of a synthesis of how I do theology, since graduating from seminary and having a daughter I have not had the kind of outlet to well get my thoughts out. I am hoping that this can be an outlet for theological musings and how I seem them play out in ministry, the bible, and my ongoing conversation with music, movies, and books.

I had a wise professor in seminary who taught me a few important things about theology. Number one, theology is thinking God's thoughts after him. Secondly, theology is a conversation, a constructive conversation if you will with all the things that can inform theology. So its more than just dusty old books, stale orthodoxy, and exlusivism. Basically, theology is in everything we do, or everything we do is somehow theologically informed, because in big and small ways it shows how we think about God, or maybe don't think about him. Also, the Bible tells us that God created all and everything in the world, and that humans bear his images. You really can't get away from being a theological human being. So life in many ways is aour ongoing converation with God, with each other, and with this world about what is true, good, spiritual, and ultiamtelyglorifying to God.