Cultural Death

Tonight was Higher Grounds (that's #4, I believe) at Crosspoint Church. It's nights like this that put my faith back in people of faith that we haven't completely lost all culture. Another night of live music - local talent, Crosspoint talent, even Famous People. Brad Crisler started by singing a song with his wife, Dawn, and followed it up with Hillbilly Deluxe - the new song he wrote on the Brooks & Dunn album of the same name, and everyone's favorite, Sweet Southern Comfort.

But headlining tonight was Amy Stroup. She's simply amazing. Unfortunately, I haven't listened to any of the CDs that Krista has - I guess I'll have to put them on my mp3 player and listen to them in the car. Amy is coming out with a new album in a couple of weeks - Chasing Greenlights; she sang the title song from it and I was blown away. She's very talented. This is also the only decent picture I was able to get tonight.

You can check out her current albums on iTunes (as this cool mint advertises); her new album will be released there, too. Check her out.

But back to what I started on about losing culture. It seems that lately, we don't seem to have our own culture. Everything I see has been commandeered from the "world outside". It's almost like we don't have any creativity. Of course, if we were created in the Creator's image that makes no sense.

I look around everywhere and I see people wresting bits and pieces of the surrounding world in an attempt to be cool or relevant. Here are a couple pictures I took on the way home the last few weeks. The one on the right should be legible: Body Piercing Saved My Life. The other one attests to my photography skills. It's a bumper sticker that says CSI: Christ Saves Individuals.

At least Christian music is finally coming into its own, slowly but surely. But, have we spent so long "trying to be different" that we've included in it our ability to create? I know some amazingly creative people, but much of their creativity is all but forced out of their spiritual lives. Is it the concern that if we combine creativity and spirituality that, all of a sudden, we're trying to entertain instead of follow God? I guess only the 3-point sermon is God's way to get a message across on Sunday morning.

We took Julianna to Mars Hill Bible School's Pumpkin Day the Saturday before Halloween. (People aren't allowed to call it Halloween anymore - I think because it's a Catholic holiday.) I found a card game that was so silly I had to buy it. It's called Betrayal, and it's based on Old Maid. Except in this version the cards are the apostles of Jesus, and it's not the Old Maid you don't want to get stuck with, it's Judas, who betrayed Jesus. The funny thing was, it cost me $5 (on special from the regular $5.99), and 45 minutes later, I found the same cards in the school's bookstore, buried in the back clearance room, going for $4.12.

Another fascinating item I found in the bookstore was the Evangecube. You don't have to actually say anything when you can use this nifty puzzle to Bring the Gospel of Jesus Christ to Life.

But my favorite were the Holy Folks dolls. They're "Always Faithful! Always Smiling!". Because, as you know, if you're not always happy, you're not really following God.

Just looking at my bookshelves, I even have a copy of C.S. Lewis's The Screwtape Letters. But this is the comic book version put out by Marvel Comics and Nelson Publishers. I was just thinking the other day - what's happened to all the amazing writers? Who has made a worldwide impact since C.S. Lewis? Not to say there aren't creative people of faith today, but it just seems to me that people who follow Jesus just aren't the creative force they that have been in the past.

But I think, and I hope, and I pray, that's changing.

Pure Religion

It's funny how widespread The Call comes from.

Real religion, the kind that passes muster before God the Father, is this: Reach out to the homeless and loveless in their plight, and guard against corruption from the godless world.
-James (the brother of Jesus)

So the next time a bum tries to cadge a buck out of you, at least have the courtesy to pull the earbuds out and engage him as a fellow human being.
-Tony Long, Oh, the (Lack of) Humanity, Wired Magazine

On Thin Ice

The Thin Ice

If you should go skating,

On the thin ice of modern life,

Draggin' behind you,

The silent reproach,

Of a million tear-stained eyes,

Don't be surprised

When a crack in the ice

Appears

Under your feet.

You slip out of your depth,

And out of your mind,

With your fear flowing out behind you,

As you claw the thin ice.

-Rogers Waters, Pink Floyd: The Wall

Cool Internet Stuff

I thought this was pretty cool.

And it works just as well on Firefox.

I Told You Not to Ask Dad For a Car

Remember when I talked about (some) college football fans going overboard. This story takes it to a whole new level.

Man charged with attempted murder

PINSON, Ala. -- A Pinson man was charged with attempted murder for holding a gun to his son's head and pulling the trigger in the midst of a tantrum after Alabama's double overtime loss to Arkansas Saturday.

The bullet narrowly missed 20-year-old Seth Logan, who said he picked the wrong time to ask his dad for a car, sheriff's spokesman Deputy Randy Christian said Monday.

Joseph Alan Logan, 46, surrendered to police Saturday and was charged with attempted murder and domestic violence. He was released from the Jefferson County jail Sunday on $7,500 bond.

"I know we take football serious in the South," Christian told The Birmingham News for a Tuesday story, "but that's crossing the line." [This is my favorite line. --Jim]

The request upset Joseph Logan because his son has already wrecked several vehicles, Logan told investigators.

"He claimed he was just trying to scare his son," Christian said.

According to the police report, Joseph Logan had been drinking alcohol and began slamming doors, tossing boxes and throwing dishes in the sink after the Crimson Tide lost its football game to Arkansas 34-31 in double overtime Saturday.

While Joseph Logan was throwing the tantrum, Seth Logan asked for a new car.

Joseph Logan then retrieved a 9 mm pistol from his car, grabbed his son by the collar and pressed the gun to his son's forehead, the report said.

Logan threatened to shoot his son in the head, then pulled the trigger.

Seth Logan moved his head just as his father fired and the bullet whizzed past him, the report said.

Seth Logan fled to a neighbor's house to call police. He told police his ear was numb and his head ringing, but he was OK.

Sheriff's authorities called the SWAT team after discovering the armed father still had a 13-year-old son in the house with him.

Joseph Alan Logan walked out of the house with the other son and turned himself in to police just before the SWAT team arrived, Christian said.

Ok, so what if the story is 3 years old? I just heard about it on the radio on Friday. This story made it around the world - I found it in an Alaska and a New Zealand paper.

"Some", Mark, "some". I put that in there for you - you know I don't think all fans are like this...

The Ugly White Underbelly of North Alabama Politics

Good grief, the ads are getting old. I'll be glad to see Election Day come and go. Interesting that it seems like every single candidate is a white, middle-aged man. Well, I guess except for the one white, middle-aged woman.

This time around the mudslinging has gotten way out of hand. You know things can't get much worse when you see mudslinging about mudslinging.

Don't vote for this candidate - all he does is bad-mouth everyone he's running against; he's a no-good, lying, cheating rat-bastard whose only platform is to insult his opponents.

And how about this trade-off? Alabama State Senate Candidate #1 (Bobby Day) suggests that Alabama State Senate Candidate #2 (Arthur Orr) may have caused cancer in a little girl due to leaky tanks at gas stations he owns (or something to that effect). Candidate #2 (Orr) responds that Candidate #1 (Day) is exploiting cancer for the sake of the election (or, actually, the young-sounding female cancer survivor on the radio ad I heard today said that Day was exploiting her cancer). The irony is that, now, Candidate #2 is exploiting a cancer survivor to return the favor.

My favorite, though was the radio spot I heard on the way to work this morning. I almost ran off the road, I was laughing so hard (not really - that's just a little hyperbole).

Speaker: If you want to know the truth about Bobby Denton, just ask the people who know.
Person Who Knows with an accent about as Southern as you can imagine: He's born 'bout 5-6 miles from Coon Dog Cemetery. That area don't turn out anyone bad.

I kid you not. I swear I heard that this morning, and that's a near-verbatim quote (as well as I can remember). Coon Dog Cemetary is a real place somewhere near Cherokee, AL that I've never heard before this commercial. This was nearly as funny as The Doll Named "Poopy". Come to find out, Bobby Denton is the Singing Senator. Good grief.

Batgirl

Since it's Halloween, I have to post this picture of my beautiful daughter and what she decided to be for Halloween. Honest - I didn't do anything to influence it. It just shows you how sweet and sensitive kids can be.

And that's her pose - I didn't tell her to stand like that. She looks so serious! She's growing up way too fast...

Our Consumer Responsibility

I haven't read The Onion in a while, being underwhelmed by the recent content of their articles. But, I just came across an article I had to share, since I've soapboxed about tipping here before:

10-Percent Tip Teaches Waitress Valuable Lesson

Riders on the Storm

I've got to share these pictures I took on the way home one night last week (I think it was Thursday).

First of all, this is what the sky looked like when I left work. Pretty amazing.

(click for wallpaper size)

But then, driving into Madison, things got weird. Look at this wall of clouds it looked like I was driving into. I've never seen anything like it. I didn't get any real good pictures driving beneath it while I was in Madison. It appeared to be a group of fast moving clouds (going south, maybe?) that were only about 20 or 30 feet above the ground. Bizarre.

Then I ran into a similar phenomenon driving into Athens, though, by this time, it was much darker. It looks like the evil clouds are reaching down from the heavens.

In that last picture, you can see what appears to be another wall of clouds off in the distance. What's going on here?

The Funniest Thing I've Ever Heard

I'm sorry, but I've got to tell this story.

Nana's in town, so the granddaughters are getting spoiled, which is to be expected. So, yesterday, we were at Target, waiting on everyone to check out, and Krista and I were sitting in the snack bar, across from Julianna and Josephine (my niece) who had just received new baby dolls courtesy of Nana. Krista asked Julianna what her baby's name was.

Julianna responded, "Gabriella Grace." (Which is the name Krista had been holding on to if we found out we were having a girl; to be honest, I'm still not convinced, but I think it's a moot point, now.)

Krista then asked Josephine what her baby's name was.

She replied, "Poopy."

I swear, if I wasn't holding a sleeping Ella (my other niece), I would have fallen out of my chair, I laughed so hard. It still cracks me up when I think about it...

Today's Confession

Well, in one more step toward transparency (in front of a faceless audience), it's confession time. I guess I’ve come to a place in my life where I realize God is a lot bigger than we make him, and I'm actually kind of snobby about it. I rest my laurels; on this realization that God is bigger than the box most people put Him in. I’m arrogant in that knowledge. I can sit back and say, you're full of it – God's not like that; I may not have all the answers, but at least I know yours are wrong.

And I've acted like knowledge of that is enough. I haven't done anything to try to get to know Him better. I haven't tried to figure out who He is. I'm content to know that He's not the God who hates gays, that He's not the God who wants to sponsor our wars, not the God who laid out a bunch of very specific rules but has disguised them just well enough that we can be arrogant and correct people. Not the God who can be defined by command, example, and necessary inference. Not the God that we can come to through a formula or set of easy steps.

And I think I've just now realized that to know that is not enough.

I think this has hindered my study of His word. In fact, just the word "study" bothers me. Not that there's anything wrong with that; it has it's place but shouldn't be the only means we come to know God. God is not a God to be dissected, to be put in a box and studied. I think we do a disservice when we forsake Bible reading for Bible study. We've made getting to know God an academic exercise. This has sat at the edge of my mind and eaten away at me for quite awhile now. There must be more to searching for God than that.

Don Miller suggests in Searching for God Know’s What that the only thing that truly changes a person is God’s truth, that is, His Word and His working in our lives through the Holy Spirit.

But by “His Word”, I don't think that just means the “study” of His Word – “study” of course meaning the dissection of the text into a list of do's and don'ts, pithy sayings, steps, and patterns. Getting to know God has to be so much more than the intellectual exercise which I have been guilty of. Sure the Word of God is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness (Paul said that). But the Word of God is also transforming. It revives us (David), it gives us life (Jesus), hope, and comfort (Paul). We've let this modern, western world infiltrate our thinking. Logic has become the new god.

But I’m getting off topic. My point here is that I need to move forward. I need to move beyond this thought that I can only know God through academic study. It’s not enough to know what He isn’t. I need to understand Who He is. Through prayer, through more of the reading of His Word. Only through spending time with Him this way will I be able to do that.

Old jokes

We are very blessed in that most of my grandparents are still alive. I've got both on my mom's side, and my Grandma on my dad's side. It's neat to see my little girl sit on her great grandmother's (her GG's) lap while she listens to the same songs my Grandma sang to me when I was four years old (Animal Crackers in My Soup, The Man in the Moon). If I'm remembering here correctly, all 3 of these grandparents were born on 1923, making them all 83 this year. And they never cease to surprise me.

I don't normally forward e-mail jokes, much less post them here, but I think this one is worth it by virtue of the fact that it was forwarded to me by my Grandpa (along with all the other family in their addressbook). Yes, all my grandparents have e-mail.

An old fellow was celebrating 92 years on this Earth. He spoke to his toes.

"Hello, toes!" he said. "How are you, toes? You know, you are 92 today. Oh, the times we've had! Remember we walked in the park in summer every Sunday afternoon? The times we waltzed on the dance floor? Happy Birthday, toes!"

"Hello, knees," he continued. "How are you, knees? You know you're 92 today. Oh, the times we've had! Remember when we marched in the parade? Oh the hurdles we've jumped together. Happy Birthday, knees!"

Then, he looked down at his crotch. "Hello, Willie, you little bugger! If you were alive today, you'd be 92."

I probably wouldn't think the joke was that funny, except for the fact that my Grandpa (who, have I mentioned, is 83 and gets e-mail) sent it to me. It made me laugh that much harder when I read the commentary he appended to the e-mail:

That's the way it goes.

Zoe Ramblings

It was another great weekend at the Zoe Conference in Nashville. Though, I'm glad to be back home with my daughter. And probably the most powerful part of this weekend are the personal epiphanies and the discussions they lead to on the way home.

We didn't get a chance to meet Lauren Winner, which Krista was really looking forward to, but we got her next book. We also found out someone on our staff at Crosspoint bought last year's Jeff Walling's The Gospel According to Matthew dramatization - which was pretty powerful in how it invoked images of time of Jesus and the early church, comparing them to the image of church today. (Can you imagine a church without thieves and prostitutes?!?) I can't wait to show this.

The funniest part of the whole weekend, I think, was when Mike Cope was talking about Jacob's ladder, and the whole story about what happened in Bethel (Jacob sees a ladder to Heaven with angels going up and down; he also wrestles - literally - with God; heavy stuff). Mike noted that "some [Bible] translations - and Led Zeppelin - refer to it as a stairway to Heaven."

I found out that people I hardly know read my blog. (Thanks, Matt and Lindsay!)

Another interesting thing I noted was that the First Unity Church in Nashville had a great sign out front this weekend. (I can't believe I didn't have my camera!)

I AM OPEN TO ACCEPTING

GOD'S GIFT OF PROSPERITY

Sign me up for that one!! They must subscribe to the Joel Olsteen brand of Christianity. (Follow Jesus, and all your earthly desires will come true!)

It's Good To Be Home

Been gone to the East Coast, and I'm finally back. It's good to be home with my wife and daughter. I was happy that I got to eat blue crabs while I was away (they were amazing at The Dancing Crab), but that only made being gone a little easier.

Although my daughter can be severely independent in wanting things her own way, I'm Sometimes awed by the fact that she can be so sensitive to other people. She wants to be Batgirl for Halloween. The thing that's odd about that is she's into Princesses and Dora and The Wizard of Oz and Kim Possible. I'm the one that's into Batman. If she chose for herself she'd probably be Ariel, or Kim, or Dorothy.

A number of weeks ago, I brought her back a necklace from California . Even though she loves jewelry, I think it's a bit heavy and "scratchy" so she hasn't worn it. We were talking about it the other day, and I was asking her about it. Well, in the discussion, I think she could tell I was disappointed she hadn't been wearing it, so, she decided to wear it that afternoon. She's four, but sensitive to other people's feelings.

Plus, Have I mentioned she's smart? I bought this shirt off eBay last week because, coincidentally, her soccer team this season is The Flash. She knew what it was when I asked her (she already knows her superheroes - that's even more important than the alphabet, isn't it?!) and she knew I bought it because of her team. Sometimes I don't know why I've been blessed in the ways that I have been.

Deliver Me

I was going to post the lyrics here, but I thought I'd just jump on the YouTube bandwagon.