Ping

September 2, 2010 in Community with 0 Comments

iTunes

You might have noticed a new icon in the header of my blog. But if you haven’t, it’s a smaller version of the icon to your left (assuming you’re viewing this in a browser and not an RSS reader, mobile browser or Facebook). It’s the new iTunes 10 icon, and for those who were under a rock yesterday, one of the new features in iTunes 10 is Apple’s social network Ping. Here’s what Apple has to say about Ping:

Discover new music by going social with Ping. Learn even more about your favorite artists and friends starting with their bios. See what they’ve been up to — even listen to 30-second previews of music they like. Find out when and where artists and bands are on tour, and check out photos and videos they’ve posted. With Ping, a community of the world’s most passionate music fans is just a click away.

Sounds pretty cool. If you’ve got iTunes installed on your computer (Mac or Windows) or if you’re on an iOS device, simply click the iTunes 10 icon at the top of my page and iTunes should open and take you to my Ping profile. Of course, iTunes 10 is required and as always, is a free download (updates automatically on iOS devices).

Page CXVI

September 2, 2010 in Uncategorized with 1 Comment

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Several years ago, I made a disparaging comment concerning hymns to a friend. You see, I grew up in a church that only played hymns every now and then, and only as an appeasement to the elderly church members, since that was the only church music available when they were young. And of course, we never rearranged the hymns – I’m not sure if it was a matter of no one having the talent to write arrangements, or if we didn’t do it out of fear (“What will people think if we change the music?”), or if it was just a matter of no one thinking about it.

Anyways, back to my comment. My friend pointed out that, while I may not enjoy the style of the music many hymns are set to, it didn’t change the fact that those hymns are full of solid, Biblical truth. Something that many modern Christian artists know nothing of. I’m not saying there isn’t good Christian music out there, because I have a lot of VERY GOOD, theologically sound music on my computer. But think about it:

how many times have you heard an artist that was described as the Christian version of ______________?

Not that it’s wrong to draw upon or be influenced by other artists, nor is it wrong to be a Christ-centered alternative to secular artists. But sometimes I get the feeling a lot of “Christian” artists out there don’t care so much about what they’re singing about, or who they’re singing about, or who they’re singing to as much as they care about $$$. Who remembers the flood of Christian boy bands and girl groups that came out after that genre exploded in the late 90′s?

I digress.

Not long after that conversation with my hymn-loving friend, I heard Kristian Stanfill’s version of Jesus Paid It All.

My friend was right – hymns didn’t have to be boring and lifeless. They could actually be passionate, inspired and inspiring!

So over the past few months I’ve seen Joe Thorn post a couple blogs about Page CXVI, and I’d told myself I should buy their albums, Hymns and Hymns II, but, as usual, I’d become preoccupied with something else and forget about it. Then, while driving around town this evening, Page CXVI popped into my brain.

No explanation, no immediately apparent cause.

So as soon as I arrived home I bought both albums. Gotta love digital downloads – instant gratification (they have CD’s available too). I now know why Joe Thorn had so much praise for Page CXVI. If the first thought that comes to mind when you think of hymns is “music for my grandparents and great-grandparents”, fear not. While the songs on Hymns and Hymns II are aged lyrically, the music those lyrics are sung to is decidedly modern. If you enjoy worship music stylings along the lines of John Mark McMillan, Charlie Hall, Mars Hill Church, and the hymn rearrangements by David Crowder and Kristian Stanfill, you will definitely enjoy Page CXVI. The songs are beautifully arranged and full of Biblical truth – I strongly recommend both albums. If that’s not enough, click the link below to listen to samples and if you need more convincing, click the other link and you can download two songs (one from each album) for free!

Click here to listen to samples and purchase Hymns & Hymns II

Click here to download two free songs!

se7en

August 29, 2010 in se7en with 0 Comments

se7en

In the Flash vs. HTML5 battle, HTML5 scored huge last week when it was announced the H.264 video codec is now royalty free.

Ed Stetzer with another great post on contextualization, this time dealing with indigenization.

We pay our children to do chores and get good grades – why not for memorizing scripture?

In times of uncertainty, are you the cockroach or the T-Rex?

For the past several weeks the Mars Hill blog has featured posts on Biblical manhood in what they called the Month of Manhood. Catch up on all the posts here.

Following their Month of Manhood, the Mars Hill blog kicks off it’s Month of Women with three posts: The Month of Women Begins, The Shameless Identity of a Woman and This Isn’t ‘Separate but Equal’. They’re One.

Kind of in the same vein of Biblical manhood, Donald Miller asks, “If 40 is the new 30, then is 20 the new junior high?”

Another post from Miller – Why the Bible Is a Tough Book for Americans.

Another great post from Steven Furtick on a passage of scripture that has been taken out of context time and time again – The Battle Is Not the Lord’s.

What Is Holding You Back?

Be Yourself

August 29, 2010 in Uncategorized with 0 Comments

Why is it that we teach children they are unique, and encourage them to “be themselves” and celebrate their differences, and then get frustrated when others don’t act normal, or make fun of those we deem weird or different?

se7en

August 22, 2010 in se7en with 0 Comments

se7en

Another week has passed, which means it’s time to share my favorite posts of the last seven days. Enjoy!

Instead of asking What Would Jesus Do?, try asking What Did Jesus Do?

Who deserves more honor? The pastor who preaches to the church or the single mom who changes diapers in the nursery every week?

Never Follow A Leader Who…

This is a perfect example of why I love the way North Point does their baptisms. Just watch this short video and you’ll understand what I’m talking about.

Do you want to be remembered in 20 Years?

Sometimes it takes an artist a long time to birth a great idea… and sometimes it takes an audience a long time to embrace it. Ben Arment writes about The Incubation of Ideas.

Tyler Braun on 20-somethings and Emerging Adulthood.

“Few of you have ever heard of Ron Wayne. A lot of you have used the products that stem from his creation. All of you need to know his story because it’s a warning to all of us.” – Steven Furtick with The Ultimate Poster Child for What Could Have Been.

Rock n’ Roll

August 21, 2010 in Uncategorized with 0 Comments

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Self-destruction and creativity are not always in the same package, and I want young kids to understand this. You can’t just wear leather pants and drink and make it. Picasso lived to ninety and he was a genius. And I’m sixty-two and I like being an example in the same band, of a longer road. In his case they came together – creativity and self-destruction.

John Densmore (percussionist for The Doors) on Jim Morrison

Much of my life I’ve heard people (particularly musicians) describe drug and alcohol use in the creative process as contributing to the creative process, and they’ve got a long list of musicians to use as examples.

And when it concerns writing lyrics, maybe that’s true to some extent. But the simple fact is this: you either have talent, or you don’t. Popping a pill or smoking a joint isn’t going to change that. It’s not like chugging a bottle of Jack will suddenly give you the ability to play guitar like Slash – just like eating a can of spinach won’t give you superhuman strength.

Case in point: Jim Morrison is viewed by most as the creative center of The Doors. And it’s understandable; he was the frontman. But in reality, guitarist Robby Krieger wrote the majority of their songs, including some of their biggest hits (“Light My Fire”, “Love Me Two Times”, “Touch Me” and “Love Her Madly”).

Here’s a more recent example: Zakk Wylde is famous, not only for being a guitar virtuoso, but also for his love of alcohol. Except that he’s been sober for over a year now, and his latest album with Black Label Society, Order of the Black, is, in my opinion, his best work to date, and I’m including his years with Ozzy Osbourne!!

And many other fans seem to agree – Order of the Black debuted at #1 on the Billboard Hard Rock Chart, #2 on the Billboard Rock Chart, #4 on the Billboard 200 and #6 on the Billboard Digital Albums Chart.

That’s the highest BLS has ever charted and they did it with a sober Zakk Wylde leading them. Prior to Order of the Black they’d never even cracked the top 20 in the Billboard 200.

Just some food for thought.

se7en

August 15, 2010 in se7en with 0 Comments

se7en
I hope everyone had a great week and weekend. It’s the beginning of a new week, which means it’s time for me to share some of my favorite posts from the last seven days. For those who haven’t stopped by in awhile, the blog has been rather busy all week, so take a look around and share your thoughts, and thanks again for stopping by.

Some pretty cool facts on the superhuman brain.

Mark Driscoll with A Pastoral Response to Anne Rice Quitting Christianity.

USA Today with an article on how more and more teens are ditching church and one pastor’s take on the situation. Speaking for myself, this is not a shocking or unexpected development, but for those who’ve been in denial for the past couple decades, maybe it is news.

The problem with a “Just tell me what to do” approach to God’s will.

Does Your Church Discriminate Against Single Mothers?

Ed Stetzer on contextualization and untangling cultural engagement.

“How could something that started so right go so wrong?” Tim Smith answers that question with The Pharisees: From Righteous to Religous.

Do you define yourself by what you believe, or by the One behind those beliefs? Dustin Neely on the sin of justification by theology.

You are leaving a legacy – good or bad – whether you intend to or not.

John Piper answers the question, “What Do I Have to Believe to be Saved?”

Joe Thorn lists Five Myths About Hell (myth 1, myth 2, myth 3, myth 4 and myth 5).

And finally, a few much needed posts on grace. Do yourself a favor and read them. First up is Jon Acuff with Quietly Distancing Ourselves from Mel Gibson. Next is Paul Tripp with Grace: Right Here, Right Now. Last, but not least, Mike Foster with Self Is Our Meth: Let’s Go to Rehab and Strippers Protest and Bikinis at Church.

One More Thing……

August 13, 2010 in Church, Religion with 0 Comments

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If you’ve ever seen a Steve Jobs keynote, you know he’s famous for his, “One more thing…” line. It’s usually reserved for the end of the presentation, when he unveils Apple’s latest game-changer.

In my case, it’s when I publish a blog post and then a little while later (could be thirty minutes, could be a few hours) I think of something that would’ve fit perfectly.

But it’s too late to go back and edit the original post, because several people have already read it and may not realize I’ve updated it. So here’s my one more thing.

Yesterday I wrote about pastors and the pedestals we put them on, and specifically Rick Warren and a statement he tweeted. If you haven’t read that post yet, go ahead and do yourself a favor and click on over. Don’t worry – this post will still be here when you’re finished.

Anyways, a few hours after publishing that post, it dawned on me I’d forgotten a rather interesting subject. A subject that fits right in with yesterday’s post.

Pastoral Distance.

Apparently, many moons ago someone thought that if a pastor shared too much of his personal life, his parishioners would lose respect in him and no longer submit to his pastoral authority, so they came up with the idea of pastoral distance (AKA ministerial distance, ministerial gap, pastoral gap). Here’s how it works: you, as a pastor, must do everything possible to prevent your congregation from losing respect for you, because if your congregation no longer respects you, how could you speak into their lives, instruct them, etc.? So, the best way to avoid all this is to distance yourself from your congregation by doing two things:

  • When preaching/teaching, don’t use negative personal examples (i.e. past or current struggles). You must appear as some sort of super-Christian, otherwise, you will lose credibility with your parishioners.
  • Don’t allow parishioners to get too close, or get to know you too well, otherwise they will see your flaws and lose respect for you.

According to several pastors I’ve talked to (across several denominations), this idea is not only encouraged, it is taught at several denominationally sponsored colleges and seminaries.

Because surely no one wants to hear that their pastor has a past or that he has struggles of his own!

Give me a break!

Look, if your testimony is that God put you in a family that raised you properly, which led to you never going through “major” sins and the worst thing you’ve ever done is forget to read your Bible for a few days, that’s GREAT and YOU SHOULD SHARE IT to show people that if you trust God, he will protect you from making bad decisions and screwing up your life!!

BUT – if you do have a past, or if you are currently struggling with something (which isn’t always sinful), USE THOSE EXPERIENCES IN YOUR MINISTRY!! Don’t hide them – embrace the fact that God has delivered you from something.

Pastors & Pedestals

August 12, 2010 in Church, Religion with 4 Comments

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So yesterday, Rick Warren (pastor of Saddleback Church and author of several bestselling books including The Purpose Driven Life) rocked the Twitterverse with the following tweet:

I challenge any church in America to match the spiritual maturity, godliness & commitment of any 500 members of Saddleback.

Okay, so “rocked” may not have been the best word. Sure, there’s a few disgruntled tweeters and bloggers who’ve latched onto this and there’s those who’ve replied to Warren in a respectful, sometimes even humorous, way, but for the most part, it either went by unnoticed, or people just don’t care.

It also doesn’t hurt that Rick Warren removed the offending tweet. He has since replaced it with……

For 30 yrs our plan was to turn spectators into participators,consumers to contributors,an audience into an army.It worked!

Which leads me to think his original tweet was a touche of sorts.

I.E., Google “Rick Warren” and see what you get.

Sure, there’s plenty of sites that are harmless, but there’s also a plethora of sites demonizing Warren, Saddleback, his books, etc. On top of that are all the books and magazine articles that have been written in opposition to Warren and his books and ministries. And even if the good outweighs the bad by ten-to-one, it always seems as if the bad is more prevalent because they’re usually the loudest.

I’ll be blunt – when you add it all up, I wouldn’t have made it thirty years without saying something publicly.

I can see it now; maybe Rick Googled his own name (big mistake if you’re famous) or maybe he was confronted at lunch by a KJV-only fundamentalist. Whatever the situation was, I’m not justifying Warren’s tweet. I’m simply stating I can understand. When someone says or writes something bad about you, especially when that someone claims to be in your family (Christian), it hurts. Which brings me to two points:

  1. Christians (especially Western Christians) are some of the ugliest people in the world. As Gandhi once said, “I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.”
  2. Questioning Rick Warren on his tweet is one thing, but I saw people BASHING him over that tweet – people who have Rick Warren quotes and retweets in their Twitter timelines. It seems that we put pastors on pedestals not because we think they deserve a place of honor, but so we can tear them down the first chance we get.

Why?

Where in the Bible does it say that pastors are called to a higher standard of living? James 3:1 talks about teaching, but it doesn’t say anything about living. Matthew 5:48 and 1 Peter 1:15 state that holiness is the standard for ALL Christians, not just those called to teach. Yet all too often we Christians think we can say whatever we want with no thought as to who we might offend, because of our anonymity and a “I’m not perfect” attitude.

We allow space for repentance in our own lives, but not in the lives of our pastors.

Why not?

Total Depravity

August 9, 2010 in News with 0 Comments

Fishburne
“I view making this [porn] movie as an important first step in my career… I’ve watched how successful Kim Kardashian became and I think a lot of it was due to the release of her sex tape by Vivid. I’m hoping the same magic will work for me. I’m impatient about getting well-known.“

The above quote is a statement from Laurence Fishburne’s daughter Montana, made on July 30, 2010, when it was announced she is starring in a Vivid Entertainment porn production.

Wow. Just, wow.

Source: New York Daily News

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