The Word According to Wilco

The new issue of Relevant is outstanding. Great stuff per usual from cover to cover. And speaking of the cover, I was stoked to see Wilco's own Jeff Tweedy on it. The guy is a brilliant artist. Interesting to read his takes on God, Death, Religion (um, did I miss anything?)

Check it out online here.

Notes from Nooma

Had an amazing discussion in Sunday School class yesterday. I went back to do an "oldie but a goodie" - Rob Bell's 10th Nooma video, "Lump" If you've never seen it, visit the fine folks at flannel.org and order a copy today. (If you're a Church Streeter, you can check out a copy in the Church Library).

It's a great story about God's unconditional love and forgiveness. Two things we can really not be reminded of enough. Especially in these often dark, cynical times we live in. The discussion was powerful. The Holy Spirit was present. I'll never really capture it in words, but I'm just so thankful to have been a part of it.

I wanted to share the description of the video here on the blog. It really captures the spirit of the video, and is a good thought for us to kick off our week. Live blessed this week, my friend!


LUMP - NOOMA VIDEO #10
"A lot of us have done things in our lives that we're ashamed of. Some are small things, and some of us have really big and devastating things. some of us even have things that people close to us don't know about. Personal junk that we keep to ourselves so we don't have to deal with it. Because we don't know how to deal with it, do we? We're afraid that if we try it's just going to make everything worse. But no matter how big our junk is, no matter how much what we've done has impacted the way other people feel about us or how we feel about ourselves, it hasn't changed how God feels about us. God loves us, he always has and always will, and there's nothing we can do to change that."

Dungy on Vick

Here's a really good article where Tony Dungy is interviewed about his faith and a follow up to how Michael Vick is doing. When he first met with Vick in his cell, Dungy wanted to know "Where was the Lord in all this?" Really good read.

You Might Be A Loser If...

Yesterday I got a FaceBook message from an old pastor friend of mine.

Hadn't heard from him in a long time, so that was cool.

Cool, until I actually opened it.

I should have known something was up from the subject head. It just read "L.O.L!"

So I open up the message and see there's a link. So I opened it up.

Bad mistake.

It takes me to some hard core porn site. My mind was reeling, because I'm still thinking that my former pastor has sent me this!

It doesn't take me long to figure out this is one of the latest attacks on the Interwebs by some Internet Spam Pushers, er, LOSER! Within moments there's a real message from my friend saying "IF YOU GET A MESSAGE FROM ME ON FACEBOOK DON'T OPEN IT!"

Too late for me.

But it did get me thinking: is there a bigger loser than someone who spams Internet porn into unsuspecting boxes? Seriously. Look, I am no angel. I have seen these sites and filled my mind with garbage. But what kind of loser tries to "sneak" their amateur porn site into people's FaceBook pages!? Imagine the time it took to "hatch" this plan. Write the code. Figure out how to trick people into opening this up. Guess what you proved to us all: that you are a LOSER!

Look. It's a free country. If you want to get down and make your own porn, that's your call. But you have no right to try to trick somebody into looking at it by sneaking it onto their social network, mobile phone, whatever.

The fact that this message looked like it was coming from a former pastor shows how random this was. I'm sure the same message landed on FaceBook pages of soccer moms, high school students, grade schoolers, grandmothers, etc. Anyone and everyone was probably exposed to this trash.

Under the title "L.O.L."

Yeah, that's hysterical.

If you're so depraved that you somehow get off on doing something like that, there's absolutely nothing funny about it. Your life is the only thing that's a joke.

Vick's Second Chance

I've been wrestling with what to think about Michael Vick for a while. He appeared on 60 Minutes giving his first interview since being released from prison. The more I think about it, I'm glad he's getting a chance and applaud the Eagles for giving him a shot.

Let me be clear: I in no way, shape or form condone what Vick did. It was inhumane and disgusting. He deserved to go to jail and lose his status as a franchise NFL Quarterback. (not to mention $135 Million in endorsements).

But I believe that he deserves a second chance. Not because he deserves it, per se, but because God is a God of second chances. Time and time again in the Bible, God is in the business of giving second chances to people who made serious mistakes or lapses in judgement.

Imagine if Moses didn't have a second chance after killing the Egyptian.

Imagine if Paul didn't get a second chance before he got on that road to Damascaus.

Imagine if David didn't get a second chance after falling for Bathshebia.

Imagine if Peter didn't get a second chance after denying Jesus three times.

And on...and on....and on...

Whether or not Michael Vick makes the most of his second chance is up to him. But I do believe that good can come from his life and example going forward. I'll be pulling for him to make the most of it. (Just not the 2x of year that the Eagles play my Cowboys.)

Great Quote by Bono

Just finished up The Reason for God by Timothy Keller. Mind blowing. Definitely one of the best books I've read this year. I'm still processing a lot of it, but wanted to share this one exceptional passage that appears in the book (pg. 229) It's an interview with U2's Bono with Michaka Assayas:

Assayas: Christ has his rank among the world's great thinkers. But Son of God, isn't that far-fetched?

Bono: "No, it's not far=fetched to me. Look, the secular response to the Christ story always goes like this: He was a great prophet, obviously a very interesting guy, had a lot to say along the lines of other great prophets, be they Elijah, Muhammad, Buddha or Confucius. But actually Christ doesn't allow you that. He doesn't let you off that hook. Christ says, No. I'm not saying I'm a teacher, don't call me a teacher. I'm not saying I'm a prophet. I'm saying: "I'm the Messiah." I'm saying:"I am God incarnate." And people say: No, no, please, just be a prophet. A prophet we can take. You're a bit eccentric. We've had John thhe Baptist eating locusts and wild honey, we can handle that. But don't mention the "M" word! Because, you know, we're gonna have to crucify you. And he goes: No, no, I know you're expecting me to come back with an army and set you free from these creeps, but actually I am the Messiah. At this point, everyone starts staring at their shoes, and says: Oh, my God, he's gonna keep saying this. So what you're left with is either Christ was who He said He was — the Messiah — or a complete nutcase. I mean, we're talking nutcase on the level of Charles Manson...I'm not joking here. The idea that the entire course of civilization for over half of the globe could have its fate changed and turned upside-down by a nutcase, for me that's far-fetched..."

Amen.

I'm Alright Now

My new theme song...courtesy of the Man in Black.

Oh how I love the Gospel of Johnny...

The Reason for God

I am about half way through the most excellent book by Timothy Keller, The Reason for God. It was written, in part, as a response to the "new atheism" movement led by best-selling authors like Richard Dawkins and Sam Harris. Keller's book offers thought provoking responses for why believing in God makes sense. Whether you are a true believer, a total skeptic or somewhere in between, Keller's book is a tremendous read for those with an open mind and looking for an honest debate about the Christian faith.

Here's a passage (one of many) I really liked. A response from Keller about "Christian fanatics"(pg. 57)

"Think of people you consider fanatical. They're overbearing, self-righteous, opinionated, insensitive, and harsh. Why? It's not because they are too Christian but because they are not Christian enough. They are fanatically zealous and courageous, but they are not fanatically humble, sensitive, loving, empathetic, forgiving, or understanding—as Christ was. Because they think of Christianity as a self-improvement program they emulate the Jesus of the whips in the temple, but not the Jesus who said, "Let him who is without sin cast the first stone" (John 8:7). What strikes us as overly fanatical is actually a failure to be fully committed to Christ and his gospel."

Now More Than Ever

There are a million things that make me proud of my 7 year old daughter, Grace. But one of the biggest is her developing taste for truly awesome music. The girl makes requests for Johnny Cash. She knows Jack Johnson by heart. And she famously once said "Daddy, Bruce Springsteen is SO much better than Hannah Montana."

That's my girl.

So I was stoked, but not surprised, when I went to her room over the weekend and she was playing "Now More Than Ever" by John (Cougar?) Mellencamp. I've always loved the song. It was an under appreciated gem off the under appreciated 1991 classic Wherever We Wanted. I wore that thing out my sophomore year in college.

The song remained under appreciated until some car company used it as their theme song. And while that move got it overplayed, it never stopped being a truly profound song about faith and devotion. Check out the lyrics:

If you believe
Wont you please raise your hands
Lets hear your voices
Let us know where you stand
Dont shout from the shadows
Cause it wont mean a dammn
Now more than ever

Now more than ever
The world needs love
Not just a slogan
But the world needs love
Now more than ever
I cant stand alone
Now more than ever

If I was to buy you
A diamond ring
Make you my princess
Would it mean anything
Would you take me for granted
And just curse my name
Now more than ever

Now more than ever
The world needs love
Not just a slogan
But the world needs love
Now more than ever
I cant stand alone
Now more than ever

Who am I to say
What needs to be done
I am just nobody
Another lost one
Caught between whats left
And what needs to be done
Now more than ever
The loss of love
The loss of our dreams
Its not too late

Now more than ever
The world needs love
Not just a slogan
But the world needs love
Now more than ever
I cant stand alone
Now more than ever

Plus the music just rocks, as this video sample, courtesy of the You Tubes, will attest.

Now more than ever.