Highly Recommended - The Music of John Denmon

I make no secret of it - I think the Christian music industry is in a pitiful state. Eight years ago, bands like AllTogetherSeparate and Jennifer Knapp were "wowing" us with original musical ideas and strong lyrical content. Today, the industry is dominated by pop bands and very mediocre worship groups. (At one time, worship leaders were as musically innovative as any one else in the entire music industry.)

In such a setting, John Denmon is a rare exception. His acoustic guitar driven music is engaging and his lyrics discuss Christianity in a touching way that is not corny. His songs are a mixture of style in between that of Bebo Norman and David Crowder - exciting and intimate at the same time.

You can hear some of his music here for free, and if you like it I recommend you click on the "become a fan" link - it's the least we can do for those rare individuals in the Christian industry who are doing good things. His songs stay on a steady rotation in my music player and I think many of you will enjoy them as well.

(John Denmon has a website and a YouTube page.)

How to Tell a Football Fan from a Tabloid Junkie

Football season (a.k.a., the most wonderful time of the year) has begun and my head is full of images of watching the Cowboys play while wearing warm flannel shirts and eating many bowls of spicy chili by the fireplace. Life doesn't get much better. (Yes, I'm an A/V geek who studies medieval church history and loves the NFL.)

But, I'm already sick of the rhetoric surrounding football talk. Sometimes, I am known to ignore football discussions and shun watching games with people because it's impossible to find football fans who can talk about football without parroting ESPN's drivel or giving me a recap from US magazine. My wife, who only began watching after we got married, is better conversation during a game than most of the so-called football fans out there.

Are your friends fans or fakers? Here are some conversation examples that you can use to tell if your friends are football fans or simply tabloid junkies in disguise.

Football Fan: Hey, did you see Miles Austin's kickoff return in our first game? The Cowboys need to work that kind of speed into the the main part of the game!

Tabloid Junkie: Jerry Jones installed his screen too low in the new stadium! Well, it's not really too low, it's regulation, but it's funny. Sort of. Let's talk about it some more. Who won the game? I don't remember, but did you see the clip on SportsCenter when the kickoff hit the TV screen!

Football Fan: I wonder if our teams' 4-3 defense can cover a 5 wide out offense with a quick snap?

Tabloid Junkie: Tom Brady is cute, so he could probably do that thing you just said.

"I've heard they lose when they wear the white pants. No, I don't know anything about defensive formations. I'm just sayin'..."

However, this is an old problem that I have been annoyed with for many years. Let's go back in time...

One Year Ago

Football Fan: Tony Romo is a good player who is always focused even when he is having a bad day.

Tabloid Junkie: I head on ESPN that he plays worse when his girlfriend is in town. That's right, I believe in curses and voodoo. Mysticism is way more important than athleticism in this sport. Can I read your palm?

Two Years ago

Football Fan: The New Orleans Saints got their head coach from the Dallas Cowboys staff, and his knowledge of the team helped them to beat the Cowboys and showed other teams how to do the same.

Tabloid Junkie: The Saints played at the Superdome before the hurricane. I'm pretty sure that George Bush caused the hurricane because he's a racist. I love football!

People. Go back to your witch hunts, animal sacrifices, and tabloid articles about Jennifer Aniston. The rest of us have games to watch.

What IS the Deal with Derek Webb's New Song? [Post Includes Profanity]

Since leaving the Caedmon's Call, Derek Webb's solo career has been followed with much interest and scrutiny by his fans. Gone are the happy-go-lucky songs in the key of G and, in their place, we have a more serious set of songs that dictate a very strong message. It was no small ruckus that was raised when his lyrics entered the realm of politics, but what really raised eyebrows was this statement:

"It seems I've finally found the line beyond which my label can support me, and apparently I've crossed it," Webb writes. "[A]t this point we're not sure when the record will come out and in what form. The majority of the controversy is surrounding one song, which I consider to be among the most important songs on the record …. [B]ecause of various legal/publishing issues we're having to be rather careful with how we do what we're going to do next."

Has Derek Webb finally crossed the line? Oh, yeah.

Webb's latest album, Stockholm Syndrome, contains a tune called "What Matters More" which includes some foul language. Here are the juicy parts.

‘Cause if you really believe what you say you believe you wouldn’t be so damn reckless with the words you speak...
...Meanwhile we sit just like we don’t give a shit about 50,000 people who are dyin’ today. Tell me, brother, what matters more to you?

Derek Webb is trying to make a point. Are you more concerned with his bad language than you are with the hurting and dying in the world? I don't know anyone who is so shallow but, apparently, Derek Webb does.

However, there are a thousand ways to make this point that don't involve making other Christians upset. Personally, I find the whole thing unnecessary. If the point can be made without creating division within Christianity then I think it should be done that way. Angering people is not going to encourage them to get out and take care of the poor and needy - it's just going to start an argument.

Caedmon's Call released an album a few years ago called "Share the Well" that kindly reminded us to help those in need. It's really not my favorite album, musically speaking, but it is possible to get this message out without insulting your fan base.

Taking Christians to the Mat - Literally!

Call me naive, but I didn't know that Christians had gone from condemning professional wrestling to having their own pro wrestling circuit!

I'm from Paris, TX, where pro wrestling is as common a topic as politics among people of many ages. It provides a rich storyline that people can follow - like a soap opera with scantly clad ladies, tough talkers, and endless battles. Hmm, OK, it's a lot like a soap opera. (I heard about a girl who watched wrestling for a full week mistaking it for "Days of Our Lives.")

According to ImpactWrestling.com:

Though such well-known pro wrestlers as Sting and Shawn Michaels are outspoken Christians, the combination of wrestling and faith remains a rarity.

After all, when was the last time anyone saw an altar call at a World Wresting Entertainment "Smackdown" event?

"Our ultimate goal is to bring people to Christ," said Grace, who said he recommitted himself to God about eight months ago. "The Gospel will be presented by pastors, special guest speakers and through the matches themselves."

Well, that's probably the oddest thing I've put on my website this year.

"Exegete this!"

There are, apparently, some believers who are professional wrestlers and have no idea how to blend their faith with their job. When I tell people I am an A/V programmer they don't think it has much to do with my faith. If I were a pro-wrestler they would associate me with the scandalous things they see on those wrestling programs - and they would wonder about me.

The Bible Thumper attacks his lifelong nemesis - the Emergent Church Pastor!

The Bible Thumper stands over his defeated foe - knowing that he has uttered he phrase "postmodern" for the last time.

The Christian Wrestling Federation, based in Rockwall, TX, hosts wrestling camps that are Christ centered and uses their wrestling events to tell the audience about Christianity. It probably seems unorthodox (many of my readers will think that this glorification of violence is completely out of place) but reading their website has convinced me that they are genuine people who have a passion for professional wrestling and their faith - putting the two together has been their dream.

(Also, I don't actually know the names of these wrestlers. They are probably a lot cooler than the ones I came up with.)

How to Talk About Health Care if You Want to Look Dumb (For Both Sides)

1 - Appeal to a Higher Authority

"Look, these doctors approve of Obama's health care plan! That must mean it's good!"

Your opponent probably knows how to use Google, also, and can come up with this one:

"These doctors DON"T support Obama's plan! You should always listen to doctors!"

2 - Discuss Isolated Incidents

"Little Timmy is not covered by this plan - we can't pass it!"

The opposition of this comment can simply say:

"Little Billy doesn't have health insurance - we MUST pass it!"

These sob stories tug at the heartstrings but don't get us closer to knowing what to do.


3 - Quote Pundits Who Agree with You

If you want to change someone's mind be sure not to do it by quoting people that they will not like. That won't help.

"Look! Ann Coulter said it was bad!"

"Look! Michael Moore said it was good!"

This is useless. No one even has to read their opinions to know what these people will say. Quoting them adds nothing to the conversation and few people abandon their convictions so easily because you found support for your side of the argument.

4 - Discuss How it Works in Another Country

"These Canadian health care workers don't like their system! We should avoid it!"

"The British LIKE their system! We should try it!"

Both arguments have been proposed ad nauseam and have successfully nullified each other.


5 - Conspiracy Theories

"Obama is trying to make us a socialist nation!"

"Pharmacautical companies are paying people to protest Obama's health care!"

None of these things really matter in this conversation. No one changes their mind about political ideology because a supposedly sinister plan is afoot.

Unless this is your first day on the internet, you already know that Google can back up any point of view that is out there. Let's move the conversation into the more intellectual side of things.

Who will benefit from this plan? How many people are actually not included in it? Is it worth passing this plan even with those risks? Will it lower the quality of health care for those who already have it? Who will run it and what control will people have over the program if we do not like how it is run? How much will it cost and will it help me if I am laid off? These are good questions that are not being discussed in most public forums. Instead, the usual name calling and irrelevant article linking goes on. Think it through.

(Notice that I'm not telling you how you should feel about this issue. That's your decision - I'm just trying to make the conversation better. If you'd rather call Obama a Socialist or claim that the tri-lateral commission is controlling our health than take your conversation back to 4chan or MySpace where it belongs.)

Observations From a Week at Nerd Camp

I write a Christian website but I'm also a geek - and I spent last week with other geeks getting further training on the A/V program I use at the office. It's fun to do something different for a week and getting together with other nerds who have a common goal is always entertaining.

Here are my observations from Nerdling University:

• Everyone else dresses up. These guys think they are in school and have to dress nicely and ask for permission to use the bathroom. Alternatively, I did not shave all week and had on ugly jeans. I stood out.
• No ladies. They don't care about A/V - I don't know why. I think they would be welcome in the field and there's no reason they couldn't do it; but, the ladies just don't take an interest in this sort of thing. I suspect it's because they know they would have to work with a bunch of geeky men.
  
• Our work is boring and we know it. Well, most of us know it. There's always one guy who actually thinks it's interesting to discuss processor pipeline speeds in comparison to LCD refresh rates or something like that. That guy is boring. That guy sat by me at lunch.
• The teacher can tell us what is on different pages of the health care bill. I don't think many people in Washington can do that.
  
• I'm pretty sure Jim Carrey was in this class in disguise. If he comes out with a film where he plays an A/V programmer I'll know it was true.
• The class was brainstorming how to visually represent programming in a fourth dimension. I recommended a tesseract. No response.

Interestingly, a tesseract is also a pretty good image
of how my head feels after learning parsing commands.

• I was late Wednesday morning. No repercussions. (See bullet point one.) It may have cemented me as the class rebel.
  
• A comically large bottle of Aspirin is kept in the room. This is a bad sign. When you are told that the array can exist in five dimension you understand what it is for.
• Each of us learns to program a DVD player through serial interaction and we are given a DVD to use in testing. I was assigned "Lost in Space." A higher destiny was obviously at work.
  
• Apparently, I can't go anywhere. I got into a discussion of soteriology with a Catholic and an Armenian (probably). I ducked out as things were heating up. (Which really wasn't fair.)

Bottoms up.

3 Things Every Pastor Should Learn (That I Learned From My Pastor.)

There are pastors who could learn a lot from visiting my church. Here are a few things my current pastor does that more pastors could emulate.

1 - Keep Politics Away from the Pulpit

My pastor probably has political views. Everyone does. But I don't know what they are - at all. I couldn't even make an educated guess because he leaves it out. Our small church includes Republicans, Democrats, and Libertarians and the reason we don't mind is because our pastor has established an environment that is not political. Every one should learn from this example. (Someone show this to John Piper and Donald Miller, please.)

2 - Roll Up Your Sleeves

No one works harder than our pastor. On a workday he is there first and leaves last - usually doing the hardest work, himself, with a smile. Try to keep up with him if you want but you won't be able to because he'll leave you behind. Some pastors are known for sitting in their office behind a wall of books. It's important for a pastor to study but the pastor is also a shepherd to their people who needs to be among the flock.

3 - Delegate

My church does as much work as a church two or three times bigger. The pastor is industrious but he couldn't possibly get that much work done on his own. Instead, he oversees many groups that do many jobs. The result is a little church that does a lot of work because our pastor delegates many responsibilities to volunteers within the church. Everyone is involved and more work gets done.

That's what I've learned at my church over the last few months. What are some other lessons minsters have taught you?

Good News on the Health Care Bill

I'm not going to do much specific discussion about the Health Care bill on this site - I don't think politics belong behind the pulpit - but I do want to point out something that happened, recently, that I'm glad about.

What's been known as the "end-of-life" provision is being dropped from the bill by "key senators." Yahoo News reports:

A health care bill passed by three House committees allows Medicare to reimburse doctors for voluntary counseling sessions about end-of-life decisions. But critics have claimed the provision could lead to death panels and euthanasia for seniors.

I realize that some pundits have taken this out of context and claimed that the government is trying to set up euthanasia camps and such - I know that it isn't that bad so don't put me in the same category as the over-reactors.

However, I was not happy about this being in the bill. It allows a doctor to be paid simply because they discussed end-of-life therapy - giving doctors incentive to discuss these options with patients when they might have ignored it, otherwise. That's not the kind of incentive I want the government to give people.

What do you think? Let me know in the comments if you think my reaction is appropriate or if I should reconsider this whole thing. Talk to me.

Should Christians Have More Babies to Compete with Muslims? (Sheesh...)

Convinced that the Muslims of the world are in a breeding frenzy, someone has circulated a video encouraging Christians to have as many babies as possible in order to "keep up."

No. No. No.

Christians are not required to engage in bio-sociological warfare by raising "Christian" children to combat the social movements of other religions. It's not Biblical and it's dumb.

Furthermore, the claims made in that video are simply false. For example, the video tells us that in France the average birth rate is 1.8 - but for Muslims the birth rate is 8.1. This is intended to scare you into picturing a not-to-distant future in which France is entirely Muslim - but these claims are easily dismissed. Nobody in France tracks birth rates by religion, and, according to the BBC:

...no country on Earth has such a high fertility rate, and in Algeria and Morocco, the two nations which send the largest Muslim immigrants to France, the fertility rate is 2.38, according to the UN's 2008 figures...

Someone is not doing their homework. Instead they are spreading lies and hatered, and they probably believe that they are doing the work of the Lord in the process. They are not. It is also important to note that actual demographers have been noticing a decline in birthrates of Muslim women in Europe which is the opposite of what this video claims.

Here's a few points for whoever promotes this video:

1. The Bible never urges demographical dominance. Jesus didn't ask the disciples to breed in order to expand the Kingdom of God. Such sociological warfare is not founded in scripture but in hatred and bigotry.
2. Shame on you for not loving every child of the world. Shame on you for insinuating that Muslim babies are a "problem." They aren't. Muslim babies, just like all other children, are precious is His sight. You were supposed to learn that one in Sunday School.
   
3. It is the duty of a Christian to glorify God - not to overwhelm other faiths. We do not evangelize by force. You would do better to promote a video that displays God's love than one that displays your own anti-Muslim views. Sharing His love with others is how we do God's work and there is no hint of that Love in this video.
4. It's none of your business how many children other people have. (Also, do you GO to church? The church attenders I know have more kids than any of their neighbors. If having kids is the right thing to do than Christian communities must have already learned this one.)
5. Get your facts straight - this video is a laughing stock.
   

You can watch the video and read some relevant facts at Snopes. Remember, Jesus loves these children.

Issac Watts and the Psalms - The Oldest Book I Own

In the 18th century, Isaac Watts reshaped the world of music by introducing churches to new religious poetry intended to be sung by the entire congregation - until then, they were mostly just singing the Psalms.

Like others before him, Watts had already translated the Psalms into (then) contemporary English so that churches could sing them and understand them better. Watts published a book containing his versions of the Psalms that also included many of his own original works - and I happen to have a copy of that book.

It was published in 1821, more than thirty years after Watts' death, and it is by far the oldest book I own. (Probably the only one I own from that century, but I have a lot of books from the first two decades of the twentieth century.)

I have cats. It stays in the bag.

It's a tiny book with a lot of pages. I don't think people always made books that small, back in the day, but this one is remarkable for its tiny size. It's also in pretty good shape for such an old thing.

Yeah, my hand's that huge. I'm pretty much a giant.

Now you know why so many early protestant ministers are pictured wearing bifocals.

This book reminds me to think outside of the box.

If a certain thing is the best thing to do then don't worry if no one else is doing it - just do it.

Watts was the only person writing music in his way and plenty of people didn't think it was best for the church. Those people would think differently, today, if they could see how his words still influence Christianity while their own words are now seen as disdainful criticism.

Will my words be remembered as those of a cranky blogger or can I actually contribute to the world around me?

Why Specter's Explanation Fails

I just watched part of a town hall meeting in which Arlen Specter spoke in favor of the proposed health care bill. His words, at the time, focused on abortion. He was telling the uproarious crowd that the plan includes options that do not cover abortions - so you don't have to have abortion coverage in your own plan.

This is not an effective argument. Those who oppose abortion, on grounds that it is murder, will not be happy that their tax dollars will pay for it. It won't matter if it's for the neighbor's pregnancy rather than their own - they don't want to pay for something they consider to be wrong.

Arguments like this baffle me because no one who opposed abortion could possibly be satisfied with them. I would prefer a politician who admits that we disagree on this issue and that one side is going to have to be disappointed. Obviously, I want my side to win, but there is no middle ground on the issue of abortion and its insulting to insist that there is.

Freaky Monday.

A premature baby declared dead by doctors was found to be alive hours later when he was taken home for a funeral wake.

The baby's father, Jose Alvarenga, was told by doctors that his son had died shortly after birth.

Staff from the state-run hospital in Asuncion, the Paraguayan capital, delivered the infant's body to Mr Alvarenga's home fours hours later.

Shortly afterwards, the grieving father opened the baby's coffin to bid an emotional farewell to his son.

"I opened it to look at his remains and found that the baby was breathing," Mr Alvarenga said. "I began to cry."

He rushed back to the hospital with his unnamed baby in his arms and nurses placed the infant in an oxygen chamber.

He is now reported to be in a stable condition.

"This is a very unusual case," said Ernesto Weber, head of paediatric intensive care at the hospital.

No kidding, it's an unusual case.

Heck, that's the freakiest thing I've ever heard. It was alive for four hours without any discernible heartbeat or breathing? It's astounding. Can you imagine if the father hadn't opened the casket? Thank God he did.

(By the way, there are no typos in this blog entry - the above was copied from a British newspaper and you know how they are with their spelling...)

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1205165/Father-opens-coffin-dead-baby-alive.html#ixzz0NkSdjBQk

Male Braille Fail

A local seminary had this piece of paper taped onto their men's room door - complete with two-dimensional braille lettering. (They could have at least punched holes in the page, sheesh...)

Go here to vote for this on the fail blog.

Once Again - Churches Blamed for Mass Murder

Earlier this week, a gunman entered a gym, turned out the lights, and shot and killed 3 women before turning the gun on himself.

It's a horrible thing.

As usual, someone in the media is blaming Christianity; they are using this event to further their own agenda.

The man kept an online journal where he pretty much described exactly what he was going to do and how he was going to do it - if anyone had been reading it might have saved lives. In a very unfortunate way, it serves his point that no one read it. He was angry that women never paid attention to him and after being single since the mid-eighties he decided to end his life in this miserable way.

According to this article from The Examiner (published in my city), Christianity is to blame. This murderer was told by his church that he could go to heaven even if he were a killer. According to that article, this made it easier for him to do what he did. In a secular non-religious society, says the author, these murders would not have been as likely to happen.

There you have it: Christians are to blame for the murders. Make no mistake about it, the journalist literally blames the church. Are churches creating violence?

A local church I work with just spent a week doing jobs in their community for people who could not afford them. The volunteered to paint old houses and replace old doors just to help out. My own church is currently collecting supplies to help Bhutanese refugees who have no place to go. I have spent time downtown working with homeless shelters and most of them are religious in nature.

This is the site of Mission Arlington - a faith-based charity that helps homeless people find jobs and places to live, as well as health care. Churches appropriate large portions of their budget to these types of places. Instead of gratitude, members of the media blame Christians for violence that they were not connected with.

Christianity is not teaching violence and it is not responsible for the actions of madmen. As a matter of fact, you will be hard pressed to find a local community organization that does as much charity work as your local church. Even a cursory glance at the Bible will teach an individual that murderous actions like this are wrong and no one (who isn't crazy or looking for excuses) could receive any contrary instruction from it. By teaching love and patience the church attempts to stop such acts - they are not responsible for them.

In any event: three innocent ladies are in body bags. Is this really the time to further you own social agenda?

Christianity vs. Postmodernism

I've been asked to explain why Postmodernism is not in conflict with Christianity - I am more than happy to oblige.

I must start by addressing the issue of postmodernism as a worldview. In my previous posts about this, I have been discussing the philosophical approach known as postmodernism in which we examine our world by questioning absolutes. However, some have developed an entire worldview that denies absolutes - they are taking the postmodern philosophy out of its intended context and using it almost like a religion. (Phrases like, "I don't believe in God/Buddha/Heaven because I am a postmodernist" should not make sense.) This abuse of philosophy goes by the name "postmodernism" and obviously stands in opposition to Christianity; so, when I said that the two could be reconciled I was not talking about this type of postmodernism.

(If you find that last paragraph confusing then take heart - you are on the right track. It is very frustrating that there are TWO things called postmodernism that are not exactly the same; things like this make my life difficult. Who allowed someone to name a worldview postmodernism? Isn't there a consortium of philosophers watching out for this sort of thing?)

So, the approach that we call postmodernism (the one I have been talking about for a few weeks) teaches us not to accept absolutes and truths at face value. This approach causes us to question everything.

Don't think of it as a bad thing. A person of this nature will question the Lordship of Christ and the authority of scripture - but they will also question the philosophy of Nihilsm and modern claims of religious plurality. A non-postmodernist is the type who believes in whatever they hear without giving it any thought and that is very dangerous. Also, since we do not live in the middle ages we should not expect our churches to "strongarm" people into going to church - it's always OK for believers to ask questions.

Remember this?

Test everything.
Hold on to the good.
Avoid every kind of evil.

-1 Thessalonians 5:21-22

I'm not trying to be so audacious as to say that the Bible teaches postmodernism. But, notice that the believer is expected to ask questions about everything. When Thomas claimed that he would not believe in The Resurrection until he touched Jesus' body, he didn't have to wait long before Jesus showed up and invited him to touch his flesh. (This doesn't make him a bad person. Remember, the other apostles weren't too quick to catch on when the ladies arrived to tell them Jesus had risen.)

If postmodernism is a method of learning the truth then it can only point to what is absolutely true. The difficulty comes when we think postmodernism teaches us to deny absolutes - it does not. It specifically teaches us to be incredulous to them - which means that we can come to believe in those absolutes if our observations confirm them. Was there ever an actual believer who did not initially question the truths of the Bible - only to accept them in the end?