Perspective and Context (Part 1)

Bear with me here as this is a concept I am still trying to ‘flesh out’ myself, but I hope you can take something from it.

I was having a ‘Ministry’ chat with a friend of mine the other day and I really started thinking about some important things.  Two of which relate to how we ‘perceive’ the Bible in today’s world and the ‘context’ in which the Bible was written.

DISCLAIMER:  I want to start out by saying, yes, I know that the Bible is just as applicable ‘Today’ as it has ever been in the past…and I do think that God can ’show’ us, through his word, wisdom for our life and current state of affairs.  I am not challenging any of those ideas or thoughts.

1) CONTEXT - How often to we read the Bible trying to find a proof-text for a certain attribute of God, or wisdom concerning certain decisions, or even to enhance a message…especially to make it fit into whatever ’series’ we are going through at church.  Truth be told, alot.  I do it all the time (not that it’s wrong) but it can become unhealthy.  Lately I find it very beneficial to take a verse and the chapter before and after, just to get a basic sense of the context in which it was written…often times I find that the message being conveyed is not 100% about what I thought it was about.  I would say what we do is similar to a newspaper or magazine interview article, where the writer picks a handful of quotes from the interview and formulates the idea he/she wants to convey with the article…it isn’t always a fair representation of the entire conversation.

PERSPECTIVE     (To Be Continued…)

What I’m Listening 2.

It’s been a while since I blogged about what I am currently listening to, without any further fanfare:

Kings of Leon – Only By the Night
Being that I lived in Nashville recently, I couldn’t help but be bombarded by this bands name, and for good reason.  They have been TN local favorites for years but with this new release, in the words of ZZ Top, they’re “Nationwide”.  It’s one of those albums where the next track is just as good as the last.  BTW They were nominated fro a Grammy this year and were ROBBED!, just sayin’.

Kristian Stanfill – Attention
While not being as epic as a Hillsong United album and not quite as accesible as say, Chris Tomlin, Stanfill’s “Attention” fits nice and snug right in the middle.  To me, this is a very good thing…its something a little fresher than the norm.  I was hooked from the guitar intro on the first track, “Alive and Running”.  For some more goodness check out his Hello EP released independently…he has a great version of “From the Inside Out” on there.

Keith Urban – Defying Gravity
To me, this guy is the TP (total package).  Good looks, good voice, good musician, and good songs.  He is about the only country artist out there doing rock/country/pop thing without coming across chessey or cliché.  His band flat kills it too, which is never a bad thing.  Good songs with guitar solos you can sing to in the car, ’nuff said.

Katy Perry – One of the Boys
This girls voice is amazing.  Its both pretty and gritty all at the same time.  She has incredible range, writes her own songs (rock/dance/r&b with pop sensibilities) and plays guitar.  What makes her unique in her songwriting is that she can be both honest and deep AND shallow and whimsical all at the same time and still have it fit in a catchy 4 minute package.  Love her.  “Mannequin”, “Hot n’ Cold”, and “Thinking of You” are must listens.

“Pay No Attention to What’s Behind the Curtain!?”

Remember that part of The Wizard of Oz? You know it’s when they meet the ‘wizard’ and Toto starts messing around with the big curtain to reveal a meek little man using a lot of smoke and mirrors to make himself seem bigger than life. The problem with the logic is that it works for some time until people start poking around deeper and deeper into you church, school, business, organization, etc. It simply isn’t enough to look good on the outside…people will eventually see right through it.

It reminds me of a recent trip my wife and I took to a popular mexican grill. (here’s a hint, they have burritos as big as babies and name entree’s after 80’s movies and sitcom characters). It was a wonderful meal. The steak Quesadilla was kicking, the cheese dip hot, and the coke was not flat. I said to Rebekah, um this is the best ____’s I have had in a long time! Before we left I went to the bathroom….um, I assume they weren’t expecting me. Let the pictures explain….

Hopefully these pictures aren’t too small to see all the grossness I found in there.  It didn’t get this way in a couple of hours.  Some of that ‘nasty ‘ was dried and caked on.  It was like layers of grime were built up on the sink…it was just a ‘hot, hot mess’.  So no matter how good the food was, this will make me think long and hard before I ever go back.  It just simply isn’t enough to look good,  the inside has to match the outside to effectively reach customers, students, employees, etc.  And especially churches, Are you simply ok with looking good on Sunday Morning’s or are you operating out of an overflow of what God is doing week in and week out in your staff, members, attenders, and organizational structure.  The truth is if you aren’t….your ‘curtain call’ may be right around the corner.

Guitar, Gear, Reviews, Resources moved to gearguy.wordpress.com!!!

Ok. So I have officially moved all my gear related posts to a new wordpress.

Gearguy.WordPress.Com everyone update right now! See ya there soon!

ok…ok…hold your horses….

So I haven’t really gotten to a great start yet on my blog.  Here is something to keep you satisfied.  Two of my favorite covers we did @ lifechurch.tv in TN.  Watch in youtube awesomeness!

 

Breaking the Law

Heaven

goin’ to carolina in my mind…or for real…

Ok, Jeff Kapusta gave me a shout out on his blog..now I have to start blogging again.  Questions?????

 

1. YES.  I moved back to North Carolina.

2.  NO.  I do not live in Wilmington, at least not yet anyway.

3.  YES.  I loved Nashville and it was fun, but not home…

4.  YES.  I am going to start blogging again.

5.  NO.  It will be completely different.  This blog needs a purpose.  Yes I will impart some random thoughts now and again, but I am going to try and make this thing more productive.  MUsic oriented.  Album reviews.  gear reviews and videos.  practical advice for sound reinforcement and musicians tips and tricks.  Basically everything I have just enough knowledge of to be dangerous with.  If it falls flat, I will think about another ‘reformat’.  Stay tuned!!!!

Why is everyone trying to be a ‘Troy’

Is it just me or does our society seem to be going up the well in “Troy’s Bucket” by the…well…bucketloads? Wasn’t there a time when we were much cooler by being a Goonie? (Goonies – classic 80’s movie, and the movie in which I am deriving this post) There was a time in our music, fashion, and entertainment praised individuality….now everyone in High School dresses the same, all the music on the radio is homogeneous, and lets don’t even start with movie /moviestars

But don’t worry, there are some goonies still out there. Here are a couple to check out.

Movies – Pan’s Labyrinth (masterpiece by Guillermo Del Toro’ -warning: spainish w/ English subtitles)

Be Kind Rewind

Music – The Ponys/Turn The Lights Out

Phil Colins/Face Value (a blast from the past, just listen, I’m sure it will bring a smile to your face)

As Tall As Lions/As Tall As Lions

So put on your slick shoes and grab your inhaler, do a quick truffle shuffle, and go look for One Eye’d Willie! Celebrate what makes you different!

Deadliest Catch and “The Church”

What I learned about Church from the Dealiest Catch.

Ok so besides the prelim. similarities about the disciples being fishermen…I have some other observations.

(if you are unaware, Deadliest Catch is a documentary about crab fishermen)
These are in no random order. Some of these ae literal and some are metaphoric, have fun figuring those out.

Faith and Trust mean nothing until your life depends on it.

It can be bad for your health, relationships, and resources.

There is no room for dead weight….at all. (sometimes you have to cut and run)

It can be rewarding.

It is hard, dirty work, with little time for sleep or TV.

IT IS NOT GLAMOROUS (If it is you are just making noise w/ nothing to show for it)

People can die, everyday..many times accidently.

You have to speak truthfully and be willing to ‘hear’ truth, yes people in the real world do curse                (even in church sometimes)

Boats break down, Improvise.

You can throw out 50 pots and only catch 10 crab.  It takes the same amount of work to catch 10 as it does 1000.  You have to be willing to accept it.

Sometimes members of the same crew, fight.

Everyone eventually gets hurt.

Truth is Truth, but sometimes it comes in unexpected forms.

If you don’t watch your back, the very thing you love can destroy you.

These may seem a bit depressing, but not all news is good news. Read Habakkuk.

modern interpretations

Psalm [33:3]

“Sing (HOLLA) unto Him (GOD) a new song (NOTE: not to be confused with christian band Newsong); play skillfully with a loud noise.”( And RIP IT UP with a CRANKED MARSHAL STACK)

Dedication to Innovation

Paul Meany (Singer of the band, MUTEMATH) in reference to their new album, saying ‘Our goal is to EMBARRASS the first record, that’s what we’re trying to do here, and I think we’re on point to pull it off’.

Gosh, that’s such an awesome statement…..