Doug Van Pelt

HM Spot.2

Here is spot number 2 in our series.

The Wait Is Over...

Oh my gosh, the wait is over. It's finally here! Yes, Rock and Roll Dating has arrived. Just like any narrow focus group, now your dating energies don't need to be wasted on those "other music" fans out there (I mean, some people think Country & Western are THE only two styles of music there are). RockNRollDating.com is an online dating service for us all. And to think I wasn't going to learn anything today.

Am listening to the brand new HM Magazine Podcast after a long day of prepping for the long trip to the Cornerstone Festival. I was like Hank Hill, filling up my 30-gallon tanks of propane, getting a new battery, and all that kind of busy stuff. Greeley Estates starts off the new podcast.

And, of course, HM Magazine is not endorsing this new rock and roll dating service. Heck! I haven't even checked it out. It could be some virus spilling scab on the internet for all I know!

They'll Know We Are Christians By Our Driving

Some people would say that "they'll know we are Christians by the (kind of) cars that we drive." These folks have a point. In today's energy situation, certain gas guzzling cars could be said to be a foolish use of money.

Some might say, "They'll know we are Christians if we drive. These folks have a point, too. Money spent on cars, gas and other 'luxuries' could be spent on helping others much less fortunate. Taking a walk or sporting a bicycle for that commute to work is a way to make a difference in someone else's life -- literally changing the world in a small, but measured way.

Some might say, "They'll know we are Christians by the way that we drive. I was at a 3-way stop sign the other day, which is a 4-way intersection that is about 25 feet from a short incline and two sets of railroad tracks that is also parallel to a highway and traffic light. When that light is red, there is room for two cars between the tracks and the light, and about one car between the 3-way and the tracks (sometimes two). I arrived at the intersection as the last car of a crowd. I didn't have room to make a left turn and get in line for the light, so I stayed at my stop sign, making me the next elligible person to proceed through the intersection when space allowed. Another car approached on my right a few minutes later. When the other intersection cleared, I went to go, and so did this other car. I remembered that yielding and right of way is something we offer -- not exactly a right we exercise. I could have gestured to this other driver and/or honked. I decided a gesture was in order. I politely gave him the shoo-away/go ahead signal, which he gave me at the same time and then he waved a "thanks." I guess he was impatient and felt like he had waited all he was going to wait. Perhaps he didn't realize that I was the first car at the intersection by a long time. Maybe he was thinking that we both arrived at the same time and he was to my right and thus had the right of way. He was wrong, but it was just as easy to let him go and I felt good about being polite and courteous.

It reminded me of how humility is something we give or offer. It's not something we take. We humble ourselves before God and others. It can be said that someone "humbles us," as if they destroy us in a competition or "put us in our place." That might be better stated as "humiliate," rather than humble.

I think most people, if polled, might describe one major characteristic of a Christian (or any "spiritual" or "religious" person, for that matter) as: humble. A devout follower of God is taught to be humble and think of others as more important than yourself.

My driving is often a selfish venture of getting from place to place. I think of getting to where I'm going safely and quickly. I'm glad when I can break out of my narrow, selfish perspective and offer others the right of way or the courtesy of getting out of a parking lot or right turn in front of me. My life isn't dependent upon getting to such and such place, so taking a deep breath, resting, and allowing someone else to get ahead or squeeze into a line is a good thing. Who knows, it might even be a "witness."

[By the way, the familiar verse is something like: "They'll know you are Christians by your love for one another." That speaks to me about how we relate to each other as believers.]

Boston Concert Review

[San Antonio, Texas] Saturday, June 21





"Just another band out of Boston" has taken the road for a pretty solid three months of touring this summer. Stryper's Michael Sweet has been tapped to be vocalist/guitarist for this 90-plus minute show of hits.


This year marks my 30th anniversary of seeing Boston live for the very first (and only other) time. It was quiet majestic. I was unexpectadly impressed with their sound. I was a young 15 years old, going to my first real rock concert outdoors at Anaheim Stadium with 81,000 people, if I recall correctly. I showed up right before the quadruple-bill started with Sammy Hagar. I was on the ground near home plate in the very back at first, slowing stepping into the "river" of people moving back and forth, snaking my way to the front, getting closer for Van Halen, closer still for Black Sabbath and then holding the outfield wall and stage barricade in my hands -- at front row and center. The late Brad Delp looked me right in the eye, playfully encouraging me to clap along during "Feelin' Satisfied," but I was too busy making a statement about how cool I was with my arms crossed, defying Delp like he was a school teacher or something.


Well, 30 years later and I'm finally clapping along with my hands over my head, as if making up for that misplaced act of defiance. (I needed that act, though. It was a necessary building block for my carefully-built wall of coolness that I've relied upon for so many years...) Only this time it wasn't Brad Delp coaxing the crowd to clap along, but the "Home Depot guy," who was singing a good half of the songs, along with Michael Sweet.





Tommy DeCarlo's story is one of rock and roll dream-come-true legends (like the movie Rock Star), where a fan was singing the band's tunes and the band took notice (via his myspace page).


Dude does a real good job. Gary Phil, who I remember Sammy Hagar (it all seems to come around full circle, wow) busting onstage at that show in 1978, before they had a little guitar battle during the old Montrose song, "Bad Motor Scooter." This guy later joined Boston and was one of three guitarists, wailing away with those clean tones (Scholz, Sweet, and Phil).





The night went by fast after Styx rocked the house. They had the large outdoor amphitheater crowd singing along to "Fooling Yourself" (The Angry Young Man) and "Come Sail Away." I'd never seen Styx before and was just happy that they'd either left "Mr. Roboto" off the setlist or we'd arrived too late to hear it. They were good, loud, energetic ... and pretty tight.





Boston arrived and jumped right in with hit after hit after hit. Almost everything off the self-title debut album was played. The title track to Don't Look Back, "It's Easy," the ballad "A Man I'll Never Be" and the rousing "Party." Most of the material was clearly the classic old stuff, but later hits like "Amanda" and "Cool The Engines" were played, too.


While DeCarlo looked a tad uneasy but still very upbeat, Sweet looked like he was having a ball, playing guitar and scooting all over the stage. Later he stepped up to the mic in a quiet point in the show and stated that they dedicated the next song to the one and only Brad Delp. It was "To Be A man."





It didn't blow me out of the water like that first show did (I've gone on record before stating how that outdoor baseball stadium show sounded as astonishingly clear and crisp as listening to a compact disc through headphones), nor did it take me past the level of being stoked to revel in the great songs. It was a good show, but I wasn't really disappointed that it wasn't great. The flaws weren't obvious. It didn't suck by any means. It might've been a minute degree in the direction of laid back. I don't know. It looked like all the amplification (six full stacks of speakers adorned the back of the stage) was being powered by the trademarked Rockman system that Scholz invented. My friend joked that it almost seemed as if it'd be morally wrong to have any other amplification system on the same stage with those.


I was surprised to hear "Foreplay" and "Longtime" performed prior to the 90-minute set's ending. After they left and the obligatory encore seemed imminent, it was anyone's guess what song(s) they had left in their quiver to bring out. "Smokin'" was about the only sizable tune not played that night, and that's what they did for an encore.


Afterward Michael Sweet admitted that it was early into the tour and they still "obviously had a few kinks to work out." The historical significance and the prominence of seeing Stryper frontman Michael Sweet on this stage, though, seemed to speak volumes about his talent and God's favor upon the man. It's nice to know that this guy is not only for real when it comes to being a follower of the Way, but recognized and appreciated (instead of being marginalized or deemed cheesy and irrelevant like some "Christian rock footnote" in the history of rock and roll. In a way, this tour legitamized the guy's voice and talent. I couldn't help but feel blessed and fortunate to witness the event.





...And special thanks to Mr. Sweet, who hooked me up with killer 7th row center seats! It makes a good show even better to see it up close.




© 2008 HM Magazine, LLC. All rights reserved.

Everybody Must Get Stoned!

This same issue of Ministry Today also had a column/article by R.T. Kendall about people that throw around the phrase: "God told me..." The author equates this charismatic habit to "taking the Lord's Name in vain." He points out that the motivation for saying, "God told me" is often to add weight to our words or beef up our reputation.

Ouch!

That shouldn't be so, huh? The author brings up a great question, which is basically: "If such and such thing is true, why do I have to bring God's Name into it? Wouldn't it be just as true if I leave His Name out?"

I like that. This would be like taking your art into the "marketplace of ideas" without bringing the label "Christian" along with it. It allows those with a supposed open mind to consider it (let's call them "guarded" open minds, which will shut faster than you can say "bigot" when they see the tag "Christian," to which you can't blame them too much for perceiving a "been there, done that, I'm saving time by filtering out stuff I've already formed an opinion on" kind of mentality, but I still think it's lame).

I love a word picture the author brings up about this principle of letting the words stand on their own (without the Name of the Lord being added). He brings up the fact that there is not a sign on the Grand Canyon. "It would cheapen the entire aura." That fabulous world wonder doesn't need a label to tell us that it's the Grand Canyon, does it? What a great analogy!

He also brings up another good metaphor. "No one likes a name dropper."

A few pages later, columnist/pastor Jack Hayford pens a column on the similar subject of prophecies. Dang, this was a good issue of Ministry Today (Sep/Oct '07). I wish I'd been quicker to blog about it.

P.S. Do you know what they used to do to false prophets?

Watchmen, not Watchdogs

I was reading an article in the Sep/Oct 2007 issue of Ministry Today. (ministrytodaymag.com)

I know, I know, I'm reading an old issue. That's me. I get so many magazines in the mail. The only ones I read immediately or close to it are: Sports Illustrated, Alternative Press, ESPN, HM + Heaven's Metal Fanzine (of course) and Revolver. And I'm scanning those, looking for items of interest. I'm not a cover-to-cover kind of reader, except in rare occasions. I'm a good poster child for the magazine business, though; because my habits show that magazines have a longer shelf life than the dates printed on the front.

Anyway, there was a tagline at the top of this issue that said: "TERROR ALERT: Watchdog groups on the loose!" The 5-page article (written by David Cannistraci) is titled: "The War On Error." I liked what it had to say. It pointed out that "online heresy hunters" were sowing more dischord than much-needed correction.

Part of the problem is just like what we'll see on the average forum or message board: People flaming each other with little to no regard to the effects that their words might have on the receiving end.

The opening paragraph states:

Infidels beware: A new generation of crusaders is on the march, ignoring history's warnings about the damage unrestrained spiritual zeal creates. Their mission? To protect us all from religious fraud and dangerous doctrines by investigating and exposing those who push past the accepted boundaries of conservative evangelicalism. They have pledged themselves to defend truth and liberate the kingdom of God from the threat of apostasy.

Early on the author poses the question: "In the quest for truth and accountability, does anything go? Or is there a way to clean up the messes in the church without lynching good people and inciting division in the body of Christ?"

He answers his own question with: "I believe there is. We can be safe and pure if we replace our anger, fear and criticism with honesty, wisdom and humility."

He talks about how a world is watching as the body fights amongst itself, wounding us all. He also points out that confronting error is biblical. "As a church body, we are to prune ourselves of dead or poisonous parts. But it's hard to find any scriptural examples of ministries dedicated solely to this task."

I like that. The balance required to juggle a "correction/heresy hunting ministry" with a local congregation, serving the poor, encouraging brothers, discipling brothers, sowing mercy and peace." Doing both diligently will help in the fight against "going to one extreme." The apostle Paul called the Judiazers "dogs" and spit some nasty venom at the divisive legalists, stating that he "wishes they would go all the way and emasculate themselves." That's mean, but if you balance that with his self-sacrificing intercession, ongoing service and vast amounts of energy in mercifully and gracefully building up the church, it gives more power and balance to his extreme actions when he has to be "the bad guy." In a simple way to dumb/boil it down: I think Christians should be mostly "the good guy," so when they have to be the angry teacher/"bad guy," it's balanced out. Even the people being scolded will realize, "Man, this person is normally so nice, I must've done something terribly wrong to get them this mad." That's terribly over-simplified, but that kinda makes one of my points/expresses my feelings on the matter.

The article points out that "true scholars don't name-call, mock and condemn others for thinking differently." Another great point, where the author turns the tables on these Captain Rebuko types and points the finger at them is when he so expertly nails their character weakness: "Their perspective is flawed. Like mad scientiists peering into microscopes in search of dangerous germs and viruses, heresy hunters are addicted to finding something -- anything -- wrong. Their focus is rarely "big picture."

A couple other criticisms the author points out is these watchdogs take the church's dirty laundry and expose it to the world. The Bible kind of admonishes us to do this kind of work in-house (with the hopes that it will solve the problem, not to hide or be fake, but to bring repentence and restoration), so that it won't have to damage the church's reputation. Causing some to mistrust one preacher can lead to mistrusting them all. If a problem goes outside this family after going through the phases of the Matthew 18 principle (one on one, two on one, then befor e the entire church), then exposure to the world is unavoidable, but massive amounts of help have already been tried by this time. I kinda trust God's principle on this stuff. Another point the author brings up is that alot of these watchdogs aren't accountable themselves. Enough said.

And here is a great blow-up quote for this article:
"Like Saul killing Christians for God, today's crusaders are more dangerous than those they condemn."

Wow. The article balances out by stating some very poignant facts in defense of these "crusaders" when it says:

"It's said there is a seed of truth in all criticism. While heresy hunters have clearly careened out of control, we must admit that too many of their observations are dead-on. Too many ministries have become outlandish, unbiblical and unaccountable. Who can blame the watchdogs for bristling at the self-indulgent lifestyles, doctrinal shallowness, manipulative methods and moral confusion of many in the ministry today? It's hard to admit, but the crusaders may be clearer on the problem than many of us."

It measures this compliment, though, with the following:
"Unfortunately, they are rarely as helpful when it comes to the solution. Speaking truth is good, but it must always be balanced by grace and motivated by love."

Five points of solution are offered in conclusion of the article:
1. Let's figure out what victory looks like. "Are we trying to discredit a brother or redeem one?" That's a good question that'll point us in the right direction.
2. Let's establish a place to deal with disputes.
3. Let's not major in the minors. (Matthew 7:2 and 23:24).
4. Let's adjust our level of force. "Deadly force is not necessary to resolve a theological dispute."
5. If we're unable to agree, let's walk away free.

The note on the author at the end of the article points out that he's a pastor and that he was once declared a "heretic" in 1999 for his views on contemporary apostolic ministry. To his article, I shout a hearty "Amen!"

The Blue Man Group Wants You!

You know those guys in the blue makeup? They're holding auditions for their current shows in Boston, Chicago, Las Vegas, and Orlando. Info can be found at www.bluemancasting.com I bet they've found their cast already, but I thought the diagram they put out there was worth a second look.

















What is this? Some sort of ad? huh? What's all this then?

Lord, Save Me From Your Followers

I just finished watching Lord, Save Me From Your Followers.

Wow. It was a three kleenex movie for me. Some tears were simply wiped away, but other times there was just too many or my nose was too runny. Afterwards, I prayed. I thought about asking God to move me with this film, but I said, "Thank You for already moving me with this film." Then I just asked Him to use me. I don't know if my creativity is up to the task of figuring out how God would like to use me. One of the ideas I've had is to help one of my neighbors.

This movie uses the title of a funny bumper sticker that kind of gets under my skin: "Jesus, Save Me From Your Followers." What it says is that "Christians are freaks. They're abusive. They're evil. They're stupid, and they're wrong." Maybe I'm just upset because someone would have the audacity to think I was wrong. ha ha ha

Seriously, the phrase puts the church -- the loose collection of followers known as "the body of Christ" -- in a very bad light. The problem is, we deserve to be put in that bad light. What the creators of this film have done, I believe, is turned the phrase on itself and accepted the criticism to open a door to dialog.

Like the term "Jesus Freak," which was probably first created as a derisive term for non-believers to cast shame and disgust on believers; Christians gladly took the label as a badge of honor. In some degrees of measurement, it was like the early Christians being grateful and honored to be persecuted for their Lord.

I love this movie. I want to see it again. I want others I know to see it. I think it's fantastic. There are so many parts that I appreciated, but one that resonated with me a lot was when they talked about the "confessional booth" chapter in Don Miller's book, Blue Like Jazz. They not only shined a light on this incredible, incredible story; but they took matters into their own hands and placed a booth in a gay pride celebration in the city of Portland (I believe) and filmed the activity. It was very cool.

It also took a serious look at poverty. There's a few clips of Bono talking. In one such clip, Bono says that, "Poverty is mentioned in the Scriptures 2100 times ... that's a lot of airtime." Wow. It sure is a lot of airtime.

World Vision took a secular radio dj from the Northwest to Ethiopia in the hopes of getting 400 children sponsored. After she got back and started talking about it on her show ... In one day they got 800.

One of the biggest points of the movie is getting dialog going. The tale end of the movie follows several examples of this dailog happening. A large group of Christians that come to downtown Portland on the weekends is filmed showing love and compassion to the homeless. It's really touching.

And the reconciliation-like dialog that happened when the movie makers had that confessional booth at the gay pride celebration, that was powerful. I tell ya, I think my prediction of a revival igniting in the gay community by Christians reaching out in love could really, really happen.

One thing that made me fired up was realizing how exciting it is to really feel like God is happy with you, that you're doing His will. This is something that comes easy when you repent. In brokenness and humble repentance, all doubt of "am I in the Lord's will" questions don't have a leg to stand on. You kinda know that you know that you're in His will when you're repenting. I think the same can be said for when you are helping the poor and defenseless.

Wow.

Your new blog pic

The night before last I went bowling with some fellas from church. I gladly posed for this shot before I threw that ball down the lane. If I would've known then how stoned I looked, I probably never would've left the house. Look at those bags!!!

Advice for Cedric Benson...

...(from a ski mask wearing freak who's in love with his own lyrics. sigh...)




Failure is a four letter word
Thats common to us all /
Grace taken for granted
Until the time we fall /
God's not a cynic
And He doesnt take sin light /
But to think He won't forgive you
Is a thought from the night /


When you fail to meet "the standard"
And feel like such a scum /
Don't drop out and give up
Remember from where you've come /
God's not quitting now
His work with you ain't done /
In His eyes you're worth
Every bit of His only Son


(Chorus)
If you fail
God's not through with you /
Don't try and bail
There's confessing to do /
Don't justify (your sin)
Or try and strike a deal /
Repent and believe
Forgiveness is for real


Don't believe the lie
That you have to live by a norm (standard) /
Why did Jesus die
If we still have to perform? /
He took out failure on his back
And nailed it to the cross /
The believer's rest is knowing this
And counting our strength as loss /


Forgiveness is a promise
Made from God to man /
He forgives and forgets
Like no one else can /
You can believe you're forgiven
And not forgive yourself /
But if you don't apply the grace
It might affect your health


God leaves the ninety-nine
To seek and find the one /
You may have blown it big time
Yet you're still His son /
You think when you return
A whipping you will find /
But you're thinking wrongly
A kiss is on His mind


Even if you betray Him
There's still hope for you /
Share with a trusted brother
You know, he's fallen too /
All of us are human
The words been truly spoken /
God can really use us
When were on our knees and broken /
So don't look to programs,
Tongues, healing, or pretty things /
Just reach out to Jesus
And the restoration He brings /


Quit wallowing in your failure
And get yourself off your mind /
God uses broken vessels
They're His favorite kind


(Bible Study Available on If You Fail)
© Lust Control

Sweet Dreams ... and Windows shortcuts ... and reminders

Today was a sense of deja-vu. About a year ago I was driving to work blasting Marilyn Manson in the car and I passed a schoolbus load of guys in cowboy hats standing by the side of the road, ready to be shown the latest technology in weed control and fertilizer (or something like that). It seemed like an odd juxtaposition of culture to me at the time. Well, today, of all days, I was jamming out to Manson's greatest hits and ... wouldn't ya know it, there was a school bus parked on the side of the road next to a big, flat healthy field of corn, with several signs at the end of each row. And about 50 to 75 farmers -- clad mostly in cowboy hats, lined up (and almost lined up from the crops out into the street as if they had no sense) and I drive by, waving with my windows rolled up but the Manson metal blaring loud enough to hear outside anyway as I passed. What are the odds of that happening twice?

I had an internet problem today. I've been wanting to work on my novel and one of the things that keeps me doing busy-bee HM work is just keeping up-to-date with email. I could probably do nothing all day but hover over my inbox, responding to emails as they come in. I get that many questions that seem important enough to answer. So, the internet is down. Maybe it's a good circumstance to drop what I'm doing and write some. But I didn't. I noticed that another website opened. It was the hm server that was out of commission for an hour or two. That was a drag. I practiced something I believe but have gotten rusty at today: I chose joy. I praised the Lord out loud and with the occasional twitter tweet message. I think of the verse that says "The joy of the Lord is my strength." I believe that like a faith healer and it really changes my attitude. That's a nice thing, because anything that can alter my mood from bad to good is looked at with at least a little bit of favor. I'm still working on a "definition-in-progress" of the identifying characteristics of a believer. One of them might be, "clinging to the statement of Scripture like a word-of-faith practitioner." I'm not sure I like that, but I'm crafting a multi-faceted definition that borrows characteristics from many angles (some of which are crooked), but it's not so I can define my theology for a fellow Berean-like disciple that wants to "test me," but instead a definition that sparks the interest and common experience of an outsider. It's like painting with words and poetry, when I bring up "having a reverence for elders like an Iroquois" or something, it might make someone that doesn't respect Christ more interested in my faith than if I was to say, "I respect the elders in my church, because they've walked with God a long time." A fellow believer can relate to that, but a non-believer that's been hurt emotionally by some old stuffy church deacon might get turned off by that statement. I'm still working on this thing and promise to share it someday in this blog.

I was reading the new issue of Computer Shopper and came across the following cool shortcuts for Windows XP or Vista users:

Windows key + E: opens Internet Explorer with one quick keystroke.

Windows key + M: minimizes all of your open windows, leaving just the desktop exposed. This is good for all those slackers goofing off instead of working if/when their boss is strolling through the office. Or will shut down PhotoShop and Microsoft Word and InDesign if you're designing a surprise birthday card for the person that enters the room.

To open multiple websites at once: Go to tools > internet options and then type in as many addresses as you want (on individual lines) in the "home page" field. I might start doing this, so I can open hmmag.com and twitter.com when I click on the ie icon.

Tab shortcuts: Hit Ctrl + T to open a tab so you can visit a new site without opening a new window; and browse opened tabs without taking your hands off the keyboard by hitting Ctrl + Tab.

Nice, huh?

The Great Exodus.32

The first part of this chapter starts off dramatically. God basically tells Moses to get the people heading off to the promised land. He will provide an angel to go ahead of them, giving them the land and driving out the Canaanites, Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. This is right after the golden calf fiasco. God is not pleased, but notice He is staying faithful to his promise. That's very cool.

He then adds that they are headed to the land of milk and honey, but He won't be going with them. The people responded accordingly (they mourned).

Moses used to hang out with God on occasion in the "tent of meeting" and he would talk to God face to face, "as a man speaks with his friend." In a conversation about God not going with the people, Moses poses an interesting question. He basically asks, "What will distinguish me from just anyone if You are not with me?" He was identified by his relationship with God (and the presence of God being about him). Is that cool, or what?

Then Moses has a chance to see the Lord, but only his backside. God sets him in a cleft in the rock and covers Moses' eyes so that he may not see God's face. That's amazing. My imagination has been stretched in the recent past concerning what God the Father looks like. I have come to the conclusion that I really have no idea what He looks like. The one clue that I have been basing a lot on is that we are created in His image, so I try to reflect that back and think, 'He must look something like us, having a face and all...'

Little Cream Soda

This song by The White Stripes has an interesting question at the end:

"But now my mind is filled with rubber tires
and forest fires
And whether I'm a liar
And lots of other situations where I don't know
What do do at which time God screams to me
'There's nothing left for Me to tell you.'
Oh well, oh well, oh well."

Would this be God informing him that his mind is closed to any more instruction? Or is he telling him that he knows all the truth and mysteries of the universe and there's nothing more to teach him? I would be inclined it's more to do with his unteachable attitude than his filled capacity of knowledge.




"Catch Hell Blues" asks some poignant questions, too. One of the statements made is like preaching a lesson:

"And if you're testing God
And lying to His face
You're gonna catch hell
I know it..."

In the song "the Union Forever," from the White Blood Cells album, White breaks into an interesting bridge, where he brings up a mysterious "man." This has long intrigued me about this songwriter:


"There is a man
a certain man
and for the poor
you may be shure (sic)
that he'll do all he can
who is this one?
(who's favortite son?)
just by his action
has the traction
magnets
on the run
who likes to smoke?
enjoys a joke?
and wouldn't get
a bit
upset if he were
really broke?
with wealth and fame
he's still the same
I'll bet you five
you're not alive
if you don't know his name..."


Who could he be talking about here? Whoever it is, it's someone whom we all know his name. If it's not Jesus, then perhaps it's someone very rich who acts human even though he has great wealth. It could be someone who was once wealthy, but I can't think of anyone out there that's lost great fortune and has carried himself with grace since. It makes you wonder who he's talking about.


Some would say: "It can't be Jesus, because the Creator would not harm his body with tobacco." That might be a valid point, but I'm not sure if it absolutely disqualifies this character as being a reference to Jesus. As crazy as it may seem, I wouldn't flinch too much if I saw our Lord puffing on a cigarette. If I did throw a fit over someone smoking and I also ignored someone in need, or a neighbor starving to death, I would say my priorities were out of whack.


If this song were referencing Christ, though, the context and title ("the Union Forever") would in some ways contradict that thought. It seems to be about a relationship gone bad. In fact, the first verse states that "there is no true love." I don't quite buy that line.


In fact, I laugh at myself, because when I sing along to the melodic Queensryche song (which is not too often, but it is a nice song), "I Don't Believe In Love," I usually change the words to more reflect what I believe. I do believe in love, thank you very much. Call me a lunatic charismatic that puts "too much" into spoken words, but I kind of believe that the things we say (or "confess") with our lips can and do mean things. If I tell my kids: "You'll never amount to anything," I think that curses them in a way. On the other hand, when I bless someone with praise and encouragement, I think it has a very positive impact. Therefore, when I'm singing a song that says something I don't believe in, that presents a cognitive dissonance that I sometimes combat by switching the words around.


I guess (if you wanted to insult me in a way) you could call me "A walking Apologetix song." No offense to the parody band (which is a lie ... it is an insult to the band to bring them up in this context, but I don't count myself, either, as an Apologetix hater. It's funny, one of my old employees emailed our present ad person today and (while carbon-copying me on the email) said: "Does Doug still listen to Apologetix?" I think the friend was good-naturedly ribbing me.

Great vids that one of our bloggers edited

I posted these last night right before we spoke, so that the guy running video and sound wouldn't have to toggle between different web pages to show these three videos. Carlos Whitaker put these together on the fly over in Uganda. He would travel around with a small handheld video camera and then when we returned he would edit these things really fast, giving those checking out the bloggers' tour some cool images and sound shortly after the fact.


Visiting Compassion project:





Compassion project visit #2:





Shannon meeting sponsored child:

Jack White Gets All Frank Peretti On Us...

In the tune "St. Andrew (This Battle Is In The Air)" Jack White gets all Frank Peretti on us ... or does he?

"This battle is in the air
I'm looking upwards
Who is here to greet me?
St. Andrew don't forsake me
St. Andrew?
Don't forsake me
I'm not in my home
the children are crying
I'm moving backwards in ecstasy
where are the angels?
I'm not in my home
Where are the angels?
St. Andrew
I've been true
The children are crying."

Not sure why one of the apostles is invoked here. From what I could learn in a cursory search, nothing tells me why the singer would be calling out to him here. I could learn a lot about Catholic tradition. Perhaps if I did, this would make more sense to me.










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In songs like the Icky Thump title track, Mr. White talks about a "redhead senorita" that looks "dead" that asks him if he "need a bed?" This kinda feels like a Johnny Cash sort of take on life and temptation, where the writer doesn't avoid tough topics or squirm out of a touchy subject just because it's wrestling with right and wrong. In a lot of ways, so-called "Christian literature" and "Christian art" avoids subjects that "proper people don't talk about in public." That sort of attitude is very exclusive, as if non-believers aren't allowed in the conversation, much less able to hear it. It reeks of fear -- fear that addressing a situation might open up opportunity for someone to be "trapped by sin" or stumble into it.


Wake up, grandma! Opportunity is there. I remember a conversation with a Christian rock touring musician recently. They were at an autograph table before or after a show and they had gone to see some movie that day and were talking about it. One of the people in line (I can't remember if this character was a youth pastor, youth worker or just one of those "concerned" citizens) said something negative about how that movie was "inappropriate" and made it sound like this Christian band shouldn't have seen a movie where one of its characters wasn't a morally upstanding person. My friend told the guy: "Are you serious? There are kids in your youth group having sex and doing drugs ... and you're worried about the influence of this movie character?" It was funny to hear my friend get mad. I think the point that bothered him is how some believers get uptight about insignificant things and, at the same time, hide their heads in the sand instead of deal with reality that's around them.


Sin is available. I hope to keep my children innocent and ignorant of sin for the first 12 or more years of their life, but at some point as they grow up they will be exposed to what's out there. As a parent (and parenting is not always the best example to bring into a situation like this, because we don't parent other people's children. We don't parent our peers...) I want to be there to offer context to my children if and when they are exposed to sin and/or temptation.


An adult, however, is at some point (unless they're really good at hiding, which I presume some people are) going to be exposed to and confronted with sexuality, acquiring money, drugs and the inebriated life. I think a mature adult is able to choose when those situations present themselves. Believer or not, that person uses his or her upbringing, morals, wisdom and knowledge of consequences into their decisions. A writer like Johnny Cash didn't make any bones about his failures. He was a sinner. He was also a saint, and he understood that his sin was covered by the blood of the lamb of God (a carpenter that worked with His hands, named Jesus). He didn't gloat in his sins and failure. In fact, he wrote most eloquently about his remorse. This is, I think, one major reason why his music (and most prominently), his lyrics resonated with people. It was honest. He didn't get all "church lady" when it came to sin and temptation. He got honest and pointblank.


Perhaps Jack White is writing in this style. One interesting lyric that stands out in this song is:

"White Americans, what?
Nothing better to do?
Why don't you kick yourself out
You're an immigrant too."

Back in the day (late 80s), it was always a fun hobby to pontificate with friends as to whether such & such artist was "secretly a Christian band" and stuff like that. One sign we'd look for is if the album credits thanked God. Sure enough, I see that on about every White Stripes album release. Do you think....?

You Don't Know What Love Is...

(You Just Do As You're Told)...

That's an interesting lyric, isn't it?
What could Jack White be thinking there?
On the surface, it sounds like he's trying to tell a married woman that she should dump her no good husband.

"I can see your man can't help but win any problems that may arise But in his mind there can be no sin if you never criticize. You just keep on repeating all those empty 'I love you's' until you see that you deserve better I'm gonna lay right into you..."

I don't resonate with that line of thinking, as it opposes my "marriage is sacred, honorable, worth fighting for" type mindset. If a woman is getting physically beat up, getting the victim out of that situation immediately sounds smart and very reasonable and compassionate. Anytime dogma props up injustice, it needs to be looked at a second time and probably rejected.

One thing that Jesus taught us is that "the Law was made for man; not man for the Law" (in the example about "breaking the Sabbath" to heal a man). It becomes a gray area when you cross into other types of so-called "non-physical" abuse (verbal, emotional). I would certainly try other methods of intervention over separation at first, like confrontation and rebuke (one on one at first, then two on one). Jesus knew what He was talking about when He gave us those "if your brother sins against you, here's what to do" principles in Matthew 18.

Like all areas of life, we would do well to critically think about our lives through the lens of Scripture. It's really not just a book of myth and some sort of "control the masses through this fake religion" book that some actually paint it as. It's a relevant book that, if carefully studied (and I'm not talking about being fluent in Greek and Hebrew), will bring practical guidance for many a life situation. We can even get insight in how to do our jobs by understanding Scripture.

Jesus blew up the convention of His day by even talking to women (much less one from a rival faction like the Samaritans), which is neat to see. We benefit from some brothers and sisters that have gone before us and have seen in Scripture reason to stand up and do something about slavery, women's rights, civil rights, and such.

Jack White's words in this song, however, seem to be aimed at helping another person. He seems bent on telling this person: "You don't know what love is" until they realize how twisted and dysfunctional their relationship is.

"And until I realize that you've realized I'm gonna say these words to you..."

I really think there's some interesting thinking going on beneath the surface in this songwriter's lyrics.

I want to cry

I wasn't paying attention. Blame it on post-deadline fatigue. I thought the most-excellent Demon Hunter / Living Sacrifice / The Famine / Oh, Sleeper / Advent show was coming through San Antonio later on in the month of June. Yikes! It was night before last! Oh my lands ... I missed it. Wow. I am so bummed.

I plan on seeing all those bands at Cornerstone, but this was a special club show. That stinks.

HM Spot.1

Inquiring minds want to know...

When you open a new CD, do you tear off that sticker with the barcode and label off the top spine?

Or do you slice it down the middle so it stays on the CD?

I must confess

, I secretly desire to have a product with a stickered spine. Heck, I'm sure it costs more, but the last time I had a recorded audio product for the magazine (with any sort of retail distro), it did not have that spine sticker. It makes looking through the racks in the store a lot easier, doesn't it?

Going back to Kansas

Was listening to more of that Kansas Live album on the way to work this morning (it's a double disc ... and I have almost finished one of them). I was impressed by the great job of storytelling that Kerry Livgren did with the song "Closet Chronicles." I've long loved the poetry of that song, but I realized that this writer did a great job of telling a story in the space of one (what is it) 8 minute-long song. I found myself caring for this king in the story. I was bummed that he had become a "refugee of a family" and how he was to die a lonely death. I mourned the fact that he would never hear the sound of children's innocent laughter. I could hear that sound as I contemplated what it would be like to never hear it again. So sad. And then when the king disappeared, he "left us all to follow through his maze." Did he leave a mess behind? Why didn't anyone read his "chronicles?" Such a good story. So many details. I found myself following along and engaged in the details. Well done, Mr. Livgren.

I battle a sore back that makes my neck stiff. I guess I'm really a stiff-necked person now! I hope to get some massage therapy. I have some exercises to strengthen the muscles and I try to interrupt the position I'm in and the posture I keep in front of the computer. I've got a lower tray for the keyboard and mouse, which I think improved how I sit a lot. Yet it doesn't seem to be enough. I think I compound my problem each day. Maybe with continued exercise and some massage I can move past this. I hope so.

My daughter made me sign a contract that promises I'll be home in time for her birthday party on Friday. As crazy as that sounds (like I would be late for that), the underlying message is clear: somehow she's become worried about my ability to arrive on time. I better step it up in that department.





Here is a photo of my champion cereal boxes. They've been decorated and awarded little Chiquita and Dole banana stickers for heroic deeds and fantastic play on the field. Some of those open field tackles have made the other cereal boxes explode, with cereal flying up in the air and evoking roars of approval from the stadium's crowd. Wow. The coffee is really good, too. A chocolate covered peppermint from Altoids adds just the right finishing taste.

Wow, in reading Exodus 32 this morning, I see that "stiff necked" description again. It's not a good label, trust me. God is alerting Moses to a situation down the mountain, calling the people worshiping a golden calf a stiff necked people. God tells Moses, "Now leave me alone," and promises to make him a great nation ... just as soon as he destroys these people.

Before we talk about Moses' response here, I want to go back and discuss the error of the man in charge. Not Moses, mind you. He delegated Aaron, I believe, to handle things while he was up on the mountain with God. I assume that's how it was set up. Regardless of those details, the people came to Aaron. They told him, "Come, make us gods who will go before us. As for this fellow Moses who brought us up out of Egypt, we don't know what has happened to him."

Now, while it's a scary thing to align oneself to these "stiff-necked" people, I do sympathize with them. They probably didn't know any better. Maybe there was a still small voice inside that resisted their idea of making some gods; but perhaps a bigger issue was that these people didn't really know God. Moses was walking with the Lord in a way that could be described as a "relationship." These people were apparently confused and weren't sure what or Who they were worshiping. Aaron, however, being the man in charge, seems to have made a huge blunder. I'm not sure God shouldn't have told Moses, "Wait here while I go destroy Aaron. He's a terrible priest that's just done the unthinkable for his people."

When asked to make a god, Aaron should've used that request as a platform to launch into an educational sermon about Who God is and how He is greater than anything created. However, it's possible that this time on the mountain, where much of that "education" and law was given from the Lord to Moses (possibly a very long 40 days) was a time of great learning for one but offering nothing (yet) for the many below. Perhaps it was later that they were to learn how wrong those kind of actions were. Perhaps it was after the Law was given that they could discern better the difference between idolatry and worship of the one true God. Either way, I'm not totally sure you can blame these guys for what they did. Now, with the knowledge from Scripture that I have (limited though it may be), I could not make the same mistake and claim ignorance. I know that idolatry is wrong and misplaced enthusiasm.

Now, Moses here acts like a messiah. Verse 11 describes him as seeking the favor of the Lord. Moses brings up how "the Joneses" might think (you know, the Egyptians) about God "delivering His people just so He could kill them in the wilderness. He also brought up His promise to Abraham. We're not sure what it was that convinced God (if it was any mere words at all, for that matter), but God did relent and did not carry out His threat.

When Moses came down from the mountain, he had a great piece of art with him. It was the two tablets, which were engraved on each side by the hand of God. In anger he threw them down at the foot of the mountain and broke them. He took the golden calf and burned it and ground the remains to powder. Then he made the Israelites drink it. Yuck. What a graphic and sensory way to make a point! All this burning and grinding and drink mixing took time, which must've been tense.

Aaron basically tells a big lie to Moses, trying to get him to believe that when he threw the gold into the fire that, "Poof!" out came a golden calf. Give us a break, Aaron! Moses drew a line in the sand and asked all who were on God's side to come over. All the Levites rallied to him. Then he basically told them to go through the camp and kill "each his brother and friend and neighbor." It was a terrible, terrible day. I can see why the singer from HIM describes the "God of the Old Testament" as vengeful and wrathful. I think he's terribly mistaken to read this big difference between the two sections of the Bible, but I understand how he could come to this conclusion.

It's kind of sad that Moses interceded on behalf of his people and then he got mad at them and killed a bunch of them. About three thousand of them died. I hope that Moses wept while this was going on. This was sad, sad stuff. The people were described as "out of control." Perhaps there is a spirit involved with idol worship that, like evil, is a possessing, demonic spirit that can't be casually glossed over or ignored. The Lord struck the people with a plague because of what they did with the calf.

I wonder how Aaron dealt with this failure. I mean, as a priest, how do you deal with failure -- when it means so many consequences for your people? I wonder if he or Moses felt isolated from the people like that king in "Closet Chronicles?"

Not every podcast...

I am listening to the brand new HM Magazine Podcast, which is now available at itunes, and am being moved to tears. Wow. This is cool. It's not every podcast that evokes tears. Good stuff.

I'm not a huge fan of the sonics of that first Rez Band song, but the message (about apathy) is right on. And the other multiple songs included in this podcast are fantastic. If you've never checked out one of our podcasts, please listen to this one.

What is a podcast? It's an mp3 that you can download for free from itunes or at a number of RSS feeds from videorocket.com. It's free, easy, and portable if you wanna take it with your mp3 player ... or you can just listen to it on your computer while you go about other stuff.

If you want photos to look at while listening to this podcast, might I suggest the photos that our blogger's tour posted at the "Our Trips" link. I think you'll love hearing the voices of our blogger friends: Carlos Whitaker; Phil Ware; Shaun Groves; Anne Jackson; David Kuo; Randy Elrod; Sophie; Shannon Lowe; Tom Emmons; Heather Whitaker; Chris Elrod; Spence Smith; Keely Scott; and Brian Seay.

By the way, if you wanted to re-read all the blogs that I posted about Uganda, just type "Uganda" in the little search window in the upper right here and it'll pull 'em all up for ya (and save ya a lot of scrolling).

As I was writing this blog, I heard the conclusion of the podcast. As awesome as it was, I'm bummed that not all of the interviews that I did were used. Not sure what happened. Probably a production thing (maybe the audio was un-usable, I don't know). It coulda been perfect, yet it's still an awesome podcast.

There's this band...

While working on my bedroom floor this weekend (finally finished a hardwood laminate floor project we started eons ago), I listened to my iPod pumping through a cool Logitech speaker system. This one has a nice resonating bass sound. Anyway, besides doing the "song shuffle" thing, I listened to some classic rock (The Cars, Elton John). I also listened to this other band that everyone else hates. I haven't listened to them in a long while. As much as I'm independent and have a "don't give a crap" attitude about the trend police and/or listening to what's "in" or not listening to what's "out," there are no friends and no support for this band and that probably subtly influences my listening habits.

If I'm with friends, this is certainly not a band I'm going to play to impress anyone. In fact, some of the reaction I might get could even go beyond the good-natured ribbing of, "They suck and you're a dork for liking them" to the personal reputation downgrading realm of judgment. This band is hated.

But I listened to a couple of their albums on my iPod. Man, I really like some of those tunes. Nice and heavy, melodic vocals, powerful riffs and Metallica-like low end. This band doesn't suck, but the world sure thinks they do.

Oh well.

The problem with prog rock

I was listening to an advance cd of the new re-release of the Kansas Live: Two For The Show album. The second disc includes a song that didn't make the "edit" when they re-released the late-70s double live album onto CD for the first time. That song was the great "Closet Chronicles" tune, about a "king hiding in the closet, hiding from today ... for though he owns all fortunes, this room is where he'll stay, his world is full of darkness, turning gray." That's just a fantastic song. To make this a special re-release for this year, some 30 years after the original live album release, they added 10 previously unreleased tracks from that tour.

Listening to the album on the way to work this morning (with my daughter in the car with me, by the way), I was struck with the difference between this band and so many crap prog rock bands.

First of all, it starts with a great vocalist. Steve Walsh has a golden voice. You could listen to this guy sing the phone book, for crying out loud.

Secondly, Kansas knew how to write a good melody. Their songs usually went somewhere. A key ingredient was the classic rock sound of Kerry Livgren's riffs and solos. If progressive music is going to be "prog rock," it's got to have rock in there somewhere. Dream Theater came along in the early 90s and added metal to the prog formula, which was cool. They had the beautiful and strong vocals of James LaBrie, and songs that had good strong hooks. Prog Rock would, by it's very nature, have some rock. The classic rock sensibilities of this band made their music great and keeps it standing the test of time all these years.

I listen to a lot of prog rock, unfortunately, that just noodles along, going nowhere. It's fine if a guitartist or keyboardist can play. Hoorah! for virtuoso players! Ho-hum when that's all they can do. A poor vocalist singing all alone atop the quiet dynamics of a prog rock ditty has nothing to hide behind. No mic stand to hold, no big riff to gallop alongside. He or she has to have the goods. Many times this is just not the case. There's plenty of weak vocals in prog rock. Sometimes it's a guitarist who can play and write good songs, but he or she has no powerful vocalist to do that thing.

"Turn off that crap now!" I say. Prog rock tests the patience of music lovers like almost no other genre. If the payoff is never going to be there, then why waste my time? Even a secondary song like "Child Of Innocence" has staple classic rock guitar or golden vocals to fall back on if the song gets boring in places. Jamming is good, but like folks are wont to way: "Don't bore us, get to the chorus."