Oh, those wacky Jesuits.
[ via IdolChatter | Live on one yourself]
November 9, 2006 by Gene
Living on a Prayer
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November 8, 2006 by Gene
Bad Brains, Napoleon Hill, and Odd Friends
I went to see the documentary American Hardcore (a fine enough film) about the harDCore punk scene in the US from 1979-84. (Ironically enough the term “hardcore” was coined by Vancouver based DOA). This was very different scene from the mid 70′s in England. It used much of the same musical vocabulary, some of the same visual look, and disenchantment (with Reagan, not the Queen), but there was as much different as there was the same.
Obviously, this is not a movie about me or my people. I am about 5 years to young and grew up in Wyoming. I was exposed to more of this music than your average Wyomingite, and some of the music I liked (and still listen to from time to time), but it was not me.
One character the movie introduced me to was HR. HR was (is?) the lead singer of the band Bad Brains, which is a band I know, but only from their music.
The band was a bit of anomaly for the scene. First, they were black. The movie has photos and home movie footage from all the major hardcore scenes in the US. The only blacks you see are the guys in Bad Brains. Second, they were very talented musicians. Not all the hardcore bands were untalented musically. Most knew more than just three cords. Bad Brains were something special.
Inside of this anomaly of a band was HR, an anomaly himself. The music of this time wasn’t just loud and fast. Much of it was written with purpose, mostly political. There were a number of bright, thoughtful folks, but HR was something special.
It is obvious in just the few clips of him in the movie that he has a great deal going on in his head. The thing I found most amazing was that while serving as a mentor to many young bands in DC he had them read the Napoleon Hill classic Think and Grow Rich. This is a book I dig out about once a year to read.
The goal of having these 15 year old punks read such a tome? To get them to understand that they are in control of their own lives. With a positive mental attitude they could create what they wanted.
Not something you would expect to find in the middle of very loud, short, violent music.
HR.
Interesting man.
Musically talented.
Very bright.
Could be doing anything.
For 5 years played some of the best hardcore punk in the country.
Someone I would have liked to have bumped into.
I guess that is one the reasons I strive to have such a mixed group of people in my life.
I want to be challenged and made uncomfortable by different points of views.
I come away changed or with a reaffirmed sense of self.
A pray of thanksgiving for HR, all those who walk their own path, and the many chances I get to learn from them.
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November 8, 2006 by Gene
Newsletter
Mike St. Pierre, campus ministry and trainer extraordinaire has created a new enewsletter. Sing up today at he web site.
[http://mikestpierre.com | if you have time to share a thought today]
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November 7, 2006 by Gene
In a representative democracy, the people get the government they deserve.
Democracy
In a representative democracy, the people get the government they deserve.
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November 7, 2006 by Gene
My sibs and me.
Embarrassments of Riches
My sibs and me.
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November 7, 2006 by Gene
Rain or Shine
“Don’t pray when it rains if you don’t pray when the sun shines.”
- Leroy “Satchel” Paige:
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November 6, 2006 by Gene
Dirty Word
From time to time I feel like “Christian” is a dirty word.
Especially, within 24 hours of casting ballots.
Then there is perspective like this (from Cameron Conant):
[via Cameron Conant | Monday's list]
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November 3, 2006 by Gene
Mr. Morton Seeks Atalanta
A collection of witty and eccentric lonely hearts ads from the London Review of Books have been brought together for a new book.
David Rose, the review’s advertising director who launched the personal ads in 1998, is behind They Call Me Naughty Lola.
Here are a few:
‘I’ve divorced better men than you. And worn more expensive shoes than these. So don’t think placing this ad is the biggest comedown I’ve ever had to make. Sensitive F, 34.’
‘List your ten favourite albums… I just want to know if there’s anything worth keeping when we finally break up. Practical, forward thinking man, 35.’
‘Employed in publishing? Me too. Stay the hell away. Man on the inside seeks woman on the outside who likes milling around hospitals guessing the illnesses of out-patients. 30-35. Leeds.’
‘Bald, short, fat and ugly male, 53, seeks short-sighted woman with tremendous sexual appetite.’
‘Romance is dead. So is my mother. Man, 42, inherited wealth.’
‘List your ten favourite albums… I just want to know if there’s anything worth keeping when we finally break up. Practical, forward thinking man, 35.’
‘Employed in publishing? Me too. Stay the hell away. Man on the inside seeks woman on the outside who likes milling around hospitals guessing the illnesses of out-patients. 30-35. Leeds.’
‘Bald, short, fat and ugly male, 53, seeks short-sighted woman with tremendous sexual appetite.’
‘Romance is dead. So is my mother. Man, 42, inherited wealth.’
10 point if you can decode the title of this blog, a real personal ad I posted 5 years ago.
[full article | via linkblog | join me!]
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November 2, 2006 by Gene
Me and My Shadow
I have no idea how this is a game show or what the rules are. It is just amazing.
[via random good stuff]
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November 2, 2006 by Gene
Gift
“He will never ask what you have done to you worthy of the gift of God. Ask it not of yourself. Instead, accept His answer, for He knows that you are worthy of everything God wills for you.”
From A Course in Miracles
It is impossible to receive anything we don’t feel we deserve. Even if we take it grudgingly, we don’t appreciate it or use it to its fullest, because we feel guilt for having it. We think, “This is not for me.” Be it a small gift from a friend or God’s unconditional love.
If we don’t feel we deserve it, there is no way that it can get in.
There is a very fine line between feeling worthy and expecting.
We must feel worthy.
We must know we are worthy.
Because we are worthy.
[join me for these people]
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It’s not the cross we look at as we sing (in my church it is, refreshingly), it’s the frosted-haired worship leader or the Shania Twain-looking woman with a guitar.
So too in mega-churches. Whether it’s Rob Bell, someone I have great respect for and enjoy hearing preach, or Rick Warren, a good man who is doing great things in Africa, we get excited by articulate, interesting people…sometimes too excited.
The Church is a community of people—messed up, broken people—who come to get healed and then help heal the world, not gather for a rock show.
How many people would continue to attend Rob Bell’s church if there were no Rob Bell? How many people would continue to attend Rick Warren’s church if there were no Rick Warren?
How many people will continue to attend New Life Church in Colorado Springs if their pastor had a gay affair and did crystal meth and then lied about it all?
That’s the situation in Colorado Springs, where Ted Haggard, senior pastor of the 10,000-plus member New Life Church, is being accused of those very things. Ted Haggard, president of the National Association of Evangelicals. The Ted Haggard I just mentioned in two separate blog posts the other day related to a different topic entirely. That Ted Haggard.
The reason I attend a liturgical church is because my priest, Jerry Smith, is not a rock star. He is a wonderful man who is intelligent and faithful, but he’s not the main event. He’s not St. Bartholomew’s.
The main event at St. Bartholomew’s is the liturgy. Jerry Smith or no Jerry Smith, we will hear Scripture, say the creed, kneel and pray. We will go forward with our heads bowed, hands extended, and receive communion. We will stand and sing and stare at the naked cross, the music coming from the choir loft behind us.
One of my favorite songs is by Sting and is called “If I Ever Lose My Faith in You.” What I love about the song is how ambiguous “you” is, and undoubtedly, that’s intentional. Sting keeps singing, “If I ever lose my faith in you, there’d be nothing left for me to do.” And it seems that all of us have something we could insert for the word “you”…a spouse, a sibling, a mentor, a parent, a pastor, a political leader…the list goes on.
For some people, their faith will be in shambles should these allegations against Haggard prove true. “If I ever lose my faith in (Ted Haggard), there’d be nothing left for me to do.” But I would ask those people, “Really? Your faith was in Ted Haggard? A sinful, broken person who, like all of us, tried to convince the world he was a whole person?”