I know, I know...
I'm an adult. A 30 year old. A father of two children.
This is still awesome. This is what everything ever labeled "action figure" should be.
If this had existed 20 years ago when it was socially acceptable for me to own (dare I say, play with) such a thing, my tiny Boy Scout heart might have exploded. And if I had a real working time machine, I might would consider buying this thing and taking it back and leaving it at the foot of ten-year-old-me's bed.
Okay. Returning to adulthood in 3...2...1...
Buying A Record=Saving A Life
You are cordially invited to the Classic City of Athens, GA tomorrow night for the "Buy A Record Save A Life" clean water benefit show at the historic (and dare I say, beautiful) Seney-Stovall Chapel next to the Varsity on Milledge Ave. It's a free, all-ages, show and music begins at 7pm.
Music by whom? Well, I'll be playing some solo stuff (no Warm Fuzzies tonight... not that we don't support clean water you know) and acting as the emcee, but the real good stuff is from The Goodfight, Leaving Araby, PilotCoat, and the Wellreds.
The last record we put the Rebuilt logo on was The Goodfight's double EP, Good & Evil, and that was somewhat poetic. Even during Rebuilt's best times, I was never sure how I felt about the intersection of art, faith, and charity. What I mean is that being a musician on a professional level forces you to spend a ton of focus on yourself, and while we talk a lot about hoping music has an impact on culture and helps to change lives, what we end up doing is trying to get people to shows and get songs on Grey's Anatomy. It's a systemic problem, I think. It's hard to get outside yourself when you're constantly struggling to make your own ends meet.
I think that's one reason why I don't run the label anymore. It's also why I'm really thankful for Jonathan's TheGoodfight10000 project. I certainly have no problem with artists being entertainers; if you can sell songs, records, or tickets for a living, that's awesome. But with the TGF10000, there is something that resonates a little more closely my own views of an artist's role in culture (and of vocational ministry, etc), and I'm glad to be a part of it.
Simply put, The Goodfight hopes to sell 10,000 copies of it's really good double EP, Good & Evil, and give all of money (yep - 100%) to CharityWater, and organization that helps provide clean water to the nearly 1 billion people on the planet who don't have it.
Music is what we have to share and to give, and we'd like to share and give it to you tomorrow night at the Seney-Stovall Chapel. And by doing so, you can give thirsty people something clean to drink. And in addition, if you guy The Goodfight's Good & Evil double EP or make a donation to clean water, you can have my records for free.
Check out the video we shot for a brief synopsis, and head on over to BuyARecordSaveALife.com and check it out.
Truth hurts (especially when it hits close to home)
In the book of Mark (chapter 14, verses 53-65, if you're interested), Jesus is brought before the "higher-ups" after being arrested, and he's essentially thrown into a mock trial where witnesses are testifying against him falsely.
One of the recorded testimonies is that a guy heard Jesus say he would "destroy this man-made temple and in three days will build another, not made by man" (NIV translation). I think it's interesting that you didn't find people saying things like, "Jesus is a child molestor," or "I had an affair with him," or even, "He's embezzling money from the people who are coming to hear him teach." It's like they're twisting words he spoke just enough to make them fit the purpose at hand (in this case, to make Jesus out to be a blaspheming heretic worthy of death).
It struck something in me, and I realized it's because I do the same thing all the time.
Now, I can honestly say that I haven't deliberately set out to twist Jesus' words to my own bidding, but there is a reality here that I have certainly been guilty of starting sentences with, "Jesus said this..." where "this" is something I think he said, but I'm not sure exactly because I don't really know the scripture. And it's highly possible that my "source" could be less scriptural and more cultural, anecdotal stuff.
Like how we're not supposed to dance. Or drink alcohol. [Sidebar: Some people shouldn't drink, and well, some probably shouldn't dance, but scripture doesn't tell you not to. Most of us think it does, but none of us can tell you where. Of course, when I say "drink," I don't mean "getting drunk." There are actually some verses about that.]
I guess my point is that if I call myself a believer (and I do), then it's not just a good idea to really know the scripture; it's an absolute necessity. Because whether I mean to or not, I'm likely to give a false testimony of Jesus to others.
And while I may try to shrug it off and pretend that my life isn't really significant enough for anyone to notice, the way I live as a believer (my testimony) is actually really important. It's a tough world to believe in someone like Jesus, and we (yes, we Christians) have caused all kinds of collateral damage in the ways we've given our own testimonies. It's not hard for me to look around and see why people hate Christians. We're really to blame for most of it, I think. We've got a sizeable history of painting distorted pictures of Jesus, and it's really sad because we also have a great history of sacrifice and service for others that has been far greater, but also overshadowed.
Hopefully, though, if my pursuit of Jesus makes me more like him (as I believe it will), my life will become a much more accurate testimony of who Jesus really is and not who I think he is.
And whatever comes after that really isn't worth worrying about; it's not up to me anyway.
Finally, progress...
I've finally got the practice space set up so I can write/demo new stuff. I've been lacking something like this since my first child needed the room, so I'm pretty pumped.
Creating is not just good for this soul; it's vital.10 Songs for A Rainy Day
It's pouring again in Athens, which means it's time for a playlist built for snuggling under a blanket and drinking hot beverages:
"Everything is Nothing," the Listening
"Time To Move On," Tom Petty
"Blonde on Blonde," Nada Surf
"Closest (Look Out)" Matt Pond PA
"Daylight Fading," Counting Crows
"Bad Reputation," Freedy Johnston
"Suitcase," Over the Rhine
"Windmills," Toad the Wet Sprocket
"Trying To Feel," David Herndon
"I Love The Rain" Rock N' Roll Worship Circus
Seems like there are a lot of things that pass for love these days. I've been trying to spend some time each morning committing the 12th chapter of Romans to memory, and this sentence always sticks out to me.
If it's not sincere, it's not love. Pretty clear and simple.
I think this applies to just about everything I do, from how I act behind the steering wheel to how I share my faith. Maybe it's American, maybe it's human; either way, it's hard to do.
10 Songs To Listen To On A Sunny Fall Day
10 Songs to listen to on a sunny fall day (in no particular order):
"Angels of the Silences," Counting Crows
"The World Has Turned and Left Me Here," Weezer
"Start With," Seaweed
"The Sound of Settling," Death Cab for Cutie
"Dakota," Stereophonics
"Rock The Casbah," The Clash
"Sucked Out," Superdrag
"Tom's Diner," Suzanne Vega
"When You Were Young," The Killers
"Mexico," Jump Little Children
When I write it down, I realize how much I love 90s music. But do I love 90s music for the music, or is it that maybe I love 90s stuff because it was all happening when I really got into music? I don't know.
And for some reason I feel like I should say that I don't really like the Killers. But that song is, well, killer.
Happy fall, internet.
On not calling the shots
From the October 16th entry in Oswald Chamber's My Utmost For High Highest:
"No Christian has a special work to do. A Christian is called to be Jesus Christ’s own, 'a servant is not greater than his master', and someone who does not dictate to Jesus Christ what he intends to do."
This week I started a new part time job as a typesetter at a local copy shop. I'm not exactly sure, but I think this is currently my third or fourth job (Let's see... I'm a stay at home dad three mornings a week, I run a small graphic design/consulting business, I do some basic design/website management/podcast production for my church, and of course, the aforementioned typesetting).
I find myself wondering how many part time jobs it takes to equal one full-time job. I'm guessing 2.65, though I can't show you my math on that.
What a weird year.
I never wanted to be the guy with a bunch of odd jobs.
Oh well.
Buy A Record, Save A Life, 11/6
I'm the one on the far right (in case you were wondering). Our friends the Goodfight are going to attempt to help give clean water to people all over the world by selling music. How much? 10,000 albums. How much goes to clean water? 100%. I hope you'll join us at the historic Seney-Stovall Chapel here in Athens, GA on November 6th. The show is free, all-ages, and awesome. And I hope you'll check out the brand spankin' new http://www.buyarecordsavealife.com
A total eclipse of awesome...
This comes to you courtesy of my wife who received it from the unsinkable Julie Cheney (and whoever made the video, I guess). *NOTE: This won't make much since if you don't know the song, "Total Eclipse of the Heart." And if you don't know that song, you can know one thing at least: that we probably wouldn't be friends.
