get rich off Christ dyin'

I was in a recent church service where the pastor was talking about the evils of the entertainment business, Hollywood, violent video games, and MTV. He was saying that these media vehicles were spiraling out of control. More violence, more sex, more depravity.
In conversation since then I've posed the question, "are Christians partly to blame for this problem?" Here is my theory: Christians in the media, left their positions of influence to create a smaller niche where they could completely control the content; "christian entertainment". Christian consumers took their purchasing power to a "christian marketplace" abandoning the popular marketplace. How can we complain about how bad everything has gotten when we abandoned that marketplace a long time ago? We retreated to our own subculture. We left "them" to their own devices. We created our own music, our own literature, our own clothing, our own art, in my town there are even a few "christian restaurants"! They are owned and operated by Christians and they market through word of mouth; "have you been to "so 'n so's", Oh you should really check it out... they're Christians!"

I understand the initial thought of these separatists. They were trying to be holy, trying to be separate. But if the end result is that we've become so separate that we are rendered impotent is it really worth it?

Another aspect of the "christian marketplace" that worries me is the thought that if you put a christian label on it, Christians will buy it. I read a review of a video game a few years back. The game was about a paper delivery boy. The paperboy would go along his route throwing papers in order to get to the end of the game where a bikini clad young woman jumped up and down to congratulate him on a job well done. It was a stupid game.
The game flopped.
The gaming company had a brilliant idea. They changed the game up a little bit. The had the paperboy deliver Bibles. They changed the story line so that the paperboy was on his way to Sunday School. They changed the bikini babe to a dowdy looking Sunday School teacher. They put a cross on the front of the video game box, and they started marketing to Christian book stores.
The game was still stupid.
It was a smashing success.
The video game review I read was in a "secular" magazine. The reviewer had seen both versions of the game. His closing comment was along the lines of, "Those stupid Christians, they'll buy anything you tell them to as long as you call it a christian product."

Even more disturbing is the fact that people will avoid something that has been marketed towards Christians even if the product is amazingly beautiful! I went to a pre-release screening of "the Passion of the Christ". It was a big deal. Mel Gibson was there answering questions and the whole deal. At first I thought, "this is amazing." Then I realized what they were doing. They were marketing to Christians.
They invited pastors to the screening so that we would go back to our churches and tell our congregations that it was their duty to go out and see this movie... you know, because it's "christian." Obviously, "passion" was a huge success (but was is truly the "biggest evangelistic opportunity in 2000 years" as it was hyped? That's another post I guess.). Recently a similar marketing campaign was used for the movie "Chronicles of Narnia". Again, a beautiful, excellent movie, but I have read on blogs, and heard people say in conversations that they would avoid these movies just because they were being marketed to Christians, and they didn't want to be fed church propaganda.
Read a little more about the Narnia marketing machine by CLICKING HERE, HERE, OR HERE.

What's wrong with letting the art speak for itself?

Here's an idea: If you are talented in music, or visual arts, or movie making, or script writing, or clothing design, or whatever, go into the marketplace and let your art speak for itself. Create excellent art that is indicative that we are creative beings, made in the image of a creative God. Don't tell people they should partake in your product because of your faith. Tell them they should partake in your product because it is a quality product.

Go out there and redeem the marketplace.

If you disagree and prefer to purchase only christian goods, your prayers have been answered!
CLICK HERE to be redirected to "LordMart" your one stop shop for Jesus Junk, and Holy Hardware (Jesus Saves... especially when He shops at LordMart).
Ask yourself... WWJB (What Would Jesus Buy)?

field trip

One of the benefits of being in the music industry is the opportunity to go to the massive trade shows that happen at the beginning of the New Year. Last week I went down to Los Angeles to go to the NAMM (National Association of Music Merchants) show.
I took a few pictures of some of the cooler (or weirder) stuff and thought I'd share with you.

The coolest thing about going to "the show" is the chance to see new companies coming up with cool ideas. This company was making guitars out of metal. It's not an entirely new idea but these guys would also scribe, and fatigue the metal to give the instruments an antique look. Very cool.

This company was doing custom engraving on cymbals, guitar headstocks, and pickguards.

It's kind of hard to tell with the fancy script but the correct spelling of the name on this custom made amplifier is Fuchs. The owner of the company was at the booth. Her name is Annette Fuchs. If it's pronounced the way I think it's pronounced I want to know how she made it through High School with a name like Annette Fuchs.

This is where it starts getting wierd. This company was marketing the "Neck Sock", it looks more like a neck condom to me.

This gentleman was demonstrating a "fretless" keyboard. The idea is that you can slide from one note to the next without the interval. I.E. you could do 1/3, 1/2, or 1/4 notes if you wanted. I guess you could use those 1/3 notes for arabian scales? It kind of sounded like a Theremin. It has a neoprene "keyboard" that has lines printed on it so you know where you're at. I played it for a while. It was actually pretty fun. But I could not think of a single practical use.

OH YEAH BABY!!!! THE KEYTAR!!!! It works kind of like an autoharp. You play a chord with your left hand which holds down the strings on frets underneath the keyboard. Then you strum to your hearts content. It doesn't sound real good, but it definitely draws a crowd!

Besides the instrument manufacturers there are electronic parts manufacturers that are peddling their wares as well. This company thought it was important not only to know where your product is coming from but also who made it. Check out their slogan: "Made in China... but made by Korean people". I didn't know that this was a selling point? Interesting.

There was a guitar string company at the show called "knucklehead strings". This was one of their T shirts, "Dark Side of the Trailer Park".

They actually had a White Trash Trailer at their booth! AWESOME!!!

There were tons of small booths with custom made instruments like these Basses.

Now THAT'S a Bass!!! This baby has ELEVEN strings!!!
CLICK HERE to listen to one of these bad boys in action.

Some of the major manufacturers had cool stuff at their booths as well. The Fender booth had this guitar on display. This is Jeff Beck's Telecaster. They had a video running directly over the guitar that showed Jeff Beck holding the guitar.

Fender also showed off many of the guitars from their Custom Shop. This guitar was hand painted to replicate this painting. It was very beautiful!

This is definitely a collector's item. It looks so good you'd feel guilty for playing it.

Another really cool thing about the show is that there are tons of musicians doing live shows. You get to see some pretty wild stuff! This young lady had a Cello on a guitar strap around her neck! She actually strummed it and played very aggressively like a rock guitar player.
She had a great voice too! Very interesting sound.

Taylor Guitars also hosted an intimate acoustic show with Switchfoot. There were less than a hundred people there and I was about ten feet from the front of the stage. It was KILLER!!!
I met the guys from Switchfoot about seven years ago when they were opening for Delirious?. They were super cool guys and it's great to see them making such a huge impact in the music scene.

I got the chance to say hi to John Foreman, the lead singer of Switchfoot after the show. He said he remembered meeting me back in the day but I think he was just being nice.

Although, I must say, I do make an impression.

Powered by Castpost

I was able to get a little bit of video from the Switchfoot show on my digital camera. It's not the best quality but it's still cool. It's a HUGE file so don't even try it unless you've got DSL or cable.

That's it, that's my report on my field trip.



Good times were had by all!

quality time

i love this game

So, my time at the gym has been paying off nicely. I've decided I'm not going to pursue any further step class activities. The leotards kept riding up. Plus there were only a few other guys in the class, and they kept hitting on me.

Anyways, I've been working on my hoops skills, you know, workin' on my "hops".

I even figured out the secret trick to the most coveted move in basketball: the SLAM DUNK! There is a trick believe me.
This is no easy feat for a man who stands as tall as your average 6th grader (5' 6" to be exact)!!!!

To learn the "secret of my success" CLICK THE PICTURE

resolutions

I'm gonna get into shape. I'm gonna do it.

I don't really want to lose a ton of weight or anything, I just want to feel like I can run a few miles without throwing up, or at least climb a flight of stairs without panting.

I did pretty good with last year's resolution. I resolved to give this "blogging" thing a try. I've enjoyed it. It's been a nice outlet. I've made new friends, pissed off old friends, and gotten called into the office on more than one occasion. Good times were had by all.

Anyway, I'm pretty worn out. I just got back from my step class. DON'T LAUGH! I can step like a madman. I'm feeling the burn. I feel so good I'm gonna have a celebratory doughnut!

Happy New Years!!!!

If you are going to be in
Northern California tomorrow night
Come pray, meditate, hang out,
& catch the vision

Worship night at Gina's house

December 30, anytime between 7-11pm

Everyone is welcome

Bring friends

CLICK HERE to email me for directions

merry Christmas

The Byzantine Museum-Athens
Nativity-1783

tattoo stories

I got this "half sleeve" done over the summer. Each part of the tattoo has significance and I thought I'd take a minute to show off my ink! The symbol on my shoulder is known as the "Sacred Heart". It's a Catholic symbol. It symbolizes the heart of Jesus Christ. It has a crown of thorns and the side is pierced and blood and water both flow out of it. The cross at the top is symbolic of death, and the cross is being consumed because Christ conquered death and the grave.

On the back of my arm is a drawing of Hudson Taylor. Hudson Taylor was a missionary to China in the late 1800s. Hudson dressed, ate, worked, and spoke as the Chinese when missionaries typically told natives that they needed to become "western" in order to become Christian. He had become one of them and had earned their respect. As a result the missions organization that Hudson founded, "China Inland Mission", is to this day the most successful Chinese missions organization.
I've always considered Hudson Taylor a kind of hero in the faith.

Oh, by the way... Did you get your tickets to the GUN SHOW?!?!?!?

I have the Greek word "Doulos" tattooed on the inside of my arm. Doulos means "Slave, Servant, or Bondservant". Doulos has a connotation of service, not because you seek reward, or because you are were purchased as a slave, but that you are compelled to serve. As if something within you compells you to serve this master, no matter the reward, or the cost.

I also have a tattoo on the back of my neck. You can see a picture of it, and read the story behind it by CLICKING HERE.

Yes, they hurt.

The inside of the arm hurt the worst, especially up towards the armpit. The top of the shoulder was pretty bad, and right on the spine on my neck didn't exactly tickle either. The outside of the arm was cake though, I actually fell asleep in the middle of a 4 hour session.
The whole half sleeve took about 20 hours altogether.
I can see what people mean when they say that it's addictive but I'm pretty sure I'm done. I'm not planning on any other major pieces anyway. I'll probably have a little black and gray clouds in between the waves and the Sacred Heart at some point, but that's all I'm planning now.


I'm really happy with the way they turned out!
Sim does a great job if you're looking to decorate your temple. www.simtattoo.com

semper reformanda

Semper Reformanda:
Forever Reforming

At my church we recently had a series on the attributes of God. One of the topics was: God is Immutable.

Immutable
Pronunciation: (")i(m)-'myü-t&-b&l
Function: adjective
Etymology: Middle English, from Latin immutabilis, from in- + mutabilis mutable
: not capable of or susceptible to change





We illustrated the point that God never changes by showing in contrast how much we as human beings change.
Our bodies change as we grow. Our fashion sense changes as the years pass by. Our opinions change as we become educated.








We are "Always Reforming", always changing. In a very real sense without change there is death. Our human bodies are finite, and ever changing. Some changes are more visible than others. For example, my hairline is slowly receding, and gray hairs are starting to pop up on the sides of my head, while my belly is not quite as tight as it used to be.
Some changes are completely invisible to us. At the molecular level our bodies are in a constant state of change.
The only time that the process of change stops is at the time of death.

And that's only the physical change that our bodies experience. What about the way that we change our minds?
When I was 18, I was pretty sure that I knew it all. I had it all figured out.
Then I got to 21 and realized that I had been totally wrong about many things at 18.
When I turned 23 I got married and realized how truly juvenile I was back when I was 21.
Then when I turned 25 and had my first son I realized that I was just a kid when I got married.
Now I look back and wonder "who are you?!?!?"

Katie says, "You're not the man I married." And I say, "Yeah, no kidding, I've been like three different people since we got married!"

It's fascinating to me that we constantly go through change, we are always "in process". I'm thankful that God understands this and that God does not change. His grace is always available to us so that we can live the lives we should. His mercy is always there when we jack things up.
God is much bigger and more complex and more beautiful than we will ever be able to comprehend with our feeble human minds.

It's a challenge for us to realize that we are still in process. It's tough to admit that we don't have it all figured out just yet. It's important for us to realize that we are "semper reformada".

We see through a glass darkly.

modern day job

"Job hearing of his ruin" by Gustave Dore

Sheriff's deputy Andy McDowell was forced to live a parent's worst nightmare twice in a matter of minutes.

After he was taken to the site where his 23 year old son, Rory, was killed in a car crash early Wednesday, McDowell was driven past another fatal accident. Only later did he learn that the fiery wreck took the life of his only other child, 21 year old, Cory.

As a father my heart aches for the loss that the McDowell family is experiencing right now. Join with me and pray for the McDowell's as they deal with this unimaginable grief.

CLICK HERE to read the article, "Brothers die in crashes just minutes apart"

emo driven life

"Every man has a Jessica Simpson fantasy. Here's mine: Jessica, hold your sister Ashlee down so I can kick her in the throat!"

Dave Attell

I'm not a huge Ashlee Simpson fan. I definitely don't dislike her as much as Dave here does, but I'm not lining up to buy her CD or Tivo'ing her latest reality show, so when the latest issue of Blender showed up with her on the cover I almost didn't open it up. I somehow got a complimentary subscription to this magazine, probably because I subscribe to other music mags like Rolling Stone. Anyway, I haven't been all that impressed with the writing or the reviews so I rarely even open up the magazine when it arrives. Last night I had some time to kill so I flipped through the pages and came across an article entitled "Emo Driven Life". Much to my surprise this secular magazine had an eight page spread on the worship team "Team Strike Force" of Mars Hill Church in Seattle! I've never seen this much attention given to a church organization (other than maybe Saddleback, or Willow Creek) in a secular publication. The article was surprisingly complimentary too! It even had a nifty little timeline that featured the history of Rock n' Roll in the church.
The best entry in the timeline was this: "Circa A.D. 30; Jesus establishes rock & roll credentials by hanging out with a prostitute, Mary Magdalene, and turning water into wine at a party. Your move Tommy Lee..."
The article talked a bit about the Church, the pastor, and the different worship teams that lead at Mars Hill.

Here's a small excerpt: "A thousand people are on their feet for Team Strike Force tonight. The band, in Converse and corduroy, smash out the power chords of an emo anthem. 'Give me a heart, a heart that is full,' moans Luke Abrams, his dirty blonde bangs flopping over his brow, his slight frame bent rapturously back. Matt Johnson smacks down the drums, sweat dampening his Dischord Records T-shirt. The room shakes with the crowd's singing. Hands raise invisible lighters aloft. This moment should be followed by cold beers in the dressing room as Dave Grohl drops by to say hello, a couple of skater babes in tow. But in the green room at this particular venue, none of that awaits. There is a deli tray with olives and turkey sandwiches, but the only alcohol is a chalice of sacramental wine resting next to a worn Bible on a side table.

'Our church attracts the young, urban, hip, arty, cool, play-guitar-on-the-weekend, workin'-a-desk-job-during-the-week, people. Some have grown up with church experience. But most haven't been for a couple years. This is cool enough that they can relate.'
'Many of us were going to churches where the music was cookie cutter and dry' says Claudine, 31, who's been attending Mars Hill for three years. 'Team Strike Force is something we can understand.' Pastor Mark Driscoll and his team of church elders have invested much thought and energy in making the physical environment of worship one where people like Claudine feel not only comfortable but impressed.
Everything in this vast former hardware store is sleek and modern, even the church motto: MEANING. BEAUTY. TRUTH. COMMUNITY. Aside from a distressed-metal cross that looks more like a design element than an icon and the shifting images on the 'digital stained glass' video screens, this could be any room Fall Out Boy would play on a nationwide tour."

CLICK HERE to check out Mars Hill's website. Click on the downloads button to listen to music from Team Strike Force.

the next great philanthropist/social activist?

I just read an article by Malcolm Gladwell in the New Yorker about Pastor/Author Rick Warren. In this article Rick talks a little bit about the newfound fame and wealth that his book "Purpose Driven Life" has brought him. Here is a short excerpt from that article:

"In the wake of the extraordinary success of "The Purpose-Driven Life," Warren says, he underwent a period of soul-searching. He had suddenly been given enormous wealth and influence and he did not know what he was supposed to do with it. "God led me to Psalm 72, which is Solomon's prayer for more influence," Warren says. "It sounds pretty selfish. Solomon is already the wisest and wealthiest man in the world. He's the King of Israel at the apex of its glory. And in that psalm he says, 'God, I want you to make me more powerful and influential.' It looks selfish until he says, 'So that the King may support the widow and orphan, care for the poor, defend the defenseless, speak up for the immigrant, the foreigner, be a friend to those in prison.' Out of that psalm, God said to me that the purpose of influence is to speak up for those who have no influence. That changed my life. I had to repent. I said, I'm sorry, widows and orphans have not been on my radar. I live in Orange County. I live in the Saddleback Valley, which is all gated communities. There aren't any homeless people around. They are thirteen miles away, in Santa Ana, not here." He gestured toward the rolling green hills outside. "I started reading through Scripture. I said, How did I miss the two thousand verses on the poor in the Bible? So I said, I will use whatever affluence and influence that you give me to help those who are marginalized."

He and his wife, Kay, decided to reverse tithe, giving away ninety per cent (over $14 million in 2004) of the tens of millions of dollars they earned from "The Purpose-Driven Life." They sat down with gay community leaders to talk about fighting AIDS. Warren has made repeated trips to Africa. He has sent out volunteers to forty-seven countries around the world, test-piloting experiments in microfinance and H.I.V. prevention and medical education. He decided to take the same networks he had built to train pastors and spread the purpose-driven life and put them to work on social problems.

"There is only one thing big enough to handle the world's problems, and that is the millions and millions of churches spread out around the world," he says. "I can take you to thousands of villages where they don't have a school. They don't have a grocery store, don't have a fire department. But they have a church."


CLICK HERE to download the entire article (PDF)

blood:water mission

Last weekend I led worship at a multi church, multi denominational community worship night. There were several leaders involved both in musical worship and in leading short segments of prayer, and exhortation. I was asked to do a little of each. The music part was easy to plan for. I’ve done that a million times. However, speaking is not my strong suit. I did have a message on my heart though, so I took a deep breath and dove in. Here’s what I said:

“Thanksgiving… How many of you have something to be thankful for? Personally I have so much to be thankful for. When I take a moment to sit back and count my blessings I feel a responsibility to give back a little bit. I want to do something for those in need. To whom much is given, much is required.

About a week after Hurricane Katrina a few friends and I drove a truck load of supplies down to Louisiana and Mississippi. It was amazing to me to see that with a fairly small investment you could have such a huge impact on a community. Let me ask you a question. What was the first thing that hurricane survivors asked for? What was the most urgent need?” The unanimous response was WATER! I held up a water bottle and continued.

“This water is fairly cheap and we’ve seen the huge impact it can have. You cannot sustain life without clean water. After returning from Louisiana I became acquainted with the organization started up by the guys of Jars of Clay called ‘Blood:Water Mission’. I learned that two of three children born into third world countries will not reach adulthood because of one thing: unclean water. I also learned that with a fairly small investment we can help. For a few thousand dollars we can dig a well that will provide clean water for an entire community for years to come. In a room this size (about 500 people) if each and every one of us gave up Starbucks for just one day we could dig this well. It’s not a huge deal, just one mocha."

Then I said, "I’ve placed two water cooler sized water bottles at the corners of the stage and during the next few songs I want you to get out of your seat and come down to the water bottles and put your Starbucks money in the bottle to provide clean water for those in need. This is a very real way that we can be the hands and feet of Jesus to the fatherless, the widow, and those in need. Jesus called that ‘true religion’ and tonight we want to be a part of that.”

Then I prayed and started leading the congregation in the doxology, and then we sang Grace Like Rain. It was really hard to hold back tears as hundreds of people came up and gave as an act of worship. It was a beautiful thing.

I was hoping for around a thousand dollars but I was blown away at the final count. When all was said and done our group of worshipers had given over $1800.00!!! I am absolutely amazed at the generosity of these beautiful people and am extremely humbled to have been a part.

If you would like to be a part CLICK HERE to go to Blood:Water Mission’s website and click the “Donate Online” button. Join us and give up your coffee money for a day or two and be a part of a life saving effort to bring clean water to Africa.

CLICK HERE to learn more about the work of Blood:Water Mission

thankful

have a happy thanksgiving!!!

oops...

What's crazy is, the attendance was up by 200 percent that weekend...

poster child for christianity

Meet Margaret Perrin.
Margaret was a part of the television show "Trading Spouses" where the mothers from two diverse families trade places for one week while the cameras roll tape. Margaret is from Louisiana, and is a church going, Bible believing, Revelations quoting, "God warrior". She spent a week with a new age family as the new age mom spent a week with Margaret's family. What a wonderful opportunity for Margaret to be an example of Christlike grace, love, and acceptance. Unfortunately Margaret couldn't get past the "dark sided" ways of the new age family she landed with. She didn't really make too many friends in the family. It did however appear that she reinforced many preconceived notions about Christians being close minded, narrow, unloving, selfish and unaccepting.



Is that really what Christians are about? Why would anyone want to be a part of that family?



CLICK HERE to see the clip from "Trading Spouses"
CLICK HERE to hear Margaret's new single from her upcoming album

**NEW** CLICK HERE to see the Margaret Perrin Bobblehead figurine!

you had me at Jesus Juice

A Los Angeles couple has petitioned the Copyright office in an effort to market a wine labeled "Jesus Juice". The label features a man looking an awful lot like Michael Jackson in the pose of the Crucifix. That's not distasteful at all.

I'm sure they have the best intentions.


CLICK HERE for the full story
CLICK HERE for the winemaker's explanation

questions facing the early church

I'm watching a fascinating documentary called "from Jesus to Christ: the First Christians". It is all about the cultural setting that Jesus was born into. It also follows His ministry, crucifixion, and the aftermath for the newly formed community of the followers of Christ. It's about a four hour documentary and I'm only two hours in, but already I've seen some fascinating stuff I wanted to talk about. The thing that struck me was that the early church faced many of the same questions that I face as a follower of Christ who wishes to be true to my faith while maintaining cultural relevance. Check this out. One of the commentators was talking about the struggles of the first generation of Christ followers, much of which is documented in the book of Titus. They had several questions that they had to sort out:

How Greek am I to be?
How Roman am I to be?
How Jewish am I to be?

When read in context these questions mean this:

How Greek am I to be, how strongly do I identify with my nationality, race, and heritage?
How Roman am I to be, what is my place in the political scheme of things?
How Jewish am I to be, do I have to be a religious person in order to be a follower of Christ?

These are the problems that the followers of Christ faced as they asked themselves, "what is my place in today's prevailing culture?"

These are relevant questions for today. I see a sense of national pride in the USA, and have seen the terms "American" and "Christian" used interchangeably, yet many things that are done in the name of the good 'ole USA are not Christlike at all. Should I speak up, even if I seem unpatriotic? I've seen churchgoers used as political collateral, and told en masse who to vote for by someone in leadership who has done all the thinking for them. Do I follow the rest of the sheep, or do I rock the boat? Is it even my place to be talking about politics? I've also seen so many people who love Christ but want nothing to do with organized religion. Is there a place for them in Christianity? How "religious" do we need to be?


One of the first major controversies that the early church faced was based on the last question. How Jewish am I to be? With the spread of the gospel of Christ came new converts. The first question a heathen (gentile) convert must ask themselves is,"must I become Jewish (religious) in order to be a follower of Jesus?" Did they have to take on the Jewish rites? Did they have to follow the letter of the Levitical law? Did they have to leave behind all connections to their family and their community? Did they have to become circumcised so that they could take on the appearance of the Jews? Did they have to look religious in order to be a follower of Christ?

I knew it would be interesting to watch this documentary but it was fascinating to me to discover that I could relate to some of the same questions that they faced.

How American am I to be? Do I have to stand by everything that is done in the name of the USA even if I feel like it is contrary to what is true, and right, and Godly?
How Political am I to be? When I decide to become a Christian do I vote with the rest of churchianity and leave thinking to the qualified?
How Religious am I to be? I hate neckties. I like beer. I cuss every now and then. Do I really have to listen to that music? Do I have to learn to talk like other christians? What the hell does "traveling mercies" mean anyway?

I truly love Jesus Christ, and I really want to live my life in a way that would honor Him. So I struggle my way through these questions because I really want to know:

What is my place in today's prevailing culture?

CLICK HERE to read the synopsis of the documentary