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one of the most stressful, worst-paying jobs is . . .

This just in from CNNMoney.com - it's now official.  Most of you probably saw the headline and knew the answer already, but it's always nice to see it in writing.  Number 5, with a bullet, on the list of most stressful, worst-paying jobs is . . . Music Ministry Director. 

On behalf of music ministry directors everywhere, we like to thank the closed-minded traditionalists, the stage parents, and each and every diva we've been blessed to work with.  And we'd especially like to thank that special group of people, Senior Pastors.  We could never have gotten here without your personal ambitions, your people-pleasing-knee-jerk reactions, and your willingness to throw us under the bus for a slight amount of relational credit from people who won't ever be happy until you turn time back to 1955.  Thank you.

david crowder band "church music" review

Last week the David Crowder Band released their latest studio offering entitled "Church Music."  At this point, DCB has earned the right to completely take over all of the music-listening real estate in my life when they drop something new, and that's exactly what's happened. Here are some initial thoughts and impressions . . .

DCB has always been first and foremost a studio band.  Not that they aren't great live, but their genius lies in their ability to mix melodies, grooves, samples, acoustics, electronica and straight-ahead rock into something that's more than the sum of it's parts.  "Church Music" takes that studio-first approach to the next level, with almost every song on the album driven by sequencers and synths.  On past albums there was always a healthy balance of band-driven and loop-driven songs.  Not so much here. 

david crowder band and halo: the conspiracy

September 25, 2007: Halo 3 release date

September 25, 2007: "Remedy", David Crowder Band release date

September 22, 2009: Halo: ODST release date

September 22, 2009: "Church Music", David Crowder Band release date

Coincidence?  I think not.  I call it a conspiracy.

(against my wallet)

homosexuality and church planting

One of the most difficult questions church planters hoping to reach a new  generation will have to wrestle with is the question of homosexuality.  For many postmoderns this issue is a pass-fail in the search for a spiritual community.  Spiritual entrepreneurs today need to understand that this issue has come to be about SO much more than a particular form of sexual expression.

Instead of trying to explain what I'm talking about, take a listen to a friend of mine named Emily Nixon.  Emily is someone who's walked about from Christianity because she can't reconcile her own deepest values with the church as she sees it today.  Take a listen to a conversation we had over at Homer's Coffee Shop . . .

Sound familiar?

sad state of affairs

Fitting firmly under the "just when you thought things couldn't get any worse" category, Yahoo! has posted a story this morning about the new depths people getting divorced can sink to.  According to the story a man in Long Island is suing his soon-to-be ex-wife for the return of the kidney he donated to her in 2001.  Which makes for an extraordinarily ugly headline.  Of course, the flip side of that story is that the wife had an affair in 2004, which triggered the divorce proceedings. 

What a mess.  When God says that He hates divorce, you can definitely see why. 

please pray

By now most of you have heard about yesterday's shooting rampage at Northern Illinois University.  We all need to be praying for the families and students involved.  A number of my friends were in classes on campus when the shooting started, and I'm grateful to God that they're all ok.  So many lives have been lost or changed forever, and so many families are in pain right now.  Please, please be in prayer.

the future is now (again)

So the future is here.  Imagine you could live in a virtual world, create your own digital self, interact with others from all over the world on your own terms, in an unique environment created for you, and perhaps by you.  It's a reality now.  Trippy. 

I've always believed that technology is inherently moral neutral.  What can be used for good can be twisted for evil.  What often is intended for evil can be redeemed for good.  I still believe this to be true of virtual reality.  It will be interesting to watch this pan out. 

What do you think?

Remembering 9/11

Everyone remembers where they were when they heard the second tower had been hit.  I certainly remember where I was.  But more than remembering where I was, I remember the things I felt that morning.  I was in a meeting so I didn't actually see the second plane strike, but I remember exactly what I felt when my wife called me with the news. 

We ran to a tv to see the footage, and seeing the smoke coming from the Pentagon and the towers I realized that our country was at war.  I remember knowing that our world had changed and that it would never really go back to the way it was.  I remember wondering what kind of world my sons would grow up in.  I remember wondering if Tom Clancy was just incredibly prophetic or whether he might have inadvertently inspired the attacks (His 1994 novel Debt of Honor climaxes with a terrorist hijacking a plane and crashing it into the Capital Building in Washington).

Most of all, I remember being struck with realization that most of us would never be able to truly grasp what would motivate a group of people to commit murder on such a massive scale.  And not just one 'lone gunman', but such a large part of our world.  (I remember Iraqi children dancing in the streets of Baghdad that day)  Five years later we still do not understand.  And maybe it's a good thing we don't.

Do you remember what you felt?  Share your thoughts by leaving a comment . . .