Texas Flood - Stevie Ray Vaughan

In an effort to introduce good music to people everywhere, I am starting a new feature on this blog. This new feature is called Culture Corner, and with it I will attempt periodically to post videos of excellent music. In today's culture, there is little truly good music coming to us. This is not to say that there is not good music--just that one will not find much of it in pop culture. To do my part to alleviate this matter, I am beginning Culture Corner.

Much of the music I share on Culture Corner will likely be the blues because it is so sorely underrepresented in today's music; however, it is one of the best forms of music in my opinion. Perhaps I will explain why I feel this way in a future blog, but before I do that, I will show you my reasons...

The very first song I want to share with you is Texas Flood by Stevie Ray Vaughan. He was simply the best. He inspired an entire generation of guitar players (most definitely including me). He played with a passion that no one could equal. Although his life was cut short by a helicopter crash, I can only hope that his music will live on forever. Enjoy.

I Can't Believe I'm Blogging About Harry Potter

With all of the hoopla surrounding the last installment of Harry Potter, I must make a confession. I haven’t read any of the books. Not even one. In some circles, that makes me a saint; in others, a sinner.

I will admit, however, that Harry is an interesting cultural phenomenon. For example, on the news last night, there was an interview with a middle-aged gentleman named Thomas Harrop about Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. The man and his son had each bought a copy with serious misprints and pages missing. Harrop was obviously disappointed in his purchase. Although absent from the written article I linked, the television report stated that this book was the apex of Harrop’s reading for the last ten years. This is where I must depart from the culture around me and ask the question, “Harry Potter is the crowning achievement of your reading for the past decade: Are you serious?”

This is the very reason I haven’t read any of the Harry Potter series. Are they good books? Probably. Do they dive too deep into the occult? Don’t know—haven’t read ‘em. Are there too many other books to read? Yes. My reading list continually grows longer. I do my best to read often; I can’t even keep my reading list on this blog up-to-date (I’ve got a 12-inch stack of books on my coffee table right now, waiting to be read). To be quite honest, I just have no interest in reading Rowling’s tales (or watching the movie versions, for that matter). I have too many other enriching books to devour.

I am not surprised at Harry’s cultural triumph, and I don’t even think it’s necessarily a bad (or good) thing. I just wonder, what if the general public took to Pascal’s Pensées or Francis Schaeffer’s Trilogy like they do to Rowling’s books? (I suppose we got closer to this with the resurrection of Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia and Tolkien’s LOTR, with their Christian overtones.) Where would we as a culture be today?

Perhaps mine is a special case. Perhaps many people would rather read Harry Potter than the books I choose to read. Fair enough, but I can have my pipe dreams just the same, can’t I?

"It Was Miraculous"

My hometown blew up on Tuesday. Now I know it's not everyday that a person gets to say something like that. But the picture does not lie.

A chemical plant on the South end of town is what actually blew, creating a toxic smoke cloud over the town until firefighters were finally able to put the blaze out later that night. There is no word yet on what caused the explosion. My parents called us that night to tell us that they were okay. They and others in my extended family were staying at my cousin's house outside of town. They also said that due to extraordinarily well-organized evacuation efforts, everyone in the town got out safely. In fact, amazingly there were no fatalities, even at the plant itself.

Everyone is currently back in town, and business is returning to usual. After seeing the pictures and hearing the reports, I was very thankful...

Thank God that no one died.
Thank God that it wasn't a terrorist attack.
Thank God that it wasn't a plane crash.
Thank God that the town evacuated safely and orderly.

The mayor said it best: “It was miraculous. To have a serious incident in the middle of town and nobody was seriously injured, it is miraculous.”

Day 9,496.

Thank you for my wonderful birthday gifts, Jessica!

1 Corinthians 3:6

My church is currently very small (we averaged 12 people last month). This is not inherently bad, and there are definite advantages to being so small. However, we are looking to reach more people—not for the sake of numbers, but so that we might extend the kingdom of God. We have been brainstorming ways to grow, but I thought I would ask for help from you readers out there. How would you suggest we grow numerically as a church, while not being overly focused on a headcount?

Here are some of the demographics to consider:

•We are comprised mostly of DINKs (“Dual Income, No Kids” couples) in their mid-to-late 20s.
•We are based in Aurora, Colorado, which has an amazingly high rate of people moving in and out of the area.
•We are all relatively new transplants to the Denver area ourselves.
•We have a mix of traditional and contemporary elements in our services.
•Most of our members are dedicated to the church.

Any ideas you have would be greatly appreciated: Books, websites, personal experiences, etc.

Thanks in advance,
Jon

Sky Nation - A Parody.

DENVER – Sky Nation, the annual worldwide concert series warning of the dangers of the sky falling, took place yesterday. Sky Nation headquarters, based in Denver, CO, announced that there were concerts in several cities throughout the world. “We are glad to have concerts in Timbuktu, several villages in Outer Mongolia and Paris, as well as Denver,” said foundation president Lewis Upchuck. “It is our goal that by having these concerts, we can really raise sky-fall awareness and effect change.”

Falling sky, or sky-fall, is the phenomenon wherein the earth’s atmosphere lowers toward the ground. “The sky has been falling at a rate of 2.5 cm per year. We first noticed this in 1978, thanks to satellite readings,” said Fred LoDacrappe, researcher at the University of Colorado. “We know that the sky has been rising and falling for eons, but we have come to realize that the sky is now falling at an alarmingly abnormal rate.” Scientists believe that human freedom and individuality are the main causal factors of sky-fall. “If people would all just do as I say, then I believe we could bring sky-fall under control. But as long as the masses are resistant to the cultural elite telling them what to do and how to think, we can expect the sky to continue to fall.”

Official Sky Nation reports indicate that at least several people attended the concerts. In Timbuktu, a group of nomads was seen passing by the concert there at one point and was factored into the number of attendees. A Parisian family of twelve attended the French concert, which broke the previous year’s record attendance of seven. In Denver, the entire population of Boulder attended for the third straight year.

The Little Chix were among the bands performing at Denver’s concert this year. “Why can’t we all just do as we’re told?” asked band front man Charlie Mayer. “The sky is falling, and that’s not up for debate. We have to stop thinking for ourselves, or else something bad might happen, I guess. I mean, that’s what I was told.”

10 Days Out: Blues from the Backroads

I recently obtained 10 Days Out: Blues from the Backroads, a dual-disc album put out by Kenny Wayne Shepherd. In 2004, Shepherd, along with Chris Layton and Tommy Shannon (SRV's old band, Double Trouble), went on a road trip throughout the South in an effort to preserve the music of the originators of the blues. (The blues has the same roots as jazz, both having come from slave music.) Shepherd tracked down many of the pioneers in blues, most of whom are very, very old. But my, oh my, can they still play!

The album contains a CD of 15 of the songs that were recorded on the trip. I believe all of the songs were recorded live, in one take. As I listened to it, I realized how good these musicians are, even in their 70s, 80s and 90s--they only need one take! Their ability to connect with the listener via music is second to none.

The album also comes with a DVD documentary of Shepherd's road trip. It is put together similarly to a PBS special. By watching, I learned many interesting things about the men and women who formed the blues, and I really came to respect the musicians and their music even more than I, a blues fan, already did.

This is more of an informational posting than a "blog" per se, but if you like music at all, I would recommend picking up this album. First, it's just plain ol' good music. Second, it's a history lesson about black American culture. (It's truly a shame that black culture has turned to rap and R&B for its music, when it has such a rich musical past.) Third, it might get you hooked on the blues, which can only be a good thing.

(By the way, if any of you do like the blues or great guitar playing, also check out Joe Bonamassa, who I think is the best rock/blues guitarist on the planet right now. )

Happy listening!

God in America.

Some of us from church went to see the Rockies game last night (they won 11-3!) and stayed for the fireworks display. Although my view was obstructed by the upper-deck overhang, it was quite the show. They played all of the traditional patriotic music along with the fireworks. Several of the songs made direct and open references to God, thanking Him for blessing America. This gave me pause.

Before I go on, let me say that I am not anti-America. I'm happy to live here, and I am very grateful for the freedoms and lifestyle I enjoy. I have to wonder, though, given today's American culture, what must God think about us? We are allowed to talk about Him on holidays, during tragedies and after sporting events (God obviously favors the winning team), but even then it seems these references are little more than emotive utterances, devoid of any true meaning, apart from "warm fuzzies". We have effectively removed Him from TV, movies and music (with a few exceptions, to be sure). He dare not show up in our schools. We require our politicans to be nominal Christians, but they must vote as secular humanists.

On the other hand, there are many good Christians out there in our churches. We have myriad compassionate followers of Christ doing what they can to enlarge God's kingdom. They embody the love of Christ in their communities. They truly are "walking in the light as He is in the light."

As I view the ends of the spectrum, I wonder what God thinks about "the greatest country on the planet". How great are we? How wicked are we? Does God's grace extend to the whole on the behalf of the few? Does God's justice flow out on us because of the many?

I do not have an answer to these questions, other than, "Wait and see."