Quote from Bono

It's extraordinary to me that the United States can find $700 billion to save Wall Street and the entire G8 can't find $25 billion dollars to save 25,000 children who die every day from preventable diseases.

- Bono, rock star and anti-poverty activist.
Source: The American Prospect blog

Eerie.

The other day while driving with my wife and kids to get frozen yogurt - or FroYo, as we call it - I heard a song on the radio and my jaw about hit the floor of my mini-v..er..pimped out awesome ride.

It took me a while, but I tracked it down. It's by a guy named Matthew West - it's called Next Thing You Know. Except for a minor change in date and other details (I was 15 and was actually at the Billy Graham Crusade in Three Rivers Ball Park in Philadephia), his story could very literally be mine.

I should write Matthew.

I remember when I was thirteen
I saw a picture on my TV screen
The Reverend Billy Graham and the people sing “Just As I Am”
And I felt like You were talking to me

And the whole world seemed to fade away
Until I heard my mother say
“Son, are you ok? Do you wanna pray?
And that became the hour I first believed

Chorus:
And next thing you know
I’m high and flying, next thing you know
My heart is in Your hands, next thing you know
There is no denying, next thing you know
I’m a brand new man

Well I wish I could say I always stayed right there
And I did until my freshman year
But the world was pulling me along way from thirteen
And You were calling but I didn’t hear

Still I knew there was something more
So one day my knees hit the dorm room floor
I said “If You’re there and if You really care
Come and talk to me like I was thirteen”

Chorus

I Got a picture in my head today
Of how Heaven might look someday
I see the people there so I pull up a chair
And their stories they blew me away

‘Cause I can see it on every face
Their evidence of grace
And as I listen it occurs to me
Everybody’s got their own thirteen

So what’s your story about His glory?
You gotta find your place in the history of grace

Higher Standard for Christian Art

As a guy who spends lots of time working to blend artistry into the local church, I am always looking for things to inspire me.

This clip certainly does the trick - though for perhaps all the wrong reasons. Be sure to notice this guy's dance moves, the stunning setting and the guys in the band.

Truly stunning.

You can view it here

Never Google Your Own Name

I say this because as I was doing precisely that this morning, I found this article about a guy who shares my name. And apparently, a passion for cocaine and under-age women.

Oprah is Simply More Interesting

I was reading this article about why Oprah's spiritual campaigns seem to get so much traction in the US. The author posits this question: Could it be because Oprah is doing a better job at attempting to tackle the tough questions of life in a more interesting manner than most churches?

Many who go to churches find Oprah much more inspiring than the sermons they hear. And what can we say when we compare the typical parish Bible study, with a handful of believers, to the hundreds of thousands who tuned in earlier this year to her 10-week study with Eckart Tolle of A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life's Purpose?

People are thirsty to learn how to face pervasive unhappiness, to experience God for themselves, to cultivate an inner life, to move beyond the parochialism and exclusivism of religion and to sense the spiritual bonds that connect everyone and everything, to overcome the depressing guilt and sin-focused faith that many have grown up with and to know real joy. Pastors and church leaders can learn plenty from this.

I'm not saying that churches have to have an 80-million dollar marketing machine to get the word out - I'm saying that what people are hungry for is the very stuff that churches should be specialists in. Churches can really can point people to answers that REALLY matter - the teachings and person of Jesus are THE MOST COMPELLING answers to all those problems.

Funniest Book Titles of the Last 30 Years

I read this story today about a contest to determine the weirdest and funniest book title from the last 30 years. The award is called the "Diagram Award" named after a book publisher noticed that one of the books produced by his company was entitled "Diagram of Diagrams." Here were some of the finalists for the award:

• "People Who Don't Know They're Dead"


• "How To Avoid Huge Ships."


• "Proceedings of the Second International Workshop on Nude Mice"


• "How To Bombproof Your Horse"


• "If You Want Closure in Your Relationship, Start With Your Legs"


• "Highlights in the History of Concrete"


• "The Big Book of Lesbian Horse Stories"


• Versailles: The View From Sweden


• The Book of Marmalade: Its Antecedents, Its History, and Its Role in the World Today

and the winner:

• "Greek Rural Postmen and Their Cancellation Numbers"

Interesting Website

Shown here, the complete text of Pastor Bill's sermon this week run through a program called "Wordle."

So I came across this interesting site today called Wordle

You can copy and paste a website, or a block of text into the site and it creates a visual representation of that speech, with the words being used most often being featured in larger text.

I wonder if someone had the ability to "wordle" every single thing I've ever said, what the top words would be. I copied and pasted my blog from the last calendar year, and this is what came out. I'm glad "Jesus" is so big.

Just for fun, I cut and pasted the entire text of John McCain's RNC nomination speech.

Then, I did the same for Barack Obama's DNC nomination speech into the program, just because I wanted to see what words were most used by each candidate.

I'm not sure it reveals much, but it sure is interesting that the word "country" is so big. I mean, I like Leann Rimes as much as the next guy...but...come on.

David and Goliath: Not Really a Kid's Story

Shown here, Carravagio's famous and bloody portrayal of the story of David and Goliath. You can see more of this shocking and rebellious painter's work here.

So Justus and I play every night when I get home from work, often by wrestling on the bed. Recently, he's been interested in re-enacting various Bible stories, especially David and Goliath.

I play the role of Goliath, and I say, "Who wants to fight me?" and Justus says, "I grab five smooth stones!" and then he pretends to pick up rocks, counting out louad, "One, two, three, four, five." Then, he turns to me, takes a menacing stance and twirls his arms around and says, "Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh - THROW!"

He then proclaims, "I hit you right between the eyes!" And I pretend to be "knocked out." What's a bit more disturbing is that sometimes he jumps over to me and says, "I cut off your head!"

I'm kidding. He doesn't say that. But every time I read him his children's Bible, I keep thinking, "Well, that's technically how the story ends."

I can't wait until Noah's Ark. Whoever decided that the complete destruction of the world was a good theme for children's nurseries?

Let's just hope that this story and this story don't make it into a Children's Bible anytime soon.

That Senator Guy From Illinois...

A quote from a speech given by Al Gore at the DNC - I thought it was an interesting perspective on "experience." Gore makes that case that "character" and "intellectual capacity" mean far more, citing the unique case of our greatest president, Abraham Lincoln.

Before he entered the White House, Abraham Lincoln's experience in elective office consisted of eight years in his state legislature in Springfield, Illinois, and one term in Congress - during which he showed the courage and wisdom to oppose the invasion of another country that was popular when it started but later condemned by history.

The experience Lincoln's supporters valued most in that race was his powerful ability to inspire hope in the future at a time of impasse. He was known chiefly as a clear thinker and a great orator, with a passion for justice and a determination to heal the deep divisions of our land. He insisted on reaching past partisan and regional divides to exalt our common humanity.

If only Barack Obama had been born in a Hawaiian log cabin, then the parallel would be PERFECT.

BTW - the war that Lincoln strongly dissented against? The Mexican-American War. A disastrous political war championed mainly by the Southern Democrats who wanted more land and more slave states. Now that's a bad reason to go to war.

Gerson's Tattoo

My buddy Gerson Castro, with whom I used to teach at Gunderson, recently alerted folks via Facebook that he got a new tattoo.

It's a quote from Ben Franklin that says:

"Holiness is in right action and courage on behalf of those who can not defend themselves. God is good to us. Let us continue to show a sense of his goodness by being good to our fellow man. For what man is a man who does not make the world better."

Certainly the longest quote I've ever seen anyone tattoo on their arm, but also definately the most thought-provoking.



What's interesting is the language. At first, I thought it was Hebrew, which seemed weird because Franklin wasn't Jewish. Then, I looked closer and saw that it wasn't Hebrew - it was Quenya, a fictional language spoken by the Elves in J.R.R. Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings" trilogy.

So Gerson, you win two awards today, buddy. First, Best Use of a Quote in Body Art and Best Use of a Language That's Not Only Dead, But Never Really Was Spoken Except By Elves in a Book.