Random Thought

During a conversation with Becky while driving somewhere the other night, discussing someone:

Me: “He is… unique.”
Becky: “Yes, yes he is.”
Me: “In fact, that’s the one thing you can say about every person who has ever lived - they are or were unique. Isn’t it ironic that the one thing we all have in common is our uniqueness?”

Becky: < changes the subject >

One last time...

This Sunday will be my last Sunday to lead worship at Noelridge for a while. It has been a while since I made the official announcement, and I think in the interim some good strides have been made to get things organized and prepared for my departure. I’m sure there will still be some kinks to work out, some things I’ve forgotten and the like, but they’ll get the figured out, and I’ll be available to answer questions.

I’m looking forward to the break. Suddenly my Monday afternoons are free from staff meetings (though I may still attend from time to time), my Tuesday nights are free from planning services, my Wednesday nights are free from worship team practice, and my Sunday mornings are now flexible so I can attend one service of my choice. There will definitely be some schedule adjustment, I think for the better.

So, this Sunday is the last one. We’re celebrating the church’s 50th anniversary this week. We’ll have a few of the former pastors in attendance, and a bunch of old-timers. Should be a neat time.

Pick Chris's Reading List

Those of you who know me know that I am a voracious reader. (Those of you who don’t know me just found out.) Every night for many years I have spent my last waking hour in bed reading some book or another. (If the book is too interesting, I spend a few of my last waking hours in bed… and often end up short on sleep as a result.) I enjoy many genres, but find myself most drawn to history, theology, science fiction (but not the fantasy branch of sci-fi so much), and then military/adventure novels. I was big into Tom Clancy as a kid, and branched out to similar authors when Clancy’s pen dried up.

I average 1 or 2 books per week, depending on how busy my week is. Lately, though, I have become weary of my regular diet of mindless adventure. Much of it is tired retreads. I feel like I’m wasting my time. Back at the DG2006 conference I bought G. K. Chesterton’s The Everlasting Man and I’m enjoying it quite a lot. But it, too, will soon join the ranks of books I’ve already read, and I’ll be looking for something else.

So here’s the deal. Do you have any books to recommend that I read? They could be fiction, non-fiction, whatever. Just something you think I’d enjoy or benefit from. Leave a comment with the name and author of the book. In return, I will find them at the local library, read them, and then post my thoughts about the book. Sound like a plan?

Plans Change

Well, that Happy Meal hasn’t materialized in Laura’s future yet. Becky got sick with a nasty fever and such on Thursday, so she had to cancel her trip to Chicago for this weekend. I know she was very disappointed, but what can you do?

She did get to come along, though, to a Randall Goodgame house show last night, and it was excellent. I much prefer to hear Randall’s music live rather than from his CDs - it’s a whole different sound, less production, less extra instruments. He and his wife Amy did most of the songs with just a guitar, and it sounded great. He also did several piano songs, showing off his skill as a jazz pianist, and then left no eye dry with a stunning late-night piano version of Next To You. I found that I have his recorded version of the song on a CD at home, but with the upped tempo, drum track, and production, it sounds nothing like the version we heard last night. So Randall, buddy, think about recording an album that sounds a little more like your live stuff sometime, huh? Just a thought.

It has been a lazy sleep-in morning here this morning, and will continue to be a lazy Saturday. I sense some football games on TV in my future…

Adventures in Fatherhood

Tomorrow morning Becky will be taking off for Chicago to spend a weekend with her friend Juanita who is up here visiting to celebrate her (Juanita’s) 30th birthday. They’re going to see Blue Man Group while they’re in town, which makes me a bit jealous. But that’s cool.

So, from Friday morning until Sunday afternoon, I will be spending a lot of quality time with my two little girls. (I will get a little break on Friday night when my sister watches the kids while my brother and I go to a Randall Goodgame house show…) Everyone who hears that I’ve got the kids for the weekend asks me if I think I’ll survive. I’m not quite sure what the big deal is - isn’t a Dad supposed to be able to manage for a day or two with the wife gone? Sure, we’ll be ready to have Becky back on Sunday, but I’m glad she can go. Goodness knows I’m gone often enough. Seems only fair that she should get to go when the occasions arise.

I sense a Happy Meal in Laura’s future for this weekend. :-)

Get out and vote!

Yep, it’s election day. I can’t say I’m too excited about any of the slate of candidates I have to vote for here in Iowa; some of the locals are probably alright, but even at the state level they’ve been slinging mud for so many weeks now I have a bad taste in my mouth - something akin to that nasty pastiness you get when sleeping with your mouth open all night when your nose is clogged. Yecch.

Still, I’ll be heading to the polling place after work to do my part as a citizen. I urge you to do the same.

Note to my dad, who’s running the poll for his township in Wisconsin: hope it goes well.

Dr. John Stackhouse on Christians' Political Concerns

Dr. John Stackhouse of Regent College in Vancouver, BC, is in Cedar Rapids this weekend speaking. He’ll be at Coe College tonight, First Lutheran Church tomorrow night, and then at Noelridge and First Lutheran on Sunday morning. (Visit recminusa.org for more details.)

I got to meet him at lunch today. I was invited to a regular lunch meeting that my pastor has with some musician-types each Thursday, and Dr. Stackhouse was invited to join us all for lunch. He is a fascinating man; seeming to be equally conversant in music, politics, religion, and philosophy, he bantered with the group all the while engaging us in some serious thought.

At one point the discussion turned to politics, and one of the regulars was lamenting that so many people have started to view politics as single-issues; they’ll make their voting decision based strictly on a candidate’s view on, say, abortion, or gay rights. It’s frustrating to those of us who think there are multiple issues that are important. Dr. Stackhouse agreed that it is very difficult; in reality there may be 30 or 40 issues that a thinking person could be versed on, and vote around. What he suggested, though, was that pastors and other leaders should encourage their people to think around a rather short list, perhaps five or six issues that as Christians we should care about.

He only listed two for us:

  • How will this issue affect the poor?
  • How will this issue affect our ability to freely share the gospel?

He suggested that there might be just a few more. What do you think? Is this a reasonable framework around which to decide how votes will be cast? What items would you add to the list?

Tuesday Riff on CCM

So I don’t listen to Christian radio any more, but Becky had it on in the van over the weekend, and on Sunday morning when I started the van to head to church, this song came on, and it’s driving me crazy. I’ve been frustrated with shallow and trite lyrics before, but I think this song takes the cake. To be fair, I’ll quote the whole song:

Some people tell me that I look kind of funny
My nose is red and the braces didn’t work at all
They say the clothes I wear are all out of fashion
I don’t fit in and should be shopping at a different mall
I studied classical piano when I could’ve been playing guitar
I used to drive an El Camino and I’m not even sure it’s a car
(chorus)
I’m not cool but that’s okay
My God loves me anyway
I’m not cool but that’s alright
I’m still precious in His sight
I’m not cool but I don’t care
How I’m supposed to do my hair
I’m not cool but that’s okay
My God loves me anyway

It doesn’t matter if I know all the lingo
He doesn’t mind if I’m not hanging with a certain crowd
Some people still believe in building image
≥ But I am fine and that’s a worry I can do without
I used to wish I was athletic but football was never my game
I met some friends in mathematics but no one can spell my last name

chorus

He says that I am one of a kind
And I don’t have to try to be somebody else
He believes in me and says I’m free to be myself
I can be myself

(I’m Not Cool - Scott Krippayne)

Becky has warned me that ripping on this song will just make me come across as a music snob. I’m probably guilty as charged… but I’ve gotta say something. In no particular order:

First thought: This could be the theme song for all of Christian Radio these days. The music they play is so out-of-date and repetitive… don’t get me started. It’s the same stuff I was hearing on Christian radio when I listened to it back in high school. And I graduated high school in 1995.

Second thought: There’s a fine line between saying “it’s OK if I’m not cool” and saying “I don’t need to be culturally relevant”. I understand what Krippayne is trying to say with the song. It’s supposed to be an encouragement to that poor socially-inept person who feels “uncool” and rejected by their peers. OK, great. But it’s a very short trip from that to saying “it doesn’t matter whether I’m in touch culturally or not”, which is a much shakier proposition. It seems to me that we do need to be culturally relevant; we’re not doing the Gospel any favors by intimating that only geeks and losers believe. Yeah, there’s a balance to be struck, but this song takes me way out past the edge of where I’m comfortable balancing.

Third thought: If it’s really OK to be uncool, why are the words and music written in a style that is attempting to be contemporary? Why not write it as a Gregorian chant or as Uzbekistani folk music or as hideous 70’s disco? Apparently it’s OK to be uncool unless you’re a CCM musician. Then you’ve gotta try to be, but the odds are you’ll fail miserably.

I can’t deny that the basic message of the song (“God loves me just as I am”) is true; it’s really the insipidity that kills me. Let me share, in closing, a song that does a far better job at eloquently sharing the wonder of God’s love for us. Brother Scott, you might take a lesson or two from Andrew Peterson.

What’s that on the ground?
It’s what’s left of my heart
Somebody named Jesus
Broke it to pieces
And planted the shards

And they’re coming up green
They’re coming in bloom
I can hardly believe
This is all coming true

Just as I am and just as I was
Just as I will be He loves me, He does
He showed me the day that He shed His own blood
He loves me, oh, He loves me, He does

All of my life I’ve held on to this fear
Its thistles and vines
Ensnare and entwine
What flowers appeared

It’s the fear that I’ll fall
One too many times
It’s the fear that His love
Is no better than mine

It’s time now to harvest
What little that grew
This man they call Jesus
Who planted the seeds
Has come for the fruit

And the best that I’ve got
Isn’t nearly enough
He’s glad for the crop
But it’s me that He loves

Just as I am and just as I was
Just as I will be He loves me, He does
The same as the day that He shed His own blood
He loves me, oh, He loves me, He does

(Just As I Am - Andrew Peterson)

Seasons

Yard work isn’t my favorite task; it’s one of those things that gets done because it needs to be done, not because I really want to do it. But there is something increasingly pleasant about the pattern of life as I see it develop year after year. This will be our third autumn in this house, and so the third season of cold afternoons raking until dark, brisk Saturdays cleaning out gutters, and warm cups of tea waiting for me back in the house. When the raking gets long I will take comfort in the knowledge that in just a few weeks all the leaves will have fallen, the bags will have been collected, and all that will remain in this year’s outdoor maintenance is to prepare the snowblower for its season of work.

They say time speeds up as you get older, and I can understand why they say so. Children have a particular way of making time fly. Wasn’t it just yesterday that little girl was born? Today she sits up on her own, sports two teeth, and grabs everything in sight. Wasn’t it just recently I graduated from college? And yet the new grads at work this year look like mere children. When did I get old? What I am starting to see, though, is the joy in the patterns of life across the years.

Laura is old enough to attend Sunday School this fall, and she came up a few weeks ago chattering “day, night. day, night”. She’s learned about all the other things God created, too, but she has been stuck on “day, night”. At night when we pray I’ve been reinforcing to her that we’re praying to God who made day and night, sun, moon and stars (also favorites of hers!), and who made her. At her young age, I’m sure “day, night” seems like a long time; but even now she can start to learn the patterns that God has so beautifully designed for us. And before too long she’ll be out helping rake the leaves, mow the grass, and shovel the snow.

Writing this suddenly I feel old. I can take some short-lived comfort in the knowledge that my 30th birthday is still nearly 5 months off, but I know that it will come all too soon. (Some of my readers will say that 30 isn’t old - humor me for a minute.) I can be content, though, in knowing that the God who designs and upholds the days, seasons, and years has designed them for me, and me for them. And I can enjoy living them and passing the lessons of life on to my little girls. God is good.

Best-laid plans... don't always work out.

Last night I was headed to bed at a relatively early hour, and as I prepared to go to sleep I decided I’d get up and run this morning. I haven’t run much lately, and I need to. This morning was going to be relatively warm, good for running.

Then the Bears staged an amazing comeback and won the football game. I had to keep watching. The game ended at 11 PM, I figured I’d still be OK.

Then Laura woke up at 3 AM. And again at 4:30 AM. She pitched a fit when I told her she had to go back to sleep. I left her in her crib. At 5:00 she was back awake. So I brought her into our bed. She was awake until 5:30 when I finally got up to get ready for work. By 6:20 when I was leaving the house she was finally sleeping. Hopefully she sleeps in a while.

Needless to say, I didn’t get any running done this morning. And I think I’ll be finding something to drink with caffine in it here very soon now.

Children are an amazing blessing. But that doesn’t mean they won’t keep you up at night one way or another. :-)