"What profiteth a man to gain the whole world..."

"... and lose his soul?"

John Walton, son of Wal-Mart founder Sam Walton, died today. Was he a believer? Dunno. Man sees the outside, God sees the heart.

But what good does all that money do him now?

"A man can do nothing better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in his work. This too, I see, is from the hand of God, for without him, who can eat or find enjoyment?"

Sounds about right.

A moment to reflect

I'm not one to stay in the doldrums for any longer than needed, and I like to stop every once in a while and take stock of all the ways that God has blessed me, as a way to remind myself of all I owe him. And right now, Keith Green said it better than I ever could,

Well, I pledge my head to heaven for the Gospel,
And I ask no man on Earth to fill my needs.
Like the sparrow up above, I am enveloped in His love,
And I trust Him like those little ones, He feeds.

Well I pledge my wife to heaven, for the Gospel,
Though our love each passing day just seems to grow.
As I told her when we wed, I'd surely rather be found dead,
Than to love her more than the one who saved my soul.

I'm your child, and I want to be in your family forever.
I'm your child, and I'm going to follow you,
No matter whatever the cost, I'm gonna count all things lost.

Well I pledge my son to heaven for the gospel.
Though he's kicked and beaten, ridiculed and scorn.
I will teach him to rejoice, and life a thankful praising voice,
And to be like Him who bore the nails and crown of thorns.

I'm your child, and I want to be in your family forever.
I'm your child, and I'm going to follow you,
No matter whatever the cost, I'm gonna count all things lost.
Oh no matter whatever the cost, I'm gonna count all things lost.

Well I've had the chance to gain the world, and to live just like a king,
But without your love, it doesn't mean a thing.

Oh no matter whatever the cost, I'm gonna count all things lost,
Oh no matter whatever the cost, I'm gonna count all things lost.

Well I pledge my son, I pledge my wife, I pledge my head to heaven,
I pledge my son, I pledge my wife, I pledge my head to heaven, for the gospel.

./~ Middle-aged Wasteland, oh yeah, it's only middle-aged wasteland ./~

/me air-guitars a perfect Pete Townsend windmill, using the iBook as my axe.

Okay, maybe you didn't need that visual...

Philthy's post about contemporary Christian radio (CCR for short) has been rattling around inside my skull for a while (Heaven knows there's nothing up there to prevent that...).

Maybe I've been a bit too hard on CCR as of late, because I realized aside from the occasional foray into the 70's/80's funk/old school station that comes in poorly to my home, I really don't listen to any music on the radio anymore, it's either my iPod or sports talk radio. There used to be some great alternative stations here, on either AM or low-power FM, but they're long gone, and Clear Channel's "Best Of The 80's, 90's and Today!" station here doesn't even begin to play The Pixies, The Jam or any music from R.E.M. before Green, so my tastes aren't that commercial anyways, no matter the genre.

So I'll give CCR a pass. Sure, it sucks. But no more than any other radio format. I don't expect to hear The Stone Roses on a Clear Channel station, so why do I expect to hear Glenn Kaiser on a CCR station?

Hopefully, with podcasting, better 'net promoting and alternative buying outlets like Amazon or iTunes, we'll see more ways for the good cutting-edge bands of all genres to break thru the wall of blandness. Until then, I'll be in the corner, listening to Larry Norman's "In Another Land", and looking at my old New Order album covers.

You kids and your music these days.

Because He did it first

I made a huge mistake today.

I went to the website for Fred Phelps, the "God Hates Fags" minister of Westboro Baptist Church.
(No, no link. Why give him anymore attention than he deserves?)

The hatred he spews is unfathomable. I just sat there, stunned by the power of his vicious rancor. I couldn't believe that someone could use the words of the God I love so much in such a way: it was almost like I was reading a fatwah from Osama. How could such hatred flourish, and be done in the name of the God I follow?

But then I realized that my God was even more powerful than what I was reading, and the tears started running down my face. My God. What a wonderful phrase. I try very hard to make sure my prejudices aren't mistaken for God's commands, so I'm not completely comfortable with the idea of mixing my emotions with my faith.

But still, there's that phrase, "my God." Why does it affect me so? It shouldn't, my all-time favorite line from a hymn is all possessive nouns: "Our Maker, Defender, Redeemer, and Friend."

It's still surprising. Always will be. It's not that I can claim him for my own, it's that He claims me. The God that made the entire freakin' universe cares enough about this slug that He sacrificed Himself for me. My righteouness doesn't even cover the comic books I stole in tenth grade (Didn't know about THAT, did you, Mom? :-) ). God's righteousness covers that, and every other sin I've done, am doing or will do. And not because I earned it, worked for it, demanded it or acquired it. It's a gift, unmerited favour from above.

Amazing Grace. How truly sweet the sound. Because it's a sound that cannot be heard from the lips of mankind, it can only come from the mouth of God.

Fred, there's a God out there waiting who can forgive sins, who can allow you to love those you hate, and even allow those whom you hate to love you. He'll be waiting as long as it takes, but He won't wait forever. Whenever you want to talk to him, He's listening.

The lines are blurier

I was noticing a trend lately. First my friend in MN was telling me about how another friend Evan was complaining that Christian radio would play U2 songs covered by Christian artists (which aren't nearly as good as the original) but they won't play any songs by U2 themselves. Also I was reading on a post that some CCM band did a remake of Heaven by the Los Lonely Boys (which was also crappy) but not the original. And the list goes on. Let's face it you have to be sanctified by CCM to be part of the group. It doesn't matter if you are a christian or if your song is about your relationship with God. To get in you have to be part of the country club.
Honestly the most moving songs about God never got played on CCM. For example the song "Come to Jesus" by Mindy Smith never got a nod from CCM but it was the #1 song for 2004 on a very popular AAA station out of Nashville. And more people who don't care about God are listening to this song than anything by Third Day. Now tell me who is actually going out into the world with out being part of the world.
Anyway the Evangelical Ghetto has proven that it is doing more harm to the gospel than helping it not only by ignoring good God-honoring art but by putting out fluff.
Luckily there are followers of Jesus that don't care about pleasing the pulpit but care about pleasing God.
Ouch I trip coming done from by soapbox.