the Paisley Schwa

Confessions....

2006-07-05T09:30:00.000-07:00

This is a small review of Mark Driscoll's Confessions of a Reformission Rev.: Hard Lessons from an Emerging Missional Church.

This is not a book for those uncomfortable with brutal honesty. This is also not for those who are uncomfortable with those who don't mince words when relaying thoughts and concepts.

As others have noted, the book chronicles Mars Hill Church. No easy task starting a church, and the things he discusses shouldn't suprise anyone.

Dealing with radically broken people in a radically broken world 'ain't too pretty' at times. What that means is that Driscoll seems to have been able to get at people 'where they live' and has somehow mangaged to be theologically conservative and obvious at the same time. While assessment of 'success' in church circles tends to be elusive at times, it does seem that Driscoll has found a way in Seattle that acknowledges the 'elephant in the rooom' as well as the 'camel whose nose is already in the tent' and deal with them both accordingly.

'A brush of idealism paints the first-century church.' So begins the sermon series on 1 Corinthians that Mars Hill Seatlle is working through. What Driscoll does is challenge our notions of the church as being a 'morally perfected' group of people on earth. At the end of the day, the church WANTS to look in the mirror and say, 'Oh, all of the problems are OUT THERE SOMEWHERE, and never inside ME.' This is something the Scriptures just won't allow us to do.

Chew it up and spit out the bones...(if there are any).

Deductions I Vow to Legally Take Some Day...

2006-04-10T10:22:00.000-07:00

I saw this particular deduction whilst browsing through the IRS Publication 526. Odd, I know, but I vow to take this one legally some day. I guess I've got a lot of work to do between now and then. Perhaps I should start with becoming an Eskimo. That might be one of the harder bits.

AWESOME GOD kid's worship cd, Sovereign Grace Ministries (and other search engine attractors!)

2006-01-23T09:17:00.000-08:00

I was first exposed to the music of the People of Destiny International (PDI) back in 1997 through a WORSHIP LEADER magazine sampler. WE SING YOUR MERCIES was the first tune I heard. At that time, as a worship leader, I was in the first pangs of setting up some guidelines about which songs I should select for public worship. The text was ultra strong compared to some of the other things on offer at the time. The tune was modern and the style was pop/rock without being annoying. This began my affections for PDI music. I snatched up a few discs and began to put the songs in heavy rotation. At the time, although the texts and tunes were strong, the production value of the discs seemed a bit low to me. Some of the actual recorded sounds (some of the keyboard patches and drum sounds in particular) seemed a bit plastic at the time. But the texts were sooooo strong that I couldn’t NOT use them!

To their great credit, the PDI folks (now known as Sovereign Grace Ministries) have really grown in their production values, and of course, the texts are as strong as ever. Even for the Sovereign Grace Kids offering AWESOME GOD.

I agreed to review this disc on my blog with a certain time stipulation which I have long-since missed. Please accept my apologies, SGM.

I’m almost afraid to say that with this disc targeted at kids, that TPFKAPDI (the people formerly known as PDI) have raised the bar not only for devotional music for kids, but perhaps also for adults, being that there are a few tunes on this disc that I would consider using for public worship for all ages!

This is a class act from start to finish. With sounds that seemed to be aimed at the ‘tweeners’, the cover has an insert that can be displayed four different ways, showing in essence, four different covers—a tasty shot of some part of a galaxy taken by the Hubble, a nice picture of a brilliant yellow flower with a butterfly, the Mohawk on a zebra’s head, and a nice pic of an ocean wave. The Bible is very clear about the Creator of the universe drawing praise out of us when we see the wonderful things He has made, and this cover points in that direction.

The lyric book is printed in a sans serif font, and the lyrics are very clear to read. The liner notes are in a smaller font, and all the colors found on the disc and artwork are vibrant.

The only thing I would change on the artwork is the font that is used for the title—it’s kind of a neo-chalky-grungy look. This is by no means a turnoff, and probably says more about me than it does the project!

I must say that I’m impressed with the choices made on when to include the children singing. I don’t know what it is, but kids seem to like to hear other kids singing. I don’t if that’s because we adults pigeon-hole them because we make music like that or what. The majority of the singing work in the verses of the songs are shouldered by adult voices, and the younger folks get in on the choruses. And this isn’t the ‘let’s haul the kids up front to sing in the service so all the adults will overlook their lack of precision in singing because they’re just sooooo cute” singing, the kid’s sections are sung very well! KUDOS!

The styles range from straight ahead, overdriven guitar driven rock, to jangly, Beatlesy bouncing (with a Stevie Wonder sounding harmonica!) to some punk-influenced stuff, as well as including some standard P&W or CCM (in the sound genre sense of those terms).

I’m glad to say that all the things I noticed in 1997 about PDI (SGM) production being a bit behind are completely absent from this project! Everything sounds like the real deal—good crunchy guitars, nice key/piano sounds, and the drums sound great too.

Lyrically, the beautiful part about this disc verses some of the typical kid’s music is that they are truly theo-centric, focusing on the revealed truths of the Bible—there’s no ‘we are climbing Jacob’s ladder’ type stuff here (as if we should even be on Jacob’s ladder!) Check them out if you’re not familiar with the texts—I would consider them continuing in the strong tradition of hymn writing, with God and His character and actions being center, and not being overwhelmed by our subject response to God, although this is present.

When I first got the disc in the mail, I put it on our big speakers at home while I did some stuff around the house. I’ve been working on some kind of theory about when repetition slips into triteness, and I’m still a long way from solidifying anything on it, but I mention it only to say that I noticed a certain little melody/lyric bit that was crossing the line. ‘You go on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on.” I was about to put this in the ‘too far category’ until I looked at the lyrics and saw that the track was named ‘Forever God’. A big smile came over my face. The repeated music and text (on and on) combined to give a little earthly taste of what it would mean for God to be an eternal being! A wonderful marriage of text and tune!

Both of my girls (8 & 5) listened to it, and I know that the older one will be humming these for a while!

Great job, TPFKAPDI! And please accept my apology for my slack.

Glory Days...

2006-01-02T09:06:00.000-08:00

Need I say more?

Now you know at least one person who has stuck their forearm into the MUTT CUTTS van's nose. It was moist, like a healthy puppy.

Pax.

Egg Zam.

2005-11-29T05:07:00.000-08:00

I managed to take two of the three of my exams. For those of you keen on math skills, that leaves one for either Thursday or Friday. The Bible exam was objective in format, consisting of either matching or multiple choice. I find that I thrive on this format. It seems that I have enough Bible content rattling around in my brain that I can pick the right answer from a list. I'm not sure I would have felt as confident about it if I would have had to pull the answers straight from my brain. This is probably what my oral exams will be like (if I pass the written ones!) Because of the objective format, I was able to finish in about 20 minutes.

I must say that I could not identify Shalmanesser. Can you blame me?

The theology exam was a bit more challenging. The format was mixed, including some short answer and essay questions. I took the whole three hours alotted for it. I feel that I did well, although I always think of stuff that I could have added, or got completely wrong after I hand the test in. The Scottish Presbyterian John Knox wrote a book called The First Blast of the Trumpet Against the Monstrous Regiment of Women, which I called 'THE LAST BLAST'. There were also some glitches giving the right date range for certain people.

I was a bit shady on specfic wording of questions having to do with the Westminster Confession. I think I got in the ballpark on the concepts. There was one question that I really had no idea on with regard to the Confession. I put SOME answer in the blanks, because I know for sure that I won't get credit for leaving it blank.

As I've come to realize, FIRSTS for me are usually quite paralyzing. The first time I have to do something new, or the first time a situation springs up on me, I tend to freeze. It was the same way with the exams. I felt a lot of anxiety because I had a ton of resources to study, but I wasn't sure how to narrow it down for the exams. If I have to take any of them over, I will feel much better going in, because I have a better idea about the types of material on the exams.

The only written exam left for me to take is the church polity (government) exam. I will be reading the Book of Order (BOO) (eeeek! I'm scared!) a few times and outlining the main concepts over the next 2-3 days, in an effort to take the exam on Thursday afternoon or Friday.

On an unrelated note, my pa is having that ORTHOwhatever knee surgery this morning. I have a nagging sense that we're entering into that phase of his life where his body is starting to wear out. That's a whole other thing...

Have you ever wondered...

2005-11-10T10:51:00.000-08:00

what a prominent NT scholar might say with regard to the cellphone? You don't have to wonder any longer. Clickit to getit.

What do you think about his thoughts?

The Great Democratization of Opinion...

2005-10-20T09:07:00.000-07:00

I love the internet...in a very real, but qualified way.

Take blogging, for instance. With a blog, I can publish some of the things I think about. I can tell folks who don't know a single thing about me what I think about a certain subject or idea.

What qualifies me to have a blog? Well, a computer and internet connection. That's all. No particular schooling in a specialized subject. I can drone about the finer points of quantum physics will little or no knowledge of the subject at hand.

What qualifies me to be a BRAIN SURGEON? Years of schooling and training.

I can 'publish' my thoughts...doesn't that sound official?

Now, I am wondering what the net affect of this newly-found 'self importance' has on the way I view my opinions...does it lend a sort of silent legitimacy to them?

What thinkest thou?

Pax.

Just for kicks...

2005-10-11T08:06:00.000-07:00

Click here...

Just for laughs...

2005-09-07T17:29:00.000-07:00

Circa 1990. My passport mug. It was issued in NOLA, by the way. There are those who think my profile pic might be a bit like an X-Files pic.

This passport pic was taken as I was preparing to go to London for the first time with the (then) Southwest Missouri State University Bruin Pride Band. We were going to be in the Lord Mayor of Westminster's New Year's Day parade. I had a total blast. I dropped my drum stick in a porta-potty just before the parade started. I saw things too wondrous for words on that trip. I love the UK.

This pic was also taken back in the day when my eyes could tolerate contact lenses. I pull it out when I need some shock value, or just a plain old laugh.

Enjoy. I do.

Priorities...

2005-09-05T08:16:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure I've got any that I can discern...

Shame.

2005-07-05T12:43:00.000-07:00

It seems that about the only things I do with any regularity are: eat, and sleep.

I am paving the road to hell with all my good intentions, among them being (given only in order of recall, not necessarily importance):

1) Learning Dreamweaver MX 2004, Flash MX 2004, and Photoshop 7 in an effort to mangle my church's web site, thereby transforming it into a web sty.

2) Preparing for a movie night at my church. If you have any ideas on what you might expect as someone coming to an event like this, please leave me some feedback.

3) Preparing to preach the next two Sundays at my church.

4) Getting ready for my parents, sister, and niece to visit this week, and eating here.

5) Being a husband.

6) Being a father to a girl who is 8, and one who will turn 5 this coming Thursday.

7) Keeping a sleepy eye on tropical storms Cindy and Dennis.

What are YOU doing?

Pax.

I wouldn't blame you...

2005-02-24T13:54:00.000-08:00

...if you didn't want to read a sporadic blog of little import.
I've been too busy again with the church...no bloggy. Soon, though. Soon.

Opening Days...

2005-02-15T05:15:00.000-08:00

The 'Opening Days' went VERY well. I heard two differing head counts: 148 and 168. Of course, things like this are best assessed like your blood pressure: many pics over a span of time. Take my blood pressure right after exercising, whammo--through the roof. Take it as soon as I wake up--nearly dead. Average over time...

More to come later...

Pax.

Is there something wrong with me?

2005-02-13T16:20:00.000-08:00

Is there something wrong with me if the only time I really feel a near-total personal safety and security is when I am in either Wal*Mart or Target? Am I a consumer?

Pax.

This is the day...

2005-02-13T05:55:00.000-08:00

that the LORD has made. Rejoice!

Pax.

The Penultimate Day...

2005-02-12T06:03:00.000-08:00

Today is the day before the day that is the reason I moved my family 15+ hours away from St. Louis. On Sunday, February 13, the church I work for will launch. That means that we have: sent out over 16,000 sealed invitations, bought two weeks of radio ads on two different stations, had a website created for us (christredeemer.net), put our 'Opening Days' information on the local break-in to the WEATHER CHANNEL, put up 10 4x8 vinyl banners around the community, purchased and setup a great sound and video system, painted, installed shelves, mopped, arranged chairs, planned music, planned children's church, planned verbal transitions for our liturgy, installed quarter round, fought with a new answering machine, trained a new sound tech, put together 75 songbooks, created slides of song lyrics for the projector, printed and folded bulletins and informational brochures, created signs for the bathrooms and nursery, and a whole host of other things that escape my memory.

I've also prayed about our launch in inverse proportions to the amount of time I have spent doing 'stuff' for the launch. I'm not sure if this makes me a hypocrite, becuase I don't pretend that I have prayed as much as a I could have, but it sure makes me a man of little prayer.

Indeed, I have struggled through this process, knowing that the people of God have met in sundry and hostile conditions throughout history, and that the Triune God of the Scriptures has always been faithful to sustain the Bride. So, in the end, I understand that God is the One who truly draws and calls His people--The Good Shepherd tends His sheep well.

The thing that's not always so clear is the human responsibility part of the equation. We have a God who did not need to create, and yet He made humans. We have a God who could write the Gospel in the sky for all to see (even in their own regional dialect!!!!!!), and yet has set up a system whereby He uses man in the proclamation of reconciliation. We have a Holy Spirit who works in conjunction with the Bible, and yet if I as a preacher refuse to actually preach the Bible, then I'm not so sure that the Spirit would work--altough God retains the crown rights over His creation to operate any way He chooses.

Peter in the same breath tells his hearers that Jesus was crucified by the decree of God, and yet blames the sinful men in the process.

Does the color of the chairs in our worship space make a difference? If our bathroom stall doors don't have locks yet, does it matter? When has the Gospel been so adapted that it loses it's power? Can it lose it's power? Are the Authorized Version translators correct when they state that 'even the meanest of translations' is still the very Word of God?

I don't know where the sovereignty of God and the responsibility of man intersect--I won't ever. Did God plan for Paul to do all the work that he did for the infant church? Yes. Could Paul have hindered that in some strange way had he decided to shirk all his responsibilities and go off to some land and enroll in their witness protection program? I'm not so sure.

Should I even use my time entertaining these questions?

Have I rambled long enough?

One this is for sure: God has been very gracious to us and has shown us His ways (at least some of them, i.e. we don't have a detailed list of the elect), and we would do well to follow them.

I can't get all the math to work out in all my theological equations--how exactly is God going to raise the body of someone who has been cremated and scattered from an airplane about Yosemite?

But the thing is, some things God can handle without my intellect being satisfied.

Wow, I didn't think I would wind up at this point today.

I should keep my streams of consciousness to myself.

Pax to all.

Chris.

Mardi Gras

2005-02-07T20:19:00.000-08:00

My fam and I just returned from our 4th Mardi Gras parade here on the Eastern Shore of the Mobile Bay. For those who may not know it (read: people like me before I moved to Daphne, AL!)--the 'Mardi Gras' seems to be a week or two of parades with fancy dancing balls following after the parades. The parades are each put on by different 'krewes' which seem to be some type of club. We attended two parades with all men on the floats, and two parades with all women.

My favorite happened to be the parade of the Order of the Mystic Magnolias--an all women group. The people riding the floats in the parades hurl beads, moon pies, candy, cups, hula hoops, dubloons, and stuffed animals from the floats, showering the crowd--it is truly a sight to behold. Raining junk. Amazing.

I think it will take a while for me to plumb the depths of my experience...so you'll probably see it here when I do...

Pax.
Chris

Totally Derailed...

2005-02-05T20:48:00.000-08:00

I had every good intention of blogging very regularly. But then things really cranked up at my job, and they won't slow down for another 2 weeks. So, I am derailed. Totally.

One interesting thing in my neck of the woods is the cultural phenomenon known as Mardi Gras. I just can't get over the silent 's'.

Please, no...

2005-01-20T20:00:00.000-08:00

Don't read this.