| [..who i am..] |
|---|
| I am trying to be the best husband to Jessica and father to Connor I can possibly be. In the daytime (and after they go to sleep) I am the Innovative Creative Arts Pastor at Powell Church in Knoxville, TN. I love songwriting, creating stupid videos, apple computers, and pie. |
| [..blogs that i read..] |
| journey to claire |
| real live preacher |
| bill wolf |
| cult of mac |
| adam mayfield |
| bob carlton |
| adam feldman |
| futility closet |
| jeph hurst |
| jason edelen |
| jon reid |
| church marketing sucks |
| kem meyer |
| anthony coppedge |
| betsy wolf |
| mark nelson |
| multi-site arts |
| [..graphic & video resources..] |
| sxc.hu |
| igniter media |
| sermon spice |
| highway video |
| worship house |
| digital juice |
| church marketing lab |
| [..music & artists..] |
| gregadkinsmusic.com |
| greg on Myspace |
| new city cafe |
| bill mallonee |
| the innocence mission |
| andrew peterson |
| andrew osenga |
| over the rhine |
| nickel creek |
| david wilcox |
| rich mullins |
| hem |
| andy gullahorn |
| jill phillips |
| arthur alligood |
| dave potts |
| [..my so called music career..] |
|
| [..52 songs in 52 weeks..] |
|
| [..where i serve..] |
| powell church |
| [..disclaimer..] |
| I am on staff at Powell Church in Knoxville, TN but the opinions, thoughts, comments, and humor on this page are solely my own. Wade in at your own risk and be warned, I'm a bit of a goofball. |
| [..my site feed..] |
| RSS |
| [..archive..] |
You are Neo, from "The Matrix." You
display a perfect fusion of heroism and
compassion.
What Matrix Persona Are You?
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I am swamped
Sorry for the lack of blogging lately... work has been busy and life has been busier as we prepare for a baby, get ready for a garage sale, a friend's wedding, and a long vacation... blogging has taken a back seat for the time being. It might be next week before I'm back around with any regularity so read my archives and pretend they're new!Go Annika!
As a sometimes golf fan (who doesn't play) I wanted to give a shout-out to Annika Sorenstam as she becomes the first woman to play on the men's PGA tour today in over 50 years. She is even par through 14 holes and has played very well. She's beating the crap out of the guy she's playing with which is awesome.
Eyes Wide Open: Episode One
We had our first meeting this morning and it was some compelling discussion. We are going to be reading "The Purpose Driven Life" by Rick Warren but since none of us had read any of it yet, we didn't talk about that. I won't comment on the book discussion other than to say, yes, I know it's not "pomo" or about emerging church issues. I wanted to start right in on "a new kind of Christian" but hey, no one in this group is into that discussion yet anyway so I'm going to bring that book in probably as the 3rd or 4th book we read once we have a regular group and are used to each other. Anyway, our discussion this morning was "what is the opposite of faith?". Interesting question. Of course, the first answer thrown out was doubt. We talked about that and decided that doubt isn't really the opposite of faith, more like the counterpart of faith. In Mark when the man brings his son before Christ, he says to Jesus "Lord, I believe, help my unbelief." He comes with faith and doubt and Jesus heals his son. This led to thoughts of the idea of "faith without works is dead". What exactly are works? Here, we decided that works were simply when our faith compels us to action, like this man with his sick child. His faith (even with that doubt) led him to move.
The next idea was that sight is the opposite of faith. We talked about that for awhile and I think came to the conclusion that sight is the END of faith more than the opposite. I'm reminded of a song by Andrew Peterson:
When there's no more faith
No more hope
I'll see Your face
And Lord I'll know
He's looking to the day where faith (earlier there is the line "faith is a burden... it's a cross to bear") is replaced by knowledge which will come with the sight of Christ. Interesting thoughts.
The third idea was that the opposite of faith was going it alone. I kind of like this one... the idea that we need no one else. You could call this faith in yourself but I'm not so sure it's more lack of faith in anything else. I'd like to hear thoughts on this as we didn't discuss it for long.
From there we really got more into a discussion about doubt and if it is healthy or not... there were some who felt that doubt was bad altogether, which is in my opinion, a commonly help opinion by Christians because it has been taught for so long. we tell people that doubt is wrong... that doubt is from the devil. Boy, that really makes a person feel good. We need to keep reminding people that doubt is common to man and that we all share in it... it sits on the other side of the see-saw from it's good buddy faith and without the other, neither is going anywhere. The fear is of course that we will feed our doubt double cheeseburgers while we feed our faith lettuce and the doubt will get bigger and bigger, bogging down the whole machine. It happens. I've seen it.
Anyway, it was a good morning. Nice start to a day and hey, I'm actually blogging before 10:00 AM which NEVER happens!
Holy crap
Well guys... it had to happen... Let's all rush out and get this t-shirt:
Is this for real?
Just when the smell of geek-pee...
had worn off the theater floors from "The Two Towers", along comes "The Matrix Reloaded". I was there Friday night and let me just tell you, geek pee was flowing in the isles as men of all ages were wetting themselves repeatedly over spectacular fight scenes and car chases. Seriously. The guy behind me literally blew out two adult diapers, staining my tennis shoes badly.
Seriously though... my wife and I went to catch this Friday night late and I thoroughly enjoyed it (she thoroughly hated it but that's cool). For fans of the first, it doesn't matter what I say, I know you're going to see it, and I think you'll enjoy it.
Lots of good discussion questions raised by this movie. If you thought the first movie asked some tough questions... man... this one cuts right to the chase, asking the hardest question the human race probably has ever had to answer, that of predestination, God's will, free will, and choice. I really don't want to get too much into the movie and plot in my post here because I don't want to give it away, but if some of you want to discuss, do so in the comments below. If you haven't seen it, and don't want to read spoilers, stay away from the comments on this post! It might get detailed. Jared, I know you've seen it, I'd like to hear your thoughts on the Architecht character. I'd also like to hear thoughts on Morpheus as evangelist, particularly in his scene in Zion where he "preaches". I was loving that scene until it turned into a sex-romp (oh man... here comes the googlers).
Oh and by the way... I mean geek in a nice way... i mean, afterall... I was there on opening night so that makes me kind of a geek... although, not as big of a geek as the guy who was there in a trenchcoat and sunglasses.
Favorite Searches Update
I'm always amazed to look at the things people search for that lead them to my site. So far the favorites are:Kurt Cobain Suicide Videos
McLaren's Cheese Recipe
Adult Videos of a Sick Nature
American Idol Sucks
I'm almost tempted to write some fun words just to see if people find my site from that but naaah. That would be lame.
nude.
huh huh huh.
Easing Turmoil and Cowboys
Many of you will recall from a couple of weeks ago I blogged about having some turmoil regarding a decision we were making at church. I'm glad to report that, as I should have known, God worked it all out just fine. We didn't really find the middle ground I was hoping for but when the one person realized he really was in the sole minority, he agreed to go along for the sake of unity which is a big deal. I wonder if I would have been big enough to do the same in his shoes.I suspect that many of us in the emerging discussion will find ourselves in situations like these if we work in mainstream churches. There are certain issues in my church that I want so desparately to address and solve and wrestle with and fix but I also know that for the sake of unity and sanity, we need to tackle one battle at a time.
God heal me of my cowboy complex... I want to ride into town, shoot up the bad guys and convince everyone that I'm the man who will lead them into the sunset as the closing credits roll. Maybe I'm not quite that arrogant but sometimes my actions make me seem like I am. Help me be more like the comic sidekick who doesn't have to shoot anybody but is still on the side of the good guys and ends up helping in some important way.
Daily Affirmation
You should subscribe to both Paste Magazine and Relevant Magazine right away. They both rock my face in every way. Thank you. That is all.Schedule for Vacation
SCHEDULE FOR OUR WESTERN VACATION:
June 23rd - Fly into Vegas. Spend night at New York New York hotel and casino.
June 24th - Day in Vegas. Tickets to Blue Man Group. Spend night at NY, NY Casino
June 25th - Rent car, drive to L.A. Sightsee during day, spend night in Santa Barbara in beachfront hostel.
June 26th - Up coast to Big Sur / Monterrey. Spend night in Pigeon Point Lighthouse hostel. Very cool hostel inside of a lighthouse on coast! Cool!
June 27th - San Francisco. All day long. Spend night in hotel on Fisherman's Wharf ($75 on priceline!)
June 28th - Up coast - Redwoods / Sonoma wine stuff - Spend night in Eureka.
June 29th - To Newport, OR to go to church with Jeph Hurst. Spend day in Newport, spend night with Jeph.
June 30th - Lunch in Portland, Dinner in Seattle. Spend night in Seattle.
July 1 - Experience Music project in Seattle. Drive to Roslyn, WA to see set of Northern Exposure. Spend night in Spokane.
July 2 - Drive to Glacier National Park in Montana. Spend night in lodge there.
July 3 - Sightsee in Glacier. Drive to Bozeman, MT for evening.
July 4 - Drive to Yellowstone. Spend night in Old Faithful Inn.
July 5 - Sightseeing in Yellowstone and Grand Tetons. Nighttime drive to Salt Lake City.
July 6 - Salt Lake City and drive south to Kenab, UT.
July 7 - North Rim of Grand Canyon, return to Vegas, stay at Luxor casino.
July 8 - Day in Vegas. Catch a midnight flight back to Nashville. July 9 - Drive home to Knoxville and pass out!
Needless to say, we are looking forward to it. Any recommendations from those of you who have been to these places?
A wall
Man... i've been thinking so hard... living inside myself so much for the past couple of months that I feel like I've just hit a wall in the past week. Nothing going on inside. Nothing to write about. Nothing to think about. I've found myself looking for distractions... music... stupid tv... homestarrunner... anything.I figure that the reality that my world is about to turn completely upside down has left me a bit shell-shocked and unsure exactly how to feel. Heck, I hope that's it!
Perhaps this helps... THINGS TO LOOK FORWARD TO:
1. Lunch with John thursday.
2. New City Artists Retreat at end of month with Charlie Peacock
3. Emergent event in Chattanooga
4. Bluegrass concert at church May 28.
5. Western Vacation June 23-July 9.
Okay, I feel better. Cool stuff ahead. I have GOT to give you guys my itenerary for this trip my wife and I are taking. It is going to rock so hard. I plan on blogging it extensively with video and pictures... maybe not interesting for you but hey, I read my own blog ya know! It's a journal so this is where I'm gonna put this stuff.
Now this is how to write a song!
Here are some lyrics to chew on from the new David Wilcox CD. This is a song called "out of the question". Great stuff which also happens to be on a favorite topic of mine... the idea of embracing mystery instead of trying to solve it.
Case closed. I was certain in my youth
God knows, I had my scientific proof
In my mind, I thought I saw the truth
Never looked beyond my lenses; never saw that it was you
Out of the question
So the answer I could never see
Out of the question
I look for you and you find me
Out of the question
You're closer than the air I breathe
Out of the question
And into the mystery
My heart - brings me to my knees
There's God: the forest for the trees
Move me, like the wind will stir the leaves
I give way to the mystery like the branches in the breeze and I'm...
Out of the question
Can't catch the wind inside my fist
Out of the question
Try to trap you and I know I've missed
Out of the question
The place you will always be, is
Out of the question
And into the mystery
Truth is there for finding, but the logic that's involved
is a mystery unwinding, not a problem to be solved
Out of the question
I look for You, and You find me
Out of the question
In truth you will always be
Out of the question
You're closer than the air I breathe
Out of the question... and Into the mystery
..............................................
© David Wilcox, all rights reserved
I'm not dead. No really, I think I'll go for a walk. I feel fine.
I promise I'll have some good posting material tomorrow... I apologize for nothing being added in the past 5 days. It has been a long and hard few weeks and I've just had to take a break from a few things this week to keep from going insane. Sometimes, you have to log off, you know? I'm starting to get a feeling of what having a child will be like in some ways (I know in other ways I have no idea) but I want to get used to how my life will be reshuffled now a bit by learning to do more with less time if that makes any sense. Anyway, tomorrow, I'll have reports from a great youth worship conference this past weekend, a trip to the emergency room (everything's fine), and more. Thanks for bearing with me.In the meantime, go to Home Star Runner and read Strong Bad's Email. It will make you smile in ways I never could.
A warning... from Henri Nouwen
Found this interesting quote from nouwen that I thought was a relevant warning to the emerging discussion:
"If you were to ask me point blank: 'what does it mean to live spiritually?' I would have to reply 'Living with Jesus at the center.' There are always countless questions, problems, discussions, and difficulties that demand one's attention. Despite this, when I look back over the last thirty years of my life, I can say that, for me, the person of Jesus has come to be more and more important.
Specifically, this means that what matters increasingly is getting to know Jesus and living in solidarity with him. There was a time when I got so immersed in problems of church and soceity that my whole life had become a sort of drawn-out, wearisome discussion. Jesus had been pushed into the background or had himself become just another problem. Fortunately, it hasn't stayed that way. Jesus has stepped out front again, so to speak, and asked me: 'And you, who do you say that I am?' It has become clearer to me than ever that my personal relationship with Jesus is the heart of my existence."
A Decision is Made
Thanks for those who helped us decide on a name for the book discussion group. We've gone with:
Now we have to decide what book to read. My only rule is it can't be anything Oprah would recommend.
BIG NEWS!
Please pray for my wife and I as we just learned today that she is pregnant with our first child. We are very excited as we had just begun trying... we asked God for it to happen quickly and it has! This is surely a good thing.I'm not even sure where to begin writing about this and I suppose I probably won't figure it out for awhile but needless to say, this changes everything. I am excited though... I've been ready to be a dad for awhile now... I'm almost 29 and feel like this is the perfect age to have a child. But hey, it's not about me! I would ask all of you who read this, to say a 5 second prayer asking God to bring us a healthy baby. We don't care if it's boy or girl or cute or ugly as long as it's healthy.
A good read / listen
Just read in one sitting the awesome new book by Nick Hornby called "Songbook". For those who are unfamiliar with Nick's work, he wrote the novels "High Fidelity" and also "About a Boy", both of which were made into films (and dang good films I might add). "Songbook", is different in that it is not a work of fiction, but rather a series of essays about Nick's favorite songs. Each song gets 3-5 pages of thoughts ranging from hilarious to heartbreaking.
I especially love the way the book starts out. In the first chapter (talking about a Teenage Fanclub song), Hornby talks about how the book WON'T be talking about what he was doing as he heard these songs because that would show that he didn't care about the music itself very much. If all the song is is a soundtrack or background to some other important event, then the song itself becomes unimportant. I think that's a fascinating thought... So many songs that stir emotions in me do so because of the place they take me to. I remember watching the video for Tracy Chapman's "Fast Car" on Molly Miller's couch in the 6th grade or driving home from Ohio listening to Cliff Eberhart's "Your Face" on the stereo or Ellis Paul's "Conversation with a Ghost" as I topped 100 in my old Mustang on Pellisippi parkway because for a few insane moments, I didn't care if I died, or the Indigo Girls "Love will come to You" on the afternoon I decided I wasn't going to be intentionally alone anymore, or that one magical time Mark put "New York State of Mind" on in the van as we crossed the bridge for the first time into Manhattan...
But like Hornby says... those aren't my favorite songs. Those are some favorite moments to be sure, and they had a soundtrack, but my favorite songs are something entirely different. My favorite songs actually connect with me on a deeper level... they aren't tied to one place in time but rather are universal... are tied to all place and all time. I suppose that's what we mean when we use the cliche of calling a song "timeless".
My enjoyment of the book isn't hurt by the fact that we share exactly one of the same all time favorites. Ani Difranco's "you had time", which we agree, is the most perfect breakup song ever written. In fact, it will never be topped. If you like the song, Hornby's chapter on this song (coupled with an Aimee Mann song) is worth the price alone.
Other highlights are chapters on Springsteen's "Thunder Road", Zepplin, Dylan, Rufus Wainwright (interesting thoughts on God revealing himself through harmony in music), and Nelly Furtado of all people.
It's an easy read... 150 pages or so which I was able to get through in under 2 hours. With a $20 price tag, this would be offsetting, except for the fact that the book comes with a CD, featuring 11 of the songs Hornby writes about. While I was familiar with a few of these (Difranco, Ben Folds Five's "Smoke"), the majority were new to me, and some of them are absolute gems! The CD is easily worth $15.00 so when you look at it that way, you're only paying $5 for the book!
Anyway, I was excited about how much I liked the book and the great feeling of having read an entire book in one night! I feel so literate!
Three stories...
ONE - It was my third semester of college, back before I had declared a major or figured out much of anything. I enrolled in a creative writing course because hey, this will be easy... I was good at it in high school. The first few assignments were simple essays that I did pretty well on... I was definitely in my element. But then, the poetry assignment. I was scared... I waited... I procrastinated until... well, about an hour before class. I puked something up that I thought sounded good and turned it in.
When the paper came back to me, when I saw more red than white, I figured things were probably not going to be taking a turn for the better.... but I had no idea... no clue of the shock I was about to receive. There... at the bottom... THE QUOTE... "Greg, this reads like a bad Aerosmith lyric. You can do better." Oh man... I HATE Aerosmith... this guy knows how to push my buttons.
From then on, my rough drafts didn't get turned in... in fact, my 5th drafts didn't get turned in. I didn't turn it in until it was perfect in my eyes.
TWO - Who hasn't done this? I had just turned sixteen, and it was the night of my first "car date". I had been dating a girl we'll call Carol (oh wait, that was really her name!) for about 9 months so you would think that by this point, I would have had my act together as far as dating goes. You would think that... but you would be wrong.
First, I drive to her house... everything's cool there... right up until the part where I pull into her driveway and... honk. Yes, I pulled up in my 1983 RX7 and honked. I knew this was the wrong move when her head came out of the front door giving me the satanic-death-glare which very clearly said "get out of the car now moron".
So I get out, and go in. Her dad is at the door. He extended his hand for me to shake and... oh the horror... I didn't see it. Honestly. I left him hanging. I didn't even know but she told me later.
This isn't the worst of it. As I looked at her I noticed she was wearing a nice shirt... nice pants... nice outfit. Emphasis on "nice". I on the other hand was wearing a "duck-head" t-shirt, shorts, and tennis shoes. As I said... I didn't exactly have the dating thing figured out. I made sure from then on to make sure I was dressed appropriately.
THREE - I have a secret, that I suspect others share. My house is a wreck. I mean, really a wreck. There are socks everywhere. Dishes don't get done. Laundry piles up in more places than it should. Sometimes the dog craps in an odd place and we don't find it for days. There are dust bunnies under the couch that could tear your head off Monty Python style. There is a general sense of clutter that would drive most people crazy. There are things on the roof of the microwave that have lasted longer than the war with Iraq. Don't even get me started on the fridge. You get my drift.
Here's the thing though... this is a secret... one that must be protected. When anyone is coming over, the house gets cleaned... top to bottom... inside out. But after the "event"... after the "visit"... it's back to the clutter... quickly. No one is allowed in to see the mess. The secret must be protected at all costs. It's almost a game with Jessica and I... you wouldn't believe the extremes we have gone to to protect this secret. People kept on the porch instead of being invited in. One of us rushing home to straighten while the other delays the guests at a restaurant or something... real CIA Mission Impossible type stuff here.
THE POINT? - Pressure. We put it on ourselves don't we? Pressure to get our act together. Pressure to clean ourselves up. To be presentable. To give a good impression. To appear normal. To appear clean.
Today, I am feeling all of these things... all of this pressure... all of the WEIGHT. And I feel like I just cannot bear it... heck, I know I can't. And then I remember, God wants me right now... just how I am. My crappy first draft. My duck-head shirt. My cluttered mess of a home. My dirty wreck of a heart. Just as I am. I don't have to clean up my act. I don't have to try 10 more drafts. I don't have to change my clothes. I don't have to clean house. I am loved, wanted, chased, and pursued, just exactly the way that I am. Praise to our great Father.
In need of a name...
I am starting a book club. Yes, like Oprah, only mine will be cool. Can anyone think of a good name? I'm looking for something that stirs the soul, catches the ear, rolls off the tongue, and solves the problem of world hunger. We'll be meeting Tuesday mornings at 7:00 AM at Panera Bread if that helps any. I'm leaning towards stealing Alan Bradford's name "Eyes Wide Open" that he uses for his film discussion group. But please, I beg you, don't make me steal!Our first book will be "A New Kind of Christian" by Brian McLaren. I am so excited... this is the first book I've read in a LONG time that I put down and immediately said "I have to talk to some people about this". I agree with so much of it that I guess I want to run the thoughts by some others to make sure I'm not crazy. I know I fall more on the liberal side of most theological issues but this book frightened me a bit! It will be good to have some good discussion and also some good coffee and various pastries. Mmmmm... pastry.
Average Pictures from an Excellent Nickel Creek Concert
The end of the Year
We had our last Wednesday at the Well last night and it was just outstanding. We had an open-mic coffeehouse and man... I was blown away. I had no idea some of these folks were so talented. 4 students brought artwork to decorate the space. One group sang 4 part harmony on some hymns which was unexpected but cool. One student read some outstanding poetry... several folks did the guitar/singer/songwriter thing but they did it WELL. One girl played piano for a few minutes. We showed a few videos (bobble head theater and also a short film called "Match Scratch Fever" which is unreal and which you can preview here.). This was a night of community we had been needing. It's easy to get into the "every week has to be a production" type mentality and this was a great break from that. I feel like a lot of weeks it is the leadership's job to come up with elements of service that will help students into a deeper walk.. .an experience... growth... etc... Last night, they returned the favor. They gave the leadership a chance to relax and enjoy the community. Good stuff.Okay Jeph... Here's your bigger font
Switched to a 12 point font today after a few requests to bump up the size. Hope that this helps to read things more easily.
