Hey friends,
I have a new blog and website. We're taking this thing global!
Head on over to the new wrestling with truth website!!
Hope to see you there.
Some of my friends have blogs. Most of their blogs at some point go to a theological subject matter. The best part is when they do this there are people that show up or post comments on their blogs out of nowhere that think they have something to contribute to their thoughts and or life. My response to that is, WHO CARES! I do not care if you have something to post on my blog or other people’s blog on a subject matter. I am interacting with one of my friends. If you are not one of my friends I do not want to hear what you have to say about a.) b.) Or c.). Your opinion to me is not valid or important to me because you are not apart of my community therefore your opinion does not carry much weight in my life. So why would you spend 5 minutes of you’re life trying to criticize my life and my thoughts?
Think about it people, why do people comment on peoples blogs? Does your opinion really matter that much that what you have to say is going to greatly impact someone's life? Probably not.
If you are apart of my community and a friend then please by all means, comment on my blog. If you are not don't leave any comments.
Recently, I was promoted from a personal trainer to a fitness manager. For those who don't understand this I went from being just an entry level employee to person who manages the entry level employees. Exciting, don't you think? Nevertheless, this has brought on new challenges that I was not expecting. The first is trying to get a staff up to par is a lot harder then I first imagined. Egos, personalities, and lack of training all reside and are beckoning my attention in order for us to become more productive. Secondly, working this many hours has taken a toll on my creativity. My creativity is what brings me life. Its makes it easier for me to understand the areas of life I don't have the answers for by giving me a way to process. My music and songwriting has plummeted to a place that I am not comfortable with. Managing a team of trainers is one thing but managing how to fit the one thing I love to do more than anything is much, much harder. I am away from home for a total of 10 hours a day and when I get home its late and all I want to do is veg out. Weekends seem to get booked before tuesday is even finished diminishing any personal time for writing to a minimum. Ah the glories of advancement and more money. Notorious B.I.G was right... "mo money, mo problems."
The past couple of days at work we have been lucky to hear the XM radio station from 1990's rock and roll. This comes as such a wonderful treat to my ears. I work at 24-hour fitness and they play horrible music everyday. Most of which I would argue is not even music but people stringing vowels and syllables over rhythmic beats. However, someone switched the dial the other day and I was taken down memory lane when I heard a string of songs from the early years of Beck (Where it's at), Soundgarden (Burden in my Hand), Alice in Chains (Would), Rage Against the Machine (Bulls on Parade), Foo Fighters (Big Me), Silverchair (Israel's Son), Pearl Jam (Better Man) and of course Nirvana. Now you may say, "most of those bands are still around." True, they are still around, but these were songs that made them infamous! Songs that you may not have heard for a while minus Nirvana (which is overplayed) but, refreshes my inner ear to appreciate the era that spawned my love for music!
As each new song started playing I started yelling out an emphatic, "Yes!" Accompanied by a fist pump into the sky and a peculiar look from my clients. Now, I must also tell you that this music in my gym was very short lived because the man that runs the club has no concept for what is good music. I absolutely despise hearing the same Top 40 hits from the pop/R&B/hip-hop charts over and over again. That short span of songs from the 90's was enough to lighten my day and give me the courage to endure another 5 hours of bad "music" while I train my clients. So I encourage you spend the weekend listening to your old 1990's albums. If you have them on your computer and use iTunes you can create a smart playlist, which will sort by the year if you so choose. Try it and be amazed what it does for you and the memories that it will conjure up. You may ask why is this a big deal? I was not allowed to listen to "secular" music until I was 16, although I would sit close to the TV and turn the volume down so I could watch MTV. I still remember the songs from the era and the tremendous impact it had and is still having on me 12 years later.
I am the lead singer and guitarist for a rock band in Los Angeles called LEAP YEAR and we have one of our biggest shows coming up on February 29th, 2008. This not only is my birthday, our cd release party, but a dream come true for me. I get to play a show on my birthday (which only comes every four years) with my band where we will be headlining the night at one of L.A.'s premiere venues The El Rey Theatre. I am so excited about this opportunity! Since our last performance at the Knitting Factory I received some constructive feedback asking for a stronger performance out of the band. We played a really tight show yet, was not as high energy as some of the other shows we have played. Now as the lead singer I feel a lot of that falls on me. Granted, there are 3 others in the band who can contribute to that but I feel that the connection to the show runs through me. I'm not being greedy for attention but trying to find a better way to put on a good show.
Now, there are different views on what makes a good show some think that a good show is a really tight set with good musicianship and good songs. The second is one goes to a show and wants to be entertained by a band. Such as a band that may not have really good music or musicianship but highly entertaining through the movement and performance from the members in the band. The last view is that a good show is comprised of an entertaining performance, good musicianship, tight set, and good songs. This last view is the one that I subscribe to... example: U2 (generic but point proven) so my question is how do we get to that last level. I'm not looking for us to become U2 but how can we put on a show that is stellar from top to bottom.
To perform or not to perform: that is the question. I have had people in my life discourage me from performing and playing to a crowd and over the last year I have been trying to rid this voice in my head. However, I believe there is a balance that one can be performing yet, inviting into the performance. Allowing the audience to become apart of this experience is key in this and hopefully, a powerful experience! Take a look at Bono from U2 he is the quintessential front man. He is engaging, entertaining, a showman, commanding, and lastly a worship leader. Somehow he is able to juggle all of these abilities to connect with everyone in the room and there are over 20,000 in attendance! I don't want to be Bono I want to be me but I'm still fighting that voice that allows me to be the performer I am meant to be on stage. I was raised on stage from the age of 5 so performing is apart of who I Am. Now, what does that look like for me? What is too much or to little, what is too arrogant, or pretentious? I guess the first start is to silence the voices from the past and move forward.
Any thoughts from what makes some of your favorite frontmen or frontwomen good performers?
Over the past couple of weeks I have been coming to grips with my own humanity. I am realizing more than ever before how capable I am of making big, not just big, but HUGE mistakes. I feel as I have become older my safety net is being pulled back and or disappearing all together. For so long I have felt that God had my back in all situations and would help me get out of tough situations. However, now that I am older and theologically educated I am realizing that yes, God still has my back, however, I am more aware of how much power and decisions God allows us to have in our lives.
I have the option to choose. To choose what I know is right. Or to choose what my flesh desires. It is in these moments I am realizing the darkest parts of myself. The parts I wish were not there. I have never been so aware of my sinful nature as I have been in the past four to six weeks.
For those evangelicals that need this part… yes, this is why I need a Savior.
But, if you are caught up on the fact that we need a Savior for us to realize those dark parts of our lives than you have missed what I am saying. I know I need to be “saved” from those dark areas and I have been; yet it does not mean they go away.
“But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.” I. Pt. 2:9
My problem with this verse is just because you have been set apart doesn’t mean your problems were set apart with you. You have been given the right as a human being, not a robot; to choose which way you want to go. It’s not easy. I mean can you imagine if you chose Jesus and all your problems went away? Everything was just set up and you had to just live life?
No thanks, that does not work for me. So I guess I’ll take the ________ pill.
p.s. If you want to debate context I’m well aware of what the passage is talking about. So do not waste your time trying to tell me Your context.
I have been reading a lot of online garbage, thats right garbage, from people who do not like Rob Bell.
If you are apart of that community who does not like Rob...
GET OVER IT!
The man is doing amazing things for the advancement of the Kingdom. What are you doing?
He does not answer theological issues the way you want them answered. Guess what, a lot of people would not answer the leading question that has been asked if they knew the sinister intent that people had to exploit them. So why do you deserve an answer? Guess what, the Bible (you know the inspired Word of God) has a lot of questions we cannot answer. Paradoxes that make the mind spin! That is the beauty of it. The more we can embrace and live in the tension of those differences the sooner people will see we're not crazy after all! Hopefully, they will see that this is a "conversation" (oooh emerging buzz word which was big 4 years ago, yet some are just now finding out about.) worth having rather than getting irate and closed off from the Gospel.
Phew that was close.
Think about it.
And if you think he's a heretic... guess what, maybe your favorite theologian was considered one too at one time (Calvin, Luther, etc.)
