Boy, it’s been a while. With the start of a new quarter, I can always find time for a “study break”. I’ve been enjoying this unique band, The Welcome Wagon, off Sujan Stevens label, Asthmatic Kitty Records. There’s not much evidence of them in video form on the internet – at least not of the songs I’ve been especially enjoying (“But For You Who Fear My Name” & “He Never Said A Mumblin’ Word”). I did find this nice contribution by someone who was better than me and actually did something about that lack of video presence (thanks!). It’s “I Am A Stranger” – enjoy:

John Poole/NPR

NPR posted the first long interview with Roxana Saberi today since her return home from Iran. It sounds like the “buying alcohol” and espionage charges were all untrue. She made a false confession to being  a U.S. spy and talks about then recanting and why she recanted:

“so I made a false confession and I said, “Yes, I’m a U.S. spy.” But because my conscience got the better of me and the God that I believe in — the God that I thought had abandoned me when I was first in prison — I realized [he] was always with me. And I realized that he was not pleased with what I had done by making this false confession. I recanted my confession, knowing full well that I would jeopardize my freedom.”

It’s fascinating because by recanting she knew the prosecutor would be mad and sure enough they were and she went to the one hour trial that initially ended with an eight year prison sentence:

“And indeed, that’s what happened: The prosecutor got upset with me for recanting my confession and sent my case to trial instead of freeing me, and that’s when I was sentenced to eight years in prison. I knew this was going to happen when I recanted my confession, but I told myself, I would rather tell the truth and stay in prison instead of telling lies to be free. And I didn’t want to set an example for people to come after me, that they have to give confessions in order to be free. Because even if you become free after telling lies, I felt, my conscience would always remain behind bars.”

“Because even if you become free after telling lies, I felt, my conscience would always remain behind bars.” Impressive woman.

A friend, Teresa, posted this on her Facebook and it caught my attention. Very compelling message from “Ain’t No Reason” by Brett Dennen – here’s one verse and the chorus:

Prison walls still standing tall,
Some things never change at all.
Keep on buildin’ prisons, gonna fill them all,
Keep on buildin’ bombs, gonna drop them all.
Working your fingers bear to the bone,
Breaking your back, make you sell your soul.
Like a lung that’s filled with coal, suffocatin’ slow.
The wind blows wild and I may move,
The politicians lie and I am not fooled.
You don’t need no reason or a three piece suit to argue the truth.
The air on my skin and the world under my toes,
Slavery stitched into the fabric of my clothes,
Chaos and commotion wherever I go, love I try to follow.

Love will come set me free
Love will come set me free, I do believe
Love will come set me free, I know it will
Love will come set me free, yes.

The best radio show you’ve likely never heard of happens here in Seattle from 7 to 10 pm in 97.3 FM: Too Beautiful to Live with Luke Burbank. Beyond the radio world’s heated debate over whether it should or shouldn’t endure it is simply darn good radio by a darn funny guy who once let me ride his powder-blue scooter around the block during college. Luke and my buddy Ben were fast friend-os and I enjoyed any time I had with Luke. I’ve been told I have a good sense of humor. Luke has a sense of humor you can make a living off. Along with Jen Andrews and Sean DeTore they offer wit and an endless supply of pop culture commentary that’s fresh radio air in Seattle. So today’s study break features a “fiendishly brilliant” bus ad they blogged about:

The Most Effective Advertisement Ever Made. Ever. Ever.

This is a bus stop ad for a Dutch gym. When you sit on the bench, it displays your weight. I’m torn between feeling awe at how brilliant this is and horror at how fiendishly brilliant it is.

Anyone else out there seen something this good? Hey, at least for the woman on the bench, I don’t understand the metric system! She’s light as a feather to my eyes! Anyhoo, when you’re in need of a break, check out their site and podcast TBTL. It’s worth it!

Working in ministry means you get invited into some of the most intimate times in people’s lives – both the joyous and tragic, and sometimes they overlap. I had the honor of doing the funeral earlier this year for Walt David, an older man I admired greatly from my home town. It truly was a bitter-sweet time of honoring the man and seeking to encourage his family and friends. Yesterday, Eugene Cho posted a poignant entry on his blog about the recent death of his congregant and friend, Craig Wong. When Kristi and I were attending Eugene’s church, Quest, after leaving the Seattle Vineyard, I would hear reports of Craig’s battle with brain cancer, though I did not know Craig or his family.  Throughout his treatment, writes Eugene, Craig began sharing “life lessons”:

Over the past 15 months, rather than wallowing in self pity, Craig had been preaching, teaching, speaking, calling, writing, emailing, and blogging to as many of his friends and family and anyone else who were willing to listen.  He wrote on his blog and called them “Craig’s Life Lessons.”  I believe that the Holy Spirit was impressing such things upon his heart and so in a desire to honor Craig’s life and faith, I want to share Craig’s 7 LIFE LESSONS with you:

Life Lesson #1:
None of you should fear death either. What you should fear is “not living” Make sure that you truly live during your life. Don’t just coast through life. Don’t just go through the motions. If you do, you will miss out on the gifts that God has provided for us. Make an effort to spend quality time with your kids everyday; Spend regular quality time with your family and friends. Don’t miss out on what life has to offer.

Life Lesson #2:
Don’t put things off. If you’ve been wanting to take a trip with the family or If you’ve always wanted to do something – do it now. Don’t put it off – there might not be a tomorrow.

Life Lesson #3:
Don’t take anything for granted. Live a good life. Be thankful to God for everything that you have. Be thankful for your family. Cherish the time you have with them. Be thankful for your health. Be thankful for being able to be carefree. Be thankful for every moment that you have on this Earth.

I’ve posted the first three here but you should head over to Eugene’s blog to read the others. It’s a wonderful list and a great testimony to Craig’s life.

I spout a lot of fan-atic words about Bono and his band U2. But my appreciation of him goes beyond his status as front man for the greatest rock band in the world. I also realize he does more to debunk his neo-messiah and straight-laced Christian status than anyone ever could – he is not perfect. But he has had his mind altered by a love for Africa and a passion for the plight of many Africans. And he gets the biblical concept of justice – its power and its demand to not be ignored – better than most 52-week-a-year-church-attending Christians. As Bono puts it about 1/2 way through the talk below:  “It’s a pain in the arse, this equality business.” So this study break is a little headier but just as melodic in it’s own way with a message as powerful as “Pride (In the Name of Love).” It’s Bono’s 2005 acceptance speech for the TED award.

Well, Bono continued to turn the world into his own living room one performance at a time – or in this case, five at a time. David Letterman got in on the “No Line on the Horizon” media blitz by hosting the greatest band in the world as the musical act all five nights last week. So here’s the latest in my “study break” category:

This is a classic from probably my favorite stand-up comedian, Jim Gaffigan. I dare you not to laugh. Then I dare you not to have “Hooooot Pockeeeet” sutck in your head all day.

As a Christian and a Christian leader (once upon a time), I’ve always felt a bit in between the “emerging” and traditional church. That terminology may or may not mean anything to you and I’m sorry to not have time to explain that. You can Google the topic to your heart’s content if you need to. In recent years, I’ve found myself torn between the worlds of traditional and emerging models of doing church. I’m sure this was part of my own inner struggle in leading a church plant in Seattle for a few years that we eventually shut down. Much of what I read, hear and experience around newer ways of following Jesus in community resonate with my own theological and spiritual journey. At the same time, I have a deep appreciation for traditional church – at least what’s traditional for my cultural and historical context. I feel at home singing hymns or contemporary “praise” songs (that sounds so cheesy but I didn’t know what else to call them) and sitting through a 30 to 45 minute sermon. I also love the creative expressions of devotion and theological pondering that happen in less-traditional gatherings. So naturally I’ve been drawn to leaders who reflect this same bifurcation – or at least spiritual schizophrenia (though they may not call it that). Four folks like this are David Ruis, Rose Madrid-Swetman, Jason Clark and Eugene Cho. I’m sure I’ve talked with each of these (though Eugene the least as I’ve not spent as much time with him) terrific leaders about this common experience. I’ve been reflecting on it a lot lately as I can see the finish line of my Master of Divinity yet am not formally connected to a denomination. I was a pastor within the Vineyard “movement” for 4 years and an active member of the Seattle Vineyard for many years as a college student up through my 20s. I “planted” a Vineyard congregation (“Along the Way”) within that church at 29 and then resigned my position at 33 primarily to finish my degree (sneaking up on that 10 year deadline…). As I reflect on where I might land after my schooling ends, it’s caused me to think again about this sense of being in between the traditional an emerging. And I find I appreciate leaders like the above four who’ve stuck to a denomination and found ways to express new ways of following Jesus. What sparked today’s thinking about it is this video from Eugene that you can watch and then read about on his blog.

I’m curious if any of you relate to this feeling of being “in between”? Where has that led you in your church-life? Have you left your traditional denominational backgrounds? If so, what do you miss about that way of “being” church? What have you found that you couldn’t within a denomination? Have you stuck with your denomination even though you fill a kindredness with emerging forms of church? What have been the costs and benefits of that?

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So what do you turn to in the midst of studying for a little brain-siesta? I’m trying to cram Hebrew pronominal suffixes, participles and demonstrative pronouns into some kind of “recollectable” memory bank in my brain and sometimes I need a little break. And of course YouTube offers that in the form of Paul Hewson and The Boss. I thought you might enjoy this version of one of the best all-time rock/gospel (rospel?) songs. What/who do you “tune to” for a little brain break?