If Bob Dylan were a better singer ...

...and guitarist AND wrote from a Christ-centered worldview he'd be Bill Mallonee.

Check out this link for some really great music. Some of the best ones are FREE! (Summershine and Blister Soul - if you don't mind downloading them one song at a time.)

Blister Soul and Audible Sigh are two of my all-time favorite albums EVER.

I think she's on to something...

My wife is sharing her observations from last Sunday's worship service. I really hope she completes her thoughts about bravery, honesty and gratitude--because I've seen more of those 3 things in the last 4 months than I did in many years before that.

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Advent

C.S. Lewis called Christianity the “one true myth;” regarding Christmas, Andrew Peterson has coined the phrase “The True Tall Tale of the Coming of Christ.” Does that kind of language strike our ears in strange way? Maybe we need to step back and take a look at the wonderfully absurd miracle of Christmas. Who would have guessed that God would come to us in the way that he did – a helpless baby born to a young girl pledged to be married to a man of no great means. God sent angels to herald the news to a people who longed for a Savior, but who would have otherwise missed his arrival.

The Jews missed it. They had the Law and the Prophets to point them to God’s redemptive plan, and they missed it. Let’s not be too hard on them, though. Christ’s first disciples continually missed it—continually misunderstood God’s plan in Christ even though Jesus had chosen them and invested himself in them for several years.

But let’s not be too hard on them either. To use the language of Matthew 7, we’ve got a plank in our eye when it comes to Christmas. We act like it’s about decorations and presents and food and family and children and Santa and yet we still declare that “Jesus is the Reason for the Season.” I admit that I share in this hypocrisy, and I’m trying to be plank-free in my perspective. My challenge is for all of us to do the same.

December 2nd marks the beginning of Advent—a season that culminates with Christmas: our celebration of the birth of the Savior. During this Advent may we retell with even greater purpose the story of God’s creation and our fall; of his coming to rescue and redeem us. May we allow God to remove the planks and specks from our eyes as we expectantly re-enact the waiting for God’s great hope to be revealed.

What the church really doesn't need...

... is one more insipid worship song. (Rant warning!)

Every day when I'm on my way to pick up my daughter K from school, I turn on one of several "Family Friendly, Positive Message, Christian Hit Radio Stations." I hope against hope that they'll play something that's a good song in terms of music, content, and performance/production. The performances are generally good (Nashville studio cats usually) and the production--well you almost have to try to screw things up sonically these days with the plethora of virtual aids for the recording engineer/producer types. (I suspect that the next generation of Mac's Garage Band will be able to automatically generate songs in the same way that Jean-Luc Picard might simply request "Tea, Earl Grey, Hot." Imagine the possibilities: "Song, Lenny Kravitz, rocking, vaguely about Jesus." Oh, he's already done that?)

I was particularly annoyed by a song that rolled all my pet peeves up in one. It used a lot of churchy sounding words and phrases (which I'm way OK with using in congregational worship, BTW) like "manifest," "implore," and "adorn." Yet I found that there wasn't really a theme to the words. It's like the guy was brainstorming a bunch of standard (read "trite") worship phrases and stuck them together so they formed a rhyming pattern. The line that really honked me off was "Creator of all glorious things." Now, accuse me of being fussy about semantics (that accusation will surely stick), but shouldn't it probably be "Glorious Creator of all things"? You see the enormous difference, yes?

Besides that, it was full of "me" language. CHALLENGE TO ASPIRING WRITERS OF WORSHIP SONGS: try to use some "us" constructions. The church could maybe use that. Also, how about more songs about repentence and restoration? How about more songs with memorable and singable melodies? Consistent theology?

I could gripe for hours, but I need to go shoot some video on location.

Now don't get all defensive...

...but take a moment to consider the validity of this quote from Derek Webb:

We are disliked for all the wrong reasons, Christians in America... We need to be careful that we are actually acting like Jesus, opposed to
acting like the people Jesus judged the most harshly, which is the arrogant
church leadership, the Pharisees. We need to be careful, because it’s sending
such a mixed message, and that’s a huge issue. And I think that if we could just
pause for a moment and just look at Jesus’ life and look at the way he dealt
with people and treated people, in the context that he did it, I think we would
find that we’re probably on the wrong side.

Chew on that for a minute or ten, then let me know what you think.

Smorgasbord

In regard to my new job, I feel like I'm at a smorgabord. There are a lot of things that look potentially appetizing, but there is only so much room on my plate. I can hear suggestions about what I should try next (and also that I should consider getting an extra bowl, because if I don't try so-and-so's special recipe their feelings might be hurt).

But for now I'm being pretty fussy. I've got a decent helping of meat and taters and a few simple veggies that had been missing from my diet for a while.

I hope I'll end up with room for some coconut cream pie.

Since you asked...

Lots of folks have asked for my email address, so if you've been industrious enough to find this page here's your reward:

bill.blewis333@gmail.com

Right now I'm still packing and getting all those loose ends tied up. I told Betsy that we'll have to declare a celebration in a few weeks and call it "Life is Finally Normal Day."

We're Moving!

It's completely official - we're moving to Lincoln, Illinois. I'll be serving as Minister of Worship and Fine Arts at Jefferson Street Christian Church.

That's about the strangest thing I've typed in my life. This whole process has seemed a bit surreal, but that really ices the cake. Anyway, Jeff Street is the church I was baptized in. It’s the church Betsy and I were married in. We’ll be significantly closer to Betsy’s parents and my mom. Several old friends are in Lincoln. In many ways, it’ll be like going home.

It'll be a huge challenge. I'll be surrounded by people who know way more about my job than I do, but they've been very supportive. The whole church was very gracious and welcoming.

I'm so happy that I almost feel guilty. (Pesky Midwestern upbringing rears its sternly grimacing head...)

Feelin' Like a Square Peg

Half a dozen CD's arrived at my door last week - all from members of the Square Peg Alliance. I've since determined to A) buy more CDs from each and all of these artists, and B) to tell all my musically discerning friends to do the same. (Maybe I should convice my musically non-discerning friends to buy some quality CDs, too.)

I intend to give a full review of at least one: Jill Phillips' "Nobody's Got it All Together." It's certainly the best album I've heard in the last couple years from ANYONE. Beautiful, memorable music; well-crafted lyrics full of insight, openness and truth. It's keeping me from giving the rest of my new CDs the attention they deserve. Shame on you, Jill.

As I write I'm listening to Sandra McCracken's "Gravity/Love." Does she get tired of being compared to Sheryl Crow? I wonder. She's got what I call a "girl next door" kind of voice - nothing flashy, but very appealing and easy to listen to. I bet she could rock out if she ever felt so inclined.

Surprised by Sadness

Robert Webber lives in this world no more. He departed on April 27th after a relatively brief struggle with cancer.

Of all the people that I've never met, Webber was one of the most influential to me. I first encountered him in the pages of Worship Leader magazine. He awakened me to the possibility of real transformational worship through his essays.

I heard him speak at Lincoln Christian College and Seminary early last year. That the Church would encounter God and tell his Story in corporate worship was his plea. During three short lectures my focus was clarified; my purpose became plain; my waning passion rekindled.

So I find myself profoundly saddened. The Church has lost a prophetic voice. (I do not use that term lightly.) Yet God is sovereign. Bob Webber's impact will be felt for several generations. Many of us are now freshly inspired, equipped and committed to proclaiming God's mystery, telling his Story, and restoring the centrality of the Word and Table.

Thank you, Google

Maybe Google is a huge corporate monster bent on world domination.

I really like all their cool free stuff, though.

Check out this page for family pictures and audio files: seen and heard

(Well, right now there's only one audio file - a song I used to set up the Easter sermon. I had the tune floating around for a while, and one day - when I was considering some questions a professor had thrown at us while doing a slightly unorthodox exegesis of the Gospel of John - the lyrics started spilling out. It was recorded live at the 3rd service, April 8th, 2007.)

Resurrection of the Plastic Sea Turtles

Every Sunday I ask my daughters what they learned in church. Last week, they informed me that Jesus has a friend who died and he said “come out” and he was alive again. I asked if Jesus’ friend’s name was Lazarus, and dear daughter #2 replied, “Dad, how did you know?”

The concept of death and resurrection has really captured their imaginations – one night when they were taking a bath a huge procession of plastic tub toys that had died was brought back to life: “Oh Baby Whale! I’m so glad that God made you alive again!”

A few months ago I was challenged by a professor to read the book of Acts in one sitting. One of the things I noticed was the prominence of the resurrection in the preaching of Peter and Paul.

"Men of Israel, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know. This man was handed over to you by God's set purpose and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross. But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him." (Acts 2:22-24 NIV)

We have the same hope.

The body that was broken because of God’s wrath and the blood that was shed to pay for our sin was brought back to life “because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him.”

Amazing. Difficult to fathom. I can only echo Stuart Townend:

Why should I gain from His reward,
I cannot give an answer;
But this I know with all my heart—
His wounds have paid my ransom.

“How Deep The Father's Love For Us”
by Stuart Townend
copyright 1995 Thankyou Music

Doing good... in spite of the consequences

I just found out that my washer and dryer are in another state - three hours away. Betsy and I loaned them to a single mom almost a year ago. Her life deteriorated dramatically recently, and some family members came to fetch her. They also fetched my washer and dryer.

Upon contacting the sister of the aforementioned party, I was told that it was impossible for my property to be returned - but I could come get it. When I explained that I thought that they were responsible to bring them back to me things got a bit ugly. I got the original recipient of the property on the phone and told her that I'd give her a day or so to figure something out.

Less than five minutes later, she called back and explained to me that it was her understanding that we had given the washer and dryer to them as a gift, rather than a loan. I thought that I had been clear - maybe I was, and she is just trying to manipulate the dialog in her favor.

Anyway... we knew there was a risk of losing our property, but that isn't exactly a consolation. Additionally, I've cost my family another $600. You see, it was terribly windy a couple Fridays ago when I took my oldest daughter to the grocery store. The wind grabbed her car door and left a nice little dent and scratch on the car next to us. I left a note explaining what happened. The guy called later that evening was pleasantly surprised that I took responsibility. Well, the estimate came to $586...

My wife is glad I'm a man of conscience. I bet she also wonders if good character shouldn't pay a bit better.

Shameless Promotion

I got the monthly automatically generated newsletter from my friend Scott Riggan this morning. Nothing usually great about most of these sort of messages, but I'm always encouraged when I read about what Scott's up to - or rather, what God is up to with Scott.

Back in a previous life, Scott was part of a group called the nobodys with my friend Ben. They were a very successful independent band in the late 90s. [I recorded and played some gigs with them for a while - from glamorous stuff like the Nashville Heart Association Christmas party(!) to humdrum GMA week showcases and Christian music festivals.] Ahh... I digress: the nobodys got a record deal and kept going for a while, but God directs our lives more than we like to admit sometimes and Scott and Ben laid the band to rest.

As is often the case in God's kingdom, the passing of one thing leads to bigger and better things arising from the ashes. Ben is the Worship and Arts guy at Common Ground Church near Seattle - a church that he helped plant. It was my friendship with Ben and our weekly accountability meetings that prepared me to answer God's call in a way I had never previously considered.

And then there's Scott. He moved to Emmett, Idaho (pop. 5,987 - salute!) and continued his career as a solo artist. He's had some good success on the radio, but the really great and grand success is what God is doing through him in international missions. He's worked with The Jesus Film Project in Africa, and done two tours in China at the behest of the government - singing explicitly Christian songs (with the possible exception of "Sweet Home Alabama").

So - props to Scott and praise to God. Go to Scott's website and buy some stuff or just send him some money. Most importantly, pray for him. Pray for all those who are out in the wilds of the Kingdom, expanding its frontiers. Pray that God will raise up more willing adventurers like Scott and do even wackier things through them.

Just in case anyone's still interested...

I'm still here. Between the Christmas onslaught, New Year's resolutions (one of which was NOT to update my blog on a regular basis), a new semester of college, and a couple weeks of sickness rampaging through my family, blogging has lost most of the appeal it had at one time.

I am, however, reading John Caparoon's blog regularly. I'm especially interested in his thoughts on "how we do church" and particularly communion. I'm more and more longing to see the centrality of the Word (not neccessarily preaching) and the Table restored in Christian worship. The historical perspective of the Restoration movement would certainly give prominence to the Word and Table in our congrgational worship, but I'm afraid that we may have substituted preaching for the reading of the Word and that our rugged individualist tendencies may have robbed our communion time of any horizontal dimensions (i.e. it's all "me 'n' Jesus).

SO - if there's anyone out there who's still reading this - what say ye?

Emulsifying Faith and Politics

Some churchgoers expect the entire focus of our worship service to be patriotic about three times each year (Memorial Day, July 4th, and Veterans Day). More dangerously, there is often an expectation that we should support the Republican platform or “our President” unconditionally. Conversely, some think that we should stay out of politics altogether, not considering that our socio-political context has changed dramatically since Bible times. We need to show that both of these views are, at the very least, oversimplifications.

If Paul can enlist his citizenship and its accompanying privileges for God's purpose, then so should we. Paul didn't get to vote, but we do - and should. (Maybe I'm wrong - my Mennonite friend, Ken, doesn't vote. He does, however, pray for the government daily. He also will--of course--never read this blog...) Slavery, fair wages, civil rights, and health and sanitation issues have all been transformed by the church operating in democratic societies during the last 180 years. This is redemptive work. It is not the primary work of the church, but it is the inevitable outcome of our lives as we are transformed into whole ("saved") people.

VOX FOR EVERYONE!

(Warning: GUITARIST SPECIFIC CONTENT)

I was in St. Louis last week for a seminar and had some downtime, so I went to the Ed Debevic's of guitars stores - Guitar Center. (GC is slightly better than Myspace as far as annoyance factor.)

After about 10 minutes I finally got one of the "too-cool-to-be-bothered-with-the-only-customer-in-the-store" employees to fetch me a cable so I could check out some amps. A Lonestar Special, AC15CC, Crate V16 and V32, and a Line 6 Vetta were all in close proximity, and I had an hour to kill.

I started with the LSS. I really dug it. My main complaint is that you can't turn off the reverb via footswitch and it was really obtrusive. Then I compared another known quantity - the V32. Umm... I'm almost scared to report that it sounded better than the Mesa. The clean was "voxier" and the overdrive was more "marshallish." The Mesa costs (and weighs) 3X more. I REALLY wanted to like the Mesa, but...

...then I plugged into the AC15. It was the $600 one with the Whafdale speaker, but it reeked with that nearly inimitable* VOX beefy jangle. I was initially quite disappointed that they didn't have an AC30CC, but the more I played with the AC15, the less I cared. Really nice reverb (I'm not a Fender reverb guy) and tremolo. But it's the TONE that I'm infatuated with. My usual tonal needs are for something that's full-yet-bright and clean-with-some-hair-on-it. This is the VOX speciality. I was able to do my Edge impersonation and venture into indie/alt-country with ease. Ahhh...

So I concur with my friend John's assessment of several months ago. VOX is the magic. And - surprise of all surprises - Crate trumps Mesa. (Never made it to the V16 or the Vetta, but I'm a Line 6 user anyway.)

Bottom line: I want a VOX. I want John to have a VOX. I want you to have a VOX. VOX FOR EVERYONE.

(But I'm too poor to afford a VOX.)

*Bad Cat, Matchless, Dr. Z, Mojave, Top Hat, and a couple others make amps with similarly magical sounds - for two to five thousand dollars (gulp).

Ulterior Motives would be a great name for a band

I spent a good portion of the day yesterday playing some killer rock songs with John, Boyd and Don (or Woody if you've read John's blog). We're playing a set at the city park next Saturday for my church's Summer's End party.

Now this is NOT a party for our church. Let's get that out of our heads right now. This is a party for our town, and specifically for the part of our town that seems a bit more frayed around the edges. We've got free mini-golf, free food, free kids games, bikes and cars to gawk at, dunking booth, etc.

We also have rock'n'roll. NOT Christian rock. We're playing great songs mostly written by Christians. So the world view is Christian theistic, without the off-putting trappings of much Contemporary Christian music.

Maybe there was a time - or perhaps there have been instances - when Christian Rock/Contemporary Christian music was an effective outreach tool. I spent a lot of time and energy pursuing that end, but it always wound up as a party for the church. Not really the original goal.

(There is a place for new music for Christians - for worship, for teaching, inspiring, etc. - but that's a whole different discussion. My main focus in life is ministering to the church through music, so I'm certainly not "dissing" that. Matter of fact, we're ending the whole Summer's End shindig with the best worship songs we know.)

Anyway - I'm prepared to take some heat for my wacky little plan to play music that speaks the vernacular of the community at large. Perhaps there are weaker brothers for whom this is a stumbling point - I don't know of any. I'm more afraid of the "don't handle, don't touch, don't taste" crowd.

You see, I have an ulterior motive: cultivate dialog and relationships with the community at large so we can show and tell the Gospel. If Switchfoot, or even the Foo Fighters, can help build a bridge, then so be it.

Ashtrays and the Lord's Supper

My wife commented on the staggering number of ashtrays in my mom's small apartment. There are at least seven the living room alone. No, my mom doesn't smoke. (Actually, she used to. When I was born her doctor "prescribed" a cigarette each morning with her coffee. She faithfully smoked one cigarette a day until I was 18, then she stopped - cold turkey!)

So why all the ashtrays? Maybe - like the fake marble one that adorns the top of a wrought-iron magazine rack - it's because they've always been part of her home decor. Maybe it's because my dad smoked constantly for 65 years. (He, too, quit cold-turkey - just before his 80th birthday. He died 3 months later. Too little, too late.) Dad never used any of these ashtrays, though. He prefered a metal ashtray that was sewn into a corduroy beanbag (literally - it was filled with soybeans). It would sit comfortably on his chest as he reclined on the couch reading Prairie Farmer and watching Wheel of Fortune. That ashtray - if she still has it - isn't on display.

No - I think it's because of memories: The glazed terra cotta one from our trip to Arizona when I was 4; the white one that was part of Grandma's hobnail collection; the big maple leaf that Uncle Russ brought back from Vermont; the one with the decoupage horse that Aunt Wanda made in ceramics class. To discard any of these would be tantamount to erasing a memory.

Most of us keep some sort of tangible means of reminiscence. Maybe it's something as obvious as a photograph. Perhaps it's more subtle - like the grey t-shirt that's still got a stain from where my newborn daughter's "baby ook" marred it perfectly.

Our church building is filled with them. There's an inscription in the front of nearly every hymnal and pew Bible. The organ has a huge plaque. The new tables in the fellowship hall each have a small gold plaque. The painting above the sink in our breakroom was given "in loving memory" 35 years ago.

Practically speaking, this is often a hindrance. When a pulpit or a table or a musical instrument has outlived its utility, it's difficult to discard it - tantamount to erasing the memory of a mother, a grandfather, a favorite Sunday School teacher, etc.

But, still practically speaking, Jesus left us with a tangible means of remembrance. One that - after 2000 years - is inadvisable to discard. When he celebrated his last Passover with his closest friends, he admonished them to "do this in remembrance of me." One of the things that the early Christians were "continually devoting themselves to" was the "breaking of bread." I hope this hasn't become an empty ritual for us - just part of our church "decor."

I hope we remember who he was: the Word of God - present at the creation of the world - clothed in human flesh; the Son of God, who humbled himself and died on a Roman cross; the Son of Man, who was raised from the dead to become the Firstborn of many brothers and sisters.

Through a miraculous mystery, "God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God" (1 Cor. 5:21 NIV). This righteousness (diakosune in Greek) is a virtue that sums up all the other virtues; a synonym of perfection; justice. It is the way in which God justifies persons so that they move toward living only for him. This righteousness is not only imparted to those who follow Jesus, it is manifested in their lives.

As we remember, may we understand. As we understand, may we worship him. As we worship him, may we be transformed into his righteousness.

Head Lice and the Fall

I'm not talking about Autumn here: I'm wondering about chiggers, mosquitoes, ticks, tapeworms (yee-aah!) and other blood-sucking and/or parasitic critters. Are they functioning according to God's original specifications, or did they become what we now loathe as a result of the subjection of creation to sin and decay?