Tuesday, September 26, 2006

This is hilarious!

I found a way to post that Dave Barnes video, so here it is. Enjoy.

Monday, September 25, 2006

Barnes and Ignoble

I've been having trouble getting up lately, and struggling with a little loneliness and depression. It is amazing how your general mood has an effect on everything you do and encounter. For instance, today I wasn't in the most spirited frame of mind. So, when I tried to go to my friend Julie's house for dinner and tupperware sales/support spiel, and she wasn't there, I about flew off the hook. Every possible self-righteous thought you could have popped into my head--"I took time out of my busy schedule of really important things I never get done to come here for dinner and she isn't even here. What's the point in even planning...blah, blah"--while every terrible thought about her came into mind--"She's just like everyone else, she doesn't care about me at all and only lets me down...." I was a stuck in a fury of emotion and rediculous ideas, and somehow blinded to that fact. I guess I really wanted to be pissed off and ignore any possibilities for excuse, just so I could wallow in self pity. You can imagine how I felt when I got a phone call from Julie at about 9:30 (on the phone that hasn't worked once all day, yet this time was clear as a whistle), saying that we're still on for dinner tommorow night.

I'm a freakin' idiot. Seriously. Granted, we really were supposed to have dinner tonight, but does that matter? God really humbled me and showed my sin of feeling sorry for myself.

Also, I have been getting a ton of laughs from a video on Dave Barnes' myspace site. Click on the link and watch the video that is on top of the other video. It's hilarious. His music is really cool too, so make sure you listen to the songs he has posted while you're there. He has a really great vibe and voice.

Friday, September 22, 2006

Catch Up

Okay, so I forgot to post after last weekend's festival of music/Dalits (don't worry I'll catch you up in the following paragraphs). To those of you who have been waiting for my recap with the same intense longing as I have been waiting for my box of Andrew Peterson CD's and computer memory--I'm sorry. There you have it, straight from the horse's mouth.

Anyway, last weekend was awesome. It started in Fort Collins Thursday night with a solo Andrew Osenga show at a coffee shop called Everyday Joe's. It was a really cool venue. Andy had a rough start but found the groove early on to give us all an enjoyable show. He is one of my absolute favorite singer/songwriters. He just communicates emotion so well--"These days they are a river, and we're all floating down/Every loved one, every neighbor, in Tennesee, in my hometown/So let us not take this for granted, let us not waste this second hand/So let your love rage like a lion, and let your heart break like a lamb." Dang. Seriously, though, if you ever get the chance to see Andy (or any of the other Square Pegs) don't miss it. Andy opened up for some crappy piano band man from Fort Collins. Man this world is bass-ackwards. So, after the show I went to Cold Stone with the Hubers, who showed up late for the show but made up for it by eating ice cream with me, thus getting me out of hearing a crappy piano band. Then, I drove home.

On Friday, I drove to Denver with Josh Rose, three high school kids from Riverton, and Cari Dittus to see Caedmon's Call. One of the high school kids was Presbyterian. That's cool. So we made it there in time to grab a Philly cheese steak at Large Marge's, then get sweet seats for the best concert I have ever been to. Caedmon's was great, plus their opener, Mandy Mann, had one of the best voices I've ever heard. Seriously, she has a beautiful voice. You should check her out, but know that the recording is like a 40 watt bulb and her voice is like the Sun. I thought my retina were burning just from listening. After the show, I got to talk to Andy Osenga for awhile about gear and he gave me some great advice that will save me money in the long run. The rest of the night was spent on Erich and Maureen Kirsch's couch resting up for the next day's Dalit Freedom Festival.

Basically, the Dalit Freedom Festival explained the plight of the below caste people in India, and how Caedmon's has partnered with the Dalit Freedom Networkto bring the gospel and social justice to these people. The short of it is that the Dalits are the "untouchables" you have read about in National Geographic. There are 300 million of them and they have been severely oppressed by Hinduism for about 3000 years. DFN is working to give their children a quality education and work to completely abolish the caste system. For more info, go to their website. They can tell you so much more than I ever could. After the freedom fest, we drove home, but not before stopping at Cold Stone in Fort Collins. If you can't tell, I REALLY like cold stone...a lot.

Before I sign off for tonight, I'll leave you with this link to a post on the Common Grounds Blog. This kind of makes me sick. You'll understand why when you read it. It's about how many President's/CEO's of Christian relief organizations make over 100K a year, or maybe better put, how shockingly few of the top 200 make less than 100K a year. But, who knows what they do with all that money? Maybe they store up treasure in heaven by giving it away. Or maybe they're just a bunch of hypocrites who drive luxury cars and have diamonds on the bottom of their shoes. I really hope not.

Monday, September 11, 2006

Holy Ghost Healing Miracle Tongues Revival

So I just got back from helping lead worship for a 'Revival' week at a small Southern Baptist Church in Wheatland, WY. It stirred up a few thoughts/observations.

First, Southern Baptists love 'Revival' meetings, and I don't quite understand it yet. From what I can tell, they are meetings where a speaker from somewhere else in the country, preferably someone in the Southern Baptist circuit, comes and tells your church not to be stuck in traditions. This is hard for me since I leave every one of these meetings thinking, "My church isn't stuck in tradition. In fact, my church desires to constantly change to reflect the culture of our members." But, from the Southern Baptist Churches I have seen in Wyoming, they do need to break out of the traditional Southern Baptist mold a bit more than they are doing now. Like, when you put 'Revival Week' on your church sign, don't expect the whole town to show up. Only Christian and non-Christian Southern Baptists will come.

The need for change brings up my second thought/observation/question. If the Pastors of these churches are godly men who are focused on preaching the bible, why do their congregations have such a hard time maturing? And another related question, why do we generally become less willing to change as we get older? I look at a lot of the old people in my church and am so thankful that they are an integral part of my church's mostly college-aged congregation. These people have been moldable and let God use them to minister to people outside of their original culture. That is how I want to age. I don't want to be stuck thinking I'm right just because that is the way I've always thought about a certain practical issue, like music.

Third, I'm pumped for this weekend. It is going to (folk) rock! I'm going to see Andrew Osenga in Fort Collins on Thursday night, then Caedmon's Call in Denver on Friday night, followed by some kind of workshop led by the band on Saturday. Again, I can't tell how much fun it will be. Anyway, I better get to bed. It's midnight and I have to work tomorrow.

Saturday, September 09, 2006

Let's get to know each other...again.

Sorry it has been a couple of days (weeks) since I last posted. I haven't been up to a whole lot, but I have been busy at the same time. One of those periods of time where you are swamped and in a hurry to do eveything, yet you don't really get anything done. I hope you all have gone to freederekwebb.com to download 'Mockingbird' for free. I can't tell you how good it is. So good, in fact, that I might listen to it when I go to bed tonight.

In other news, as if if I gave you any in the previous paragraph, I am preaching tomorrow night at my church. I'm really nervous because I've never preached a Sunday message to more than ten people. Also, tomorrow it will just be the worship leader and I leading music with two acoustic guitars, which I love. It is easy to get lost in a whole band every week. Sometimes simplicity does a lot to refocus us. It's like getting a haircut--a bit of change really brings out what you liked and didn't like about your cut before. It brings perspective.

I have been reading quite a bit of Hemingway lately. Let me tell you, do not--I repeat, do not--read Hemingway if you are depressed. I think only two or three of all the stories I've read have had endings that aren't really depressing, and those few weren't necessarily happy endings, either. But, he is such a great writer. He conveys the thoughts, feelings, and intents of all his characters so well, and the characters themselves are so real. They aren't fluffy, always happy or always sad types, but very realistic. In this age of entertainment it is too easy to fall prey to superhero characters who are rock solid in every way. It is refreshing to see someone struggle the same way I do, even if they are a figment of some dead guy's imagination.

Well, I better get to bed. I promise to post more in the next couple of days--I've got a lot to write about. And if you want a copy of my sermon (to use as a coaster or pick apart) let me know and I will either email or send it to you. Oh yeah, and if you want a copy of Derek Webb's cd 'Mockingbird', then go to freederekwebb.com.