this is the song jesusland by ben folds
Take a walk out the gate you go and never stop past all the stores and wig shops quarter in a cup for every block and watch the buildings grows maller as you go Down the tracks beautiful McMansions on a hill that overlook a highway with riverboat casinos and you still have yet to see a soul Jesusland Jesusland Town to town broadcast to each house, they drop your name but no one knows your face Billboards quoting things you'd never say you hang your head and pray for Jesusland Jesusl andMiles and miles and the sun goin' down Pulses glowfrom their homesYou're not alone Lights come on as you lay your weary head on their lawn Parking lots cracked and growing grass you see it all from offices to farms crosses flying high above the malls A longer walk through Jesusland Jesusland
in no way do i want to represent ben folds by talking about what this song means, but from my view point, it is a sad song. one looking at christianity and is saddened by the way things are going on. poverty is overwhelming but instead of taking care and training them we throw a quarter into their cup. you have the mansions that God prepared for his people but unfortunately no one lived the life they needed to occupy them. it mentions the televangelists that possibly do more harm than good. it talks about misrepresenting God in billboards and what i want to add; church signs. but yet there is still enough reason to pray for things to change in this thing we call christianity. we have a lot but are we willing to share it? while people starve we build extravagant crap that does no one any good. i definately do not agree with everything benn folds has wrote about but in a way it is good to see how someone views me and you as we label ourselves christians. their should be something more than changing our own life. obviously we must do something to reach out and change this perception of christianity. is it possible to change this view? is it possible to really change how people perceive christianity. i think in the past we have messed up here and there and will continue to mess up. is there something we can do?
Tuesday, July 26, 2005
Friday, July 15, 2005
weezer is back with "make believe"
not since 1994(blue) or some will say 1996(pinkerton) has weezer put out a cd this good. it is full of many songs that just elate you to think that weezer has finally come to a place in their music wher it has taken melody, lyrics and guitars from the blue album and progressed them into what is now a musically mature weezer. the cd starts off with the first single of this cd with beverly hills, this song is just ok compared to the rest of the album. with songs like "hold me" make me question the spiritual influence of the band. "I am.You are taller than a mountain.Deeper than the sea.You are. Hold me.Hold me.Take me with you 'cause I'm lonely.
I was closer to you back then.I was happier." great lyrics that probably are talking about a girl but i dont care. i know what is taller than a mountain and deeper than the sea. then in "peace" where they say quite often "i need to find some peace." the cd is also complimented by perfect situation, my best friend, freak me out. there is also a harmonica sighting in "haunt you everyday."
this cd is searching. searching for peace, a friend, possibly a lover. but also for purpose, direction, desire i am thankful that the weezer i knew in jr high and high school is finally back with make believe, making great music. i say thank you weezer. your fans are very appreciative.
next blog i will address the new song jesusland by ben folds
I was closer to you back then.I was happier." great lyrics that probably are talking about a girl but i dont care. i know what is taller than a mountain and deeper than the sea. then in "peace" where they say quite often "i need to find some peace." the cd is also complimented by perfect situation, my best friend, freak me out. there is also a harmonica sighting in "haunt you everyday."
this cd is searching. searching for peace, a friend, possibly a lover. but also for purpose, direction, desire i am thankful that the weezer i knew in jr high and high school is finally back with make believe, making great music. i say thank you weezer. your fans are very appreciative.
next blog i will address the new song jesusland by ben folds
Tuesday, July 12, 2005
u-haul out of town
by this title one should be able to tell that jenny and i are moving. well that is correct. after some initial uncertainty about what might happen. but before i tell you where we are going, here are some of the ideas that we considered over the past 6-7 months
1. jenny being an rd at iwu (shatford to be precise) they were considering her before she removed herself from the process.
2. i going to asbury. then i visited josh and went to a class and decided not for me at this moment.
3. staying in sc to help with a church restart. considered this up until yesterday.
4. sent out my resume to multiple churches in maryland and michigan for youth ministry.
of course non of these things happened. things started to come together when i flew back home for my grandfathers funeral about a month ago. i ran into my home pastor from high school and he asked about my situation. i had told him that we just resigned that previous sunday. little did i know what he was planning. later that day he came to me again and said that his brother in law was looking for a youth pastor, and had called him about 15 minutes earlier and talked to him about me.
three weeks later jenny and i went to the church for an interview. it was a very good church running about 300. pastor bud fancy has 30 years of experience pastoring. including a short time being my parents pastor back in maine. the other assistant greg dakin is a graduate of bethany bible college and was a youth pastor and dyp before moving to new york a year ago. it is in a small town of 5000 very similar to the town i grew up in.
as for the youth group, they have been without a pastor for 7 months and in that time have dwindled in number. they really need some consistency and leadership. they have a barn bash every fall which last year brought in 1200 teens. this year they are bringing in the band, kids in the way.
if you are wondering where it might be it is in pulaski, new york. about 30 miles north of syracuse where jenny will hopefully be able to start graduate work in social work by january. things have come together really fast and at first scared me quite a bit. but i know this opportunity has happened for a reason. i just want to be faithful and be able to give it all the attention that i can from here on.
we will be finished with greenville first wesleyan on wednesday july 27th and we will be up in new york the following week.
please pray for us in this next journey
good bye greenville hello pulaski
1. jenny being an rd at iwu (shatford to be precise) they were considering her before she removed herself from the process.
2. i going to asbury. then i visited josh and went to a class and decided not for me at this moment.
3. staying in sc to help with a church restart. considered this up until yesterday.
4. sent out my resume to multiple churches in maryland and michigan for youth ministry.
of course non of these things happened. things started to come together when i flew back home for my grandfathers funeral about a month ago. i ran into my home pastor from high school and he asked about my situation. i had told him that we just resigned that previous sunday. little did i know what he was planning. later that day he came to me again and said that his brother in law was looking for a youth pastor, and had called him about 15 minutes earlier and talked to him about me.
three weeks later jenny and i went to the church for an interview. it was a very good church running about 300. pastor bud fancy has 30 years of experience pastoring. including a short time being my parents pastor back in maine. the other assistant greg dakin is a graduate of bethany bible college and was a youth pastor and dyp before moving to new york a year ago. it is in a small town of 5000 very similar to the town i grew up in.
as for the youth group, they have been without a pastor for 7 months and in that time have dwindled in number. they really need some consistency and leadership. they have a barn bash every fall which last year brought in 1200 teens. this year they are bringing in the band, kids in the way.
if you are wondering where it might be it is in pulaski, new york. about 30 miles north of syracuse where jenny will hopefully be able to start graduate work in social work by january. things have come together really fast and at first scared me quite a bit. but i know this opportunity has happened for a reason. i just want to be faithful and be able to give it all the attention that i can from here on.
we will be finished with greenville first wesleyan on wednesday july 27th and we will be up in new york the following week.
please pray for us in this next journey
good bye greenville hello pulaski
Thursday, July 07, 2005
prayer
i have been thinking about the concept of prayer lately. what it takes to pray, what it means to have a heartfelt prayer. i really still have no conclusions other than the whole idea of converstation between God and me (for some reason i do more talking then listening) but this next blog is dedicated to those of us who would like a better prayer life. this insert was written for the church newsletter that i am currently employed for the next 20 days. for those of you that do not know i resigned three weeks ago.
“Praying Well”
Prayer in my life has always been open ended. Sometimes it is hard to know exactly how and what to pray. Never really understanding what it takes to pray. No one ever really gave me a guide to say this is the right and the wrong way to pray. So for me to be writing something on prayer is not the easiest thing. But I want to talk to you about prayer. I want to tell you how not to pray and from that conclude ways that are okay to pray.
1. We do not pray to enhance our self. What good is a prayer when we are asking for God to bless us, to enhance our career, to pad our portfolio? It is not that God does not care about our financial situation but rather more concerned for our heart for others. If we focus only on ourselves we lose sight of what we can for others and how we can enhance the community of God.
2.We do not pray in front of others to sound godly. We pray in front of others so we can corporately agree with the prayers offered by the other person. There is something to be said when a group of believers come together and offer up the same prayer in unity rather than just a personal prayer time.
3. Prayer is not something to always pass on to someone else. This can be said for leaders within a group. What happens when a group prays together but never hears the leader pray? You can see into a person’s heart when they pray. More so than when you are just talking to them about a vision and purpose for the group of people. When a prayer is said you can see what is most important to them.
4. Prayer is not limited to certain times during the day. Most people will pray during the same time everyday. Maybe one will have a devotional every morning, pray before each meal and when they go to bed each night. Prayer is a continuous conversation with God. In reality he is always with us and hears what we say to our friends, our thoughts and really everything that goes on in our life. He knows our heart and will see through us to our core. Rather than praying and checking it off the list of things to do that day. Lets open our life as a prayer.
5. Prayer is not limited to us talking. In any conversation with our friends, if we were the only ones who talked. It could be very one sided, only hearing the opinions of one person rather than having a dialogue to see if God has a suggestion on the matter. Therefore we try to listen to God’s opinion.
Prayer will always be a work in progress. One week might be better than the other. But we need to make time for both personal and corporate prayer. It helps build us up. It encourages, challenges, humbles, leads, equips and helps us press on through the tough times. Prayer is something we all need; young, old, rich and poor alike. Prayer is the one common thing that we all have to connect to God. Music, preaching and opininions might drive us apart but prayer is what brings us together.
so that was the newsletter article, tune in later for some more articles on the idea of prayer and the conclusion of what and where jenny and i are going to end up in the next phase of our life.
“Praying Well”
Prayer in my life has always been open ended. Sometimes it is hard to know exactly how and what to pray. Never really understanding what it takes to pray. No one ever really gave me a guide to say this is the right and the wrong way to pray. So for me to be writing something on prayer is not the easiest thing. But I want to talk to you about prayer. I want to tell you how not to pray and from that conclude ways that are okay to pray.
1. We do not pray to enhance our self. What good is a prayer when we are asking for God to bless us, to enhance our career, to pad our portfolio? It is not that God does not care about our financial situation but rather more concerned for our heart for others. If we focus only on ourselves we lose sight of what we can for others and how we can enhance the community of God.
2.We do not pray in front of others to sound godly. We pray in front of others so we can corporately agree with the prayers offered by the other person. There is something to be said when a group of believers come together and offer up the same prayer in unity rather than just a personal prayer time.
3. Prayer is not something to always pass on to someone else. This can be said for leaders within a group. What happens when a group prays together but never hears the leader pray? You can see into a person’s heart when they pray. More so than when you are just talking to them about a vision and purpose for the group of people. When a prayer is said you can see what is most important to them.
4. Prayer is not limited to certain times during the day. Most people will pray during the same time everyday. Maybe one will have a devotional every morning, pray before each meal and when they go to bed each night. Prayer is a continuous conversation with God. In reality he is always with us and hears what we say to our friends, our thoughts and really everything that goes on in our life. He knows our heart and will see through us to our core. Rather than praying and checking it off the list of things to do that day. Lets open our life as a prayer.
5. Prayer is not limited to us talking. In any conversation with our friends, if we were the only ones who talked. It could be very one sided, only hearing the opinions of one person rather than having a dialogue to see if God has a suggestion on the matter. Therefore we try to listen to God’s opinion.
Prayer will always be a work in progress. One week might be better than the other. But we need to make time for both personal and corporate prayer. It helps build us up. It encourages, challenges, humbles, leads, equips and helps us press on through the tough times. Prayer is something we all need; young, old, rich and poor alike. Prayer is the one common thing that we all have to connect to God. Music, preaching and opininions might drive us apart but prayer is what brings us together.
so that was the newsletter article, tune in later for some more articles on the idea of prayer and the conclusion of what and where jenny and i are going to end up in the next phase of our life.
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