Great Vision from Fellow Vision 360 Planter Bill Jenkins

I love what Bill Jenkins has to say (admittedly in part because of his accent).

Vision 360 – Bill Jenkins from Urban Life Church in a Pub from Evan Chung on Vimeo.

JR Vassar on the Top and Bottom Line of God’s Story

The The Impotence of Proofreading by Taylor Mali

Intelligent humor seems to be a rare thing. I think Taylor Mali is something of a hybrid between stand up comedian and beat poet.

I should say, there is some- what I would call- fairly mild language and sexual innuendo in this video.

 

Living with a Truth-Teller

I’ve just stumbled across these guys. I have to say, their take on grace is pretty remarkable. I don’t recall seing anything so grace-focused in my life. Some of the things these guys say makes my inner pharisee foam at the mouth. But there’s a part of my heart that melts when they describe grace. Below, I’ve posted one of the videos from one of the TrueFaced guys.

The Air We Breathe: Consumerism and the Church

We are consumers, all of us. We’re humans, and humans are consumeristic. We’re Americans, and Americans are consumeristic. We live in the West, and the West is consumeristic.

Consumerism is normative:

:: All advertising assumes that consumption is both normal and necessary. You need the television, the car, the clothes, the makeup, the beer, the four hundred satellite channels, the fastest phone network, the sexiest partner (remember the State Farm commercial?), and the remodeled home.

:: Listen to how our economy is talked about. The declared assumption is that everything will be fine if we just start spending money. The economy’s blood pressure is retail spending and its cholesterol the real estate market (both assume consumption). Capitalism is the individual’s right to his/her own entitlement.

:: If something is wrong with you, you can purchase your remedy. We’ve surrounded ourselves with experts that we can pay to do anything we want, to fix any dilemma. All you need is the money to pay for the expertise.

:: The American Dream is a consumer’s dream- your house, your fence, your safety, security, success, solitude, and sanity. The American Dream is consumerism to the core. Even it’s noteworthy bits- hard work, diligence, etc.- are still rife with consumeristic entitlement.

:: Even our relationships are consumeristic. A consumer picks and chooses products, services, and vendors that best suit some desired outcome. The consumer’s loyalty is based on the ability to answer and keep answering consumeristic demand. Really, loyalty is dead. As soon as the better laptop emerges, it’s on to the next brand (or the newer version- that’s another post in itself). If the restaurant doesn’t treat us right, it’s on to the next one. And sadly, the same is true of most of our relationships. Marriages, friendships, business partners, they’re all subject to the harsh lens of consumerism. Do something- anything- to upset our demands, and your replacement is imminent.

:: I wish it were different for the Church, but it isn’t. It seems our discipleship has largely proven too short in reach to overcome our consumerism. The men and women in the Church are just as consumeristic as men and women outside the Church. We pick our church just like we pick our favorite restaurant. We leave our church just as easily and with as much self-assurance as we leave our cellular service provider.

I’m convinced that consumerism is the air we breathe. We’re so used to it, we can’t comprehend another reality (it’s like the Matrix). Attack consumerism and people will rise to defend her. Attack consumerism in the Church, and you’ll likely hear as much- or more- defense of entitlement, individualism, and materialism.

 

Discipleship from the Eyes of a Moto-Junkie and a Sword-Maker

I really enjoy all the Etsy videos. Kudos to whoever puts them together. Below, you’ll find two of my favorites. The really interesting thing is that both videos hit on disciple-making (something that ought be close to the heart of every Christian), even though neither video is about disciple-making. There are so many insights that can be gleaned from both videos; watch them back to back, and the juxtaposition in attitudes and actions is remarkable. There’s a lot to learn here.

Handmade Portraits: Liberty Vintage Motorcycles from Etsy on Vimeo.

Handmade Portraits: The Sword Maker from Etsy on Vimeo.

Possibly the Most Watched Video in Our Home Recently

We love this:

And here’s the whole thing in SC:

Anderson Silva Leading Prayer? Shouting “Jesus Christ”?

I try pretty hard to keep up with the UFC. There aren’t too many UFC events that I don’t watch, and I’d like to think that I am at least moderately fluent in the more noteworthy fighters and events inside the UFC.

For some time, I’ve wondered about Anderson Silva’s faith. There are occasional hints at Christian faith in him. On the other hand, there’s lots of trash talking, disrespect, and pride coming from Silva most of the time, too. That’s not exactly the character of Jesus.

There’s some interesting stuff in this video. First, Erick Silva (apparently if you’re a Brazilian you have a good probability of having the last name Silva) says some really insightful stuff for such a young fighter. Specifically, I really admire his admitting that he was not that great of a fighter naturally. He says that his current skill level didn’t come quickly or with ease. I really like that. There are some things I want to be good at, but I’m no natural. Second, Anderson Silva understandably steals the spotlight toward the end of the video. He’s leading prayer; later he’s yelling, “Jesus Christ” with his teammates. If you watch UFC at all, this is intriguing.

Love: Old Enough, The Raconteurs (w/ Ricky Skaggs & Ashley Monroe)

The Painful Experience and Hopeful Song of Longfellow

I’ve loved this carol from the first listening. It’s lyric and God-borne, stubborn hopefulness are invigorating. Many, many times, in the quiet moments of the Advent season, I have returned to it. That’s been true the last few days. Advent is running its appropriate course in my heart this year- I find within me a longing for the coming Messiah. The promise of peace on Earth, good will to men grabs the ears of my heart.

Learning the history of I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day has only deepened my appreciation and enjoyment of it. Below, I’ve posted the historical context, the original poem, and a video of the song. I hope you enjoy it.

From Tom Stewart, 2001:

One of America’s best known poets, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-1882), contributed to the wealth of carols sung each Christmas season, when he composed the words to “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day” on December 25th 1864. The carol was originally a poem, “Christmas Bells,” containing seven stanzas. Two stanzas were omitted, which contained references to the American Civil War, thus giving us the carol in its present form. The poem gave birth to the carol, “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day,” and the remaining five stanzas were slightly rearranged in 1872 by John Baptiste Calkin (1827-1905), who also gave us the memorable tune. When Longfellow penned the words to his poem, America was still months away from Lee’s surrender to Grant at Appomattox Court House on April 9th 1865; and, his poem reflected the prior years of the war’s despair, while ending with a confident hope of triumphant peace

As with any composition that touches the heart of the hearer, “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day” flowed from the experience of Longfellow– involving the tragic death of his wife Fanny and the crippling injury of his son Charles from war wounds. Henry married Frances Appleton on July 13th 1843, and they settled down in the historic Craigie House overlooking the Charles River in Cambridge, Massachusetts. They were blessed with the birth of their first child, Charles, on June 9th 1844, and eventually, the Longfellow household numbered five children– Charles, Ernest, Alice, Edith, and Allegra. Alice, the Longfellows’ third child and first daughter, was delivered, while her mother was under the anesthetic influence of ether– the first in North America.

Tragedy struck both the nation and the Longfellow family in 1861. Confederate Gen. Pierre G. T. Beauregard fired the opening salvos of the American Civil War on April 12th, and Fanny Longfellow was fatally burned in an accident in the library of Craigie House on July 10th. The day before the accident, Fanny Longfellow recorded in her journal: “We are all sighing for the good sea breeze instead of this stifling land one filled with dust. Poor Allegra is very droopy with heat, and Edie has to get her hair in a net to free her neck from the weight.” After trimming some of seven year old Edith’s beautiful curls, Fanny decided to preserve the clippings in sealing wax. Melting a bar of sealing wax with a candle, a few drops fell unnoticed upon her dress. The longed for sea breeze gusted through the window, igniting the light material of Fanny’s dress– immediately wrapping her in flames. In her attempt to protect Edith and Allegra, she ran to Henry’s study in the next room, where Henry frantically attempted to extinguish the flames with a nearby, but undersized throw rug. Failing to stop the fire with the rug, he tried to smother the flames by throwing his arms around Frances– severely burning his face, arms, and hands. Fanny Longfellow died the next morning. Too ill from his burns and grief, Henry did not attend her funeral. (Incidentally, the trademark full beard of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow arose from his inability to shave after this tragedy.)

The first Christmas after Fanny’s death, Longfellow wrote, “How inexpressibly sad are all holidays.” A year after the incident, he wrote, “I can make no record of these days. Better leave them wrapped in silence. Perhaps someday God will give me peace.” Longfellow’s journal entry for December 25th 1862 reads: “‘A merry Christmas’ say the children, but that is no more for me.” Almost a year later, Longfellow received word that his oldest son Charles, a lieutenant in the Army of the Potomac, had been severely wounded with a bullet passing under his shoulder blades and taking off one of the spinal processes. The Christmas of 1863 was silent in Longfellow’s journal. Finally, on Christmas Day of 1864, he wrote the words of the poem, “Christmas Bells.” The reelection of Abraham Lincoln or the possible end of the terrible war may have been the occasion for the poem. Lt. Charles Longfellow did not die that Christmas, but lived. So, contrary to popular belief, the occasion of writing that much loved Christmas carol was not due to Charles’ death.

Longfellow’s Christmas bells loudly proclaimed, “God is not dead.” Even more, the bells announced, “Nor doth He sleep.” God’s Truth, Power, and Justice are affirmed, when Longfellow wrote: “The wrong shall fail, the right prevail.” The message that the Living God is a God of Peace is proclaimed in the close of the carol: “Of peace on Earth, good will to men.”

Christmas Bells
(The original poem, complete with all seven stanzas)

“I heard the bells on Christmas Day
Their old familiar carols play,
And wild and sweet
The words repeat
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

And thought how, as the day had come,
The belfries of all Christendom
Had rolled along
The unbroken song
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

Till, ringing, singing on its way,
The world revolved from night to day,
A voice, a chime
A chant sublime
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

Then from each black accursed mouth
The cannon thundered in the South,
And with the sound
The carols drowned
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

It was as if an earthquake rent
The hearth-stones of a continent,
And made forlorn
The households born
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

And in despair I bowed my head;
“There is no peace on earth,” I said;
“For hate is strong,
And mocks the song
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!”

Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:
“God is not dead; nor doth he sleep!
The Wrong shall fail,
The Right prevail,
With peace on earth, good-will to men!”