Faith and Works

Put up a new post on the relation of faith and works at the other blog.

Perfect Timing

Another new one over at the Southern Perch, fyi.

I'm On A Roll...

Another new post at the other site. I know...two in 3 days! Wow!

Giving and Receiving

If you're interested, there's something new at the Southern Digs.

Amazing, but Not Like You Think

Saturday night, Amanda and I were blessed by some friends from church with 2 tickets to U2's 360 tour in Raleigh. This was huge for me, as I've been wanting to see the "biggest band in the world" since hearing "The Joshua Tree" in 1987. While other bands have come and gone in my listening library, U2 has remained. Other than a couple early 90's albums (Zooropa, anyone?), I've always been a fan. So having the chance to see them live left me a tad bit excited.

You see, I remember the days when a concert was an almost "spiritual" experience for me. I love music, and the thrill of seeing one of your favorite bands live was like climbing Everest for me. Unforgettable. You arrive and leave with chills...that kind of thing. So I was expecting no less from this show. After all, 22 years in the making, right?

From a show standpoint, I've never seen anything like it. The stage alone was enough to blow you away! Hard to describe, unless you've seen it. Colossal, I guess, would be the best choice. The 4 members of the band were as tight and as "on" as you could be. They worked their way through songs, both old and new, with a fluidity and comfort that would be the envy of any musician. Bono was...well, he was Bono: the quintessential showman, working the crowd and playing to the camera. Larry Mullen, Jr. and Adam Clayton were rock solid, and the Edge was amazing. I still don't know how the many does the things he does with just 6 strings and 2 hands!

As the show wound down, and I waited for them to play my all-time favorite "Where the Streets Have No Name", I kept waiting for the goose bumps. I kept waiting for that moment when art transcends reality, and you get swept away for a bit. I thought for sure that would be it.

Nope.

The show was amazing. The sound was superb. The effects were out of this world. But it was just a show. A very good, very LOUD, show, but a show nonetheless. As cool as it was, I told Amanda that I realized that hearing the Wednesday night crowd at my church singing "Jesus Paid It All" is far more "spiritual" and moving than anything that can be stirred up by volume and lights. And real. Not a show, but reality. Not a concert, but worship. Hearing the church sing the praises of the One that saved her...THAT is amazing on a whole other level.

Crazy how things change.

Send Out the Clowns

This past weekend, our tiny little town had its annual bit of carnival-esque insanity. While I’m tempted to write on some of the more ridiculous aspects of it, I’ll abstain. And let me tell you, that’s not easy to do.

No, instead, I’ve been thinking about clowns. Yes, clowns. The makeup wearing, big shoe stomping, flower squirting, horn-honking clowns. Clowns are integral to every parade and carnival. They are, in effect, the thread that holds the whole thing together, bringing comic relief to us when the endless stream of pageant queens in convertibles threaten to exhaust us.

Clowns.

How many do you know? Are you one? Am I?

Do you paint on a smile for everyone, while underneath you’re crying? Do you play the fool so as not to have to deal with anything of weight in your life? Do you hide behind a virtual costume, always keeping people at arms length with jokes, gimmicks, and disguises?

Are we any different than Adam and Eve trying to use fig leaves to fool God? Are we fooling anyone other than ourselves?

I think this is a real problem in the church today. I think true authenticity and honesty must begin with the removal of the makeup, stripping it down to the reality of who we are in Christ, and just how far we are from being where we should be.

Let’s send out the clowns, and send in the real, hurting, grace-hungry people.