This Guy Falls Down

You are cordially invited...

To join my newly created Yahoo group called "Book of the Month". The hope here is that we can be more actively involved and participating in book discussions, and this format seems like it just might be the ticket. Then it might feel like more of a "club". Now, I have no idea how to use Yahoo groups, so if anyone has a desire to step up and give me any tips, feel free. And we can see how it evolves. In a perfect world, it would be cool for people to have different status levels based on how many books they've read, not unlike eBay where they have numbers after their names. Anyone with any ideas please speak up. I'm all ears.

Moments vs. Minutes

Ethos recently featured a great post about "minutes and moments" Many great authors have reflected on this. C.S. Lewis often used those moments of transcendence as a case for the existence of God. If we are creatures who are here entirely by accident who are looking out for our own survival, how do you explain away these times? The desire for the eternal, for sheer joy, does not jive with any kind of biological theory. We don't need these moments for our survival. And yet they happen. This is why we need to savor them. They are a glimpse of God.
In his latest work Come Thirsty, Max Lucado calls these moments "samplings from heaven's kitchen". Madeleine L'Engle often talks about chronos, or clock time, versus kairos, or God's time. I don't know about you, but I care a whole lot more about God's time than I do a clock.
My most recent "moment" came a couple of weeks ago when I had the chance to take a sunset kayak tour in a marsh in Florida. On the way out, the sun set, and on the way back the full moon rose. Thousands of tiny diatoms flickered across the water, and I couldn't help but think about God. I wish I had more of these "moments".

Dead or Alive?

At first glance, this seems a tad morbid, but I personally think these guys are offering a valuable service. How many times have you mentioned an actor's name and wondered why they haven't been in any good movies lately, and then find out they've been dead for years? I actually had this happen the other day, and joked that I should start a site like this. Well, it already exists, and it's called "Dead or Alive?". You scoff now, but in a few days whenever you start wondering whatever happened to that guy, you can make sure he's still kicking it.

Stephen King on pop culture

In this week's Entertainment Weekly, Stephen King provides over 20 reasons to love pop culture. Although I can't totally agree with him when it comes to reality television (enough is enough!), he pretty much nails it in the closing paragraphs:

"It's my culture and I love it dearly — I have, I think, ever since the age of 8, in a Connecticut movie theater, when I first heard Clark Gable tell Vivien Leigh, ''Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn.'' There are plenty of people who see this beautiful junk-shop carnival as lowbrow, thoughtless, ruinous, even vicious (I'm thinking of folks like Harold Bloom, the literary critic who had a cow when the National Book Foundation gave me an award for, ahem, Distinguished Contribution to American Letters). They are not, as a rule, the ones who shoot off fireworks on the Fourth of July. Or subscribe to Entertainment Weekly, for that matter. Many are folks who believe art should be work and see entertainment as subversive.

"As for this kid...well, let me finish by paraphrasing a couplet from ''Trashy Women,'' by the immortal Confederate Railroad: 'They say that opposites attract. Well, I don't agree. I want a culture just as tacky as me.'"

What's your hidden talent?

I found this to be quite interesting. On this little quiz, you pick out your favorite picture, and find out your "hidden talent". Check it out, I think it worked for me.

In case you're on the fence about Audioscrobbler

I finally have enough tracks in Audioscrobbler to use some of their cool features. After you've amassed a good number of tracks, you can see who your "musical neighbors" are. Musical neighbors are other 'Scrobbler users who are listening to similar artists. You can then look and see what other artists they're into. It's a great way to get some recommendations on some new music. Definitely worth checking out.

Adventures in Missing the Point, by Tony Campolo and Brian McLaren (**** out of 5)

Ever finish reading something and wonder what one of your favorite authors would think about it? In Adventures in Missing the Point, you get to find out. Written by Tony Campolo and Brian McLaren, two authors I've reviewed on here lately, they take a novel approach. The writers take turns commenting on an aspect of modern Christiandom which they feel has strayed away from its original vision. Issues such as salvation, the environment, homosexuality, and the postmodern movement are addressed. What's so novel about it is that after each chapter, the other author will chime in with their comments and if they disagree with the other author, they will tell the other guy where they "missed the point". While they aren't afraid to say when the other guy missed the mark, it stays pretty civilized. I actually found myself wondering what the original author might have to say in response to the comments. It takes a little bit of getting used to, but this is a great book which tackles some tough subjects. I would reommend reading A New Kind of Christian and Speaking My Mind first, and then seeing how these authors' minds work when put together.

UPDATE:
Sorry, I was rushing to get on a plane as I was finishing this review and didn't get to say everything I wanted to say. Brian McLaren had a couple of great chapters which made this book worth checking out even if you're already familiar with these guys and their respective takes on these issues. One chapter in particular about worship hit me like a ton of bricks. McLaren issues a challenge to would-be worship songwriters to avoid cliche and write deeper lyrics. There's also a great chapter on apologetics in which McLaren provides some great advice. And in the section on salvation, he even includes a parable of sorts.

This is a great book for many reasons. The main reasons for me are these times where Brian McLaren really shines.

A little more shameless self promotion

Third Day and our partnership with Chevy are scheduled to be featured tonight on Anderson Cooper 360. The show should air at 7PM EDT on CNN barring any breaking news. From what I've heard, it should be a positive story...

AND

"Strong Tower", penned by myself, Marc Byrd, and a couple of the Kutless guys, is currently spending its second week in the #1 position on the CHR chart. If you haven't picked up the Kutless record yet, it's a winner.

Summer Reading Club – Update

Don’t forget to fill me in on what books you’ve been reading this summer. And I encourage you to look through the recommendations people have been giving. There are some great books in there. I will be choosing the “winner” in a few weeks. This book will become the September “Book of the Month” as part of the regular Book Club. Everyone will be “required” to read it (of course I use the term “required” very loosely as nobody’s making you do anything here) and there will be questions and discussion and the whole nine yards. Whoever “wins” by choosing the book will get some kind of prize which will be determined later and perhaps tailored to your individual situation. Prize or no, keep the book recommendations coming.

Also, as part of this year’s Summer Reading Club, try to read a book you were required to read at some point in your life, but didn’t. I realize there are a few who this doesn’t apply to . In that case, read that big thick daunting book you’ve been putting off for years. Or the book everybody’s been telling you to read but you’ve been resisting. Are you picking up on something here? I just want you to read something you wouldn’t normally choose to read yourself. And let me know what your experience was like.

You may be wondering what I’m reading during this time. I’ve actually chosen to read a book I was supposed to read in college but didn’t. It’s called The Killer Angels, and was the basis for the movie Gettysburg. I’ve heard so much about it the last few years that I had to check it out for myself.

The bottom line here: read something. And tell us about it…

Songwriting Hack #9: You Are What You Read, Part 2

A producer friend of mine once said that in the sixties, people would take drugs and write songs; today, we read. I wholeheartedly agree with this. I don’t think anybody would argue with me when I say that the stuff you take in will greatly effect the work that you churn out. Books are so powerful that you should take great care in choosing which ones to read and affect your writing. I’ve got a few thoughts on this subject that I’ll share with you.