Nothing new this week, but here is one from about the same time last year. Love this one.
Phriday is for Photos 4.27.07
in Photography
The Forgotten Ways
in Books, Church, Emerging Church, Missional, Theology
Alan Hirsch's book, The Forgotten Ways, is causing me to ask a lot of good questions of my theology, my ecclesiology & missiology. It's good, challenging stuff and I recommend you pick it up. I've been meaning to read/review this book for some time and it has been too long in coming. Over the next few weeks or so I'm going to make the effort to post a few quotes, reflections, and/or questions about the book and the issues it raises. Please feel free to interact with the ideas.
I wish I had time to do the book more justice, but Scot McKnight (for one) spent a good deal of time on the book (Part 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8). You might also want to check out Jordan Cooper's epic first half review here. I encourage you to go to these links for a good recap of the arguments of the book.
If the heart of discipleship is to become like Jesus, then it seems to me that a missional reading of this text requires that we see Jesus's strategy is to get a while lot of little versions of him infiltrating every nook and cranny of society by reproducing himself in and through his people in every place throughout the world. (p 113)
NPM: On Writing Poetry
Poets.org has a nice page of essays on writing poetry and the writing life.
What advice can you get from Edgar Allen Poe or Ralph Waldo Emerson? What do rhyme, meter, metaphor, elision, and free verse mean? What is a haiku, a limerick, or a sonnet? Check these resources out.
Music Monday 4.23.07
in Music
A couple of albums have me spinning lately.
Blonde Redhead: 23
(MySpace, Reviews: Metacritic, Drowned in Sound, The Village Voice, Lost at Sea)
Wow, this is good stuff. Atmospheric, heart-wrenching, experimental indie-rockish shtuff. The title track, "23," is a great introduction to the album. Hear it on their MySpace or watch their video of "23". Some quotes...
23 is a delirious fever-dream of an album that continues to impress with each consecutive listen.
This is the next record you have to buy. Absolutely. Unequivocally.
Headlights: Kill Them With Kindness
(MySpace)
Under The Radar: "Kill Them With Kindness is an impressive debut proving that the remaining members of Absinthe Blind are not living in the past but continually experimenting into the future."
I believe Under the Radar has Kill Them With Kindness as their #15 album of 2006. A number of reviews are not quite there, but I think it's outstanding. It's happy, fun music. Tracks that stand out to me are "Your Old Street" and "Signs Point to Yes (But Outlook Not So Good)."
YouTube: "TV" Video (or "TV" Live), also "Signs Point to Yes (But Outlook Not So Good)"
The High Calling's New Site
in Theology
The High Calling (of Our Daily Work) has a new website, which is a very nice upgrade from their old one. I write for them when asked, and think this is a helpful ministry for people who work. Here is my profile page.
NPM: A Few Poems
A few poems to continue with National Poetry Month.
"A Confession" (via)
My Lord, I loved strawberry jam
And the dark sweetness of a woman's body.
Also well-chilled vodka, herring in olive oil,
Scents, of cinnamon, of cloves.
So what kind of prophet am I? Why should the spirit
Have visited such a man? Many others
Were justly called, and trustworthy.
Who would have trusted me? For they saw
How I empty glasses, throw myself on food,
And glance greedily at the waitress's neck.
Flawed and aware of it. Desiring greatness,
Able to recognize greatness wherever it is,
And yet not quite, only in part, clairvoyant,
I knew what was left for smaller men like me:
A feast of brief hopes, a rally of the proud,
A tournament of hunchbacks, literature.Translated by Czeslaw Milosz and Robert Hass.
Haiku from Billy Collins (first two via, third via, found in)
Mid-winter evening,
alone at a sushi bar—
just me and this eel.Awake in the dark—
so that is how rain sounds
on a magnolia.Moon in the window—
the same as it was before
there was a window.
"The Road Not Taken" (via - with audio, found in)
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I--
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
NPM: On Reading American Poetry
On Thursday during the question and answer time with Billy Collins he gave some great insight and advice on poetry. I thought his comment on reading American poetry was worth repeating.
87% of American poetry is not worth reading.
Wow.
Phriday is for Photos 4.20.07
in Photography
What a fun night. I took my two youngest boys, Daniel and Elijah, to see the Woodstock High School Blue Streaks varsity team beat the Grayslake team. It was a blast. Elijah even got to shag a foul and throw it back. That was obviously the highlight of his night. Gotta love it. Then we went to Taco Bell, an important place for male bonding through meat-like product consumption.
Reasons Why I Love Us
Here's a reason why I love the SBC: Ed Stetzer. 
Some good news from LifeWay...
Three Southern Baptist entities - LifeWay Christian Resources, the North American Mission Board (NAMB) and the International Mission Board (IMB) - have forged a collaborative research effort in which LifeWay Research will conduct special research projects on behalf of NAMB and IMB.
As part of the new initiative, Ed Stetzer, missiologist and senior director of the Center for Missional Research at NAMB, will become director of LifeWay Research, effective June 1. Stetzer also will serve as LifeWay’s missiologist in residence.
Ed Stetzer is a friend and I'm happy to see him doing some new things for the SBC and larger Christian mission in the world.
NPM: Billy Collins Poetry Reading
It's not everyday a world renowned poet, a former U.S. Poet
Laureate, and the author of the poem you read at your Mom's funeral comes to
your hometown. So I just had to go see Billy Collins (via poets.org, bigsnap.com, bestcigarette.us) author of "The
Lanyard," when he came to Woodstock today.
We didn't know he was coming until a few days after Mom's funeral. So I immediately contacted the Woodstock Opera House for tickets and learned they were sold out. That was disappointing. But I talked to a friend and Opera House employee about it and he called the next day with the news that some tickets opened up. We picked up two.
This morning we dropped off the two youngest at a friend/church member's house and went to see Billy Collins. He read poems for about an hour: a sonnet or two, a handful of haiku, and the rest his typical, informal-style poetry. He was funny, thoughtful, and engaging. The crowd clapped and laughed, and even gasped at insightful lines. It was brilliant, just brilliant. I can't believe anyone can think poetry is over their head if it comes from Billy Collins.
I have three of his books and wanted them signed, so I got in line and met Billy Collins. I told him I read "The Lanyard" at my Mom's funeral. The lady next to him (I don't think I've ever met her before) said something like, "Are you the guy with the Woodstock blog? I was telling Billy about what you said on your blog." How cool is that? He was very personable and showed real concern. He asked how well I got through the poem, you know, without crying. I told him I did fine. So then he signed my three books, including just above "The Lanyard" poem, and then we posed for a photo via my hot wife. He said the photo would probably end up on the blog. He was right.
I think Billy Collins has become my favorite living poet. Watch his animated poetry, buy his books, listen to his live readings, or attend a live reading. Here's a big archive of Billy reading poems. I think you may just learn to love poetry, or love it even more.
Kiss the Sky
in Music, Photography
I spent some time hanging with Joe Thorn today. It was partially because he's my best friend and it's fun to catch lunch with him. But it was mostly because I wanted to go to Kiss the Sky, a nice Geneva, IL music store with a great selection, to pick up the new Eluvium album, Copia. I also picked up Bert Jansch's The Black Swan and Loney, Dear's Loney, Noir. I had to leave so many good CD's behind, stuff I've been looking for. Glad I was able to bring home a few. Photo credit to THE Joe Thorn.
Reasons Why I Hate Us 4
in Food & Drink, SBC
From the St. Louis Post-Dispatch...
The Missouri Baptist Convention has toughened its alcohol policy forpeople who receive money from the organization to start new churches.
Individuals who help found new churches were already required to sign a statement agreeing to abide by the organization's policy on alcohol consumption. Some of the new language requires those who receive money from the convention to go a step further and "teach the strong Biblical warnings of the consumption of alcohol for all Christians."
[...]
Missouri Baptist Convention interim executive director, the Rev. David Tolliver, said he did not know what precipitated the need for a policy change, saying only that the new policy "reflects the position of most Missouri Baptists."
He said the Journey was not affected by the toughened policy, because its leaders simply borrowed money from the convention to buy a new church building. "This new policy has nothing to do with them," he said. "It won't affect them."
NPM: National Poetry Map
Man, this is so cool. Poets.org has a National Poetry Map so you can click on a state and find out about local poets and poetry, the state Poet laureate, literary organizations, poetry friendly bookstores, writers conferences, etc. For example, when I click on Illinois I find out that Li Young Lee is one of our local Chicago poets (already knew that) and that Kevin Stein is our Illinois Poet laureate (didn't know that).
This is a great resource for finding local stuff as well as expanding your horizons. The more I use Poets.org, follow their RSS feed, and listen to their Poetcast (podcast), the more I love this site. Get on it.
NPM: Billy Collins, Animation
These Billy Collins action poetry videos are just fantastic. Brilliant. He is the dude who wrote "The Lanyard" and is speaking at the Opera House here in Woodstock on Thursday. My wife and I have tickets. Enjoy these wonderful short videos. (Videos not available to embed are "Men in Space," "No Time," "Today" and "The Country."
.
Music Monday 4.16.07
in Music
Some music on the radar, but not yet on the iPod...
I have a feeling Brandi Carlile's new album, The Story, will be a good one. Her debut album was fantastic (as I pointed out last year). Her song, "The Story," was free on iTunes a few weeks back. You can see her video for "The Story," though I like this live version better. Man, what a voice.
I'm entranced by the music of Eluvium. I've been back to their My Space regularly to hear it again. Beautiful. Can't find the CD's in my local stores so I may have to order them. The new one, Copia, is getting great reviews.
Some music I'm loving and will probably post on in the near future: Besnard Lakes, Blonde Redhead, Headlights, Low, Patrick Park, and The Shins.
NPM: What is Poetry?
The spontaneous overflow of powerful feeling recollected in tranquility. –William Wordsworth
The art of doing by means of words what the painter does by means of colors. –Thomas Macaulay
What ideas feel like. –Karl Shapiro
The art that offers depth in a moment. –Molly Peacock
Memorable speech. –W.H. Auden
Perfection of form united with a significance of feeling. –T.S. Eliot
Poetry essentially is figurative language, concentrated so that its form is both expressive and evocative. --Harold Bloom in The Best Poems of the English Language
This, I believe is the ultimate direction and goal of poetry, metaphor, and symbol—to express what is inexpressible, to fuse together what still remains separate. --Robert Siegel, The Christian Imagination, 351
NPM: Men and Poetry
If you are interested in taking online poetry writing classes, you may want to look at Zarafa Tutorials. I haven't used them, but like where they are coming from. They link to Douglas Jones' interesting, short article "Men Hate Poetry."
...if you hate poetry or don't have the time or are just indifferent, consider that this might be symptomatic of some deep failure in you instead of in the poetry. And then, don't just admit to the failure and go on hanging your head. Hunt for beauty. Track it down. A passion for beauty certainly is characteristic of those great men in the past whose lives were characterized as after God's own heart. Remember David's psalms and Beowulf's celebrations, full of life and faithfulness.
I also recommend looking at the articles on poetry over at Credenda Agenda (where Jones' article is published). If you search for poetry on their site, you get many articles. Check them out.
Phriday is for Photos 4.13.07
in Photography
Had no new photos and Joe Thorn was making fun of me, so I took this photo with his camera at lunch (Mmm, BW3).
My Photography
_________
NPM: Poetry Quotes
Some quotes about poetry (and art) from The Christian Imagination (which happens to be a fantastic book of essays on the "practice of faith in literature and writing"). These are quotes in the book, not quotes from the book.
The poet's job is not to tell you what happened, but what happens: not what did take place but the kind of thing that always does take place. --Northrop Frye, The Educated Imagination
The poet is not a man who asks me to look at him; he is a man who says "look at that" and points. --C.S. Lewis, The Personal Heresy
It is the function of all art to give us some perception of an order in life, by imposing an order upon it. --T.S. Eliot, On Poetry and Poets
You use a glass mirror to see your face; you use works of art to see your soul. --George Bernard Shaw, Back to Methuselah
A poem is the very image of life expressed in its eternal truth. --Percy B. Shelley, A Defense of Poetry
Reading poetry gives experiences there is no other way to have. It gives them quickly, suddenly, just about whenever we want. --Kenneth Koch, Making Your Own Days: The Pleasures of Reading and Writing Poetry
Poetry provides the one permissible way of saying one thing and meaning another.... We like to talk in parables and in hints and in indirections. --Robert Frost, "Education in Poetry"
Podcasts I Enjoy
Here are podcasts I enjoy, listed by category. I hope you might find some of them helpful for you. I'm leaving off my poetry podcasts for another post.
Ministry/Theology
Audition (Mars Hill Audio): Ken Myers in an NPR style commentary on culture and Christianity through Myers' commentary and interviews. This is a free spin-off of the Mars Hill Audio commentaries.
Catalyst: Covers both church leadership issues and cultural issues through interviewing Christian leaders, authors, pastors, etc. I really enjoy the Catalyst podcast, though I find myself skipping the first several minutes of pre-interview conversation about Catalyst Conference stuff and other random bits. The interview is the meat, and it's consistently thoughtful and engaging.
Church Leader Insights: Pastors Nelson Searcy and Kerrick Thomas of The Journey Church in NYC talking together about church leadership, church growth, church planting, systems, evangelism, etc. A lot of info of what has and hasn't worked for them. I always come away with insights for pastoring and ministry, even if you don't approach ministry in quite the same way as these guys.
Covenant Worldwide: At least 15 free seminary classes are available on the topics of biblical theology, OT and NT, apologetics and outreach, the Reformation, life and letters of Paul, and more. What the heck are you waiting for?
Fermi Project: Discussions with leaders on culture, the future, the Church and the Gospel. It's hosted by Catalyst guys Gabe Lyons and Andy Crouch. It's only on episode three, but I've enjoyed it tremendously so far. A great, concise podcast.
Internet Monk Radio: Michael Spencer's thoughts on theology, ministry, his critics, yadda. The worst aspect of this podcast is his love affair for the Cincinnati Reds. Yuck. But if you can get past that, Spencer can often deliver thoughtful insights on a variety of issues. Warning: If you don't know Spencer and his online writings, some of this won't make much sense. It's for the devoted.
National New Church Conference: Interviews with conference speakers dealing with church and church planting. Have learned a lot from this podcast and highly recommend it for church leaders.
Practically Speaking: North Point boys (Andy Stanley, et al) on the Seven Practices of Effective Ministry. It's a "dead" podcast in that there are no new episodes, but their seven podcasts I have found very helpful as a pastor. I've listened to them more than once, and will listen again.
Resurgence: Mark Driscoll's missional resource that includes talks from various conferences and lectures pertaining to ministry and theology. Lots of good stuff here.
Movies
Filmspotting: A weekly podcast from Chicago featuring new movie reviews, top 5 lists, interviews and insightful film talk with Adam Kempenaar and Sam Van Hallgren. It's also found on Chicago Public Radio. Ugh, this is a great podcast. The best movie podcast I know of. Even when I disagree with a particular take on a movie, which isn't often, these guys are still compelling in their arguments. Worth every second.
Music
KEXP Live Performances: In-studio concerts at KEXP for all to hear. I've found some great new stuff from this podcast.
KEXP Song of the Day: Live performances, unreleased songs, and recordings from independent musicians that KEXP thinks listeners should hear along with songs from more well-known artists. Why not?
Introductions to newer bands and/or new albums through a free song.
NPR All Songs Considered: An eclectic mix of fresh music by emerging artists and breakout bands -- from NPR.org's Web-only music show. Good stuff.
Paste Culture Club: A wonderful music magazine's podcast. Always a treat.
Preaching
Capitol Hill Baptist: Pastor Mark Dever is one of the most important living Southern Baptist pastors/preachers, and a pastor who I have had a chance to talk with a bit. He has seen a remarkable change over the years of his church in D.C. Dever is obsessively expository in his approach. If you want to know the Bible, this is a great way to digest it. Dever is also well known for tackling very large sections of text, including single sermons on entire books of the Bible.
Cornerstone Simi: Pastor Francis Chan is fairly new on my radar, but I have enjoyed what I have heard so far.
The Journey - St. Louis: Pastor Darrin Patrick is a friend and has seen some great things happen after planting in St. Louis. A good preacher, and a young leader worth watching.
Mars Hill Church, Grand Rapids: Pastor Rob Bell is a controversial writer and speaker in the emerging church movement. I find him very engaging and biblical, though we would surely differ at points. He challenges me with living the Gospel.
Mars Hill Church, Seattle: Pastor Mark Driscoll is a different sort of controversial writer and speaker in the emerging church movement. He has been very influential in my ministry and life.
Village Church: Pastor Matt Chandler is SBC, Acts 29, and one of the best young preachers I've heard. Probably my favorite younger preacher to listen to over the last few months. Some people trip over a few of his stylistic traits at first, but please persist and you will find so much worth hearing.
Miscellaneous
This American Life: Ira Glass hosts this show of first-person stories and short fiction pieces that are touching, funny and surprising. An amazing show that takes a topic and surrounds it with pertinent stories.
Fresh Air (for Joe, "frosshhaar"): Terry Gross hosts this daily take on contemporary arts and issues. Good stuff on politics, faith, entertainment, etc. (Please no emails on her political POV, as if I don't know.) A great show nearly every day.
Writers on Writing: Barbara DeMarco-Barrett hosts this weekly show on the art and business of writing. She interviews authors, poets, literary agents, etc. A staple in my life. Great insights through great interviews.