Blog.

I haven’t written in almost two weeks, but there really hasn’t been much to write about. It’s the same old story day after day. Work, eat, practice music, sleep. Repeat. We haven’t taken any photos lately, but I hope that will change soon.

Yesterday, Heather and I went to see “Bodies… The Exhibition” in DC. In short, it is a museum about the human body, and the exhibits are genuine cadavers that have been preserved and presented in a masterful way. Although it sounds a bit disturbing and creepy, we were amazed and completely entranced in the complexity of God’s finest creation. There were skeletons, muscles, bones, skin (probably the strangest thing we saw), abnormalities (lungs with emphysema, cancer, pneumonia, tumors, etc), a section where they showed the development of a fetus from conception to almost birth (complete with how the bones develop during those 9 months), and probably the most amazing section: the circulatory system. They invented a way to preserve the veins and arteries within a body, while removing all other parts, creating a beautiful network of the blood transport system. Parts of it strongly resembled a fine coral reef. You can view a couple videos of the exhibit here. (Click “About the Exhibition” => “video”)

The exhibit really caused me to wonder how someone could view the incredible “machine” that is the human body and not believe in a creator. National Geographic is starting a new series called the “Incredible Human Machine” where it will showcase the complexity of the human body. I don’t receive the National Geographic channel, but if you do, check it out and let me know how it is.

On a separate note, I uploaded a talk by Gregg Matte that he presented at a worship conference in 2003. If you have anything to do with worship planning in any way, I highly recommend this talk. Find it here, or check out the downloads tab at the top of the page.

I added a new page to the site that will feature downloads that I think you should download. I will be adding to this section in time…

Currently, I have posted a series of talks by Ray Vander Laan, a teacher who spent considerable time (measured in years) living in Isreal studying in the traditional Rabbinic schools, learning what it was like to live as a Jew. Currently, His ministry is to teach people how to think “Eastern” (listen to first talk for an explanation), how to approach the Bible from a Jewish context, and to explore a facet of Christ often ignored in Western culture (aka, the United States), Jesus the Rabbi. You can find his website here: Follow The Rabbi. The talks can be found by following the downloads tab at the top of the page, or clicking here.

I was reading up on a friend of mine who leads worship at a little church in College Station, TX, where I moved from. He’s a singer/songwriter and truly has a gift for lyrics and an unbelievable heart for the Lord. I found this post by Ross, and was overwhelmed when I read it. That is what a family looks like.

By the way, check out his music here: www.rosskingmusic.com and here: Ross’ myspace

I ran across a blog a few days ago that solidified several of my thoughts and feelings over the past few years, and with the author’s permission, I would like to share that with you.  (Matt’s blog here)

“I’m with Shane Claiborne. Forget all the stories about how Jesus made life better – by solving a debt problem or helping someone overcome some relatively mild vice. Truth is, Jesus is totally messing up my life.

If I had gotten my way 15+ years ago, I would be a wealthy, big-city litigator right now, wiling away the years in an expensive office building during the weeks and at every Cowboys game on the weekends. I’d have a big house worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. I’d go to a nice, clean-cut church where I’d check in every Sunday morning and otherwise do all of the things that good Christians do to make sure they can punch their ticket into heaven. And I’d listen to conservative talk radio, just to remind myself that there is no need to change the order of things: everyone is making their own choices and getting just what they deserve.

Life would be good.

But the more I read the gospels; the more I try to understand what Jesus was really all about, the more he has the audacity to come into my life and totally screw it up. He makes me think about every dollar I spend – who is benefiting from it and how? He makes me reflect on the kind of car I drive and how it affects God’s creation. He challenges me to make my children into risk-taking disciples, instead of neat, middle-class carbon copies of myself. He asks me to go places where I am uncomfortable, and to invite people into my house when I’d much rather have a quiet night alone. He intrudes on my free time and tells me to invest it the things that matter to him. He tells me that the politics that seemingly support my interests aren’t necessarily the ones that support his.

Far from being a cosmic Mr. Fix-it, Jesus is taking every priority and ambition that I ever held and – without so much as asking – turning it over like he did the tables in the temple.

But the truth is – having come to know the Jesus who messes with me at every turn – I would never go back to the old one. For all his annoying qualities, this is the Jesus that feels authentic to me. I feel like I finally am coming to know him for who he is. And in spite of all of the discomfort and downright inconvenience that he causes, I’m coming to see that the things that he is about are the things that really matter in this world.”

So, which Jesus do you know? the Sunday-make-you-feel-good Jesus that doesn’t intrude with life as you know it, or the in-your-face-always-there-whether-you-want-Him-to-be-or-not Jesus that truly changes how you live your life?