Photos

disney and vacation

There are a lot of repeats and what-not here.  Just an album of vacation photos.  And when you get to the pool pictures…well, never mind the man boobs.  Love, Drew

I just want to bless you

I know that it has been a while since I have posted anything.  Ah, the life of a Student Pastor in the summertime.  Gone a week, home a week, gone a week, etc.  It was touching that a couple of you noticed that I had not posted in a while  – it’s nice to know someone cares.

Because I feel so blessed by your interest I want to bless you back.  Therefore I present the most jaw-dropping, frustrating, sad, there-are-no-words video I have seen in a long time.  Be blessed as you hear people praising God for free will.

Ps.  It didn’t work with Apple Safari.  Apple users: Get the Firefox browser.

A Treasure Trove of Carson

I recently came across a blog that contained quite a few of Don Carson’s sermons and lectures.  Its been on the web for a while and I always have to go searching for it, so I thought that I would post it on the old blog.  This will save me a step in the future and give me a chance to share it with those of you who care.  It is here.

the Idol finals – Kristina’s take

I don’t really have much to add to Drew’s blog. (Actually, the mention of Elvis was part of my ranting at the screen and I am proud that Drew would include it in his argument). My only additional comment is that it is incredibly irritating to have been so excited to enjoy the American Idol finale that I went off my diet and made cookies only to be bored to death with that insufferable “Wind beneath my Wings” drivel they make everyone sing. Who cares that they get interesting, fun singers that keep the show good only to embarrass them into singing songs that 9 out of 10 of today’s chart toppers would refuse to record?! It doesn’t matter to Jordan because she can pull it off..but she sure would have been on the short end of the stick if they had made her sing to Blake’s strengths.

Blake will be ok in the end and Jordan deserves to win… but American Idol has suddenly become …disappointing.

the Idol finals – Drew’s take

Can we please admit that “American Idol” is not a singing competition. I hate it when Simon and Randy say that. I think what they mean to say is that it “should be” a singing competition. If it is a singing competition then why do they have genre nights celebrating genres that are expressely not about singing. Country music has some of the best singers, but it is primarily about storytelling. Dare anyone argue that rock n’ roll is about singing? Rock music is about attitude and rebellion. Jordin was terrible on Bon Jovi night. If it is a singing competition (and if that argument is made the strongest after Jordin sings the winning song), then American Idol should make the contestants sing lame songs (a.k.a. “My moment is now”) all the time. But they don’t because American Idol would go down the toilet.

I really wish the judges would stop with this “singing competition” nonsense.

The thing is, the music industry is not even primarily about singing. Some great singers make it in the industry and some don’t. The music industry is about finding a niche and an audience. “Can you entertain?” is the appropriate question. “Do people like what you do?” is much more appropriate than “Can you sing?”.

After all, Elvis and the Beatles on the Ed Sullivan show were magic moments in history, but neither performance constituted great singing (although Elvis has a great voice (present tense intentional)). U2 at LiveAid may be one of the greatest performances ever, but not great singing. Great singers make great moments no doubt, but they are very often dispensed with in the making of them.

American Idol is a vote gettin’ contest, and when it comes finals time the producers should ship these lame “feel good” songs to Contemporary Christian Music – where cliche and predictability are the staple – and let the contestants go after votes in their own way.

Great Blog Post link

Jerry Falwell was an important voice in American Christianity (albeit a reactionary and often infuriating one at times). Here is an interesting blog about how his greatest “enemy” gave him a more honoring eulogy than the mainstream media. Here it is.

new music

If you like David Gray, Jack Johnson, Ryan Adams or folk acoustic stuff that’s not too complicated then I think you will like Brett Dennen. Good driving music — You can either pay attention to it or not. It has a nice feel to my ears. Listen to the song “Ain’t No Reason” first.

Recent Photos

Here is a picture of our house.

Some Easter pictures…

Supremacy of Christ in an Age of Terror

I found a sermon that was really helpful to me in terms of dealing with the Virginia Tech tragedy.

You can find it here.

I found this sermon while looking for sources to help me deal with this tragedy in the context of my youth group. I have a feeling that for many of them this stuff is becoming “old hat.” But that is the problem. Things that we become accustomed to are easier to look past emotionally. I hope I can use this as a chance to get these kids to face the reality of death – not because 33 people died nearby, but because 50 million people die a year and it needs to be dealt with (see the sermon I linked to)

So far my three points are (I usually do not have three points by the way):

1) look at death honestly – surface glances do nothing to mature our souls. Death helps us to prioritize the important, and it helps us to realize what provides true joy. (I have no intention of using death in the heavy-handed way it is often used by preachers. “People do not go to heaven because they are afraid of hell – they go to heaven because they love God (Piper, of course).” But death does remind us of Him and our need for Him).

2) don’t look at it alone – trying to work through big issues alone is too much for us. Living a “loner life” in the face of things too great for us is a small part of the make-up of this killer (sin being the greater part). Talk through things with Parents, Pastors, etc.

3) Don’t rely on vague religion to help you – In looking for information concerning this tragedy I was reminded of the steel cross that was formed in the wreckage of the twin towers post-9/11. Most people saw religious implications in it, but those implications came from what was to most people a vague religious symbol pointing to a vague religious notion that God is “out there” hopefully working good.

But the cross is exactly what we need to see because it is not vague at all. In the cross we see God sovereignly ordaining the evil that His Son would suffer (truly innocently) in order to undo the effects of the sin that brought about this mess in the first place, demonstrating His goodness and love,  making way for Him to heal and forgive our sin, and giving Him the ability to work for our good in everything. This is the level of religious specificity we need to emotionally deal with evil.

God bless, Drew

Musack

I have recently been listening to two new albums that I heartily recommend.

The first is Keith & Kristyn Getty’s In Christ Alone. There are several tracks on the album that are keepers. The music is somewhat subdued, but the words are as powerful and biblical as any lyrics out there. And they focus on the cross. Buy the CD and listen to it.

The other album is by Steve Fee. It is entitled Burn for You. The music here is not subdued, but the content is also great. It is a hodgepodge of sounds and well-produced. There is a great mix of well-written propositional truth and meaningful repetition (as opposed to the post-modern tendency away from proposition towards repetitive metaphor). There are several songs that could be classics. It is great for youth groups who like a David Crowder sound (but better) with way better content.

Whilst I am on the subject of music. If you have a job where you sit at a desk for a few hours a day and you love music, then you need to check out Rhapsody.com. For $10 a month you can play just about any album that is out there on your computer. You cannot download music, but you can play it as much as you want. I love it. Kristina and I hook our computer at home up to the stereo and play stuff all the time. We hear about a new band and we can immediately check them out. It is a cornucopia of audio delight.

Drew