Exit -End Exploitation and Trafficking

http://www.mtvexit.org/radiohead/

In The Details

I'd love some discussion here (and tonight) on this quote:

"A change is a change and, contrary to belief, has to start with the details, the breeding ground of any truly existential experience."

Unbelievable

Chris H left this quote as a comment a few days back, and I'd love to hear more response to it:

"The greatest single cause of atheism in the world today is Christians, who acknowledge Jesus with their lips, and walk out the door, and deny Him with their lifestyle. This is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable."

Eeyore's Birthday or Face to Face Pt. 2

Yesterday a group of us headed out to Pease Park for Eeyore's Birthday. For those of you who have never been, this is a 45 year old Austin event that brings out an eclectic mix of Austinites and finds its center, if in anything, in community.

In other words, there is music and food and drinking and costumes and drum circles and walking around and laying on the grass and getting high, but the event isn't committed to any one of these things in particular. Which is its genius, and I wouldn't want to change it.

But I couldn't help thinking about what these thousands of people could accomplish were they all to get behind...something. So, here's my question, if you had some charisma and face to face time with those assembled at Pease Park, what might you inspire them to do?

Church

Church should always be an engagement with the real world, not a separation from it.

The Story of Stuff

Something worth looking at and discussing. Seems to me this has huge implications for all of us and for those who claim to love our neighbor especially.

www.storyofstuff.com

Authority

Our submission to God should give us no authority except moral.

Face To Face(book)

Facebook is amazing. An incredible opportunity to meet people you might never otherwise encounter, to catch up with old friends, to get news of an event out quickly to many people at once.

Facebook is sick. Just a place to stalk strangers, obsess over what your friends are doing minute by minute, and avoid contact with the real world.

Odds are you come down near one of these. Fact is, they're both kind of true.

I've enjoyed using facebook as a way to catch up with college buddies, to send out the weekly Inklings invites, and to update a bunch of folks if my cell phone is going to be off because I'm taking an R&R weekend. I've even been known to add "friends" who are not, admittedly, people I have ever met.

What we all need to remember about facebook, myspace, and the internet in general is that they are tools meant to provide us with information and some level of connection.

But they aren't meant to be our main source of connection. This online Inklings blog is great, but it can't compare to Tuesdays at Opal Divine's. Facebook is a fantastic networking tool, but it can't compare to a face to face sitdown over a cup of coffee.

I mention this because I had the chance, last night, to attend a concert at Emos where I met a couple of people who had, previous to last night, been facebook friends. Both really nice folks, both people I'd like to try and grab a beer or a cup of coffee with sometime soon.

This is what the connectivity of the internet is meant to provide, an enhancement of connectivity outside the internet.

So don't be afraid if I come adding you as a friend on facebook. But make sure you're out there getting a more face to face.

Oh, and stop having an online conversation with someone you're sitting across the table with. I've seen this in coffee shops and it's freaking me out.

The Seeker

Take 15 minutes to cruise around facebook and check out what people put down under Religious Views. Some are more straightforward options. Others say things like "spiritual" and "love". Today I saw two that intrigued me. One listed their religious views as "inquisitive" and another as "I'm still learning."

Now, I'm a Christian and, even with all the baggage that term carries for many in and outside the church, I'm not embarrassed to say so. Christian, to me, means "one who follows Christ" and I'm trying my best to do that (and failing at it, to some extent, daily). What concerns me is that "Christian" is viewed, by those out and (especially and unfortunately) inside the church, as static. Even the terminology we use often refers to those who have yet to become Christians as "seekers."

What lame logic convinced Christians that discovering the source of truth meant that there were no truths left to discover? Why is it that we don't see following Christ as something that ought make us "inquisitive" and "still learning"? Why does becoming a Christian mean I stop being a "seeker"?

And is it possible that this is part of what makes being a Christian so unappealing to so many?

Austin Inklings

Those of you who participate in the weekly Inklings gatherings, and those of you who'd like to but can't, should check out the new blog at www.austinklings.blogspot.com or just click on the Austin Inklings link to the left on this page. Enjoy.

Practice Resurrection

Yesterday was Earth Day, and some Inklings went to hear Mayor Will Wynn speak on the importance of faith communities caring about the environment. This is something that many faith communities have been slow to get on board with, figuring that this planet is a wash and that our reward is in heaven.

Of course, that's a fairly unbiblical theology, since the New Testament is filled with statements about God saving the planet, not abandoning it. Now, others say that if God is going to save the planet, that frees us up from having to. But we don't apply the same thought process to ourselves. Christ has saved us by grace. But, Paul asks, "shall we go on sinning so that grace may abound? Certainly not!"

We cannot do much good without God, but we are expected to work with God in his plan of restoration. 

This poem by Wendell Berry seemed fitting for Earth Day. Let me know what you think.

Love the quick profit, the annual raise,

vacation with pay. Want more

of everything ready-made. Be afraid

to know your neighbors and to die.

And you will have a window in your head.

Not even your future will be a mystery

anymore. Your mind will be punched in a card

and shut away in a drawer.

When they want you to buy something

they will call you. When they want you

to die for profit they will let you know.

So, friends, every day do something

that won't compute. Love the Lord.

Love the world. Work for nothing.

Take all that you have and be poor.

Love someone who does not deserve it.

Denounce the government and embrace

the flag. Hope to live in that free

republic for which it stands.

Give your approval to all that you cannot

understand. Praise ignorance, for what man

has not encountered he has not destroyed.

Ask the questions that have no answers.

Invest in the millennium. Plant sequoias.

Say that your crop is forest

that you did not plant,

that you will not harvest.

Say that the leaves are harvested

when they have rotted into the mold.

Call that profit. Prophesy such returns.

Put your faith in the two inches of humus

that will build under the trees

every thousand years.

Listen to carrion -- put your ear

close, and hear the faint chattering

of the songs that are to come.

Expect the end of the world. Laugh.

Laughter is immeasurable. Be joyful

though you have considered all the facts.

So long as women do not go cheap

for power, please women more than men.

Ask yourself: Will this satisfy

a woman satisfied to bear a child?

Will this disturb the sleep

of a woman near to giving birth?

Go with your love to the fields.

Lie easy in the shade. Rest your head

in her lap. Swear allegiance

to what is nighest your thoughts.

As soon as the generals and the politicos

can predict the motions of your mind,

lose it. Leave it as a sign

to mark the false trail, the way

you didn't go. Be like the fox

who makes more tracks than necessary,

some in the wrong direction.

Practice resurrection.

Charisma

We are a people that are fascinated by charisma. We're looking for someone who can lead, someone who can redirect our thinking and reshape our behavior, someone who can motivate us to action.

That's on a good day. On a bad day, we're just looking to get close to "it." We can't necessarily say what "it" is, but "it" has become enough of a factor that guys like Simon Cowell now place "it" and "factor" together in a lot of their sentences.

"It" isn't just fame (that helps) or money (that too) or looks (etc.). "It"'s the phenomenon of charisma by popular vote; if enough people are paying attention, you must have "it" and now I want to pay attention too.

Author Philip Rieff recently wrote a book on the topic of charisma, the origins of the word, and the way in which we sacrifice true charisma for something much less meaningful.

"Charisma cannot exist without creed," writes Rieff. His thesis plays out this way; charisma (from the Greek word "charis" meaning "grace") initially meant an authority that was rooted in morality. Charisma was a word applied to those who rework, reshape, and motivate. When the Bible says that Jesus spoke "as one with authority," it was talking about true charisma.

Rieff's concern is that we have become more attracted to the trappings of charisma than in the actual substance of it. We celebrate those who demand attention more than those who deserve it. We raise up those who speak well more than those who have something to say.

To put it another way, we think growing a beard and wearing sandals can make us more like Jesus.

On a major day in primary elections, it seems a good time to address this topic. Throughout the primaries charisma, particularly that of Barack Obama, has been a key part of the conversation.

Hillary Clinton has responded by saying that this is an election about actions, not words; the implication being that Obama is all talk and that Clinton is all action. I don't think she's right (at all), but I appreciate someone reminding us that what we often call "personal charisma" focuses more on an empty suit than on the man wearing it.

So, here's the topic for the day: How important is how you say something, in a culture controlled by soundbites? What's the balance of words and actions? How do we get back to a culture that values true charisma?

Discuss.

What Is/Are Inklings?

Inklings was an informal discussion group associated with the University of Oxford, for nearly two decades between the early 1930s and late 1940s. The Inklings were literary enthusiasts who praised the value of narrative fiction and included J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis among their members. "The Inklings were neither a club nor a literary society, though it partook of the nature of both. There were no rules, officers, agendas, or formal elections."

With this in mind, a small group of Austinites began meeting at the Dog & Duck Pub in the spring of 2007 to discuss the news of the day, the stories of their lives, the latest films, books, and music or the politics of dancing. Their motto became "moderate drinking meets meaningful discourse."

In 2008, their location shifted to Opal Divine's Freehouse on the corner of 6th and Rio Grande. They also formed a Facebook group (as any viable organization must), whose membership now reaches beyond 250 members. 

Perhaps 15-25 of these 250 are actually able to make it to the weekly meetings (Tuesday nights at 8:30pm) with any regularity.  

This blog is an opportunity for members to drop in and join the conversation. Inklings members are welcome to contribute blog posts, and should email them to the blog moderator (and Austin Inklings founder) Kester Smith at pastorkes@yahoo.com

Grab a beer and a computer and join the conversation...

The Problem With Franklin

So, I just finished another round of watching Auto B Good with my son, Harry. As always, I'm left a bit irritated.

Harry gets 30 minutes of television per day, usually in the form of his choice of kids video. His choice is often a few episodes of Auto B Good.

Auto B Good is a sort of Christianized version of the (far superior) movie Cars. There is a regular cast of 5 or 6 cars, which include EJ and Izzy (the precocious kid cars), Johnny (the fast driving Lightning McQueen ripoff), the Professor and Franklin.

Franklin is the "older and wiser" car who sounds like he's being voiced by Kelsey Grammar. Franklin is the voice of reason. Franklin is always right. Franklin is irritating.

I don't like Franklin. I'm pretty sure I'm supposed to, since every car has its own episode in which it struggles with some sin (greed, lying, anger, etc.), and Franklin is consistently the one who comes along with good advice that the other characters ignore (to their detriment). 

What I want to see is the episode where Franklin struggles with the sin of pride. The one where the rest of the cars call Franklin on his unspoken "I told you so"s. The one where the entire gang gives Franklin a severe thrashing (OK, that might be a bit much).

What bothers me most is that it seems like Franklin is supposed to be the Christ figure, perpetually right and calm and proper and perfect. But he just comes off smug and self-satisfied.

I don't think there's anything wrong with being right. I think Jesus was the only person to ever walk the earth who was always, in every circumstance, right. I think His every action was good and perfect.

And yet I never have the sense of His being smug or self-satisfied. I never hear the "I told you so". In fact, part of what made Jesus so perfect was His lack of a need to rub your nose in His perfection or in your own mistakes. Somehow He managed to expose wrong and address sin and strengthen the weak without ever lording it over them (something that only He had the right to do).

I want us to do a better job of being a light, a better job of portraying what right looks like. I want it to look more like Jesus. My fear is that, when we try to be right, we end up looking more like Franklin.

So Was Slavery

"Thus when people object, as they do, to me and others pointing out that the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer - by commenting that wealth is not finite, that statist and globalist solutions and handouts will merely strip the poor of their human dignity and vocation to work, and that all this will encourage the poor toward a sinful envy of the rich, a slothful escapism, and a counterproductive reliance on Caesar rather than God - I want to take such commentators to refugee camps, to villages where children die every day, to towns where most adults have already died of AIDS, and show them people who haven't got the energy to be envious, who aren't slothful because they're using all the energy they've got to wait in line for water and to care for each other, who know perfectly well that they don't need handouts so much as justice. I know, and such people often know in their bones, that wealth isn't a zero-sum game, but reading the collected works of F.A. Hayek in a comfortable chair in North America simply doesn't address the moral questions of the 21st century...People tell you it's a tricky and many-sided subject. Yes, it is; so was slavery. So are all major moral problems. The fact remains that what is now going on amounts to theft by the strong from the weak, by the rich from the poor...If a police officer catches a thief red-handed, the officer doesn't need complicated arguments about the thief's motives...the important thing is to stop the thieving and stop it right away." -from Surprised By Hope by N.T. Wright

Who Are You?

So, this is what sometimes goes on during a slow morning at BookPeople; conversations about favorite books/music/films that spur into more interesting lists about who we are and how we perceive ourselves. One such list was this: Create a sort of "biography" of yourself based upon 5 different characters from film. The combination of these 5 characters ought to create as clear a picture of you as is possible in such an exercise. My personal feeling is that one character ought to reflect you at your best and one should reflect you at your worst. My five:

Rowlf the Dog (The Muppet Movies)

Rob Gordon (High Fidelity)/Lloyd Dobler (Say Anything) -tie

Sister Helen Prejean (Dead Man Walking)

Jacob Elinsky (25th Hour)

John Keating (Dead Poets Society)

Who would your 5 be?

Yadda Yadda Yadda...I'm Really Tired Today

So here's the "yadda yadda"

Last night at 8:30pm, Bruce Springsteen took the stage of the Toyota Center, in Houston, and began to play the opening chords of "Cadillac Ranch" (an opener he has used at 3 of the 4 Texas shows I've seen him do, and one that he must associate with Texas). The night went as follows:

Cadillac Ranch

Radio Nowhere

Lonesome Day

Atlantic City

Magic

Because the Night

Candy's Room

She's The One

Out In The Street

Livin' In The Future

The Promised Land

Girls In Their Summer Clothes

The E Street Shuffle

Terry's Song

Devil's Arcade

The Rising

Last To Die

Long Walk Home

Badlands

Thunder Road

*  *  *

Always A Friend (w/Alejandro Escovedo)

All Just To Get To You (w/Joe Ely)

Rosalita

Born To Run

Tenth Avenue Freeze Out

American Land

Only a few minor missteps (this is the Boss, after all), in my opinion. "Candy's Room" may be my least favorite Springsteen song, and I'd have happily seen it replaced with "Darkness On The Edge of Town." "American Land" (Bruce's attempt at Pete Seeger) has a fun melody, but makes conspicuous one of Bruce's only (occasional) flaws as a songwriter; the desire to cram too many syllables into too little space. 

Highlights were numerous and included:

Cadillac Ranch -as I said, I like that this seems to be Bruce's "Texas tune". I like that while Bruce, like myself, isn't a Texan, he clearly has, like myself, an affection for the Lone Star state.

Atlantic City -while I will always love the brooding original, this song is enhanced by the E Street Band in a way that I can't quite describe.

Because The Night -the pure unexpectedness of its inclusion (co-written in the late 70's with Patti Smith and never included on any of Springsteen's studio albums) made it a delight.

Livin' In The Future -not everyone likes when the Boss gets political, but I appreciate his willingness to speak out.

The Promised Land -after 5 Springsteen concerts, I have come to the conclusion that some of his best live performances feature songs from the "Darkness On The Edge of Town" album.

The E Street Shuffle -requested by an audience member. Bruce's response was that he hadn't performed it in 20 years. He went on to ask if the band was up for it, they nodded nonchalantly and launched into a stunning rendition of the song. I was blown away. If it were anyone but Bruce, I'd have assumed the request was made by an audience plant.

The Rising -this song should forever be featured in Bruce's live set. It was made to be performed live. One of the most uplifting (no pun intended) moments of the night.

Badlands/Thunder Road -the best closing I've seen Bruce do in 5 shows.

The encore -This could have been the best encore I had ever seen Bruce do, had he ended with a different song or simply wrapped with "Tenth Avenue Freeze Out." "American Land" feels overtly political, which somehow makes it less so. In the same way that Dylan's "Every Grain of Sand" is a more "Christian" song than "Gotta Serve Somebody", Bruce has far more "political" songs than "American Land." I wouldn't have minded if he had ended with "Born In The U.S.A." For being a song about Vietnam vets, it is eerily timely. Woody Guthrie's "This Land Is Your Land" (which Bruce used to perform at live shows in the 80's) would have also been amazing. 

An incredible show, all in all. The best live show I have ever attended, Bruce or otherwise.

BRUUUUUUUUUCE!!

Why I Don't Watch Gray's Anatomy

"You deserve to be with somebody who makes you happy, somebody who's not gonna complicate your life, somebody who won't hurt you." -from the television show Gray's Anatomy

It's possible that I'm taking this quote completely out of context (I came across it on someone's blog as a sort of "credo of love"), but it seems like one of those things we think we deserve that really we wouldn't even want.

Now, you don't want to be with someone who is always making you unhappy or someone who is always complicating your life unnecessarily or someone who is always hurting you.

But I am married to the most amazing person I know and the idea that all she does is make me happy or that she never complicates my life or that she never hurts me...well, that's absurd. If that were my ideal, I'd be with someone far less interesting and exciting or else I'd be someone far less interesting or exciting.

You folks that seek out chaos and confuse it with love, I'm not talking to you.

But you folks who think love is the final scene in "Sleepless In Seattle", I am talking to you. All that scene is is two strangers in love with the idea of being in love.

Give me someone who makes me happy and also makes me so much more. Give me someone worth complicating my life over. Give me someone I care enough about to be hurt by as well as someone who loves me enough to not want to hurt me.

Give me the love that doesn't feel like work, but takes work nonetheless. Give me a third choice besides Gray's Anatomy drama and Gray's Anatomy platitudes. Give me the challenges of real life love.