"Happy Birthday George, Here's A Mattress"

Today is President’s Day (formally celebrated as Washington’s Birthday) and I can’t think of any better way to celebrate than by giving the gift of a mattress.

Really?...

Macy’s, I’m sorry for your marketing team.

Balloon Jesus Video

A couple of weeks ago I was in Denver and spent a few evenings at the Paramount Cafe' with friends. It was pushing 12:30am on our last night in town and a girl in her early 20's was making balloon animals in order to earn a few bucks. She told me her name was Amy and then I asked her to make me a balloon animal.

She had a large portfolio of balloon animal creations (from a toilet bowl, to Bill Cosby, to things that for reasons of good taste, I can't mention on this blog). She said "how about a balloon Jesus". I agreed and then Amy asked if I wanted the "Crucifixion Jesus" or the "Robe Jesus".

I opted for the "Robe Jesus" because he was a bit more cheerful.

During her 15 minutes of Jesus creation Amy shared with me all sorts of things she experienced and thought about in life. I was glad to hear her story and impressed at her balloon creation.

I shot some video with my phone and put this video together...enjoy.

Conan's Last Words

"All I ask of you, especially young people . . . is one thing. Please don't be cynical, I hate cynicism. It's my least favorite quality and it doesn't lead anywhere."

-Conan O'Brien on leaving the Tonight Show

"Don't Ask, Don't Tell"

In his first State of the Union address, President Obama said he would work to repeal the law that kept people from serving in the military based on sexual orientation. While the military does not ask recruits to state their sexual orientation they do actively investigate whether the enlisted are gay (since 1994 12,000 service members have been dismissed because of their sexual orientation). read more from TIME

My questions are simple:

What do you think of the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy?

Should those who are gay be allowed to serve in the military?

Is this a "moral" issue?

As always be gracious in your postings.

"Do You Like American Music?"

Folk-Punk-Americana...oh how I love the Violent Femmes. I remember the 1st time I heard the song "Out Of the Window"...I was hooked. Then it was Blister In the Sun, Add It Up, American Music, Gone Daddy Gone, Old Mother Reagan, and Waiting for a Bus.

This Milwaukee trio showed me what was possible with an acoustic guitar and a tight rhythm section. Yet it was Gordon Gano's perverse lyrics ("wait a minute honey gonna add it up...) filled with teenage angst ("you can all just kiss off into the air...") and sung like an 11-year old that brought me both relief and laughter...the Femmes were a breath of fresh air to teenagers everywhere.

Never too complicated in their chord charts the Femmes taught me that the G, C, D combo was king and soon I found myself down in the basement with my friend Duffy playing every Femmes tune as if we had written it ourselves. The energy they recorded in their songs was channeled in their live performances (still one of my "all time shows" 1993 Chicago's Aragon Ballroom).

Although my guitar skills may not have advanced too far beyond the basic three chord progression, the landscape of American music is better because of the Femmes.

When to Leave a Church

I came across this conversation on the Jesus Creed blog and felt like it was worth discussing. Here are the questions to consider:

When is it appropriate to leave a church? When is it harmful?

What influences our decisions to leave a church?

Does our consumer driven culture influence our decision to leave a church? How?

What are the wrong reasons to stay at church?

Do we (21st century Americans) view our relationship with our local church like a "family" or like a "club"...what's the difference?

Bonhoeffer On Building the Church

Although Dietrich Bonhoeffer did not live during the era of the "Church Growth Movement", the remarks of this Lutheran pastor are well worth noting:

It is not we who build. [Christ] builds the church. No man builds the church but Christ alone. Whoever is minded to build the church is surely well on the way to destroying it; for he will build a temple to idols without wishing or knowing it. We must confess–he builds. We must proclaim–he builds. We must pray to him–that he may build.

We do not know his plan. We cannot see whether he is building or pulling down. It may be that the times which by human standards are the times of collapse are for him the great times of construction. It may be that the times which from a human point of view are great times for the church are times when it is pulled down.

It is a great comfort which Christ gives to his church: you confess, preach, bear witness to me and I alone will build where it pleases me. Do not meddle in what is my province. Do what is given to you to do well and you have done enough. But do it well. Pay no heed to views and opinions. Don’t ask for judgments. Don’t always be calculating what will happen. Don’t always be on the lookout for another refuge! Church, stay a church! But church, confess, confess, confess! Christ alone is your Lord; from his grace alone can you live as you are. Christ builds.

(No Rusty Swords, as cited in TDP, p. 841)