I was there!

Aaron Weiss at The930 from Sojourn/The 930 Art Center on Vimeo.

Here is the entirety of Aaron Weiss's solo performance that kicked off Cultivate Beauty Month at Sojourn. Thanks Drew for posting this unforgettable show!

Crema or Crappa?

Whoa! James Hoffman just destroyed everything I thought I knew (and loved) about espresso.

Quote of the Day

"Never use a big word when a diminutive one will do."

-Jon Badgely (heard from philosophy professor) 

Harold Best on Worship

"worship does no stop and start, despite our notions to the contrary. Once we place emphasis on specific times, place and methods, we misunderstand worship's biblical meaning. Worship may ebb and flow, may take on various appearances and may be unconscious or conscious, intense and ecstatic or quiet and commonplace, but it is continuous. When we sin, worship does not stop. It changes directions and reverts back to what it once was, even if only for an instant. Repentance- the turning from and  (re)turning to - is the only solution." (19)

"We do not go to church to worship. But as continuing worshipers, we gather ourselves together to continue our worship, but now in the company of brothers and sisters." (47)

-Unceasing Worship

Andrew Murray on Humility

"'He that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he can he love God whom he hath not seen?' - 1 John 4:20
What a solemn thought, that our love to God will be measured by our everyday intercourse with men and the love it displays; and that our love to God will be found to be a delusion, except was its truth is proved in standing the test of daily life with our fellow-men. It is even so with humility. It is easy to think we humble ourselves before God: humility towards men will be the only sufficient proof that our humility before God is real; that humility has taken up its abode in us; and become our very nature; that we actually, like Christ, have made ourselves of no reputation."

- Humility (29)

Merton on Self-Idolatry

"Where was my will? 'Where you treasure is, there will your heart be also,' and I had not laid up any treasures for myself in heaven. They were on earth. I wanted to be a writer, a poet, a critic, a professor. I wanted to enjoy all kinds of pleasures of the intellect and of the senses and in order to have these pleasures I did not hesitate to place myself in situations which I knew would end in spiritual disaster- although generally I was so blinded by my own appetites that I never clearly considered this fact until it was too late, and the damage was done.

Of course, as far as my ambitions went their objects were all right in themselves. There is nothing wrong in being a writer or a poet- at least I hope there is not: but the harm lies in wanting to be one for the gratification of one's own ambitions, and merely in order to bring oneself up to the level demanded by his own internal self-idolatry. Because I was writing for myself and for the world, the things I wrote were rank with the passions of selfishness and sin from which they sprang. An evil tree brings forth evil fruits, when it brings forth fruit at all."

-Thomas Merton, The Seven Storey Mountain (231)

Quick Links

Why did no one tell me about this madness going on with Derek Webb? CCM's most controversial figure just may be in the process of taking the roof off the whole industry.

Speaking of which, another long time CCM fringe favorite Jars of Clay was recently interviewed on Coffee Geek! Great reading for coffee aficionados and fans of socially conscious post-evangelical folk rock.

My friend Badgley has a blog now. The first entry has an abridged history of web-logging, which is largely based on completely new historical research. It is as thought provoking as it is ground breaking, and I can personally vouch the recent events referenced are indeed factual.

And finally, those who haven't checked out my friend Tyler Deeb's art/design should immediately. He doing some killer stuff.

Bag Lust

Shortly after I bought this bag, I found out that Columbus, OH is home to one of the premier handmade messenger bag companies, Seagull Bags. In fact, this company is known internationally in the cycling community for just about being the best (although less popular than Chrome or Timbuktu).

So I biked up to their factory today in Clintonville, where I found a modest room filled with huge rolls of fabric and five hipsters sewing away at works in progress.  The small entry way was filled with an eclectic assortment bags and accessories, including hand-sewn cycling caps and hip pouches. After examining the product in person I was impressed at the meticulous detail and craftsmanship that went into each bag.  Right now I am trying to justify how purchasing a second messenger bag could possibly be reconciled with the life of simplicity that I have the desire to live.  So far, I can't do it. 

Spirit of the Disciplines

I am currently making my third attempt to read The Spirit of the Disciplines by Dallas Willard. Ironically, I simply have not had the fervor or the perseverance the two previous attempts, but the old cliche proves true in this situation, as I am now approaching the end.

It has been a very challenging read on multiple levels. For one, it's about spiritual discipline... which by definition isn't easy.

It's also been difficult because theologically I am very uncomfortable with the idea that we progress in our sanctification through human effort- albeit sincere and pious. This is where I am more Lutheran: sanctification is growing in your understanding (and I would add experience) of your justification. So when Willard writes that we can become like Christ by doing things I am very hesitant to say the least.

However, when Willard provided a concise definition, I was very much in agreement:

"In the simplest possible terms, the spiritual disciplines are a matter of taking appropriate measures. To reject them wholesale is to insist that growth in the spirit is something that just happens all by itself."

In more Reformed terms, spiritual disciplines are God's ordained means of sanctification. We use hammers to drive nails into wood; we become more like Jesus when we study the scriptures, pray, fast, and exercise numerous other disciplines. Agency is no threat to divine sovereignty.

Nevertheless, even as redeemed persons we still struggle against God's plan. The following quote captures this incredibly well.

"The persistence of evil rests upon the general drift of human life in which we all share. It rides upon a motion so vast, so pervasive and ponderous that, like the motion of the planet earth, it is almost impossible to detect. We delude ourselves about the sustaining conditions because we wish to continue living as we now live and continue being he kinds of people we are. We do not want to change. We do not want our world to be really different. We just want to escape the consequences of its being what is truly is and our being who we truly are." (p225)

Instead, the Christian life offers an alternative to the complacency and self-indulgence of sin. In this sense, the spiritual disciplines are a means of experiencing God's grace.

I Choose the City

I CHOOSE THE CITY
by Francis DuBose

I choose the city...
Not simply to live in it,
to see it,
to hear it;
But to touch it;
yes, to embrace it,
to hold it,

To feel the wild glory of its
pulsating soul,

To move over its wide,
hurried broadways,

To stand stilled and sobered
at the nowhere of its dead-end streets,

To be trapped with it in its
pain and problems,

To be at once chilled by its ill
and covered with its confetti.

I choose the city because I choose God,
Because I choose humanity,
Because I choose the divine-human
struggle--

The struggle which will be won
Not in the serene path through
meadow and wood,
among the bees and birds, and flowers,

But in the city street
Made by the hand of man
Through the gift of God--
Main Street: the final battle field,
The scene of the ultimate struggle,
Where man chooses right
Because he is free to choose wrong.

Babylon, dirty and daring--
Babylon, yes--
Babylon today--

Tomorrow...
The New Jerusalem!

Francis DuBose, Mystic on Main Street, Chapel Hill, NC: Professional Press, 1993, pp. 78, 79.