Inappropriate Conversations

Craig Bevan – I Think We’ve Made It

Part of the mourning process, I suppose, of leaving music retail a decade ago has been losing much sense of "current."  I went from being responsible for knowing what was new and what was coming, to being ... unimpressed by anything I was hearing on radio ... quite annoyed at the methods of record labels and the inevitable results ... disinterested in new releases altogether. That is all to say: it is really significant for me to get excited -- or even take notice -- about a new release. Here I am, though. Only days ago, Craig Bevan released a debut CD called I Think We've Made It. His CD is almost all I'm listening to these days, with podcasts being the only exception. http://www.craigbevanmusic.com/ Musically, this is almost a man and his guitar. It certainly falls in the singer-songwriter genre. Even when Bevan is joined by other musicians, their roles are clearly "accompaniment." These are his songs. You can tell by the heart and soul that shines through, even in cases where the execution is simple ("straightforward" seems like the wrong term ... "simple" is more profound). One of the key tracks may still be available for a free download on the Craig Bevan Music website: "Feelings I Find Hard To Show." The title track is available as a music video directed by Tristan Ofield. You can watch it on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/MrCraigBevan Being a lover of lyrics who has never played guitar, I am less able to discuss the particulars of the music itself. The words have much to do with why I've cited those songs. I'd add "Watching Over Me" and "Moments" for the same honesty, exploring relationships. I would mention one track, though, for the music in particular. In "Always" the lyrics speak to memory, but the acoustic guitar does even more to express a lingering longing. Again, dissecting guitar technique is not my strength. I just can't ignore the image in my head of a drop creating concentric circles as it ripples through a calm pool of water. Consider the things I've intended to share on Inappropriate Conversations. I believe in eternity. I value the memory of relationships more than some might say that I should. I'm certain that we are connected to others at levels that naturally function beyond our understanding. I believe in "Always." Tell me if you think I'm wrong, but this is a sparkling debut. Simple in all the best ways, but also clearly the start of something. Could I one day point back to this post as a speculation about a future Different Drummer? Tick.

The 'look' of a poem

How a poem appears on the page can be just as important as how the words "sound" at a reading.  For "Chapter And Verse" the obvious choice was to show the verse as scripture.

Happy Birthday, America!

So, what are we now? 229 for the fifth year in a row? One of the things we should do on birthdays is evaluate our growth during the past year and check to see if we’ve fallen off track. We may do that as individuals, ruefully, for our own birthdays. As citizens, though, we fail this standard. As I’ve said, this day is now much more “Fourth of July” and much less “Independence Day.” It’s all about the fireworks and very little about our nation. Since July 4^th fell on a Sunday this year, I enjoyed a message on this topic today. In fact, the pastor addressed some of the same issues that I’ve been raising. Here are the 3 major points from this morning’s sermon:

1. Do we enjoy the fruits of our freedom without tending to the tree of liberty?  Perhaps we take for granted the world our forefathers worked so hard to leave for us.
2. Do we enjoy the benefits of free-market capitalism while ignoring our (collective national) conscience?   In his writing on democracy in America, Alexis de Tocqueville suggested that our country would only be a “great nation” if we continued to be a “good people.” In other words, morality would matter most for whether our system of government would succeed or fail. Can we point to numerous instances of corporate recklessness as a dire sign for our future?
3. Do the Christians among us primarily seek “Christianity without commitment” now rather than what Jesus specifically sought? This ties in with the type of Christian political candidates we see so often … casual rather than committed.

I won’t go into any detail on answers to these questions. There won’t be a single, federal answer. We all have to evaluate these things individually. Instead, let me end with a quote from Katharine Lee Bates and “America The Beautiful.” For roughly 100 years now, that song has been a second national anthem for the U.S.

America! America! God mend thine every flaw, Confirm thy soul in self control, Thy liberty in law.

It starts by acknowledging that we have flaws. Step One.

Some Assembly Required: 'How Am I Supposed To Live Without?'

"You sounded so upset. I had to come over," Valerie said. Peter nodded and invited her in. "Where's Susie?" "She's down. Fell asleep before I called you, in fact." "What's wrong?" "It's Melanie." "Pete ... Pete," she said, imploringly. "I don't blame you for thinking that I should have put all this behind me months ago." Valerie ran her hand through the hair above his neck and started rubbing. "More like weeks, Peter. Seven months isn't forever, you know. You are overcoming quite a lot." "It's not so much her death, though." "Is it your boy, then? Um ... um. ..." "Clint. We were going to call him Clint." "Susie's all right?" "Yeah. She's doing better than I am." "So, is it Clint?" "No." Peter started crying. He fought the initial teardrops, but soon began sobbing. Valerie dropped her coat and hugged Peter closely. "You're going to have to say it," she told him softly, "because I don't know what's wrong." "I'm not sure," he said, fighting to regain his composure. "I'm not so sure I know either." Valerie waited quietly. "I was thinking about the house today, comparing taxes from this year to last and adjusting for the insurance," he said. "So, what's wrong?" "Little things. It's just a bunch of little things." Peter followed Valerie to the kitchen. She poured him a glass of water and fumbled in her purse for a tissue. "I haven't been happy at work lately. Maybe it's just me. But I wasn't happy with the way the board handled my leave. Plus, I'm not feeling the same spark -- not there, not anywhere." "And the house?" "Part of me feels like it might be time to, I don't know, move on. Thirty-four is not too old to change career directions. Finances may not be this secure next year. Susie starts school in just over a year. There are lots of good reasons to shift gears, cash in the house, try to move away from my problems, maybe move into some new problems." "How far away?" Peter smiled. "Not out of your grasp, I promise you that." "Have you talked with Susie?" "No. I just thought about it for the first time this weekend. Anyway, how is she supposed to understand?" "What about your family?" "No. After mom died, dad hasn't exactly been a fountain of information. Melanie's parents are on top of things, but I just wouldn't feel comfortable." "Granted." Peter started crying again. "These are the decisions I used to make with Melanie! How can I possibly get on with my life without her to point the directions?" Valerie's eyes started to well, too. "Mel and I used to ... I don't know ... bounce these kinds of ideas ... off each other." "I'm here. Here today, and any other time. Can I help?" "It's her house," he said.

Whether choice is relevant to sexual attraction

I meet very few people who believe that they have any real choice in how they respond to sexual attraction -- myself included. There is a choice that I have made, though, quite intentionally. I refuse to be a person who: (1) feels like I'm "made this way" in terms of being attracted to women in a seemingly involuntary manner, but (2) treats other people like their human sexual responses are all completely planned and totally within their control, and especially (3) when "their choice" is fundamentally different than any "choice" I would have made. I don't want to be that inconsistent, perhaps even hypocritical. The good news is that guidelines like The Golden Rule (do unto others) and The Great Commandments (love God and neighbor) really should make it easier to love people genuinely -- meaning, love them as they are. One of the biggest lies you will hear in some churches is that the Bible teaches us to "love the sinner but hate the sin." Not Biblical. Not True, unless you are following the gospel according to Mohandas Gandhi. The Bible says that God behaves that way in a couple of places -- Psalms, in particular -- but we are not gods. Our instructions stop at love your neighbor as you should love yourself. I think part of this church-based confusion comes from another all-too-easy slogan: WWJD. The best preachers I have known wince a little at that expression because it is only almost right.

• "What Would Jesus Do" really only matters if you are Jesus.
• "What Would Jesus Have Me Do" is a much better question if you are a Christian.

I can guarantee that Jesus doesn't want anyone burning up precious resources trying to guess how voluntary or involuntary another person's responses are to sexual stimulus. So, choice seems to be what the issue hinges on for social conservatives, and yet choice really shouldn't dictate how we interact with others.

Diagrams of political spectrum

Political Spectrum in America today Approaches to Truth across spectrum

Auteur Theory of Salvation

In John 3: 19-20, Jesus said: 19 ”This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil.   20 Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed.” (NRV) For many years I worked in movie theaters, and in college I had one of my favorite jobs: writing a movie review column for the school paper. Do you know the best thing about that job? You get to see everything, every movie. Want to know the worst thing about that job? You have to see everything, every movie, and some of them are not good. Sometimes you want to slip out the back exit when no one is watching and forget the whole experience. How good would your movie be? Say the eternal “judgment seat” is actually in the middle of a movie theater where, after death, your life is on the big screen, there to be reviewed by the multitudes. I’m sure parts would be pretty cool. Then, in other parts, ouch! It would be very tempting, in the darkness of the movie theater aisles, to slip out the back way, into the shadowy alley behind the theater … to remain anonymous … to remain in darkness. As the scripture says, it isn’t necessarily true that people who hate the light love the darkness. It’s more about hating the light because it exposes our sinfulness, our unworthiness, how far away we are from being holy. For Christians, there is nothing wrong with the fact that we share that feeling. All of us fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). Like everyone else, we know this movie of ours is not going to get rave reviews. Why, then, should we be able to stay in our seats until the show is over and the lights come up? That’s a hard question, and the answer seems outrageous. But here goes: no matter how bad your performance is, how hopelessly inept your attempts at improvisation, not to mention the obviously gaping holes in the script, this movie is a guaranteed “thumbs up.” How can that be? Jesus Christ. Jesus is how. As Christians, we make him director and executive producer of our project. That means incorporating his script changes, looking at scenes through his camera angles, and putting him in the editor’s chair. Yes, Jesus can make the raw footage you shot without him part of a masterpiece. Don’t get me wrong. None of this is going to make it easier to watch the movie of my life. My hope, though, is that I could stand in the spotlight when it is over, offer apologies for my role, and ultimately give all of the credit to the Master. Men love darkness instead of light because their deeds are evil, and they fear that their deeds will be exposed. Let’s face it: our deeds will be exposed, and we’d better get used to the idea. The only decision we can make is this: Will we stand in the light of salvation that shines through our Lord, Jesus Christ? Or, will we attend the world premiere of “The Movie Of My Life” planning to take the credit, only to hide in the shadows to avoid taking the blame? We must never think such questions have easy answers. Examine (2 Corinthians 13:5) Happy World Storytelling Day, March 20, 2010 (Light and Shadow)