It's Just Hair, Right?

I've realized something about myself and I don't know what to think of it quite yet.  It seems that whenever I go through a major time of self-reflection and realignment, I shave my head.

I'm not sure why.  I think I may have to do with a self-renewal thing in my mind.  It may be that I see the hair as a symbol, and all of it's length, a timeline of my progression to where I am at that point.  It may be that the shaving of my head is my own understanding (and symbol) of the need I have inside to start over again from scratch and try this thing again.

And in that way I think my newly "chopped top" is a prayer.  It is my own small action that represents a very deep need of mine, the need to start again.  It represents my knowledge of my failure and how I feel about it, but it's also a celebration.  A celebration of forgiveness.

Then again, maybe it's just cooler for the summer.

Regardless, it's liberating.

Back to "The Front"

There was this moment:  I'd had too much wine, I was exhausted from the climbing, and I just felt so alive, you know?  I just had one of those feelings where everything was in time and I couldn't break out of the rhythm, where everything had it's place and you're just floating through the moment.  Everything is woven together, everything fits.  And for a moment life makes sense.  

All I could do was be.  

There was no other option.

Then I fell asleep, and when I awoke, it was back to the front.

Check. Check, 1, 2. Is This Thing On?

Ok.  I'm skipping class.  I'm ready to spend a weekend in the Red River Gorge.  I'm packing two bottles of wine, my pipe, a hammock, and some oatmeal.  

I'll let you know how it goes...

It's Way Too Late For This...

Ok.  I'm just getting the hang of this so give me a break if I seem like I'm not quite finishing my thoughts or concluding rashly.  My only goal is to stretch heads (my own included).

To address the former blog and the comments that ensued (which I hugely appreciated), I want to first explain that not all "christian music" fall[s in] the "uncreative" category (I have my personal favorites).  There are some "artists" out there though, and I won't name names, that need to be asked... "Why are you doing this?"  "Who wrote that for you?"

This is what it looks like from the outside.  It's an issue of job security.  Our problem is still our fear.  There is no change to be had in an environment of fear.  Pastors, afraid of losing their jobs, are ignoring their displaced congregation.  And the result?  A routine people can get used to.

For those of you who are having a hard time with this, I've included a format you might be more familiar with...

Bad churches will fill their sermons with MONOTONY. 

Christians in such environments will experience APATHY in worship.

This results in christians expressing APATHY to the world around them.

More on this later. My proposed solutions? Start a house church, their loads of fun.

Just Shoot Me.

Let's start this off with a bang, shall we?  I think we have some major issues as christians that need addressing and I'm not afraid of making anyone upset anymore.  It's high time, friends, that we stop putting up walls around the things that frighten us, the monster only gets bigger.  There was a time in my life where I would have read a blog like this one and pissed all over myself.  Like some of you who will read this blog I would have responded without having thought about the material for myself.  I might as well have had my churches logo tattooed on my forehead.  I challenge you who read this, THINK FOR YOURSELVES.  No longer accept any wind of doctrine, discard everything but Jesus, put down the theology book, let's talk about what we're doing with our lives.  Who is our God?

I think we have used the Bible to hold us back from the evil in the world.  We've looked around and become frightened by the teenage pregnancy, the drug and alcohol abuse, the arguments that cause hatred, the divorces that follow.  Instead of allowing the word to propel us forward into new exciting frontiers we've written "christian music" that sounds the same today as it sounded 20 years ago and nobody thinks that sucks because it's safe.  News flash!  The gospel is not safe, and if yours is it's not the gospel of Christ, the crucified son of God.  If we think that writing safe, uncreative music is glorifying the God who created us in His image with characteristics of His creativity, then I suggest we also do church the same way every sunday too (oh, yeah... we do).

What I'm suggesting is a complete change of pace, constantly.  Allowing us to get comfortable in church (and in worship) is one of the worst mistakes we've ever made as christians who call themselves "on fire".  Have you ever just sat and watched a worship "service" at a church?  Just remove yourselves from the heart string tugs and acronyms long enough to watch every one of the people sing the words to the music they heard last sunday as easily as they drive home to the suburbs everyday, having memorized the roads by heart and never realizing they even left church until the kids hop out onto the driveway and they remember that they forgot to stop at the grocery store.