(I've been trying to get this posted for a week...)
I've been playing guitar and singing for about 22 years now (about 12 of those years were serious) most of which has been with some connection to the church. One of the main reasons I wanted to learn to play guitar and be able to sing with it was in order to lead worship at church. As many who knew me growing up probably know, the church music in those days wasn't conducive to guitars for accompaniment. I also played the drums, so it was easier to beat on things than actually play something that was unfamiliar.
Along the way, I discovered Vineyard Music, a music company that specialized in contemporary songs and arrangements for churches, written for a variety of instruments, particularly for the guitar. The discovery coincided with something called the Brownsville Revival in the mid-90's. An Assembly of God Church in Pensacola, Florida had nightly services for nearly 4 years, hosting visitors and pilgrims from around the globe and receiving national news coverage and even special reports at the same time. Lindell Cooley was in charge of the music and used Vineyard songs extensively. People from across the globe flocked to Pensacola to attend the revival meetings and came away singing the songs and took them back to their local congregations. One of those churches was Malakoff First Assembly of God, my home church.
I soon found out that there was more to the Vineyard catalog than just the songs that were played at Brownsville. At that time, a CD was released every quarter of the year with brand new songs on it. A separate songbook could be purchased that came complete with sheet music for piano, chord charts for guitar players and transparency masters for those who used a simple overhead projector to display song lyrics. (Later, these resources were saved on the CD, along with the audio tracks - a great resource) It probably seems so trivial now, but this was a big deal in 1997. I bought everything I could get my hands on and would learn to play it right away. Along the way, I started noticing the names of the people who wrote the songs. Brian Doerksen, David Ruis, Andy Park and John Barnett were just some of the prominent song writers at that time. Like I said before, I played as many of their songs as I could. Eventually, I ended up playing Andy's songs more than the rest. So, when I heard that Andy would be coming to our church in Conroe, I was going to be there. In fact, I sat on the front seat.
For about 90 minutes, Andy and his band played many of the songs I've played at one time or other in the same building. One of my friends said later "he played all your songs!" It was actually the other way around. Still, it was nice to meet Andy and sort of completed the evening for me. Of course, Andy is just an ordinary guy, and when I met him, it was no big deal. I told him I liked his songs and played a lot of them, to which he replied "good. I'm glad you do."
After the concert was done and we finally made it back home, I thumbed through the songbook and realized just how many of his songs I knew by heart or by sight. It's not that often we meet our role models. I'm glad he was the type that let me tell him how much I appreciate what he does.
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Wow! What A Party!
Today, I had the privilege of being the front man for the band from the Vineyard Church of Conroe today in the "Go Texan Day" Parade in Conroe. This was made possible because our fearless leader, Raymond McDonald, came down sick recently (BTW, we wish you a speedy recovery, Bro. It ain't the same without you!) .
It was sort of like getting to start a baseball game because the ace of the pitching staff went on the DL. After our entrance into the parade last year, the bar had been set pretty high with Raymond playing his Texas Blues and newly written songs. At the same time, it was an incredibly exciting opportunity. Afterall, how often does a band get to play to an entire city?
Just like last year, we warmed up playing on the float, doing our drive-by jam through the streets of Conroe, to get in position near the Montgomery County Library. To add a little bit of drama this year, a fiesty cold front rolled into town about an hour before start time, forcing us to run for cover with anything musical or electrical (which was nearly everything). We scrambled to get everything set back up to be ready for the big kick-off and then were playing 90-to-nothin' for the next hour. It was a total blast! Still, in spite of the fun we had (It wasn't just the band. There was a band of Vineyardites in tow, handing out little trinkets from the church, spreading the love) from our vantage point, the city was having a pretty good time, too.
To me, the whole experience was a practical demonstration of what we talk about every Sunday and in every home group and church-related activity: expanding the Kingdom of God. The best part was that we were participating in a party and inviting the whole city to join in.
It was sort of like getting to start a baseball game because the ace of the pitching staff went on the DL. After our entrance into the parade last year, the bar had been set pretty high with Raymond playing his Texas Blues and newly written songs. At the same time, it was an incredibly exciting opportunity. Afterall, how often does a band get to play to an entire city?
Just like last year, we warmed up playing on the float, doing our drive-by jam through the streets of Conroe, to get in position near the Montgomery County Library. To add a little bit of drama this year, a fiesty cold front rolled into town about an hour before start time, forcing us to run for cover with anything musical or electrical (which was nearly everything). We scrambled to get everything set back up to be ready for the big kick-off and then were playing 90-to-nothin' for the next hour. It was a total blast! Still, in spite of the fun we had (It wasn't just the band. There was a band of Vineyardites in tow, handing out little trinkets from the church, spreading the love) from our vantage point, the city was having a pretty good time, too.
To me, the whole experience was a practical demonstration of what we talk about every Sunday and in every home group and church-related activity: expanding the Kingdom of God. The best part was that we were participating in a party and inviting the whole city to join in.
Friday, February 13, 2009
The Trials of Ted Haggard
I heard about the release of the documentary, The Trials of Ted Haggard, on HBO a few months ago while surfing for news. I missed its premiere, but I finally got around to watching it last night.
I'm hardly a fan of Ted Haggard. I didn't really care for him before he got in trouble. Like many, I scoffed when I heard that he was caught in sin. "How could he have done something so stupid!?" Since then, I've read many of the articles that have been written about the man and the vast attitude of public opinion against him. I don't - in any way - condone of his behavior. After all, for a person is in his position who was struggling like he says he was, it would have been far better to admit the problem and sought out help than to be openly exposed and caught by surprise. As my friend and pastor says, DISclosure BEFORE EXposure. In the eyes of public opinion, he's no better off than A-Rod or Miguel Tejada, much less Jimmy Swaggart, all of them asking for forgiveness after being caught in a really embarrassing situation.
I think the thing that surprised me, while watching the documentary, was how negatively the church, as a whole, had received him after he had admitted guilt and asked for forgiveness. I mean I understand the frustration and anger of the homosexual community. It reminds me of the Van Halen album OU812, released during the time of the string of scandals involving Jim Bakker, Jimmy Swaggart, Marvin Gorman and other prominent preachers in that day. People should be upset. Haggard wasn't truthful with his family or his church at first and finally had to admit the truth when other versions of the story emerged. The film mentions, as a footnote, that another allegation was made by a church member before the film was actually aired publicly. There's just no good way to dole out bad news.
This is the problem that I have with how the man was treated by the people he once led as pastor. According to what was reported in the documentary/movie, Haggard was made to move out of the house he owned, to leave the state of Colorado and never darken the door of New Life Church again. I understand people being hurt, angry, upset - whatever - over what the guy did. This guy blew it and fell hard. Anything involving the former head of the National Association of Evangelicals, the pastor of New Life Church and the host of hundreds of conventions around the country, it's next to impossible to keep it quiet.
I think the biggest tragedy isn't necessarily what happened to him and his family. I really feel for his wife and kids having had their lives uprooted and undermined because Haggard's actions. But the guy felt so alone that he couldn't go to someone and ask for help. That's huge and awful! He was afraid of being judged before, and based on how he's been treated, he was right to feel that way. As he says in the documentary, "I feared that if I admitted my struggle, I would lose my friends, my vocation - everything." Consequently, one of the overseers in leadership at New Life says in the video "We want Ted Haggard to just go away." Everyone who attends New Life should take note of this. They could one day be saying this about you. And in case someone might think they couldn't possibly do something like what Haggard did, remember "except for the grace of God..."
I think it should also be noted how everyone - as a whole - responded to this particular incident. Would it have been as harsh had he had committed adultery with a woman? I don't think so. There's more of a stigma for homosexual behavior. By saying that, I don't condone homosexual activity. But, lets be honest, homosexual activity is the hotbutton for American Christianity right now. If it came down to it, and the average person given the choice, most people would have preferred that he would have gotten caught with a woman - or a string of women - than to get caught like this.
What I keep coming back to is that I would expect this kind of response from the media. Ted Haggard's story is the "perfect storm" in journalism. "Superpreacher busted for doing what he preached against." There will be no mercy in that arena. But, to be effectively blacklisted and subsequently blackballed by the Christian Church? I think everyone should take a step back and consider what has taken place: a Christian brother is caught in sin. Period. Sin is sin, whether its viewing pornography, adultery, or cheating on taxes. We say we understand this, but we have our own idea of what's a little worse than the rest. In conservative circles, that would be homosexual behavior.
Like many who get entangled in sin (name your poison here), Ted Haggard tried to cover his tracks only to find he was getting out of control. Originally, the story was he met with the male prostitute once for a massage. Then that story grew to regular, monthly meetings. Then, somehow drugs were involved. Finally, there was someone else besides the prostitute. Unfortunately, that's how sin works - and we know this. We do something that we said we would never do and vow not to do it again. But, we do it again and make excuses for ourselves, based on our background or experiences. Sometimes we can even be confronted and respond with lies and deceit. Considering what Haggard said in the video, he felt he could not go to anyone for help. If he could have turned to someone for help, would he have taken the opportunity? We'll never know that. The truth is that things were out of control and he finally got exposed in the worst possible way.
Now, consider the next passage of scripture in light of this scenario:
"1Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted. 2Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. 3If anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself. 4Each one should test his own actions. Then he can take pride in himself, without comparing himself to somebody else, 5for each one should carry his own load." Galatians 6:1-5
I realize that the men involved in addressing the disciplinary action levied against Ted Haggard probably read this passage of scripture along with many others. Note the text - "if someone is caught in sin." It's as if the Apostle knew that people wouldn't likely come clean and admit their failures outright. No, they would probably get caught, one way or another. When they are, those who are spiritual have a responsibility to restore that one in the faith. The problem here isn't the fact that Ted Haggard lied and covered up his struggles, temptations and sin. He just revealed, what most of us knew all along, that at the end of the day we're all only human. No, the problem here is that when the church (in this case, New Life Church and its overseeing ministers) had the opportunity to be the agent of true healing for Ted Haggard, they chose to be his judge, jury and executioner. Rather than taking the responsibility of restoring this man to a level of respectibility in what was his own home (Ted Haggard says at one point that New Life was his life), he was banished like a leper. A 4-man panel of church overseers made the decision to deal with Ted Haggard like they did. They explain in a video (their response is shown briefly in the documentary) why they felt it necessary to deal with him the way they did. Yadda, yadda, yadda. They punted. Plain and simple. "Go away, Ted Haggard. Get help somewhere else."
I find it a curious question to ask, if they were found in the same circumstances, how would they want to be dealt with? If it were me, I would prefer this:
14 David said to Gad, "I am in deep distress. Let us fall into the hands of the LORD, for his mercy is great; but do not let me fall into the hands of men." 2nd Samuel 24:14.
Unfortunately, Ted Haggard learned just how harsh and true this passage could be.
I'm hardly a fan of Ted Haggard. I didn't really care for him before he got in trouble. Like many, I scoffed when I heard that he was caught in sin. "How could he have done something so stupid!?" Since then, I've read many of the articles that have been written about the man and the vast attitude of public opinion against him. I don't - in any way - condone of his behavior. After all, for a person is in his position who was struggling like he says he was, it would have been far better to admit the problem and sought out help than to be openly exposed and caught by surprise. As my friend and pastor says, DISclosure BEFORE EXposure. In the eyes of public opinion, he's no better off than A-Rod or Miguel Tejada, much less Jimmy Swaggart, all of them asking for forgiveness after being caught in a really embarrassing situation.
I think the thing that surprised me, while watching the documentary, was how negatively the church, as a whole, had received him after he had admitted guilt and asked for forgiveness. I mean I understand the frustration and anger of the homosexual community. It reminds me of the Van Halen album OU812, released during the time of the string of scandals involving Jim Bakker, Jimmy Swaggart, Marvin Gorman and other prominent preachers in that day. People should be upset. Haggard wasn't truthful with his family or his church at first and finally had to admit the truth when other versions of the story emerged. The film mentions, as a footnote, that another allegation was made by a church member before the film was actually aired publicly. There's just no good way to dole out bad news.
This is the problem that I have with how the man was treated by the people he once led as pastor. According to what was reported in the documentary/movie, Haggard was made to move out of the house he owned, to leave the state of Colorado and never darken the door of New Life Church again. I understand people being hurt, angry, upset - whatever - over what the guy did. This guy blew it and fell hard. Anything involving the former head of the National Association of Evangelicals, the pastor of New Life Church and the host of hundreds of conventions around the country, it's next to impossible to keep it quiet.
I think the biggest tragedy isn't necessarily what happened to him and his family. I really feel for his wife and kids having had their lives uprooted and undermined because Haggard's actions. But the guy felt so alone that he couldn't go to someone and ask for help. That's huge and awful! He was afraid of being judged before, and based on how he's been treated, he was right to feel that way. As he says in the documentary, "I feared that if I admitted my struggle, I would lose my friends, my vocation - everything." Consequently, one of the overseers in leadership at New Life says in the video "We want Ted Haggard to just go away." Everyone who attends New Life should take note of this. They could one day be saying this about you. And in case someone might think they couldn't possibly do something like what Haggard did, remember "except for the grace of God..."
I think it should also be noted how everyone - as a whole - responded to this particular incident. Would it have been as harsh had he had committed adultery with a woman? I don't think so. There's more of a stigma for homosexual behavior. By saying that, I don't condone homosexual activity. But, lets be honest, homosexual activity is the hotbutton for American Christianity right now. If it came down to it, and the average person given the choice, most people would have preferred that he would have gotten caught with a woman - or a string of women - than to get caught like this.
What I keep coming back to is that I would expect this kind of response from the media. Ted Haggard's story is the "perfect storm" in journalism. "Superpreacher busted for doing what he preached against." There will be no mercy in that arena. But, to be effectively blacklisted and subsequently blackballed by the Christian Church? I think everyone should take a step back and consider what has taken place: a Christian brother is caught in sin. Period. Sin is sin, whether its viewing pornography, adultery, or cheating on taxes. We say we understand this, but we have our own idea of what's a little worse than the rest. In conservative circles, that would be homosexual behavior.
Like many who get entangled in sin (name your poison here), Ted Haggard tried to cover his tracks only to find he was getting out of control. Originally, the story was he met with the male prostitute once for a massage. Then that story grew to regular, monthly meetings. Then, somehow drugs were involved. Finally, there was someone else besides the prostitute. Unfortunately, that's how sin works - and we know this. We do something that we said we would never do and vow not to do it again. But, we do it again and make excuses for ourselves, based on our background or experiences. Sometimes we can even be confronted and respond with lies and deceit. Considering what Haggard said in the video, he felt he could not go to anyone for help. If he could have turned to someone for help, would he have taken the opportunity? We'll never know that. The truth is that things were out of control and he finally got exposed in the worst possible way.
Now, consider the next passage of scripture in light of this scenario:
"1Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted. 2Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. 3If anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself. 4Each one should test his own actions. Then he can take pride in himself, without comparing himself to somebody else, 5for each one should carry his own load." Galatians 6:1-5
I realize that the men involved in addressing the disciplinary action levied against Ted Haggard probably read this passage of scripture along with many others. Note the text - "if someone is caught in sin." It's as if the Apostle knew that people wouldn't likely come clean and admit their failures outright. No, they would probably get caught, one way or another. When they are, those who are spiritual have a responsibility to restore that one in the faith. The problem here isn't the fact that Ted Haggard lied and covered up his struggles, temptations and sin. He just revealed, what most of us knew all along, that at the end of the day we're all only human. No, the problem here is that when the church (in this case, New Life Church and its overseeing ministers) had the opportunity to be the agent of true healing for Ted Haggard, they chose to be his judge, jury and executioner. Rather than taking the responsibility of restoring this man to a level of respectibility in what was his own home (Ted Haggard says at one point that New Life was his life), he was banished like a leper. A 4-man panel of church overseers made the decision to deal with Ted Haggard like they did. They explain in a video (their response is shown briefly in the documentary) why they felt it necessary to deal with him the way they did. Yadda, yadda, yadda. They punted. Plain and simple. "Go away, Ted Haggard. Get help somewhere else."
I find it a curious question to ask, if they were found in the same circumstances, how would they want to be dealt with? If it were me, I would prefer this:
14 David said to Gad, "I am in deep distress. Let us fall into the hands of the LORD, for his mercy is great; but do not let me fall into the hands of men." 2nd Samuel 24:14.
Unfortunately, Ted Haggard learned just how harsh and true this passage could be.
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
A-Fraud Is Just The Beginning...
When I heard about the Sports Illustrated story regarding A-Rod's positive test for steroids, I, like many others, wondered "what about the rest?" After all, there were 104 names on the list - including A-Fraud. Why haven't we heard about them, yet? I don't know if we'll ever get the answer to that question.
After reading A-Fraud's admission and subsequent comments regarding steroid use, he raises more questions and provides less answers. Are we supposed to believe the guy didn't know what he was taking? More importantly, are we supposed to believe he's sorry for doing it? I think he's sorry he got caught. I also think he's used PED's a lot longer than any of us will ever know.
But, A-Fraud isn't alone. There are many, more guys like him who took PED's and never thought the day would come that their performance would ever come into question. Look at Miguel Tejada. Look at Roger Clemens and his testimony on Capitol Hill. The guy gets named in the Mitchell Report and his denial sounds like that everyone else is lying but him.
I think the latest developments raises another important question: should we even care about baseball anymore. Should we? When the all-time leader in home runs and the winning-est pitcher in the modern, live-ball era are being investigated for possibly lying about their use of Performance Enhancing Drugs (PED's), what does that say for the sport?! The original leaders in those categories didn't have access to them but apparently didn't need them. What does that say about today's talent? I'm sure there were a lot of clean guys playing while the cheaters cheated. Still, every stat and record has become suspect and we're nowhere close to getting to the bottom of this mess. The only way we can is for baseball to "man-up" and get it the truth out there.
But, they probably won't. No, they're hoping this story goes away. The business of baseball wants fans to ignore these questions and come on out to the ballpark for another season. I've got a feeling that I'm not going to be one of them. I don't know that I even care.
After reading A-Fraud's admission and subsequent comments regarding steroid use, he raises more questions and provides less answers. Are we supposed to believe the guy didn't know what he was taking? More importantly, are we supposed to believe he's sorry for doing it? I think he's sorry he got caught. I also think he's used PED's a lot longer than any of us will ever know.
But, A-Fraud isn't alone. There are many, more guys like him who took PED's and never thought the day would come that their performance would ever come into question. Look at Miguel Tejada. Look at Roger Clemens and his testimony on Capitol Hill. The guy gets named in the Mitchell Report and his denial sounds like that everyone else is lying but him.
I think the latest developments raises another important question: should we even care about baseball anymore. Should we? When the all-time leader in home runs and the winning-est pitcher in the modern, live-ball era are being investigated for possibly lying about their use of Performance Enhancing Drugs (PED's), what does that say for the sport?! The original leaders in those categories didn't have access to them but apparently didn't need them. What does that say about today's talent? I'm sure there were a lot of clean guys playing while the cheaters cheated. Still, every stat and record has become suspect and we're nowhere close to getting to the bottom of this mess. The only way we can is for baseball to "man-up" and get it the truth out there.
But, they probably won't. No, they're hoping this story goes away. The business of baseball wants fans to ignore these questions and come on out to the ballpark for another season. I've got a feeling that I'm not going to be one of them. I don't know that I even care.
Saturday, February 07, 2009
A few days ago, I signed up for a Facebook account. My wife had been signed up for a couple of weeks and had been talking non-stop about it. She would go on and on about what her friends and family were telling her while she was online. So, I followed suit. My 16 year old daughter also signed up about the same time.
Since then, I've received almost 500 e-mails from Facebook. I've tagged probably a hundred pics of myself with people I've known over the past 30 years. I've posted 50 pics of my own and I'm scouring through old scrap books, year books and saved digital pictures so I can post them on Facebook, too. Would anyone happen to know how to convert VHS to digital video? I have some great footage from high school that I would LOVE to share online. See, this is how it goes.
Then, there's the people. I've heard the comedy routine (though I can't remember the comedian) that says the guy won't attend his high school class reunion. He says "why should I go? I didn't like those people then. Why would I want to see them now?" I have to say there are a few people that I wouldn't care to catch up with now that I'm all grown up. But, there are a lot more that I would like to know or find out where they are and how they're getting along. I started doing that earlier this week. All week long, I would take out time throughout the day to see who else I could catch up with. I talked to my college roommate on Thursday for about 30 minutes. I hadn't seen the guy in almost 20 years. I heard from many more that I hadn't seen or heard in at least that amount of time or any time since.
I've heard all sorts of things about Facebook, and it seems one of them is common: the word addictive. I would have to agree with that. Facebook IS addictive! It's exciting to catch up with people after a long hiatus. It's also riviting to wonder who you might hear from next. I will say one thing, I'd much rather say that I'm addicted to Facebook, than say to internet porn or anything else. Say "addicted to Facebook" and people will laugh or agree with you. Say "addicted to internet porn" and people flee like you have the plague.
Since then, I've received almost 500 e-mails from Facebook. I've tagged probably a hundred pics of myself with people I've known over the past 30 years. I've posted 50 pics of my own and I'm scouring through old scrap books, year books and saved digital pictures so I can post them on Facebook, too. Would anyone happen to know how to convert VHS to digital video? I have some great footage from high school that I would LOVE to share online. See, this is how it goes.
Then, there's the people. I've heard the comedy routine (though I can't remember the comedian) that says the guy won't attend his high school class reunion. He says "why should I go? I didn't like those people then. Why would I want to see them now?" I have to say there are a few people that I wouldn't care to catch up with now that I'm all grown up. But, there are a lot more that I would like to know or find out where they are and how they're getting along. I started doing that earlier this week. All week long, I would take out time throughout the day to see who else I could catch up with. I talked to my college roommate on Thursday for about 30 minutes. I hadn't seen the guy in almost 20 years. I heard from many more that I hadn't seen or heard in at least that amount of time or any time since.
I've heard all sorts of things about Facebook, and it seems one of them is common: the word addictive. I would have to agree with that. Facebook IS addictive! It's exciting to catch up with people after a long hiatus. It's also riviting to wonder who you might hear from next. I will say one thing, I'd much rather say that I'm addicted to Facebook, than say to internet porn or anything else. Say "addicted to Facebook" and people will laugh or agree with you. Say "addicted to internet porn" and people flee like you have the plague.
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