Backlash over 'Almighty' phone number.

As seen on Bene Diction Blogs On.

- Peace

Speaking of Eugene Peterson, I found this old interview from Leadership Journal, Spring 1997

The Business of Making Saints: People want us to meet their needs. But if we give in, we abandon our true work.

Some great quotes from this interview

LJ: So let me clarify. You're asking a pastor to give up a sense of control, productivity, and effectiveness in order to embrace slow, hard-to-measure work that people don't necessarily want.

EP: That's true.

LJ:That's a tough sell.

EP:And not many are buying.

and

It's odd: We live in this so-called postmodernist time, and yet so much of the public image of the church is this rational, management-efficient model. If the postmodernists are right, that model is passe; it doesn't work any more. In that sense, I find myself quite comfortably postmodern. I think pastors need to cultivate "unbusyness." I use that word a lot.


Sometimes I'm with pastors who don't wander around. They don't waste time. Their time is too valuable. They run to the tomb, and it's empty, so they run back. They never see resurrection. Meanwhile, Mary's wasting time; she's wandering around.

...

To be unbusy, you have to disengage yourself from egos—both yours and others—and start dealing with souls. Souls cannot be hurried.

- Peace

I'm reading The Books of Moses as adapted by Eugene H. Peterson. I'm in Leviticus and let me say it's odd, but dull. All the sprinkle blood here, and burn this fat and wave this meat just doesn't connect with me. But Peterson's intro to Liviticus spoke to me.

One of the stubbornly enduring habit of the human race is to insist on domesticating God. We are determined to tame him. We figure out ways to harness God to our projects. We try to reduce God to a size the conveniently fits our plans and ambitions and tastes.

But our Scriptures are even more stubborn in telling us that we can't do it. God cannot be fit into our plans, we must fit into his. We can't use God – God is not a tool or appliance or credit card.

Holy is the Word that sets God apart and above our attempts to enlist him in our wish-fulfillment fantasies or our utopian schemes for making our mark in the world. Holy means God is alive on God's terms, alive in a way that exceeds our experience and imagination. Holy refers to life burning with an intense purity that transforms everything it touches into itself.

Because the core of all living is God, and God is a holy God, we require much teaching and long training for living in response to God as he is and not as we want him to be.

This sets me up as I read Liviticus to notice that God takes reconciliation very seriously. You don't skimp on reconciliation with a holy God, hence the constant reminders to only use animals with out blemish. Part of me glad that we don't have to deal with the blody mess that was at the core of the old system of reconciliation. But when I realize the same holy God talks about worshiping in Spirit and in truth, I think finding the perfect animal sacrifice in the flock might have been easier. When have I ever had an unblemished spirit to offer God?

- Peace

"I think Neo is a program" - Interesting.

- Peace

The Road To Inuvik - one man's journey 11,100 km journey from St. John's to Inuvik. A great personal look at Canada.

- Peace

Five Iron Frenzy, Rocking The Back Nine
by John J. Thompson

A great interview with one of my favorite bands. Get's to the heart of their impending break up. I will miss them.

My FIF story: Somewhere in my twenties there came a point where all my friends complained that all the new music sucked. I laughed at them, told them they were getting old, I forget what I was listing to at the time but I was still finding cool new music. But then it happened. I went a long time with out finding a band that spoke to me, and new music from my favorite bands was getting rare, as the broke up, died, or other wise moved on. [U2 didn't really do much for me between Rattle and Hum and All That You Can't Leave Behind] And all the new bands sucked, there just wasn't anything. I must have been getting old.

Then I picked up a sampler album from Five Minute Walk Records cause of a single from Mortal, and discovered Five Iron Frenzy. FIF was smart, funny, sublime and played this cool rock ska mix. And best thing was they were younger than me. I wasn't old, most of the new music was just bad, but FIF was oh so good!

I'm looking forward to seeing them at their final C-Stone perfomace, and listening to The Day We Killed when we go to the Carzy Horse Memorial. Got to admit that FIF calling it quits is making feel old. Sigh.

- Peace

The Lesson, Author Robert Morgan tells how he came to write his first story.

Had a blast at the New Artist Showcase last night.

Ran into Terry Hughes whom I haven't seen in over a decade. He used to call in and request King's X when I was a DJ at CJSR hmmm King's X! Terrry got CKER to start their first serious rock show RockStand. He's now full time at CKER doing the morning show. I also met RockStand's current host. Rock on boys!

In some ways the evening reminded my of American Idol, lot's of strong performaces from very talented people, but nothing fresh and creative. The stand out exception to this was the first act An Realt! A Calgary band, their business card list's them as Celtic/Roots music – but they had very unique combination of instrument's and voices they created a full powerful sound. Defiantly want to catch them at one of the local pubs. The sound clips on their web site doesn't reflect the sound they had last night, but are still worth a listen.

My heart went out the tech team last night. Patching in twenty four performers in one evening is a nightmare and it there were a few glitches last night. Ah the joys of being a tech.

- Peace

headed out to the New Artist Showcase that are part of the Vibe Awards.

- Peace