Oh how I love the madness of March.  The NCAA Tournament has slowly become one of my favorite sporting events of all time.  I have always been obsessed with sports and a big college basketball fan.  But growing up I only really watched the tournament if the Razorbacks were playing or if it was down to the Final Four.  But then came spring break of my freshmen year of college.  All my friends were off on their grand adventures, while I was stuck at home with a broken leg.  So what did I do? I watched basketball. All day long. I think I watched every game possible for the first four rounds of the tournament.  And it was awesome.

I had no idea how addicting this tournament could be.  That year I got to watch as two #1 seeds were taken down in the second round. It was thrilling tourney filled with several buzzer-beaters and plenty of upsets.  By the end of the first round I was hooked and without my Hogs to root for and my bracket pick Kentucky ousted in the second round, I found myself hooping and hollering at the TV while cheering on the underdogs.  With the loss of top seeded and heavily favored KU last weekend, I have found myself in a similar position and loving it.

Why is it so fun to root for the underdog?  Why is half of the country about to gather in front of their televisions to cheer on Northern Iowa as they get ready to take on Michigan State for a chance to make it to the Regional Finals?

I love it so much because they are accomplishing something bigger than they are capable of.  They are playing outside of themselves.  Northern Iowa didn’t beat Kansas last week because they are a better basketball team. Everybody knows that.   Likewise, the majority of the good things I have accomplished have less to do with how good I am, but more with how good and gracious my God is. Whenever I watch the underdogs pull it out, I am reminded of what is possible when I stop trying to do things on my own strength and learn to rely on others and the strength given to me by God.

The 00’s came to a close, so I decided to make a media decade in review list. Here we are with the last category of the decade in review: books. This category was great because it helped me to take inventory on the books that have made a big impact on my life over the last 10 years.  Here we go with my favorite books of the last decade.

Honorable Mention
Ruthless Trust by Brennan Manning (2002)
Jesus and Empire by Richard Horsley (2002)
Waking the Dead by John Eldredge (2003)
Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs by Chuck Klosterman (2004)
Through Painted Deserts by Donald Miller (2005)
Eats, Shoots & Leaves by Lynne Truss (2006)
Irresistible Revolution by Shane Claiborne (2006)
The Year of Biblical Living by AJ Jacobs (2007)
Fidelity of Betrayal by Peter Rollins (2008)
A Million Miles in a Thousand Years by Donald Miller (2009)

10–Red Moon Rising by Pete Greig (2003)
9–Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris (2001)
8–I Am America and So Can You by Stephen Colbert (2007)
7–Searching For God Knows What by Donald Miller (2004)
6–Sex God by Rob Bell (2008)
5–Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini (2004)
4–Great Emergence by Phyllis Tickle (2008)
3–Flickering Pixels by Shane Hipps (2009)
2–Velvet Elvis by Rob Bell (2005)
1–Life Of Pi by Yan Martel (2003)

Recently I have found myself in several discussions over what it means to be made in the image of God.  Based on Genesis 1:26-27, and my limited understanding of the rest of the Scriptures, I have found myself defending the argument that everyone is “redeemable.”  Not just that, but I believe that because we are created “in the image of God,” we are all capable of “doing good,” of creating something of value, of worshiping and glorifying the one true God.

It is because of this belief that I can’t stand to listen to Christian radio stations.  How in the world “christian” became a musical genre to begin with is beyond me.  One of my biggest pet peeves is when the Christian culture declares value or worth of something based merely on the beliefs of the person that created it.  For example, there was a song that came out in the mid-90’s called “I Believe” by the band Blessid Union of Souls.  It was a song filled with truth, forgiveness and reconciliation.  Many of you are probably familiar with this tune that boldly proclaimed that “love is the answer.”  Great song, boldly proclaiming the message of our Savior.  Needless to say, it was completely snubbed by “christian radio.”  That is until a few years ago, when the song had been apparently covered by some pop band that was on a Christian label.  The cover was mediocre at best and left all the lyrics exactly the same, but apparently that was enough for the song to now be deemed valuable and worthy of being played on the Christian radio station. I know there are other things that go into these decisions and I know it is a little more complicated of an issue than I have made it out to be, but it doesn’t change the message that is being sent.

What are your thoughts on this issue?  Are those who have not been “born again” capable of creating something of value, something that is glorifying to the Father?  Is there a need for our “christian” genres?  What makes music “christian?”  What makes a magazine “christian?”  What makes office supplies “christian?”  And are things that are  labeled as such any better for being so?  Doesn’t all of that just further muddle the definition of what it means to be a Christian?

The 00’s came to a close, so I decided to make a media decade in review list. Here we go with the TV shows of the decade list. This is my weakest of all of the categories, as I don’t care about television all that much. Shows that I’ve heard I should be watching but I don’t include: Curb Your Enthusiasm, Mad Men, The Wire, Dexter and The Sopranos. So maybe those could have made this list. My least favorites would have to include: American Idol and Dancing with the Stars. I apologize to all you that I just offended with that last sentence. On to the best television of the last decade.

10–The Office UK
9–Planet Earth
8–Pardon The Interruption
7–The Colbert Report
6–30 Rock
5–Lost
4–House
3–Survivor
2–The Office
1–Arrested Development

For the past several weeks, my wife and I have been practically glued to the TV from 7:00 – 11:00 every night.  It doesn’t seem to matter what event they are showing, we seemed to find ourselves hooked. But my personal favorite event of the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics thus far has been the Men’s Snowboarding Half-Pipe.

Going into his second run in the half-pipe medal competitions Shaun White had already clinched the gold.  All he had to do was board right down the center of the pipe and cross the line.  He could have taken it easy and just goofed around.  Instead he gave the Canadian audience and the rest of the viewers watching from around the world one of the best athletic performances we’ve ever seen.   To everyone’s amazement, he went on to give to give us the Double McTwist 1260, which was a huge and unnecessary risk.  This trick was created by White himself and had never been successfully completed in competition by anyone else.  In fact White himself had taken a brutal crash at the last Winter X Games while attempting to complete this trick.  But with gold secured and nothing more to win and everything to lose, White held nothing back and it was inspiring.

After the initial celebration and awe of what I had just witnessed began to wear off, I found myself wondering if I would have gone for it, had I been in his shoes.  I’m not sure that I would have. But I love that Shaun saw value in completing that run, even if it wasn’t for a medal.   Personally, I believe that God takes joy in seeing us use our talents.  Even if there is “nothing to gain” at the moment.  I often find that I have a hard time engaging and enjoying things that don’t bring me obvious and immediate gain.  For instance, with this blog, will I be able to continue to write this blog, even if I never get any comments? Or what if nobody ever reads it? Will I still find value in taking the time to write out these thoughts?

What do you think? Was White’s final run courageous or foolish?  And would you answer the same way if he had busted his face and suffered a career ending injury?

The 00’s came to a close, so I decided to make a media decade in review list. Here we go with the movies of the decade list. My criteria for this list is less about the technical aspect of the movie and more about the story (which I realize the irony of that statement by placing Avatar and on my 2009 list, so no need to point it out). Did the story tap into some deeper truth about how our world works? Did the story help me realize something about myself or the about our culture? So, this is my personal top ten movies list, not necessarily the movies that I think should be up for the Academy Awards of the decade.

Honorable Mention
Castaway (2000)
The Incredibles (2004)
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)
Once (2007)
Up (2009)

10–Stranger Than Fiction (2006)
9–Little Miss Sunshine (2006)
8–Children of Men (2006)
7–The Dark Knight (2008)
6–Royal Tennebaums (2001)
5–Reign Over Me (2007)
4–About A Boy (2002)
3–Wall-e (2008)
2–Memento (2000)
1–Lord of the Rings (2001-2003)

I had the great opportunity of doing some good ol’ manual labor yesterday at work. I spent the afternoon by myself workin’ on our indoor climbing wall.  It was a little slow movin’ but I really enjoyed it, because it gave me the opportunity spend some time alone with my thoughts (which unfortunately doesn’t happen all that often) and of course it gave me a chance to catch up on some old podcasts.

Seeing as I am kind of obsessed with podcasts and subscribe to a ridiculous amount, I had a lot to listen to, from a fun and fascinating podcast  about the Muppets, to a live music session with the Cold War Kids, to an interview with Rosanne Cash done by NPR’s Terry Gross.   They were  all really fun and entertaining, but it was the Rosanne Cash interview that really stood out among the pack.  At the time of the interview, Rosanne had recently released her newest album, The List.  This record is a collection of cover songs that she selected and recorded from a list that her father, the legendary Johnny Cash, had given to her when she was just 18.  He recognized that his daughter was missing out on a good majority of the music that had influenced him, so he made a list of the ‘100 essential country songs’ and gave it to her as a both a gift and a bit of a homework assignment.  What an incredible gift.

The rest of the afternoon,I found myself of how much I would have loved to receive a gift like that and how excited I am be able to pass on a list like that to my own children someday. Then I started thinking through what my list would be called and what songs I would put on it.  But then I thought back to a question that Gross had asked during the interview.  Terry pointed out the fact that the past several years had been rough on Rosanne, with the death of both of her parents and her stepmother June Carter and then she lost her voice for three years then to top it all off had to go through brain surgery.  “It’s been a rough period. And when people go through a rough time, I mean some people turn to religion, some people turn to drugs or alcohol, some people have nothing to turn to, some people are lost, some people find this inner strength…there were times in your father’s life when he turned to drugs or pills and, but through all his life, I think he had a sense of Jesus in his life….So what about you? (What) have you had that has kept you through all this?” To which Rosanne responds “I adhere to the religion of art and music and small children.”

Yeah it’s pretty awesome that Johnny was able to have such a great musical influence on his daughter.  The List is an incredible album.  I highly recommend it. Her cover of Dylan’s “Girl From the North Country” is incredible and the duet she does with Springsteen on “Sea of Heartbreak” is breathtaking.   But unfortunately it won’t last.  As wonderful and powerful as music is, if she keeps looking to it alone for healing and comfort, she will eventually be let down.  I am still thrilled about that day that I get to pour hours into making the perfect Beach Boys mixtape for little boy or little girl to listen to while they go to bed.  But I am even more excited about the opportunity to spend every day sharing with my kids the love that Jesus has given to me.  And it is my hope that  rather than getting focused on grooming my child’s musical tastes that I will be able to pass on something much greater. So what kind of an impact are you going to have on your children?  And are you being intentional with what you pass on to them?

The 00’s came to a close, so I decided to make a “Media Decade in Review List.” We will start out with music albums from the last decade. My criteria for making this albums list came down to what albums have a significant meaning to me, what have I listened to the most, and which albums will stand the test of time. I find it hard to put anything from 2009 on my decade in review list because who knows if it will stand the test of time. Five years from now, will I still like Merriweather Post Pavilion by Animal Collective? Not sure. I am too close to it right now to be able to tell. I have obviously thought about this a little bit too much. Here is the list (in reverse order for dramatic effect).

Honorable Mention
Coldplay, Parachutes (2000)
Wilco, A Ghost Is Born (2001)
Interpol, Turn On The Bright Lights (2002)
Death Cab For Cutie, Transatlantism (2003)
David Crowder Band, A Collision (2005)
The Decemberists, The Crane Wife (2006)
Feist, The Reminder (2007)
Radiohead, In Rainbows (2007)
Kings Of Leon, Only By The Night (2008)

10–Wilco, Yankee Hotel Foxtrot (2002)
9–Swell Season, Once Soundtrack (2007)
8–Travis, The Man Who (2000)
7–Pete Yorn, Music For The Morning After (2002)
6–Arcade Fire, Neon Bible (2007)
5–Postal Service, Give Up (2004)
4–Sigur Ros, Takk (2005)
3–Coldplay, A Rush Of Blood To The Head (2002)
2–Sufjan Stevens, Illinois (2005)
1–Arcade Fire, Funeral (2004)

Chris here.  Seems like everything I write on the blog is serious.  Friday is our “current” day, and while we want our writers to make connections and create discussion about people’s role in making the world a better place, today I’m just going to point you to a youtube clip.  Nathan McKinney is writing great stuff every other Friday, and Dan McIntosh is also contributing material to “current”, which will involve discussions about current stuff- music, books, art, movies….things that are thought provoking, and because they are artistic, they make the world a better place.

Well, there’s no analogy, no theological perspective (that I’m going to offer, this time) on this post.  Its just a clip from my favorite movie of the year, The Fantastic Mr. Fox.  I say we give this a shot- the world needs more good games for us to play- especially with burning pine cones.

Have a great Superbowl weekend, and remember, its just a game…..that just about everyone watches at the same time all over the world.

ck

For several years, I claimed the song “Elias” by former indie jam band, Dispatch, to be my favorite song of all time. While the song may have lost a bit of its luster to me over the years, it is still way up there on my list of greatest songs of all time. And one of the main reasons it has remained up there is the story that literally surrounds it. The story the leads up to the writing of this great tune, and the story that has continued because of it, is truly remarkable.

It all started back in 1994 when Chad Urmston, former Dispatch member and current State Radio frontman, went on a trip to Zimbabwe where he met and befriended a simple, but wise, gardener named Elias. As Chad watched Elias work hard and struggle to provide for his wife and two sons, he was amazed at his ability to love despite his circumstances. He grew to care deeply about Elias and from there, one of the band’s most beloved songs was birthed. For those who have never heard it, it is a beautifully written song, that starts off with a prayer in Elias’ native tongue Shona.

But the most exciting part of the story, is what has taken place after the writing of this great song. First there was the fundraiser, started by two friends of band, which accumulated to $13,000, guaranteeing Elias’ boys an education. Then came the grassroots organization, the Elias Fund, which works with local initiatives to empower Zimbabwean through strategic partnership and resource allocation. The song has also inspired the band to start the Dispatch Foundation which has a similar mission to build and support community growth in Zimbabwe. And there have been multiple benefit concerts all because of of this one song.

The obvious conclusion is to look at this story and to recognize the impact that this song has had on Elias and the rest of his community over in Zimbabwe. As great as it is, the song isn’t what I want to focus on. Very few of you who are reading this are actually song writers, and those of you who are can’t just go out and say “I’m gonna write a song to inspire change in an impoverished country”, and then make it happen. And Chad didn’t do anything significant when he wrote this song. He was just doing what he was created to do, what he had done before and is continuing to do today as he writes songs for State Radio. What was significant was his choice to go to Zimbabwe, and not just to visit and take pity on them, but he chose to engage in relationship with the people there. It was the relationship that he developed with Elias. That is what was significant.

So I encourage you. Wherever you are, whatever you do. Take the time and put forth the effort to engage in relationships and then keep doing whatever it is God created you to do. Change will happen.