I am leaving the debate

For quite some time I have always developed an ever evolving opinion on how to “do” church.  It has been the subject of conversation between my friends and I for a while.  And having a liturgical girlfriend has thrown a very beautiful wrench into things. 

However, what I find interesting is the idea we have in today’s church that we need to “fix” something.  What is there to be fixed with church?  That is a very simple question and is thrown around alot.  Want to know what I think?

Nothing.  I don’t think there is anything wrong.  Now, do I think there are certain sects of church that need to be tuned up.  Absolutely.  I think there are three trends church people decide to go through:

1. Over politicizing
2. Over spiritualizing
3. Over traditionalizing 

During the campaign season a church becomes a stomping ground for some of the nastiest political screaming matches I have ever encountered.  The church then becomes another place the lost don’t want to visit because they become afraid they will be tortured for supporting a certain candidate. 

With the second trend I have had to deal with first hand.  People look outside their own church to find God and I find that really intriguing.  People want to find the new and flashiest thing with church.  Be it emergent or liturgical or a combo of both or one church puts there congregation in a circle or this church is more socially minded.  And I’m not knocking checking out new movements, but new movements are not going to help you in times of need.  The local church that you are a part of should be the place where you find spiritual teaching that you ground your life in.  And what that looks like is people.  Church is an investment in people.  People in churches across this nation forget that they are a part of a church “family”.  We take the term lightly.  We stay in churches we like until the leadership does or says something we don’t agree with and we leave.  At the heart of this is the issue that we secretly want church to validate our own decision making.  When in actuality, if we fill called to a church, we need to serve the people at the church.  But, we like things handed to us and a warm pat on the shoulder for having a good week.   

And lastly, people get caught up in their own way of “doing” things and start thinking the way they do things on one day of the week is the only way to do it.  You find this everywhere.  People put there stamp on how church should be and that is the way it goes.  Some churches worship for two hours.  Others use a book of prayer.  Some recite scripture every few minutes.  People get caught up in how a service is performed on one day of the week; one day.

I have been guilty of all these things, but I have realized these three things have hurt people.  We need to go about church in a better way because we can not keep hurting people.  So, to recap, what do we fix? 

We need to fix the idea that we need to have a trend to get anything done.  We need to fix the idea that we need to have a conflict to feel like we are doing anything with our faith?  We need to fix the idea that church is the bad guy and that we do nothing wrong. 

We need to think outside ourselves and our concerns.  We need to think how God thinks.

Thats how you “fix” church.  Think how God thinks and you will be great.  But that train of thought is difficult and painful.  We don’t want to do it.  Thats why we have trends that are concerned with shallow needs people think need to be met in order to validate their spirituality.   

And with that I am done.  I am done debating how to do church.  I am beginning to see the church as just people that need love.  And it says in Matthew 22: 37 we are to love God with all our heart, soul and mind and to love our neighbor as ourselves.  That takes care of the three trends right there. 

Peace,

Mike

1 p.m. on Wednesday

This week an 88-year old man named James W. von Brunn doubled parked in front of the Holocaust Museum on Wednesday afternoon, walked through the front doors and opened fire into a crowd of people with a rifle.  Stephen Tyrone Johns was the security guard who died taking Brunn down.

The story has made headlines for the last number of days and I have been fascinated by it.  The nation has held its breath and has started to realize that racism (or ethinicism as I would call it, because we are all part of the human race) is beginning to rear its ugly head again.  I have wondered why an 88-year old man would decide one morning to perform a horrible act of treason against the human race. 

One of the few things I believed from Barack Obama during his campaign was the idea “we are the change we’ve been waiting for.”  And we are beginning to see more and more how this environment we’ve inhabited as children is becoming a landscape of shadows and barren fields.  We need to strive in our efforts as a body of believers to destroy the ethnic boundaries put upon us from our culture.  We need to strive to destroy the severe poverty, deforestation, and social injustices in our nation.  Let this past Wednesday afternoon be the beginning of a true change in the nation to shake hands and look forward to a more positive future. 

I will pray James W. von Brunn.  I will pray that he comes to the cross for forgiveness and salvation.  And I will lift up Stephen Tyrone Johns’ family. 

This was the first blog from the new office.  Tone setter.  Yes.

Join us on Sunday at 10:30 a.m.

Mike

cleaning.

I find it amazing that withing a few days my house becomes a disaster area.  Dishes pile, laundry ferments, sheets gather dustings of dust.  I need to clean my house. 

Summer school is over with next week and I can not wait.  I am going to pull out with passable grades I hope.  But, the plan of attack is hitting up the gymn and playing music; lots of music.  I got together with Aaron Kolk and Matthew Rabalais for music and it felt good going over the tunes. 

Going domestic for a time.  Follow the twitter.

 

Mike

Arrested Development

Why was this show cancelled?  Life doesn’t make any sense anymore.  Will Arnett has become and will remain my true hero.  30 Rock, Arrested Development, husband to Amy Poehler.  More seasons should come.  Oh three seasons; too soon. 

It Hit Me

This was the first Sunday where I felt the “role” of being the music guy.  I got to church a bit after 9 a.m., tried to make a cup of coffee (very unsuccessfully), and was tense about the day.  I am church staff.  The idea has set in.  People ask me questions.  I have to have answers.  Or, atleast, a general idea of something looking like an answer.  I felt in sync with life, but the pace of this thing is fast. 

I have summer school, booking gigs, and church stuff.  I’m not whining about this I am only sitting back saying, “How did I get here?”  I love connecting with folks.  I love thinking of new ideas for the church.  The pursuit of Jesus is something that becomes more difficult over the course of each day, but I have to believe/trust that it will be worth it.  I can’t believe otherwise.  Days move faster.  I sit on couches with no one around and appreciate the silence.  Growing up, I thought only adults used the word “appreciate”, because I was naturally too young to really grasp the idea of appreciating things.  Now, I know. 

Also, with taking the position at the church as music guy I only think about where the vision will be cast.  I have thought about the “filling the shoes” idea, but that lasted no longer than a minute.  Vision casting is looking forward.  And it is beyond how church looks; it is the vibe and language in the hearts of people.  I love setting the vibe.  We played Dave Brubreck after church.  People talked and had solid music behind them doing the rest of the work. 

So, how does church change?  Does it change?  Does anything about church as a structure change; or does it only change faces?  The face is changing at the Dwelling Place and I invite everyone who reads this to hang out with us next Sunday. 

Peace,

Mike

W.E. Fest

Last night was W.E. Fest.  It was a different vibe this year.  I played on the 2nd (or 3rd) floor.   A better listening room than the back room on the top floor.  My sister painted on the top floor.  You should check out the piece.  But I had a real chill time last night.  Lots of people showed up and it was just a good time to hang. 

For today I have so much work to catch up on for classes.  I can not wait for summer classes to end.  Too much work in too little the time.  I would much rather read outside or play the guitar or walk in the woods.  But I am trying to be more conscience about my eating habits in the morning.  Currently, I have a plate of greens on my chest as I type this.  I have to keep the sexiness up. 

But on my mind lately has only been doing what I’m doing.  I’ve taken up being the music guy at church (Come check out the Dwelling Place on Sunday at 10:30) and that has been fun/interesting/tiring, overall, a great time thinking of how to cast new vision.  This past Sunday I “rebooted” (to use a movie term) the announcement slides.  I found random pictures that corresponded with each message we need to have on the slides.  It has been a good time.  We have practice on Tuesday so I have to think of what we’ll play. 

So, yeah.  That is how it rolls today.  Now it is off to mowing the lawn and reading. 

 

Peace

Mike

http://www.mikeblairmusic.com

http://www.twitter.com/mikeblairmusic

Connect

The idea I’ve conjured up is that I am overdeveloped on the Internet.  Not the persona of me as a performer, but the identity of me as a human being.  I twitter, myspace, facebook, wordpress and youtube.  All in the name of truth or self affirmation?  I want to find a reason to turn off the phone, not check the e-mail, and not tweet.  But whatever is inside me needs to connect.  I never believed the over-spiritualized reasons people would give for too much technology.  Sin nature, addiction, overall need to become a part of the “group”.

I have a need to connect.  I write to connect.  I sing to connect.  I play guitar to connect.  There is some things in life that I simply can not understand or control; so therefore, I play the guitar.  I am creative.  Technology could be a result of humans trying to make something of themselves; but with the pro’s come to con’s. 

My passion is to connect with people and technology gives me the idea that I am but, does it really?  Can I walk up to a friend and babble a few paragraphs about what I have been feeling and hope he or she responds?  Can I walk up and declare my current activity in less than one hundred and forty characters?  So, does technology gives a false sense of connection or a different route to connect? 

More music will come.

Mike

Long time and I’m never in the mood.

I wish I kept up with blogging.  I really do.  I never have the time to sit down and conjure up any kind of thought beyond, “School is driving me up a wall” or “Hey, That 70′s Show is fantastic”.  Today; however, I was let out of my summer class early and I had lunch with my lady friend and sister so somehow that is a mix to write.  Plus, I haven’t written much prose in quite some time. 

Well, the first thing to write is that I finally sat down the other day with my recorder and played a few small demos.  I am trying to get a group together and I have found some interested players but I have to get them a demo.  I recorded mainly new material but I would like to cover all my songs at some point.  If for anything just to have them to listen to down the road. 

And this past week I was put in charge of being the music guy at church.  I don’t like titles all that much so I am going with “music guy at church.”  It conveys perfectly what I want to convey and I don’t feel like I’m pushing myself up on some sort of high throne.  But I’m real excited about what the Lord is doing and what he is showing me.  I have a little bit of control over the vision that will be cast shortly in the next few months and I’m digging what I’m seeing.  Currently, I want to focus on community.  As people we need to be around other people.  Talking.  Conversing.  Not watching a movie together (although fun), but actually learning one another.  Being friends.  Last night we had our first practice in some time and I was amazed at the people in the room with me.  And they were there because they wanted to commit to the idea of singing and playing music.  I loved it.  I wasn’t sure how to lead these people because I was the youngest one in the room, but it happened.  We played songs, we jammed, and we let our hair down.  That is how I think things should start out.  Be yourself.  Don’t appease anyone but God. 

I’ve been getting into cooking now.  Not only is it cheaper, but it is fun.  The other night I cooked dinner for the girlfriend for her birthday.  Asian shrimp.  It took the longest time to find the ingredients.  This nice guy named Peter who worked at Harris Teeter helped me find everything I needed.  But I’m loving it.  This morning I made egg whites and a pancake.  Fun times, I know.

So, I twitter and I’m going to figure out how to put up the link soon.  I have to get off the computer and read Shakespeare.  Prepare for next week kind of thing. 

 

All the best,

 

Mike

New life

I have to record.  I have to write more poetry.  I have to write more poetry.  I have to watch more movies.  I have to fall asleep in the afternoon sunlight more.  Summer is here.

Everything is a festival.  Wind, people, music, etc.  It is a festival.  School work will always be there for me but I am loving everything tactile thing in my life right now.  Hopefully, tonight I will record.

 

Peace,

Mike

What I’m thinking…

I’m going to try and graduate in the winter, I think.  I’m taking two summer classes during the first session.  That may or may not suck.  The classes I have right now are good.  Lots of projects to wrap up, you know.  I was supposed to have an open book exam today for my religion class but, thank the Lord, my prof told us to take it home.  Greatness?  Yes, absolutely. 

Hopefully, more blogs to come.

 

mike