Here’s the most recent OK Go video…which was filmed in one, 21 hour take. They even choreographed their sleep. Unbelievable. I love what they’re willing to try for the sake of creativity…
Welcome! Thanks for checking out my blog about music, worship, and trying to join God in his work to restore the world. I'm excited to share some ideas – in both directions. Let the conversation begin. . .
Here’s the most recent OK Go video…which was filmed in one, 21 hour take. They even choreographed their sleep. Unbelievable. I love what they’re willing to try for the sake of creativity…
“The demand is liberation; the emphasis is connectedness; the corrective is suffering; the power is imagination; and the vocation is tikkun olam — the repair of the world.”
- Maria Harris, in her book Proclaim Jubilee: A Spirituality for the Twenty-First Century
Last week I mentioned that Henry Ford, Steve Jobs, and Daniel Pink all believe(d) that “asking your customers what they want and then giving it to them” is a flawed, short-sighted business strategy. Unfortunately, many churches still seem to see themselves in the “pleasing our customers” business. And every time I hear about church surveys or marketing campaigns, something in me gets really sad. A couple thoughts…
First of all, how dare we reduce the beautiful, epic story of God’s redemption of all things into a product to be marketed and sold? And how dare we reduce the Church – the bride that Christ gave His very life for – into a venue to sell these spiritual goods and services? Maybe it’s time for a new cleansing of the temple.
Secondly, wouldn’t this business strategy create consumers of the Church instead of servants of God….reinforcing the dangerous idea that church is something we go to instead of something we are? And it could confuse us into believing that the church exists to serve our needs, when the scriptures clearly teach that “we exist AS the church to serve the needs of the world“. This is more than mere semantics.
These thoughts are not yet well-formed, so I beg for the grace to wrestle. And more than grace, please help! What do you think? Am I over-reacting? Over-simplifying? What ideas, books, and people have helped you grapple with this? Let the messy conversation continue…
To launch us further, please watch this teaching from my friend Chris Seay. Even though it’s 19 minutes long, PLEASE watch until the end. The last five minutes are the big payoff and I’d LOVE to hear what you think!
(and another great perspective is the blog post: “Scratching Where They Itch?”)
“Remember that when we are present, we see that there really is a Divine plan, and that it is happening right now. Consciously participating in the miraculous unfolding of reality is the Holy Work, and it is the greatest source of satisfaction that we can have.” (Understanding the Enneagram, 56)
What stops you from being fully present in each moment? For me, there are two things: (1) My iPhone. Instead of thinking or praying as I walk to my next work meeting, I quick flip through Twitter world. Instead of fully engaging with Henry at the park, I half watch him play…half dominate the high-stakes tables of Texas Hold’em. It’s a problem. (2) Dreaming about the future. They say that you’re biggest strength can easily become your biggest weakness, and being futuristic is mine. I can be so caught up in the potential beauty and excitement of the future that the present feels cruelly boring. Or even more insidious, when the present feels overwhelming and threatens my idealism, the future is a safe place to hide. Once again, this can be quite a problem.
What about you? What stops you…AND what keeps you present in the moment?
I love Clapton Shreds and Metallica Shreds. But this one trumps them all.
For the last couple weeks, our Willow programming team has been talking about our deepest values. Bill encouraged us to really dig down and ask the question: “What do I believe SO deeply, that if it were not so, I would have to quit?” Great question! After much thought, here’s what I’m bringing to today’s discussion…
Courage. The number one thing I’ve admired about Willow over the years is their courage to try new things and blaze new trails in the name of Christ. Out of love for God and people – not just for innovation’s sake – Willow has consistently followed God into the huge risks that bring the Kingdom in huge ways. I would quit if we ever lost this revolutionary spirit. I would quit if we ever let the mindset of “pleasing our consumers” hijack our invitation to join God’s messy, risky Movement of Redemption. I’d quit if we ever got safe.
Outward. The potential amount of good that Willow could do on planet earth is staggering. What if Celebration of Hope is just the tip of the iceberg? I would quit if we ever became more about building an institution than serving the world.
Bigger Stream. Related to “outward,” I’m excited to invite our community into a bigger movement of transformation, service, and community. Weekend services are important, but only as one tributary flowing into a bigger river. (Of all the “one another” verses in scripture, only a few of them happen well in a service.) How are we helping our community become Church in the widest possible sense? I would quit if we never found that bigger calling, but settled for merely creating services to fill seats.
What about those of you who are a part of a church…Do these connect with you? What else would you add?
jobs
Steve Jobs has this Henry Ford quote on his desk: “If I’d asked my customers what they wanted, they’d have said a faster horse.” Although I bristle at the potential arrogance and narcissism, Ford was right. So was Jobs. And the world is better for it.
Daniel Pink just wrote a fascinating blog called “The Peril of Giving People What They Want“, where he suggests that trying to give the customer (or critic or congregation or fan) what they’re asking for is not always the best plan because “we don’t often know what we want.” In many cases, people don’t change the world by simply delivering the next logical step, but by “giving the world something it didn’t know it was missing.” I’m not a business person, but as an artist and pastor, this is deeply inspiring. Pink ends with…
“Enhancing a category is cool; creating a category is cooler. Providing people what they want is a smart tactic; giving people something they didn’t know they’re missing is an even smarter strategy. Listening to the customer can be helpful; listening to your own voice can be revolutionary.”
“Learn from the fringe. It’s true for music, fashion, business, and the arts: the future starts on the fringe, not in the mainstream. As William Gibson once said, The future has already happened, it’s just unequally distributed. To see it coming, we have to pay attention…” (Gary Hamel)
Yesterday I happened to meet two people that have inspired me for a long time. I’d love for you to meet…
Athlete live
(1) Joel Pott from the band “Athlete”. Shauna surprised me with tickets to go see Athlete last night in the city, and as we were walking around Bucktown, we bumped into him. Great guy! If you love British indie rock that makes you feel like everything is going to somehow turn out alright, Athlete is your band. I’d recommend starting with their first album: “Vehicles and Animals”. And check out a really fun song and a really moving song (about his newborn’s son premature birth). SOOO inspiring!
Hythem, Lynne, and Mitri
(2) Rev Dr Mitri Raheb. Dr Raheb is one of the most well respected Palestinian Christian pastors in the West Bank. His book “I am a Palestinian Christian” is a foundational must-read, and his work for peace in Palestine is legendary. So I was deeply humbled yesterday to join a conversation with him and a few friends from Willow. This passionate, funny, brilliant, brave follower of Jesus is the real deal. Check out a great video interview with him below…
This weekend, we spent the first half of our service praying, singing, meditating, and reading through Psalm 139. It’s such a profound chapter, and my only regret is not having more time to dive in! A number of people asked about the song Becky sang (inventively titled “Psalm 139″), so feel free to click HERE for the recording, lyrics, and story behind the song. Here’s the live video from the 11:15am service. (If possible, listen on headphones or with good speakers! Yeah, I’m a sound geek…)
All weekend long, as we invited God to “search us” and “find any offensive ways in us” and “lead us in the way everlasting”, I kept thinking about this quote: “We are not punished for our sins; we are punished BY our sins.” God is not waiting in shadows, ready to smack us when we mess up. He is humbly knocking at the door, hoping we’ll let Him rescue us from our self-sabotaging actions. He is inviting us into the best possible way to live.
“The sayings of Jesus are most often taken as expressions of some ethereal truth for especially religious people. Instead, they are mere observations about how life actually works.” (Dallas Willard). For example, we don’t avoid gossip because “God said so and will punish us”. . .we avoid gossip because it wrecks relationships. The same could be said of following God’s wisdom about rest, sex, money, etc. . .
How would our lives change if we stopped seeing God as The Enforcer, and began to embrace Him as The Emancipator?
I spent much of this weekend trying to learn as much as possible about the Gaza flotilla debacle. This feels like a huge deal, and I’m both horrified by what happened and slightly hopeful about what could come from it. Could this be a tipping point? If so, we all need to pray that it tips toward peace instead of more violence…toward justice instead of more oppression…toward hope instead of more terror. To learn more, here are a few articles that have helped me the most:
(1) J Street – Flotilla resources. This is a fantastic collection of articles and perspectives from a peace-oriented Jewish group. (By the way, in my opinion, J-Street is one of the best places to learn about this conflict from a non-extreme position. They are not 100% objective – no one is! – but they love Israel AND are not afraid to love it by challenging it. Consider following them on twitter.)
(2) NYT op-ed piece. Amos Oz laments how his country of Israel has become fixated on military force, and he appeals for a more sustainable approach. “To a man with a big hammer, says the proverb, every problem looks like a nail.” He goes on to suggest “No idea has ever been defeated by force — not by siege, not by bombardment, not by being flattened with tank treads and not by marine commandos. To defeat an idea, you have to offer a better idea, a more attractive and acceptable one.” Such deep wisdom…and not just for the middle east.
(3) Washington Post op-ed piece. David Ignatius takes a strait-forward, practical approach.
(4) Daniel Gordis’ thoughts. Finally, I want to include a different view-point. Gordis is an outspoken defender of Israel who represents a position that many people hold. (I’m currently reading his book “Saving Israeli”). In such a complex situation, it seems helpful to hear a wide range of perspectives.
My favorite lure
Yesterday, I got back from the 22nd annual Niequist men’s fishing trip. Since I was 11, my dad and uncle Dave have been leading us up to the north woods for a long weekend of fishing, eating, sleeping, and more fishing. Grandpa went on the first 17 trips, and my brother (Eric) and cousin (Josh) have been on the last ten or so.
This year, we drove up to the Manitowish Waters chain of lakes, about an hour north of Eagle River, WI. Even though the weather was a little too sunny for ideal fishing, we managed to find the bass (mostly small mouth) and have a fantastic time.
the boat
eric
uncle dave
josh and I
my dad