Do You Want to Be an Oak or a Squash?
A student asked the President of his school whether he could not take a shorter course than the one prescribed. ‘Oh yes,’ replied the President, ‘but then it depends upon what you want to be. When God wants to make an oak, He takes a hundred years, but when He wants to make a squash, He takes six months.’
-Quoted by Robert Clinton in The Making of a Leader.
Zach Nielsen Trio
I’m listening to Zach Nielsen Trio’s jazz EP, Songs in a Minor Key. As I write this post I’m listening to the Trio’s arrangement of Nirvana’s “Come As You Are.” Nirvana sounds great set to jazz. Below is Zach Nielsen’s explanation of the EP. Buy Songs in a Minor Key on iTunes.
I am pleased to announce my first official jazz release. It’s a five song EP called “Songs in a Minor Key”. This recording took place this past spring in Albuquerque, NM with some of the best musicians the city has to offer. It is far from perfect (what jazz recording is?) but I think you’ll find some rich moments throughout that will peek your interest and engage your ear.
Recording jazz is a very different process than my pop/rock recording experience in the past. In jazz, all the musicians play together and we do a few takes and simply choose the best one of three or fours takes. With a rock recording you usually analyze every square inch of the recording and slave over all the minutiae. Not so with jazz. We attempt to capture a performance that is rich with energy and life but perfection is not the goal. Communication, interaction, and artistic expression are the goals and I think those goals were met in these short recording sessions.
For some, jazz is esoteric and obtuse. To the unacclimated, it can sound like random noise that is challenging to listen to for extended periods of time. For that reason I recorded a couple songs that most people will recognize. The recording kicks off with my arrangement of Nirvana’s “Come As You Are” and later on you’ll find The Police’s famous hit, “Message In A Bottle”. In my experience, if people hear a simple melody that they recognize it greatly increases their enjoyment and overall listening experience. I hope that is the case for you as you encounter this recording.
The remaining three tracks are jazz standards from many decades ago. First, “Nardis” is a Miles Davis tune made famous by one of my piano heros, Bill Evans. Second, there is a lesser known Wayne Shorter tune that I learned back in college called, “Black Nile” and finally another jazz standard called, “Beautiful Love”
Virtual Romance = Sick & Wrong
Today The Wall Street Journal ran an article about lonely Japanese men in their 20s & 30s who take their virtual girlfriends on romantic hotel getaways through LovePlus+, a dating-simulation game.
After choosing one of three female characters—goodie-goodie Manaka, sassy Rinko or big-sister type Nene—to be a steady girlfriend, the player taps a stylus on the DS touch-screen in order to walk hand-in-hand to school, exchange flirtatious text messages and even meet in the school courtyard for a little afternoon kiss. Using the device’s built-in microphone, the player can carry on sweet, albeit mundane, conversations.
If the real-life Romeo earns enough “boyfriend power” points—by completing game tasks like homework or exercise to become smarter and more buff—the reward is a virtual trip to Atami.
In the game, the couple tours the local landmarks. The girlfriend changes into a yukata, a casual summer kimono, to go see the fireworks, and then they stay overnight at the Hotel Ohnoya…
Some devoted fans will go so far as to pay twice the rate—most hotels in Japan charge per guest not per room—to indulge the fantasy that they are not there alone. A night’s stay, at most, can cost $500 though many rooms are cheaper.
Read the whole article. This is sad, sick, wrong. The only virtual activity these men should be doing is watching this video.
Must See Video For Men
Last week Darrin Patrick shared the video trailer for his new book, Church Planter, at an event in the Bay Area. This is not simply a video for church planters or pastors, every man reading this blog post and every man you know should watch this 4 minute video. Women, watch it too. Then go make a man in your life watch it.
PS. My endorsement for the book/in the book lists me as a church planter in Phoenix. See here for why I’m not in Phoenix and still live in the San Francisco Bay Area.
26 Men: What’s the Key?
Last week Dane Ortlund asked 26 men to provide a one-sentence answer to the question: “What is the key to healthy Christian growth in godliness?
Here’s Dane’s explanation of the question:
That’s the question I asked a handful of thoughtful men of God last week.
Please understand: I explicitly asked our brothers to keep it to a single, short sentence. Of course, whole volumes could be (and have been!) written addressing this question (here’s my favorite). So we gladly receive these wise statements remembering that sanctification is not a math problem. There is no formula. Every answer below needs a hundred footnotes. Point taken.
The purpose of this exercise is not to provide an opportunity to nit-pick but to re-center, refresh, encourage, spur on, help one another.
Here is the answer I gave:
Trusting and enjoying God as your Father, living as his son/daughter, on account of Christ’s work.
Maybe my favorite answer came from Justin Taylor:
The key to healthy growth in godliness is to seek and to enjoy fellowship with the Father, in union with Christ, through the power of the Spirit, in accordance with the Word, with the body of Christ.
Go to Dane’s blog to read and think through all 26 answers.
Redirection (not Phoenix)
A brief life update:
As we’ve neared our move to Phoenix/the church plant something funny has happened. God, in his providence, has decisively redirected us to not move forward with those plans, he’s kept us in the Bay Area.
We are now excitedly revisiting and sorting out what God is calling us to next. More details on that in the near future…
Perhaps the guy who has always lived in “S” cities (Sacramento, Spokane, Santa Barbara, Saratoga, San Carlos) should’ve been wary about breaking the pattern to move to a “P” city.
Circumstances
People are always blaming their circumstances for what they are. I don’t believe in circumstances. The people who get on in this world are the people who get up and look for the circumstances they want and if they can’t find them, make them. -George Bernard Shaw
Vocation & Gladness
The voice we should listen to most as we choose a vocation is the voice that we might think we should listen to least, and that is the voice of our own gladness. What can we do that makes us the gladdest? I believe that if it is a thing that makes us truly glad, then it is a good thing and it is our thing. -Frederick Buechner
A Day With Darrin Patrick in the Bay Area (Tomorrow)
Tomorrow I’ll be spending the day with Darrin Patrick in the Bay Area. The Gospel Coalition: Bay Area chapter that a few of us formed is now partnering with The NorCal Network (which is now partnering with Acts29) to host this event.
In the afternoon Darrin is leading a seminar for church planters titled,”Leading the Mission.”
In the evening Darrin is speaking to the general public on “Redeeming Masculinity.”
Church planters who attend the afternoon session will receive a free copy of Darrin’s new book, Church Planter.
Here’s Tim Keller’s endorsement for the book:
“This is a great new book on church planting that balances the personal spiritual issues with the theological, cultural, and technical. Church planters should all read this.”
—Tim Keller, Senior Pastor, Redeemer Presbyterian Church, New York City
Acts29 has more info about the event.
Go here to register for tomorrow’s event. Cancel the plans you had for tomorrow. Come to this.
Vocation
Update: Justin Taylor informed me that World Magazine articles can be read in their entirety when linked to from blogs. So, you don’t need a subscription to read the article linked to below.
The latest issue of World Magazine is devoted to the subject of Vocation. Gene Edward Veith’s article, Arenas of Service, is the best short treatment I’ve read on the importance of recovering the doctrine of vocation. You need a subscription to World to read the whole article. The link will take you to the lead in:
Vocation is nothing less than the theology of the Christian life. It provides the blueprint for how Christians are to live in the world and to influence their cultures. It is the key to strong marriages and effective parenting. According to the classic Protestant theologians, our multiple vocations—in the family, the culture, and the workplace—are where sanctification and discipleship happen.
This is an article I will be sharing with many people. The article summarizes and builds upon Veith’s excellent book, God at Work: Your Christian Vocation in All of Life.
