2006...the year of youtube and chuck norris...
...i offer my humble top 5 lists for 2006 in books, music, and movies. you know, the important stuff =)
...as one who claims integration as a high value it pains me to make the following confession: i've had to split the books lists into two groups, what i will call "required" and "non-required" reading...thre are two reasons for this: 1) i read too many books to have just one top 5 list and 2) as much as i like to integrate everything that i read there really are two categories...while all the books i've read, i believe, relate to life and ministry, some speak more directly to the later and therefore deserve their own list. so, here it goes
top 5 in "required" reading for 2006
1) The Irresistible Revolution by Shane Claiborne (i know, big surprise here...i've said perhaps more than i should have about this book in this space, but for the sake of this list i need to say "thank you shane for giving us permission to be idealists and 'holy fools'")
2) The Shaping of Things to Come: Innovation and Mission for the 21st Century Church by Michael Frost and Alan Hirsch (what Claiborne's book has been to our "staff" discussion the last few months, this book was during the first half of the year...while not a blueprint for what we are doing here in durango, no other book has shaped my/our philosophy of ministry like this one)
3) Deliberate Simplicity by Dave Browning (hopefully he won't fire me for putting his book 3rd...ha ha...this is the blueprint)
4) Soul Cravings by Erwin McManus (at CTK we are about 3 things: worship, small groups, and service...mcmanus says there are three "cravings" of the soul that everyone needs satisfied to be fully human...they are meaning (worship), intimacy (small groups), and destiny (service)...fascinating)
5) Everybody Wants To Go To Heaven But Nobody Wants To Die: Or the Eschatology of Bluegrass by David Crowder and Mike Hogan (this makes the list, closely beating out The Myth of a Chrstian Nation, because of the section of the book called "columns"...i am a sucker for magical realism)
top 5 in "non-required" reading for 2006
1) The Tender Bar by JR Moehringer (best memoir i've read since Angela's Ashes)
2) Fantasyland: A Season on Baseball's Lunatic Fringe by Sam Walker (this book follow the travails of a baseball season through the lens of one of the most prestigious fantasy leagues in the country...he absolutely nails the highs and lows of fantasy baseball)
3) What is the What by Dave Eggers (i really expected this book to just rip away at the US for what it's done, or not done, for the Sudan crisis, but i have to say it wasn't like that at all...nonetheless it is a hard book to read, and i don't know what's harder to read: the atrocities of the civil war/refugee experience, or the inhumanity of the robbery of the main character's atlanta apartment and everything that follows from that)
4) Tempting Faith by David Kuo (a tale of how the political machine can grind down even the best intentioned people)
5) The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini (ok, i know this didn't come out this year, but i read it this year for the first time and i loved it)
top 5 songs for 2006
1) The Adventure by Angels and Airwaves [i unapologetically love this band...i haven't been this excited about a new band since a certain lead man for further seems forever started his little side project...the whole album "we don't need to whisper" is amazing, and in many ways parallels my own journey this year]
2) I've Had Enough by the David Crowder Band [a test of a great song is that it breaks your heart the first time you hear it and it can do the same thing months later after you've listened to it 100 times...this is such a song, and it's only 65 seconds long...genius]
3) When You Were Young by the Killers [i'm not a huge killers fan...i only like 4 or 5 of their songs...but, wow, the ones that i like, i really like...this was the most played song on my itunes]
4) Don't Wait by Dashboard Confessional (i keep thinking i'll grow out of this band one of these days...this last album was far from great, but this song, along with Stolen and Currents, is just too good to ignore...i'll continue to indulge a little while longer)
5) 9 Crimes by Damien Rice (i prefer the demo version with the guitars over the version that opens the cd...but both are perfectly damien rice: haunting and depressing)
top 5 movies for 2006
1) Stranger Than Fiction (i've already talked about this one...there's this great scene where will ferell's character is trying to figure out if the story he's in is a tragedy or a comedy so he keeps score in a notebook...at the end of the day he has 5 points for comedy and about 100 for tragedy...emo kids all over the country will posting that scene on their myspace pages as soon as it's available)
2) Little Miss Sunshine (it'll make you laugh, it'll make cringe, and then it will make you cry)
3) Goal! (it's about soccer, so maybe i'm biased, but i think it's one of the best sports movies ever)
4) Nacho Libre (no explanation is needed)
5) Accepted (if you know me at all, you'll know why i loved this movie)
so there you have it...the art and entertainment that enriched my 2006. feel free to send me (or post) your own top 5's!!
merry christmas...
Wednesday, December 20, 2006
Saturday, December 16, 2006
03359
(1:oo pm) i had this amazing picture i was going to post...it was going to be the center-piece of this particular post, but unfortunately i lost the cable that connects my camera to the computer...so no picture, no wonderful post. now what am i supposed to do? (christmas present idea: usb cable for an hp photosmart r717 digital camera...hint hint).
well, now i just have to wing it...some random thoughts...not excited about the giants 2007 squad...excited about catching up with a lot of people next week...very excited about christmas with the fam...not excited about losing camera cables...loving the fact that the cable has been shut off for a couple of weeks now, it's like a new world without tv...this means tv shows on dvd (i.e. season one of how i met your mother...awesome)...
no book recommendations today (however, check out the new issue of the burnside writer's collective...link is to the right, right over there)...more than enough to keep interested and entertained...later this week will likely be my last post for '06 which means...top 5 lists!
(8:05 pm) the cord has been found! never mind all that at the beginning...here's a totally different, but amazing picture for to you look at anyway!
well, now i just have to wing it...some random thoughts...not excited about the giants 2007 squad...excited about catching up with a lot of people next week...very excited about christmas with the fam...not excited about losing camera cables...loving the fact that the cable has been shut off for a couple of weeks now, it's like a new world without tv...this means tv shows on dvd (i.e. season one of how i met your mother...awesome)...
no book recommendations today (however, check out the new issue of the burnside writer's collective...link is to the right, right over there)...more than enough to keep interested and entertained...later this week will likely be my last post for '06 which means...top 5 lists!
(8:05 pm) the cord has been found! never mind all that at the beginning...here's a totally different, but amazing picture for to you look at anyway!
Saturday, December 09, 2006
03259
whew! that last post really generated some interesting feedback...thanks to everyone who i got to engage in a bit of dialogue with, that was fun! (next time i quote shane i'll make sure i have a little more free time in the schedule...and perhaps next time i'll pick a really controversial quote)
- for those of you who have itunes and are into podcasts, check out the mosaic podcast from 12/3 "new under the sun"...mcmanus has some great things to say to those of us who are idealistically bent...there was so much illumination coming from my computer that i had to leave the room.
- tomorrow i'm teaching out of john 1 and i'm pretty excited about it...(i know what you are thinking...especially if you were involved with the nexus when i was there: can this guy do anything outside the book of John?)
- stephen colbert was voted 2006 media person of the year...awesome! http://www.iwantmedia.com/personoftheyear/06.html
- the david crowder band has been nominated for MSN's artist of the year...along with the likes of Christina Aguilera, Kenny Chesney, Prince, and INXS (http://music.msn.com/music/artistofthemonth) i have a couple of thoughts about this...
1) he's winning by a land slide which is a testament to Crowder's ability to mobilize his fan base (although i wonder if the other artists even know they are nominated...i don't think Christina is too worried about MSN)
2) more importantly, it demonstrates once again (as if we needed more evidence) that Crowder is clearly operating on a different level than anyone else in the christian music industry (especially in that bizarre genre know as "worship")...Chris Tomlin, Charlie Hall...insert your favorite worship leader here...are good (please don't take this as a tomlin bashing..wink, wink...) but they are not even in the same league...
one of these days i'll post something about the chapter on crowder from the book "body piercing saved my life"...there's some fascinating stuff in there.
that's it for now...christmas parties abound!
ps. for those of you who are tracking with some of the poverty stuff i've been writing about, here's a book recommendation for you: "the new friars: the emerging movement serving the world's poor," by scott bessenecker...it's a worthy follow up to shane's book.
- for those of you who have itunes and are into podcasts, check out the mosaic podcast from 12/3 "new under the sun"...mcmanus has some great things to say to those of us who are idealistically bent...there was so much illumination coming from my computer that i had to leave the room.
- tomorrow i'm teaching out of john 1 and i'm pretty excited about it...(i know what you are thinking...especially if you were involved with the nexus when i was there: can this guy do anything outside the book of John?)
- stephen colbert was voted 2006 media person of the year...awesome! http://www.iwantmedia.com/personoftheyear/06.html
- the david crowder band has been nominated for MSN's artist of the year...along with the likes of Christina Aguilera, Kenny Chesney, Prince, and INXS (http://music.msn.com/music/artistofthemonth) i have a couple of thoughts about this...
1) he's winning by a land slide which is a testament to Crowder's ability to mobilize his fan base (although i wonder if the other artists even know they are nominated...i don't think Christina is too worried about MSN)
2) more importantly, it demonstrates once again (as if we needed more evidence) that Crowder is clearly operating on a different level than anyone else in the christian music industry (especially in that bizarre genre know as "worship")...Chris Tomlin, Charlie Hall...insert your favorite worship leader here...are good (please don't take this as a tomlin bashing..wink, wink...) but they are not even in the same league...
one of these days i'll post something about the chapter on crowder from the book "body piercing saved my life"...there's some fascinating stuff in there.
that's it for now...christmas parties abound!
ps. for those of you who are tracking with some of the poverty stuff i've been writing about, here's a book recommendation for you: "the new friars: the emerging movement serving the world's poor," by scott bessenecker...it's a worthy follow up to shane's book.
Tuesday, December 05, 2006
03159
here are a few quotes that have been pushing my thinking lately...
1) this is from an interview with kieran kelly, a music producer who's worked with the likes of sufjan stevens and others in the indie rock scene...he's talking about how his faith informs his work and how easy it is for him to turn conversations to the spiritual.
"That is one of the great things that music does to people; it tends to be a much more open environment to be able to have discussions. As opposed to working in an office where if someone was a drug addict or had some sort of extreme lifestyle, it'd be hidden from public view, in a rock 'n' roll setting, everything goes."
i love this quote and it's implications for our church...i hope ctk-durango will always be more rock 'n' roll than stuffy office.
2) if i could i would probably quote shane claiborne's entire book (the irresistible revolution), but here's something i've definitely been experiencing...shane writes: "it is a beautiful thing when folks in poverty are no longer just a missions project but become genuine friends with whom we laugh, cry, dream, and struggle."
this really hit home for me last week. we've been serving at the manna house (the local soup kitchen) and making a lot of friends with some of the "regulars." last tuesday there was a going away party for one of the employees, and i was invited, but couldn't come until about half an hour into the festivities. when i walked in i was immediately confronted with an interesting scenario. the party had naturally organized itself into four groups. one group was comprised of well dressed older gentlemen (i learned that this was the board of directors)...another was a group of older retired couples, sweet people who serve regularly at the kitchen...the third group was made up of a few middle aged folks, again faithful volunteers...
and then the fourth group was jim, james, randall, and two other "clients" sitting by themselves in the corner. i went and sat with them and was simultaneously welcomed and chastised..."what are you doing hanging out with us?" "don't you realize this isn't the happening social scene." they gave me a hard time, but also expressed genuine gratefulness that someone came and sat and ate with them.
i couldn't help thinking that these guys were the only people in the room i would call friends...what other circle of people was i really going to sit down with.
i share this story not to pat myself on the back, or to say that everyone else there was lame, but to show the reality i see behind shane's quote. it really is a beautiful thing. i didn't sit with those guys because i felt sorry for them, because i am such a great guy, or even because of some holy/guilty compulsion. plain and simple, they were the people in the room i know and who know me. beautiful.
i know a lot of church planting manuals will tell you about how to be strategic and find all these successful people to join your church and tithe big and be your elders, but somehow that seems wierd when Jesus says stuff like: "those who are last will be first...everyone who exalts himself will be humbled...when you give a banquet invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind." (see Luke 12-19).
my two deep thoughts for the week. here's to a rock 'n' roll church and jim, james, and randall.
peace
1) this is from an interview with kieran kelly, a music producer who's worked with the likes of sufjan stevens and others in the indie rock scene...he's talking about how his faith informs his work and how easy it is for him to turn conversations to the spiritual.
"That is one of the great things that music does to people; it tends to be a much more open environment to be able to have discussions. As opposed to working in an office where if someone was a drug addict or had some sort of extreme lifestyle, it'd be hidden from public view, in a rock 'n' roll setting, everything goes."
i love this quote and it's implications for our church...i hope ctk-durango will always be more rock 'n' roll than stuffy office.
2) if i could i would probably quote shane claiborne's entire book (the irresistible revolution), but here's something i've definitely been experiencing...shane writes: "it is a beautiful thing when folks in poverty are no longer just a missions project but become genuine friends with whom we laugh, cry, dream, and struggle."
this really hit home for me last week. we've been serving at the manna house (the local soup kitchen) and making a lot of friends with some of the "regulars." last tuesday there was a going away party for one of the employees, and i was invited, but couldn't come until about half an hour into the festivities. when i walked in i was immediately confronted with an interesting scenario. the party had naturally organized itself into four groups. one group was comprised of well dressed older gentlemen (i learned that this was the board of directors)...another was a group of older retired couples, sweet people who serve regularly at the kitchen...the third group was made up of a few middle aged folks, again faithful volunteers...
and then the fourth group was jim, james, randall, and two other "clients" sitting by themselves in the corner. i went and sat with them and was simultaneously welcomed and chastised..."what are you doing hanging out with us?" "don't you realize this isn't the happening social scene." they gave me a hard time, but also expressed genuine gratefulness that someone came and sat and ate with them.
i couldn't help thinking that these guys were the only people in the room i would call friends...what other circle of people was i really going to sit down with.
i share this story not to pat myself on the back, or to say that everyone else there was lame, but to show the reality i see behind shane's quote. it really is a beautiful thing. i didn't sit with those guys because i felt sorry for them, because i am such a great guy, or even because of some holy/guilty compulsion. plain and simple, they were the people in the room i know and who know me. beautiful.
i know a lot of church planting manuals will tell you about how to be strategic and find all these successful people to join your church and tithe big and be your elders, but somehow that seems wierd when Jesus says stuff like: "those who are last will be first...everyone who exalts himself will be humbled...when you give a banquet invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind." (see Luke 12-19).
my two deep thoughts for the week. here's to a rock 'n' roll church and jim, james, and randall.
peace
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