Steve’s Blog

Hey everyone, this Sunday after church we are going to continue our Lenten movie series with  “O Brother, Where Art Thou?” .   Afterwards I’m leading the discussion on the symbolism (particularly baptism) in the film as well as  how it wrestles with the idea of redemption.  I hope you can join us.

Hey everyone, the high school retreat is set for Dec. 4-6 up in Big Bear!  It’s going to be a great weekend full of relaxation, reflection and fun.  Be at the church at 5:30 on Friday the 4th so that we can grab some food and hit the road.  We will be back at church around 12pm on Sunday so that we can meet up with everyone after church.  The retreat costs $100 for each student and includes all food, transportation and lodging.  If you have any questions please feel free to email Steve at steve@westwoodpres.org.

…that is what Daniel Lanois calls his pedal steel guitar.  Last Thursday I went to go see Mr. Lanois set up church at the Troubadour with his new band Black Dub and listen to him preach through his craft.  Lanois’ music has a deeply spiritual and melancholy nature to it that resonates with the authentic struggles and trials of a person wrestling with their faith while trying to understand the world they live in.  Though the night was meant  to showcase his new group the hour and a half set included a couple of songs from his solo career including the heart breakingly beautiful song “The Maker.”

I was introduced to “The Maker” back in the mid 90’s when I heard the Dave Matthews Band cover the song live in concert and was blown away by it’s honesty.  At that moment I was beginning to identify spiritual themes and desires in “secular” music but had yet come across a song with the depth and desperation as this.  Though the lyrics describe the struggle and hope of a life with a God that at times is distant it is the music that captures the confusing yet fluid nature of faith.  The groove is steady and hopeful yet has an aching that begs for resolution.  It captures the longing that we have for the divine as we continue through the uncertenties of faith. 

I was talking with a friend the other day about how in church we rarely sing songs that focus on our aching questions, loneliness, doubts, struggles and ultimate feeling of isolation from God.  When was the last time you heard anything from Lamentations or Job in church?  We like to focus on the happy endings and songs of praise when the majority of faith is spent in the fog and shadows of life.  “The Maker” is a poignant declaration about the reality of  struggle in our spiritual  lives that points to the hope of a meaningful life with God.  Though the song needs to be experienced to understand it’s full impact, I’ll leave you with one verse that continuously challenges and affirms my faith:

My body is bent and broken
by long and dangerous leaps
I can’t work the fields of abraham
and turn my head away
I’m not a stranger
in the eyes of the maker

Hey everyone, just a reminder that this Sunday is our church’s annual benefit musicale.  This year it is going to be super kid friendly with tons of familiar Disney songs that I’m sure they know by heart (I know I can’t get “It’s a Small World” out of my head, no matter how hard I try).  Not only will it be a lot of fun but this is one of our largest fund raisers for the ministries of the church.  So please join us at 5pm on Sunday for a great night and an even better cause.

Get ready middle schoolers, the craziness of CHAOS starts tomorrow from 4-5:30!  We bumped up the time to help those families that have younger kids coming to W@W but don’t worry, we are still going to have our own time of music, games and more.  See you tomorrow from 4-5:30!

Just a reminder that we are having a high school day of service at the PATH mall tomorrow.  Meet at church at 8 am (I’ll have donuts and coffee waiting) and we will be back at 3 pm.  This is a great way to get a jump start on the service hours you need for school.  Please let me know if you plan on coming out!

Hey everyone, just a reminder that the high school group is going to the Putting Edge for some glow in the dark mini golf and then grabbing dinner at Johnny Rockets tomorrow night.  Meet at WPC at 5pm so that we can neon-ify ourselves before heading out for the evening and we will be back by 8pm.  The whole evening costs only $20!!!!  That includes golf and dinner!!!  Can’t wait to see you tomorrow!

High Schoolers, don’t forget that we are going to go see one of my favorite bands, Everest, next Thursday, July 9.  Meet at WPC for dinner at 7 and then we will walk over to the Hammer museum to see the show.  We should be back at WPC around 10:30.  The best part is that it is all FREE!!!! Bring your friends, your cousins, your grandma, your imaginary pets (okay maybe not grandma).  If you have any questions or comments leave them as a comment on this post or e-mail me.  Hope to see you all on Sunday as well as Thursday.

Super cool show just announced!  One of my favorite bands Everest is going to be playing a free, all ages show at the Hammer museum right across from church at 8pm on July 9th.  More details to come but I want us all to go.  (and if you haven’t heard Everest I HIGHLY suggest you check them out.)

Yesterday was the last meeting of my theology and culture class and we talked a lot about what it means to be a Christian in our current cultural situation (sorry, no answers here). One of the main issues that kept being brought up as the conversation went on was the role of religion in the new spiritual practices that are starting to emerge. In my experience people will often tell me that they are spiritual but not religious but they have a hard time defining religion aside from the traditional structure of the church.  As we were debating what exactly is religion, one of my classmates put it this way:  Any action that is repeated is a ritual and any ritual that has a spiritual meaning is religion.  

If I define myself by the rituals I practice I am a devout Coffee Bean-ian, Sportscenter-ian, Read in Bed-ian and even a fundamental Facebook-ian.  But I would not say that any of these are a spiritual experience even though they are habitual and repeated actions.  But as I was thinking about all the repeated actions that DO have a spiritual meaning I am so much more than a chrurch-ian.  The most relevant of these repeated actions would be that of buying a new music album at midnight when it is released.  

As most of you know, I am a music freak and am always on the look out for great new music (any suggestions?).  My introduction into the religion of midnight music came in the fall of 1998 when the Dave Matthews Band released “Before These Crowded Streets” and the local record store in my home town was throwing a midnight release party to celebrate and allow fans to buy it the second it came out.  I had been looking toward to this album for weeks and when Monday night came around it felt like a pilgrimage to the promised land where my reward was waiting for me.  When I got there I found more than just a line of crazy people (like myself) waiting to buy music but a community of “believers” waiting for the new revelation and experience of the Dave Matthews Band.  And at midnight we all gathered around the counter, eager to receive what we had been waiting for.

I remember unwrapping the cd on my way to the car and taking in the entire package… the artwork, the lyrics, the graphics, the liner notes… all of them building the anticipation.   Once in my car I put the cd in my car stereo and was greeted by the joyous introduction of “Pantala Naga Pampa” (the first track on the album).  I drove home in my own cocoon of music and revelation.  As I got back to my house I sat in my driveway and just listened, song after song until the album was over and my moment of musical clarity had run it’s course.  After that night I made it a ritual to go to the record store at midnight to get the albums I was really excited for.  It became my ritual (and future paradigm) for experiencing the revelatory power of music that was nothing less than spiritual.  Thus began my religion of midnight music.

I tried to paint the picture of how influential this practice was for me because I don’t think I will ever have it again.  The new Dave Matthews Band album came out today but I wasn’t waiting at a record store with my community of fellow enthusiasts, instead I downloaded it from itunes at 9pm (midnight Eastern Standard Time).  It hurt a little to tell the truth.  Sure I had the music, same result as going to a store, but I had missed out on everything else.  It shows the changing nature of how we do things, not just in consumer practices but in all areas of our lives.  As my mind continues struggling with what spiritual rituals we practice it is hard not to draw the connection between my musical religion and my spiritual one.  Just as the way we experience and process music has changed I believe there is a re-evaluating of spirituality going on where the rituals are being questioned and re-thought.  I’m not saying this is a bad thing but it’s going on all around us.  I feel it’s time to begin new rituals, musical and spiritual that will bring about the revelation and community that has been lost.  I don’t know what it looks like and I don’t know what it’s done but maybe there are rituals in our lives where God is begging to come in and show us what spirituality in our individual context can be.