2025-01-28T14:25:39+00:00

Star Wars Or Bust

January 28, 2025/The Bridge Faith Community/Leave a comment

Amazon has this tv series called Icons Unearthed, where they dig under the surface of some very well loved bastions of pop culture, like The Lord Of The Rings and Batman. I think it’s awesome, because I am a guy that can’t ever get enough of the how’s of creation. (The only thing that I am more fascinated by are the why’s.) The Icon I’m currently watching is Star Wars.

I’m not sure there’s anything from my childhood that has been more influential on me than this saga that took place a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away. The characters and their stories captured my imagination in ways other characters had, I am a target market, but to a new, surprising depth and intensity. If you’ve ever been impacted by my life, on any level, you have George Lucas, at least partially, to thank and/or blame.

George Lucas was the science fiction film visionary who conceived the skeleton of the story, a savvy businessman who still rakes in mountains of cash from contracts signed decades ago, for projects and merchandise based on his skeleton. Star Wars also sort of ruined his life. Maybe that’s a reach, a conclusion I arrived at without ever actually hearing from him. He may have always been an introverted curmudgeon who liked processes more than people, Star Wars or not, but it certainly ruined his marriage.

His life led me to think of the warning of Jesus about gaining the whole world but losing your soul. I’m not sure they are connected, and if they are, I think I might have more wrestling to do with the Bible on this.

Have you ever had an idea, or a metaphorical “fire” in your heart? You can act on that, lean into it, or you can not. You can try to shove it way down deep and try to pretend to have never heard the call at all. If you’ve done that, you already know it never stays down and pretending is impossible forever. The spark just gnaws and gnaws at your mind, like rats in the attic.

I remember saying to the Angel, “maybe this thing we’re starting (which happened to be a church), maybe it won’t work, but if we don’t try, I’ll never sleep again.” Maybe that was true.

But what if it costs everything? What if it would have cost me The Angel and my sons – how would I have slept then? But could I have actually given all of me, the best parts of me, to my wife if I suppressed that impulse? Could I have become who I am created to be without taking the shot? And how many people, like me, have have their lives changed by Luke Skywalker and his dad? How much beauty has had it’s genesis in Lucas’s films? What is the “whole world” gained, and what is the “soul” lost?

I know the verses are talking about faith, and the context is about choosing selfishness over God, but in this case (in most cases), it’s not so clear. “What can anyone give in exchange for your soul?” But maybe the “soul” is the art, in this case. Maybe Star Wars is the mission, the blessing to be given through this person, and to ignore it is to “forfeit” his soul, and the “whole world” is his relationship with his wife and family. Maybe they are the sacrifice of faith, in his life.

What if the Angel had said no, said I needed to keep the comfortable, secure job I hated? She might have been married to a shell of a man for the rest of her life. In a vacuum, I think George Lucas would have been happier with her, rather than with his wealth. She was, by all accounts, an absolutely lovely woman. But life isn’t a vacuum. So, with Star Wars inside of him, would he have ever been content?

Maybe he wrote it, gained all the money (among many other things), and blew up his marriage (among many other things), only because he had to prove his worth to his own father, or only because he wanted a few more dollars. That’s an easy application of the words of Jesus. But how many choices in your life have ever been 100-0? Not many. And for us, we’ll never know what actually went into his decision. We can believe it was for unimaginable wealth, but maybe it was faith, an offering of selfless service. When maybe all he really wanted was his wife. Then what?

On screen, Star Wars is a story of good persevering, the triumph of light, hope and love for each other. It’s a hugely successful franchise that may never die. And maybe off screen, it’s an epic tragedy. Our lives are complicated. We’ll never know the why of George Lucas, it’s just vital we know our own.

Dreams

January 20, 2025/The Bridge Faith Community/Leave a comment

This site is asking me what my dream job is…

There’s a story in the Bible I reference often. A blind man reaches out to Jesus, asking for help, and to this, Jesus responds, “What do you want me to do for you?” It sounds pretty simple and obvious, but I have found it’s anything but simple or easy. For an endless number of reasons, we don’t ask to see. We ask for a new can or sunglasses, or a better attitude to deal with the blindness, or enhanced hearing or taste. This man alongside the road understands the assignment, asks to see, and is immediately granted his sight.

So, like the site, I sit down with people and ask, “What do you want?” How they answer that is always fascinating. But the saddest reply (for both of us) is, “I don’t know.” We’ve gotten so used to blindness. Or we’ve lowered our hopes & expectations to the point where sight is impossible. Or, in the case of the site’s question, we’ve stopped dreaming a long time ago.

I had a job for 16 years. It changed my life for the first 10, then quickly deteriorated for the last 6. You’d think I would pray for a new job, new opportunities, an imagination that could hope for a new path. Just something new and wonderful. But my prayer was to endure in a more positive fashion. The site question wouldn’t have made sense. The question from Jesus would’ve been met with silence.

Probably, the most damage we can inflict on our children is to steal their imagination. The adults in the room talk about realistic expectations (which is just another way to open the door for them to join us in dark rooms of despair.) I want to be a superhero. Really? Why? To help people. Because I see injustice. To fix what is broken. Whatever the why, there are a million pathways for that. But I was told, over and over, that it was impossible, that I was wrong and had better craft a Plan B (or C or F) that was more reasonable. Go to college, make money, work in a nice office with a window and fancy title. Get a job and a new car. Wear a suit & tie. Pull your head out of the clouds and chain it to the plow of consumerism. Superheroes aren’t real life.

Except they are. I meet superheroes every day, I see people do extraordinary feats all around. It just takes eyes to see – maybe that’s the point of the interaction between that man and Jesus. We might have our sight, but we sure can’t see. They are (you are) ordinary men & women who haven’t had their dreams dashed on the rocks of ‘good sense,’ who still believe that we can make a difference and change the world, who still believe that every day is a chance to rewrite what is, and create what will be, who love without limit or abandon. Ordinary? No way, they are absolutely superheroes, they just don’t wear capes and cowls.

This is what I get to do. I get to ask those questions, re-frame the conversation, and try to inject some hope back into our lives. This is my dream job, and those grown-ups were wrong, I do get the chance to be a superhero.

Youth Sports, pt. 1,000,000

January 10, 2025/The Bridge Faith Community/Leave a comment

There is a chance my son reaches a pretty significant milestone at his high school basketball game tonight. Whether he does tonight or not, or whether he does at all, is not really the point. I am old enough to have seen many things that were certain fall, and many impossible things happen. I am also wise enough to know the goal isn’t nearly as important as the process.

He’s a very good basketball player. I coached him for one year, when he was 9 or 10. He wasn’t supposed to be on my team, but I was short players and was able to bring him up to play against 11 and 12 year olds. (Maybe I have all of these ages mixed up. They were all very small, and he was 2 years beneath most of the kids in the league.) The team we were playing had a terrific player who did all of the scoring, and my strategy was to match him up with this little boy. I said, only half joking, “you’ll pick him up at half court and lock him up.” We lost, but their player was in a battle, and he knew it.

Lately, all of those stories are going through my head and heart. I watched every practice and game until hight school, when parents were no longer allowed to attend practice, and then I just came to every game. I saw all of these points. As designated rebounder, I saw so many of the offseason shots that go into an accomplishment like this. I have seen all of the repetitions in the weight room, injuries, missed shots, heartbreaks, and SO many fouls uncalled.

One of the Bible passages that are etched deeply into my soul is in Genesis 28. Jacob wakes from a dream and says, “Surely the Lord was in this place, and I was unaware.” To me, this means I can never wake up unaware. Jacob missed God, missed the divine, missed the beauty, the love, the wonder of this beautiful life that he had been given. We have the same opportunity, to open our eyes or not, to like lives awake or asleep. I missed much of my dad, and I don’t want to do it again.

This son is graduating this year and will be going away to college. This is unbelievable. And it is killing me at the same time. An awesome, authentic life requires our presence, and that requires (at least) 2 hands. As the great philosopher Rob Base said, “Joy and pain, sunshine and rain.” All change, even the best one, is also loss, and must be mourned. I am celebrating and mourning.

This is what my grateful heart looks like. Cold, broken, big, soft, everything, all the time. My heart is in perfect working condition.

This is a big deal that may happen tonight, and he deserves it. And I’m proud of him, more than I can tell you. Everybody gets gifts, possibility, a call and an invitation, from Our Creator, but what we do with them is largely left to us. The Spirit prompts, leads, moves our hearts, but allows us to say “no” and stay on the couch. There are a million paths, which one will we choose?

If it happens tonight, and if they stop the game, and if we get to take a picture with him in the moment, I’ll be the one with the red, watery eyes. I’ll be thinking of bringing his small new self home from the hospital, him sleeping on my chest, his surgery, the moments of his life, making him breakfast and holding his hand. I’ll be thinking about Jacob, and if I have been unaware. And I’ll know that I have, in spaces, at times (I’m not even close to a perfect person, after all.) But I have been there, and I’ll be there for as long as I am able.

He has been a gift to me, as has his brother, and the Angel, of course the Angel, who I will stand next to – tonight and every night – on the court and off. It’s a good thing they’re gifts, because there’s NO WAY I could ever dream of paying any of this abundance back.

I hesitate to write about this moment, but as we all walk through this beautiful life, we are learning to lean in together. This isn’t about points, has never been about points, it’s about presence. It’s about showing up to our lives, in honesty and in love. Even at high school basketball games.

Complicated

January 7, 2025/The Bridge Faith Community/Leave a comment

The site prompt is, ‘What could you do differently?” And I LOVE that question. It’s not what I’m going to write about today, but I imagine I will soon. Today, instead, it’ll be about 2 complicated documentaries that I recently watched.

A British Horror Story is the account of Jimmy Saville, a British celebrity for 40+ years. I don’t remember ever hearing his name, though I think that’s impossible. As you know, I am somewhat of a pop culture aficionado. Maybe I did, but not remembering someone as odd looking as Seville is equally impossible. That someone this unappealing was a star in a visual medium is quite unusual. Anyway, appearances aside, he was as odd and unappealing in his life, as well.

A woman who knew him guessed that she had never seen someone do as much good as he did. He had given years and years, with much fundraising and publicity, for English hospitals, detention spaces, and mental health centers. Of course, he also sexually abused the patients in those facilities, more than 400 formal counts. There’s that.

The Curious Case of Natalia Grace is far more difficult to explain. Natalia is a little person who is either 22 or 35 years old. Either she is a psychopath who tried to murder her adoptive parents without any cause whatsoever, or the victim of horrific physical violence. No one is particularly likable in this series, and it’s totally probably that no one is telling the truth. I haven’t finished all of it. Maybe there is a resolution in the end, but so far, the Angel and I change our opinion on who the real villain is each episode. Is there a villain? Are they all villains? Are they all victims, too?

Now that I’m on this, a really good friend saw the Dylan biopic (featuring the alleged, noted STD super-spreader and terrific actor Timothy Chalamet) and has been obsessed with listening to old records, while trying to reconcile the fact that Dylan was, perhaps, not the nicest person.

I went to see Morrissey in November, and walked around the hotel, wanting him to sign my t-shirt. But only sign my shirt. I don’t want to have a conversation with him, or sit down to dinner together. He and his music absolutely changed my life, but personally, he is widely known as holding many of the characteristics that I actively avoid in others.

This is why I wrote ‘complicated’ documentaries, earlier. People are rarely just one thing. The woman in the Saville doc was right, he did an amazing amount of good, for many people. And he was a complete monster. He, likely, did those good things for one reason: to gain access. All of this is true. In the Natalia Grace series, are they all victims, or are they all villains? Yes. Chalamet is an STD farm (allegedly) and a brilliant artist. Dylan was a genius and a jerk. Morrissey is both the guy you want to listen to on your headphones, and the one you don’t want to talk to in person.

I used to have a need to know which one. Things and people needed to be black or white. Heroes or heels. Good guys or bad guys. Dallas Cowboys or New York Giants.

One of my first idols was, baseball pitcher, Roger Clemens. His stats are nearly unparalleled, and he’s not in the Hall of Fame because he cheated, using truckloads of steroids, and is still lying about it. Now what? Is he the best, or the worst?

The truth is that the answer is neither. We’re all very complex, beautiful and flawed. We’re all capable of great evil and the most selfless love and kindness you’ve ever seen. The inmates in the scariest prisons are someone’s mommy or daddy, another’s son or daughter. I didn’t understood the phrase, “there but for the grace of God go I,” when I was younger. I sure do now.

This is why I watch these documentaries, to hold contradictions and complications, to care well for the flesh and blood people in my own life. To make me a soft place to land.

New Years

December 26, 2024/The Bridge Faith Community/Leave a comment

Christmas is over, New Years is next week, and it’s the perfect time to take a moment to reflect on the year that was, and will be. That’s what I’m doing, asking all of the questions that I ask every week (here and in most of my sermons): Who am I? Who am I becoming? Is that who I want to become? Where are the blind spots in my life that need to be addressed? What needs extra attention?

It’s not so much goal setting, as it is route setting. I care far less about where I eventually end up, as the person that ends up making the journey. Maybe that’s because I would have never, in 2 million years, picked anything about the person I am or the life this particular person has to circle on a vision board (if I were to ever be forced to create a vision board.) And this person and this life infinitely eclipses everything for which I could’ve dreamed.

So, I think about the values and characteristics 5 years from now me might hold, and set a navigation plan to develop them. But the course is in pencil, or dry erase, just in case the Spirit corrects this course to one more suited to the person I’m called to be.

I choose a word for the year. In the past it was release, gratitude, rest…oh yes, release. I think release was several of the past 10 years. You see, I have historically had trouble with expectations and control – this is one of those blind spots that required many years of digging to excavate. But once it was out, it became obvious that it was causing so much fear, anxiety, stress and distress. It needed to be foremost in my mind to critique. Maybe expectations aren’t awful all the time, are they? No, is what I discovered, and now I can tell you the specific times they aren’t. Same with control. These things aren’t necessarily toxic, but they certainly can be. I just need to be able to tell the difference, and that took (is taking) years and years of intention.

Are there things in my life that need to be left behind? Or are there things that I need to begin? The short answer is yes, of course. If our answer is no, then maybe a little self-awareness is the one to be added.

Where have I been unhealthy, and from that, where can I tale steps to be healthier? This isn’t just sugar or trans fats or exercise, it’s sleep and generational curses and bad theology and hypocrisy and sleep and negative patterns and addictions and lies we’ve believed that were lies then and are lies now (or maybe weren’t then but sure are now) and and and.

It’s no secret I love New Years, but not just January 1 New Years. I love new years, and they start anytime we say they start. This time of year is just a convenient calendar replacement that serves as a loud invitation. But they can start next Monday or last Thursday, in January or July. They just need to start, right? So, here we are, ringing in the new year and the next chapters in our new lives, together.

Beautiful Things

December 18, 2024/The Bridge Faith Community/Leave a comment

I am hesitant to write yet another post about high school/youth sports, and I am especially hesitant to comment on the officiating in these contests. (I have written them, but have not posted them. I usually like to be a positive voice in a sea of increasing vitriol.) However. There will be a point that is much bigger than one game or season, right in the middle of a loooong silly rambling treatise.

I had a very elementary, yet personally profound, realization. You see, the officiating at these contests is generally, with few exceptions, abysmal. It’s simple incompetence. I don’t think these people are bad people (I mean, there are psychos walking around, so there are probably some in every field…and sometimes, they are quite rude and condescending), it just appears that they are overwhelmed by the speed and physicality of the game. But big deal, right? It’s high school sports. It’s just a game. So what if some middle-aged, overweight guys in stripes can’t manage to control the kids?

And that’s true, to a certain extent. But last night, as it was happening, I was wondering why we all (and myself in particular) get so invested in fairly trivial things, and why this inadequacy is so maddening. Of course, none of this is an excuse. Parents are much of what broke youth sports, and there is no space where a human being should be screamed at or publicly belittled, especially not in a high school gymnasium. These are human beings with families and maybe find themselves here, over their skis, ostensibly because they see a need and want to see the games played. I wrote last year about why it is that I get so excited (or what I like to call passionate;) and why it’s such a bad look for a man, regardless of that reason. This is not that post. This is a post with some observations, and the last one will be the “personally profound realization.”

*We like the illusion of fairness. We want to pretend that the ground is level and everyone gets an equal opportunity. We believe in justice and that we all get what we deserve. This is, obviously, not true anywhere. The best songs are almost never the most popular. Sometimes the most horrific things happen to the best people. Innocent people sit in prison while the guilty walk free. But we want it to be true in sports. And we’d really like it to be true for our children. It’s not, and evidence of that can be wildly frustrating.

*The most common excuse given for the state of officiating in all amateur sports is that “it’s hard to find” willing participants. I hear and can understand that argument (after all, parents are not the easiest to handle), while dismissing it as hollow. It is a paid position. This isn’t volunteerism. (But even then, if you help at the hospital information desk and consistently send people to wrong buildings and floors, maybe a change is in order.) But paid positions require a certain base level of competence…

…and to offer such a flippant excuse, is, essentially, an assent that youth sports, and by extension, the athletes, really aren’t that important to us. Maybe this is actually reasonable, but considering that sports are religion in America, it’s a mixed message. We either care or we don’t.

Now, the much bigger societal issue is what we’ll call the “It Is What It Is” mentality. It’s the language of despair, and an convenient escape hatch for the risk and responsibility of growth or change. We excuse any and all behavior, filing it under the category of “this is just who I am,” forgetting (or ignoring) that we don’t have to stay that way. Marriages, jobs, faith, habits, generational curses, whatever. Is our destiny really to just get by on the same path, walking the same steps we always have, accepting everything because “it is what it is,” while throwing our hands up in the air? And the arrogance of this stagnant position does nothing but assure more stagnation. Sports officiating might be the least important of all of the symptoms of this disease, but it is a symptom, nonetheless.

There are 40 year old boys I know that have no expectations whatsoever placed upon them. Oh well, shrug, he’s just that way. This lack of hope is depressing, and the next time it is helpful will be the first. Maybe if we stop accepting the lowest possible outcome, we’ll begin to get something different.

The truth is, whether I should or not, I care a lot. About the kids – I don’t want anyone getting injured simply because an official is under qualified and overwhelmed. I want them to enjoy sports and all of the great effects of participation, at all age and skill levels. That is my main interest, honestly. It’s not just the right thing to say between games on a blog so I don’t sound like a raving lunatic with poor priorities. Having said that, my profound epiphany is:

*I love beautiful things. 3 weeks ago, I attended a Morrissey concert. What if the sound engineer was ill-equipped? What if he didn’t know how to operate the board, and was a little tone deaf? The guitars might be too loud, the bass overdone, and the vocal mix out of balance. We may not be able to hear Morrissey, instead getting too much of the keyboard or rhythm guitar. Let’s say Brene Brown was giving a talk on relationships, and the microphone kept cutting out or the lights were flashing because the ones who should check batteries forgot. Would that be an obstacle to her brilliant talent? Would we accept it as “just how it is?” It’s hard to get sound guys, why bother to train them or hold them responsible for sub-par performance?

Basketball is an absolutely lovely sport, full of creativity and athleticism, as well as sharply choreographed cooperative movements. It can be an awesome display of the dance between giftedness and hard work. When a game is poorly controlled, this dance becomes a scrum. The inherent beauty of meaningful brushstrokes becomes a chaotic mess, noisy and disconcerting.

I’m not sorry for loving beautiful things. I’m not sorry for my passion for art (including sport). I’m not sorry for wanting all interested kids to be able to play, if they want to, without extra risk of violent injury. I’m not sorry that I value excellence, in any and all fields. And I’m nowhere close to sorry that I wholeheartedly reject the desperate “Is What It Is” nonsense.

What I might be sorry for is that “middle-aged, overweight” comment earlier.

Am I Woke?

December 9, 2024/The Bridge Faith Community/Leave a comment

The Star Wars films ranked: 1. Episode 8, The Last Jedi. 2. Episode 7, The Force Awakens. 3. Rogue One. 4. Episode 5, The Empire Strikes Back. 5 (tie). Episode 4, A New Hope. Episode 6, Return of the Jedi. Episode 3, Revenge of the Sith. Episode 9, Rise of Skywalker. 9. Solo. 10. Episode 1, The Phantom Menace. 1,000 (to just list it as last underestimates just how bad the actual movie is. The story is fine, it’s ok in theory, but in reality, it’s just an epic load of garbage.) Episode 2, Attack of the Clones.

It’s possible to disagree, I suppose, with all but the first and last, and that’s up to you. But last weekend, as I was watching Force Awakens for the 20th or 30th time, I now know why that last trilogy is the best. It’s obvious, and probably nothing new to you. You’ve surely known this for years. It’s Daisy Ridley, and her character, Rey.

What’s odd is that, when I told my family in this personal eureka moment, they called me “woke.” Am I woke? What’s woke? I mean, I think I know what “woke” is, I’ve heard it in all sorts of contexts. But here, stating a clear fact, what could it possibly mean to be woke? My son said it both ironically and derisively, so I think he meant it AS ironic derision, like he was poking fun at the common online trolling of this perspective.

But what does that mean? Am I a part of the “woke mob?” What does it mean to be “woke?” Is loving Rey more than Luke Skywalker the first sign? The only sign? You know, now that I think of it, I even liked The Acolyte series…a lot! I thought The Marvels was flawed, but fun. Same with Agatha All Along and Echo. Is thinking that a female can be the protagonist in a story that’s not about motherhood or romance “woke?” I hated Episode 2, but in my defense, I thought Natalie Portman (a usually terrific actor) was horrible in it. Now that I think of it, is it particularly woke to call her an actor instead of actress???

I didn’t mind that the love story in Frozen wasn’t romantic, was between sisters, and the males were ancillary characters. I didn’t even care too much that the women saved the day, and the guys.

I didn’t think it was pandering to an agenda when Agatha kissed Rio, in Agatha All Along. I simply thought more women kiss other women nowadays, and art (especially popular art) reflects the culture. I also thought NWA used explicit lyrics because people they knew in the lives they led used explicit lyrics, not because they had a far-reaching villainous plot to turn us all into gangstas.

Rey is funny, real, scared & surprised at her power and very, very strong. Oh boy. I think its possible that I might be woke. Think? I didn’t even mention her looks. SMH. And, and, and, I thought Rose was awesome. “I saved you, dummy.” So good. They were right, I am totally “woke.”

So, what does that mean? What do me and my mob have to do? I don’t really want to boycott anything (except episode 2) or remake old Disney movies with flipped gender roles. I don’t even know how to create memes. I just want to watch great films with well-written characters I care about. And I want to see everything Daisy Ridley is in. If that’s the hidden agenda of my mob, I guess I’m in.

Under The Covers

December 3, 2024/The Bridge Faith Community/Leave a comment

I’m listening to “Good Luck, Babe!” two times in a row, once by Postmodern Jukebox and the other by Chappell Roan. Later, I’ll listen to “Too Sweet” two times, the original by Hozier and the cover version by the Macarons Project. Earlier, Rod Stewart’s “Maggie May” by Susanna Hoffs, and The National’s version of “Never Tear Us Apart.” There is a playlist on my music app called Prime Covers. (I use the word “prime” in each of my playlists, thinking it’s equal parts clever and commentary on the ubiquitous nature of the Amazon brand. It’s probably neither, it’s probably just dumb. Same goes for the title of this blog, which could be clever but is probably just dumb.)

I love cover songs, have always loved cover songs.

I do not, however, like too faithful note-for-note replays. Why? I didn’t like Van Sant’s Psycho shot-for-shot remake, either. The current exception is “Right Down The Line” – original by Gerry Rafferty, cover by Local Natives. Maybe that’s because the song/lyrics remind me so much of the Angel (“It was you, woman, right down the line.”) I could hear either one and be very happy. But usually, I can’t enjoy it because I’m waiting for something new and interesting that never comes.

I want completely different imaginings of these songs. My example of a perfect cover would be Danzig covering Pat Benatar’s “Love Is A Battlefield.” Danzig is not Pat Benatar, but “Love Is A Battlefield” sounds like a sentiment he could get behind. Everything would be perfect. Postmodern Jukebox’s “Good Luck, Babe!” sounds like an early ‘60’s b-side, and is better in every way than Chappell Roan’s. “Too Sweet” is different enough, but Hozier’s version is the alpha. This is usually the case, original’s are mostly indispensable, with the cover being a quirky distraction.

I suppose “All Along The Watchtower” is the best example of the new absolutely replacing the old. After Jimi Hendrix played his, no one would ever purposefully listen to Bob Dylan’s again. This is a very very rare phenomena.

One Sunday morning, in our church service, I played “Be My Baby,” by the Ronettes and then again by Bayside. Nobody actually thinks the Bayside version is better, but there are people who would, at certain times and places, rather hear a catchy pop punk tune than a classic piece of Heaven, with a transcendent Ronnie Spector performance (is there another kind???).

The point was, we have a Gospel that is the most amazing, awesome Truth, and there’s a Great Commission that asks us to take this Gospel everywhere. Not everyone likes Chappell Roan, or Danzig, or Bob Dylan, but these songs need to be heard, the audience needs to grow for beautiful things. And not everyone likes my face or voice or shoes, but everyone desperately needs this Gospel of grace, peace, and love. Maybe they need your version, instead.

Pop Songs

November 25, 2024/The Bridge Faith Community/Leave a comment

There is a song called “Cinderella Snapped,” by someone named Jax. I don’t know much about Jax, because we live in a mostly post-artist world. We choose songs instead of albums and are loyal to no one. Maybe Jax will have another good song (and, in fact, she does, called “Victoria’s Secret.” Maybe there’s more, but nobody really cares. If she does, the algorithm on my Amazon music app will make sure I hear it. My favorite song on Nevermind is “Drain You,” but album tracks are a relic of ancient times, so we’d never hear it today), but that’s besides the point. This one is perfect. It’s about Disney princesses opening their eyes and moving on from the common narrative. (I’m not sure, maybe I’m “woke.” I’ll think about it later.)

The 2nd verse is one of the most perfect examples of what popular music can be, what a beautifully transcendent medium it is. “When the smoke cleared, every girl in the whole land. Woke the f- up and started making demands. Rapunzel shaved their head, so there was nothin’ to climb on. Jasmine made out with Mulan. Sleeping Beauty sued the dude who kissed her while she was asleep. And Ariel was confident without any feet. Tiana went and got a Biomedical Degree. And Beauty realized that she was the Beast.” So good.

Jax is a former contestant on American Idol. Does this say something good or bad? Who knows? There was a time I would have said it’s the worst thing, but now? Whatever.

There’s another song called “Beautiful Things,” by Benson Boone. “Crazy In Love,” by Beyoncé, “Never Tear Us Apart,” by INXS, “Rebel Yell,” by Billy Idol are perfect radio songs. “Beautiful Things” is also perfect. I might say “Too Sweet,” by Hozier is, too, but maybe not. Probably. Anyway. I’m not perfect, by any measure, but I think if I were a pop song, this is the one I’d be.

It’s sweet and romantic, he’s found a girl his parents love, and when she comes and spends the night, he thinks he might have it all. He thanks God every day for the girl He sent his way. Swoon. Me too. I’ve been married to the Angel for almost 25 years and I told her again last night that I can’t believe I’m the only one that gets to kiss her like this. I am truly grateful and thank God every day for the woman He sent my way.

There are some questionable ideas: Does God “take away” blessings? Do I really need her? But this is a pop song, after all, and it’s pretty fun for there to be anything interesting to discuss in a 3 minute song about love. I do hope I don’t lose her, though, need or not.

But then the song builds quickly and gets loose. He wails to “please stay,” and asks that God would not “take these beautiful things that he’s got.” (Does “got” imply ownership? I bet Jax would have thoughts.) The verses appeal to everyone with ears and a heart, but the chorus is risky, with sharp edges. (Just an fyi, the Angel hates this hook. She’s wrong.) I am leaving behind my overwhelming need for people pleasing, and instead embracing my sharp edges in the service of authenticity in my own divine creation.

Then it slows and finishes. The only negative to this gem is the same as “Never Tear Us Apart” – it’s too short. It’s in and out, changes you, nothing is ever the same again, and you are left wishing you had more time with it. I would like it if you said any of those things about me.

The truth is, these 2 songs are exactly what they are, without apology. They’re exactly what they’ve been created to be. And maybe that’s the coolest thing about them. “Cinderella Snapped” doesn’t want to be Bob Dylan or Taylor Swift, it isn’t afraid to be as deep as the sea while sounding like the sky. “Beautiful Things” knows it’s the Beast and is willing to scream out loud about it. Maybe we can see ourselves in them, and maybe I see the me that I’m finally stepping into. We’re not “Beautiful Things” or anything else. I’m just me, you’re just you, and that is enough. In fact, it’s much, much more than enough.

A Few Observations On The Election

November 8, 2024/The Bridge Faith Community/Leave a comment

Maybe you missed it, but there was an election to decide the President of the United States this week. I am no different from most of the rest of us, we are all overflowing with emotions & observations that will take days, months, years to unpack and reconcile.

I don’t like to speak publicly about who and/or what, specifically, I politically support. Far more important to me is offering everyone a seat at every table, where we are comfortable and safe to explore and discover our own place in our journey. It’s never helpful to try to control others conclusions or beat them into changing their minds – not helpful to relationships and always unsuccessful.

What has hurt us, as a nation (of course) and as human beings, is the belief that we are not just one group, but we are 2, an us/them dichotomy, adversaries where I am right and you are wrong. I am interested in bridging imaginary gaps and reminding us all that we are all moms & dads, brothers & sisters, just people all in the same strange boat, inviting us all to the table. And big beautiful tables like that aren’t ever built by hanging signs on the front door that some aren’t welcome. We listen and try to understand, and when we don’t, we love anyway.

I do have some observations, (hopefully) without endorsement or judgment of you and your conclusions.

Let’s say Pepsi and Coke are the only available soft drinks. And let’s also say we don’t like them. They’re not great, but we figure that one is marginally better than the other. Now, let’s say a new company comes along to disrupt the status quo. We complain about the 2 soda empires, but we continue to only buy Coke or Pepsi. Do you think anything would ever change? Do you think Coke will sink any time, energy, or money into putting out a better product? Do you think Pepsi will ever decide to transform the dual monopoly, if it means cutting their own profits and market share? Of course, neither of them would jeopardize their own power and wealth. Our participation in this 2 cola race (voting with our wallets to ignore any other drinks) is validation of an only 2 cola race. In this case, we deserve Pepsi & Coke.

I do wish we deserved/demanded a wide array of choices in our soft drinks.

I am a religious person – but maybe not the kind of religious that you might have in your head. What I actually mean is that I love and follow Jesus, and I love you, too. So, a really big problem is when we replace God with a person or party, and when we replace the enemy with a person or party. (After writing and deleting what I’ve written several times,) That’s all I’ll say about that.

What I know, after this and every election, is that we are still an us, there are no monsters here, and as long as division reigns supreme, we will drift farther and farther apart. We will dig our feet into our respective Coke or Pepsi camps, and hurl violent insults (and more) from our right-ness into their wrong-ness, killing our opponents, before we ever wake up to the truth that in killing them, we have been killing ourselves all along.

Love With A Capital L

A journey towards living an inspired life of love in the modern world

Tag: perspective