be a dear and call the paramedics...

it is very hard for us mortals - even for us beginning-to-believe-in-Jesus mortals - to get Jesus right. our first instincts seem so right. but we must constantly relearn Jesus on his own terms. this relearning process is a lifelong, continuing-education course for disciples, a course that never seems to end…

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—	dale bruner, a commentary on the gospel of john

Mount Blog: Solitude v. Community »

themount:

This is something The Mount’s Leadership Team has been reading and dwelling on this week in our quiet times…it’s from the book “Life Together” by Dietrich Bonhoeffer.

“Let the one who cannot be alone beware of community. They will only do harm to themselves and the community. Alone you stood…

no joke he puked ten second after this picture. #baby #fatherhood (Taken with instagram)

[Flash 10 is required to watch video]

no no daddy…probably won’t be as cute when he’s 12.

I have to tell you that over the course of several years as I have talked to friends and family and neighbors when I think about members of my own staff who are in incredibly committed monogamous relationships, same-sex relationships, who are raising kids together, when I think about those soldiers or airmen or marines or sailors who are out there fighting on my behalf and yet feel constrained, even now that Don’t Ask Don’t Tell is gone, because they are not able to commit themselves in a marriage, at a certain point I’ve just concluded that for me personally it is important for me to go ahead and affirm that I think same sex couples should be able to get married.

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—	Barack Obama in an interview with ABC News (via nprfreshair)

summer twilight series predictions.

each year the local government in salt lake steps outside itself and allows the arts council to use some tax money on things other than road construction and lobbying oil companies and hosts the twilight summer concert series. each thursday night in the summer, salt lake hosts the biggest free party of the west. before i make my predictions, a bit of history and a few rules to the summer twilight concert series.

HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE (read: i’m old and have been around a while)
the twilight series used to be terrible. i went in high school and every week it was a hippie jam band with another hippie jam band opening. usually leftover salmon was on the bill, either as an opener or the headlining act. about 200 people would come, but eventually the 25-minute mandolin jams and smell of patchouli would drive everyone back to their homes. about 2006/2007 the arts council started dabbling with a variety of music styles that appealed to people who shower and have jobs. the shows were still largely hippie gatherings, but artists like martin sexton, the rebirth brass band, yo la tengo, and peter, bjorn and john made appearances. 2008 really marked the beginning of the modern concert series as most of us know it. after years of mediocrity and small crowds (people would bring lawn chairs and sit for the entire show), the arts council hosted a summer with: the roots (which shut the city down), andrew bird, josh ritter, the cool kids, broken social scene and neko case (among others). 2009 continued this trend with artists like bon iver, the black keys, and iron and wine. the popularity of these weekly parties exploded and forced the move to pioneer park (away from the smaller, quaint gallivan center).

RULES
in my experience, there are a few guiding principles to the summer twilight series that need to be taken into account before we can make any reasonable predictions to who the line up might feature.

1. no repeats. the modern summer twilight concert series has not brought anyone back who has previously taken the thursday night stage (this includes openers). in past iterations, michael franti made repeat appearances as did david grisman. there are two modern exceptions that i can think of: neko case played a few years ago and then in 2010 the new pornographers played and thurston moore played last year and his band sonic youth played in 2009. when making your guesses, scratch bands like: girl talk, modest mouse, okkervil river, and delta spirit.

2. categories. summer twilight seems to have settled into some categories that they stick to. these are not set in stone, but you can expect the following categories to show up every 1-2 years:

hippie jam/reggae night. this category is hard and fast - plan on a night appealing to hippies and plan on being out of town that week. previous entries include: edward sharpe (2011), matisyahu (2010), toots and maytals (2009), yonder mountain string band (2008).
dad-approved. there will be one night this summer with bands that will make you think: “my dad would really like this, i’ll invite him.” it’s usually funk, soul or jazz of some sort. we didn’t have one of these last year so bank on it in 2012. previous entries include: sharon jones and the dap kings (2010), robert randolph and family band/black joe lewis and honeybears (2009). this category could also be labeled “the NPR darlings.”
old rockers rock! night. sounds like what it is - music that you weren’t quite into, but you know you should be. previous entries include: thurson moore/kurt vile (2011), sonic youth (2009), de la soul (2008), camper van beethoven (2006).
hip-hop. this happens every year so plan on it. previous entries include: lupe fiasco (2011), big boi/chromeo (2010), q-tip/b.o.b. (2009), the roots (2008), the cool kids (2008).
dance party. this is a newer category that has proved to be a crowd-pleaser so i’d expect it again this year. previous entries include: ghostland observatory (2011), girl talk (2010). i bet this year will be some sort of 80s throwback sound or a mashup artist.
singers with a guitar. doesn’t happen every year, but is popular enough that i expect it. previous entries include: bright eyes (2011), bon iver/jenny lewis (2009), iron and wine (2009), josh ritter (2008).
mass-appeal. this one is hard to predict because the arts council is obviously going for a “big name,” but if it’s too big they’ll shut the city down (remember modest mouse two years ago?). previous entries include: the decemberists (2011), modest mouse (2010), iron and wine (2009), the roots (2008). there will always be a “big name” artist somewhere in the line up to drive word of mouth and local news reporting.

3. it’s fairly obvious, but if a band is already coming to salt lake this summer or soon before, scrap them from your list: goodbye wilco, trombone shorty, the civil wars, and the shins.

so there is some background and some rules which i hope you appreciate. obviously something like music and predicting free concerts is completely subjective and this is just one man’s opinion. with that in mind, here are some of my educated guesses:

hippie jam - no guess. some super group combing the bassist of blues traveler, the original percussionist of rusted root and someone from colorado singing vocals. or maybe los lobos. that would actually be sweet.

dad approved - lee fields and the expressions. that’s very speculative and maybe a summer ahead of schedule, but they’d be fun. also maybe the alabama shakes if they’re not half way across europe all summer.

old rockers rock! night - i have no clue, can’t even think of something for this, maybe cowboy junkies or something from the 90s. hopefully it won’t happen this year since it happened last year.

hip-hop - i want to guess chiddy bang, but i can’t say why. drawing a big blank here - childish gambino maybe. del the funky homosapien - there, that’s a solid guess. i’ll go with that.

dance party - i’m calling santigold here. could also be justice, future unlimited or st. lucia. neon indian would be fun, but won’t happen. passion pit maybe? hopefully it’s not skrillex. they couldn’t do that to us could they? com truise would be sweet, or washed out.

singers with guitars - the tallest man on earth! it is perfect, he’ll just be in san francsico the weekend before! could also be the head and the heart.

mass appeal - it should be sigur ros, but it won’t be - their summer dates are already out there and i just can’t see a thursday in july or august where it could work. maybe regina spektor or florence + the machine. jack white, minus the bear or silversun pickups could fit here too.

those are my guesses - i bet i don’t have a single one right. what i really want to know is who are your guesses? post them as comments on tumblr! if you’re a fan of the summer twilight’s, repost this so that by the time the shows are announced we’ll all have guessed at least a few of them.

don’t even talk to me about workplace efficiency unless you’re sitting on the floor next to a baby with a dog in your lap…

most churches in the united states would benefit from a pruning. much of our energy and many of our resources are being used to sustain practices, convictions, institutions and narratives that do not necessarily lead to the bearing of good fruit. we have heard hundreds, perhaps even thousands, of sermons and Bible lessons, read countless books, attended numerous seminars. although there is nothing wrong with such activities, occasionally we forget that participating in them does not necessarily make us fruitful. we may simply be like the wild, unpruned tree that continues to grow, but in a completely undisciplined fashion and with little prospect for bearing fruit. or to switch metaphors, a person who simply attends regional agricultural conferences and sits in the barn week after week studying farming magazines would not likely be mistaken for a farmer…learning a little about farming and actually bringing good fruit to harvest may require radically different practices.

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—	life on the vine, philip kenneson

joy or sadness, war or peace, live or hate, purity or impurity, charity or greed, all are tremendous realities which are the hinges of our interior life. everyday things, relationships with other people, work, love or our family - all these may breed saints.

Jesus at nazareth taught us live every hour of the day as saints. every hour of the day is useful and may lead to divine inspiration, the will of the Father, the prayer of contemplation - holiness. every hour of the day is holy. what matters is to live it as Jesus taught us.

and for this one does not have to shut oneself in a monastery or fix strange and inhumane regimes for one’s life. it is enough to accept the realities of life.

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—	carlo carretto, letters from the desert

peace.

listen to this quote from philip kenneson’s book life on the vine:

“establishing and sustaining wholeness in all one’s relationships is no easy thing. to be in right relationship with God and one’s fellow creatures one must consistently do what is right, what God desires, what God requires. this is why scripture again and again connects peace with righteousness.”

i’ve been reading a lot on composting and gardening this week so this quote really grabbed me. peace is only peace when it’s in the context of the world around us. if i can only remain at peace inside myself, but am unable to coexist peacefully with the people and world around me, i’m not actually at peace. and the reality that righteousness and peace are tied together - blows my mind! imagine if instead of focusing on our self-righteousness we could spend that energy cultivating peace in our lives!

what do you think about this reality that as followers of Jesus we’re called to peace? and not just with God and ourselves, but with others and the natural world around us? do some word association in your mind: when i mention conservation, carbon footprint, eco-friendly does your mind jump instantly to the american church? mine doesn’t. we’ve all heard the rhetoric that the american church says one thing and does the opposite - at what point does the church take notice and change its ways?

christians are not exempt from thinking and acting as if their commitment to Christ is simply one more consumer choice. they often cast themselves, whether knowingly or not, in the role of a consumer, expecting churches to woo them with programs and services that appeal to their particular interests. in response many churches have self-consciously incorporated marketing strategies into their ways of being the church, pitching their programs and services to prospective seekers who are well-versed in such habits of thinking. by blatantly appealing to self-interest, such tactics - no matter how well meaning - neither demonstrate our love for these seekers nor cultivate the habits of thought and action that would nourish christian love.

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—	philip d. kenneson, life on the vine

whatever herculean efforts might be undertaken to elevate some form of christianity back to a priviledged position [in american culture, politics, etc.] would be for naught if that form of christianity turned out to be seriously defective - or worse, if it turned out to be christianity in name only. we need to remind ourselves that Jesus never suggested that we should evaluate the health of his people by how much power their wielded or how much privledge they amassed.

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—	philip d. kenneson, life on the vine

hmm…seems that me as an 80s dork has a lot in common with me as a 2012 hipster…

animalstalkinginallcaps:

HELLO, AND WELCOME. IT’S GOOD TO SEE SO MANY SMILING FACES IN THE PEWS TODAY. NOW, IT’S IMPORTANT THAT WE GET BACK TO GOOD OLD FASHIONED CHRISTIAN VALUES IN THIS COUNTRY, AND I THINK THE BEST WAY WE CAN DO THAT IS TO FOCUS ON THE PARTS OF THE BIBLE THAT OCCUR BEFORE CHRIST. THAT’S WHY WE’RE CHRISTIANS. BECAUSE CHRIST ISN’T IMPORTANT. WE NEED TO FOCUS ON THE PRIMITIVE, SUPERSTITIOUS, DEPLORABLE PARTS OF THE OLD TESTAMENT THAT ALLOW US TO BE AS FAR REMOVED FROM THE NAMESAKE OF OUR CHOSEN RELIGION AS POSSIBLE SO THAT WE DON’T HAVE TO DO THINGS LIKE EXPLAIN GAY PEOPLE OR ECONOMIC DISPARITY TO OUR KIDS WHILE SIMULTANEOUSLY SHITTING ON THE POOR AND REDUCING WOMEN AND BLACKS TO THE LEVEL OF PROPERTY, STRIPPED OF THEIR HARD-WON RIGHTS AND FREEDOMS.

WHAT WE ABSOLUTELY SHOULD NOT DO IS ACKNOWLEDGE THE TEACHINGS AND WISDOM OF THE NEW TESTAMENT, WHICH IS THE BOOK OUR RELIGION DRAWS ITS NAME FROM. THAT WOULD JUST BE SILLY, AND WE’D HAVE TO APOLOGIZE TO … EVERYONE, BASICALLY, FOR BEING ENORMOUS, UNREPENTANT ASSHOLES WHO PLACE PERSONAL PROFIT AND COMFORT OVER THE RIGHTS AND NEEDS OF THE MANY.

I CAN SEE A LOT OF YOU HERE TODAY ARE GOING TO START ASKING THE SAME KIND OF QUESTIONS THAT GOT JESUS IN SO MUCH TROUBLE, AND I JUST WANT TO ASK YOU: WHAT ARE YOU, SOCIALISTS? STOP ROCKING THE BOAT. IF YOU HAVE A CONSCIENCE THEN THE TERRORISTS HAVE WON. AMEN.

quote from last night

last night at the mount i shared a prayer from henri nouwen (original b.a.)…here it is:

“o Lord, who else can i desire but you? you are my Lord, Lord of my heart, mind and soul. you know me through and through. in and through you everything that is finds its origin and goal. you embrace all that exists and care for it with divine love and compassion. why, then, do i keep expecting happiness and satisfaction outside of you? why do i keep relating to you as one of my many relationships, instead of my only relationship, in which all other ones are grounded? why do i keep looking for popularity, respect from others, success, acclaim, and sensual pleasures? why, Lord, is it so hard for me to make you the only one? why do i keep hesitating to surrender myself totally to you?

help me, o Lord, to let my old self die, to let die the thousand big and small ways in which i am still building up my false self and trying to cling to my false desires. let me be reborn in you and see though you the world in the right way, so that all my actions, words, and thoughts can become a hymn of praise to you.

i need your loving grace to travel on this hard road that leads to the death of my old self and to a new life in and for you. i know and trust that this is the road to freedom.

Lord, dispel my mistrust and help me become a trusting friend. amen.”