Avenging Quotes

"He's adopted."
"There's only one God, ma'am, and I'm pretty sure He doesn't dress like that."
"So that's what it does."
"It's a dumb order."
"Puny god."
"Thank you for your cooperation."
"I fail to see how that's a party."
"Hulk.....SMASH!"
"I'm working right now."
"That's my secret...I'm always angry."
"Twelve percent."
"I'll have that drink now."
"You lack conviction."

Joss Whedon is a genius writer.  He's a genius director too.  What can't the guy do?  I hope we don't find out.

I am struck by how universally this movie was enjoyed by my Christian friends.  I enjoyed it too, but I am struggling with finding truth in it that I should enjoy it so much.  Except maybe in Agent Coulson's line to Loki - "You lack conviction."  Then he dies realizing that his sacrifice can become the galvanizing event the Avengers need to become a team.

And then there's the slow motion cuts of firemen and police aiding the injured and frightened.  As if to say, "Let's not forget who the REAL heroes are."

Real heroes never lack conviction.  Real heroes pay the price no matter how high.  I guess that's why He's my real hero.

Jesus.

Real conviction.

Real sacrifice.

Real salvation.

Shalom

John Hiatt & Los Lobos

On Sept 3 I was privileged to enjoy an evening with John Hiatt & "The Combo" - his touring band and the guys who recorded "The Open Road" with him earlier this year - and the indefatigable Los Lobos at the Regina Casino Show Lounge.

It was a wonderful concert as far as I was concerned.

My main reason for attending was to see John live for the first time since I became a near-rabid fan of his music in the '90's (and yes, I was a bit late to the dance). John and The Combo were all I had hoped for and more. The ten song set list they played included the requisite hits like "Thing Called Love", "Drive South" and "Slow Turning".

John was in fine voice, often treating us to extended gospel-infused vocal runs at song's end with wild swoops from his gravelly alto up to the heights of his falsetto and back again. The Combo was tight, spare and focused, but also able to leg it out with authority too. Perhaps no more so than on their masterful accompaniment of John's newest blues tour de force, "Like a Freight Train". I can honestly say I've never experienced such a stunningly well-played blues song before, and that includes a night in the presence of no less than B.B. King. King, had he been with us, would have smiled his trademark grin and clapped for joy. The boys did it RIGHT!

Exit John after a guitar soaked but still moving rendition of "Have a Little Faith in Me" - a new reading that won me over even as I missed the gospel choir of what is still the best version, as far as I'm concerned, of that classic Hiatt tune.

Enter Los Lobos.

Why I haven't been a constant fan of these guys is a mystery to me. I blame commercial radio for pummeling us all with Los Lobos' version of "La Bamba" in 1987. I left the band behind after that. It's a shame because I didn't know what I was missing. Well I'm making up for lost time now.

Their new CD - "Tin Can Trust" - is a fantastic album. I like every song on it and I'm starting to love a couple of them. Nearing the top of my list is their deft cover of The Grateful Dead's "East L.A. Fade Away". While it might be too easy to call Los Lobos East L.A.'s answer to The Grateful Dead, it is (and was at the concert) obvious that these two bands are linked by more than mere genre and influence. Call them the two best sides of the Southern California experience.

It is also no small feat that the four original high school buddies are still together, along with their add-on friend, Steve Berlin, who joined them for their highly acclaimed 1984 LP "How Will The Wolf Survive" - which has earned a spot on Rolling Stone's Top 500 Albums list. I own a copy that I picked up at a garage sale a couple of years ago for a toonie. That might explain some of the context for what I'll be ranting about in a minute. In any case Los Lobos has stood the test of time, weathered the ups and downs of the music biz and come out better, stronger and more creative for it. Such longevity is beyond rare in their world. When it happens magic does too.

I said before that the concert was wonderful "as far as I was concerned". My only problem was the crowd. They were almost to a person

lame

Lame

LAME!

Now I've been to dozens of shows in my life and I've seen shows where the audience wasn't into it - for good reason! The artists weren't into it either. But this is one of the few times, if not the only one, where the musicians were working their butts off and the crowd was either too old, too distracted (by WHAT I wonder) or too uneducated to know what they were missing. Maybe I should have been worried when the lady DJ from 105.9 FM took nearly 5 minutes to introduce John Hiatt. This is the man who recently won the "Lifetime Achievement Award for Songwiting" from the American Music Association. He shouldn't need an intro to anyone who can call themselves a music aficionado with any level of self respect.

I know Regina has recently sprung up on the music tour map after the Rolling Stones, AC/DC and Bon Jovi all had successful shows here, but if all we are going to be able to appreciate is the juggernauts of the corporate music biz because that's all we know - outside of a fairly well-rounded appreciation for country artists thanks to events like the Craven Country Jamboree - then our future entertainment landscape is going to get pretty bleak pretty fast.

Here's a tip - if you don't like, love or even know who the artist is that you're going to go see - DON'T GO! If you wanna be seen "stylin'" go to The Drink. Those of us who want to be entertained, want to be so in the presence of like-minded folks. We want the love in the room to be palpable. We want the artists to know their fans are with them. We want to be a part of something special.

John Hiatt & Los Lobos were very special in Regina on the 3rd of September, 2010. The audience was nothing special.

'Nuff Said!

Haiti

All of my life Haiti has been the poorest of nations in the western hemisphere. It has struggled continuously and endured the dismissive and reproachful attitudes of her neighbours in North, Central and South America. Haiti has always been a disaster waiting to happen.

Only relatively recently (in the 1980s) did we intervene, when the stench of the atrocities perpetrated by "Papa Doc" and "Baby Doc" Duvalier became too much of an offense to our righteous sensibilities. Then, when the military committed a coup and President Jean-Bertrand Aristide was exiled to Africa, we did little. The fate of Haiti once again fell into internal disarray and our relationship with them was relegated to the bureaucratic morass of international diplomacy. And the country languished without proper government, institutions, social services or effective international support.

Haiti as a nation was/is the "homeless street person" of the Western Hemisphere. We all continued to go about our daily business, averting our eyes whenever our pursuits led us to pass by them. We watched Haiti's sister nation, the Dominican Republic, raise itself up from its own poverty and comforted ourselves with the thought that "a rising tide lifts all ships". But we believed lies and would not look at the truth. Denial is the strongest of human sins.

On January 11th, 2010, our "homeless person" fellow nation was on fire as we went to work in the morning. Our neglect and indifference over the decades resulted in establishing circumstances that compounded the difficulties of attempting to help Haiti. Our shock and dismay is now mingled with our shame and regret as we trip over one another to rush to aid the wounded and dying - cursing the circumstances that hinder our benevolence. Circumstances that we could have changed if we had chosen to be engaged with Haiti rather than ignore her.

In "A Christmas Carol" by Charles Dickens the ghost of Jacob Marley retorts strongly to Ebenezer Scrooge when the miser offers an excuse for their mutual disinterest in human affairs and benevolent causes. Scrooge says, "It's only that you were a good man of business." "Business!" cries Marley in reply. "Mankind was my business! Their common welfare was my business!"

I read Dickens' brilliant words every year - and every year I am personally convicted by those lines and compelled to reassess my own engagement with those who have less than I. While I am aware that many, many people and organizations exist to do good and caring works - many already in Haiti before the earthquake - I am also aware that many, many, many injustices lie unattended because political, social, economic and spiritual leadership fails.

In the light of events in Haiti we are - at least I am - sickened by our recent (and not so recent) history that testifies how we will go to extraordinary lengths to address issues in foreign lands, especially when - at least from the perspective of our corporate and political leaders - there are compelling economic reasons to do so. We will send our sons and daughters to die - and they will go willingly - when the stakes seem most likely to threaten our luxurious lives. But we will not sacrifice even a small portion of our opulent lifestyles to lift another people up so they can be stronger, safer and have greater dignity if there seems to be no immediate benefit for us. At least not until they are on fire.

Haiti is a hard lesson. I pray fervently that we, who are blessed beyond what words of any language can adequately describe, might learn this lesson well. That addressing the needs of others is always in our best interests, for when we do so we help ourselves - so intimate is our connection to one another on this tiny planet that we share. And that we might come to realize that when we do offer comfort to others we act in love that touches the very face of all we hold most sacred and good.

In speaking of charity, benevolence and simple care Jesus of Nazareth said, "Whenever you do this to the least of my brothers, you do this to me."

Shalom

Failure, Forgiveness and the Future

This past week Flatlanders were focused on the fate of former Rider GM Eric Tillman. Mr. Tillman failed morally, and this ended his work with our beloved football team. It's a team that has known this kind of failure before - from players mostly. They are much more expendable than management - with the exception of coaches, who often are changed as frequently as defensive linemen change their lucky socks - which is to say at least annually. Losing Mr. Tillman has seemed to hurt people more and shaken hope and optimism deeper than any of the player dismissals I've witnessed in the last 7+ years.

The recent feelings in Flatland regarding this are, I think, rooted in the sense of disappointment created because Mr. Tillman was supposed to be part of a change in the organization's policies and culture that was intended to deal with these very issues. Rightly recognizing the very public nature of sport and the lives of those involved in it - even those charged with the off-field tasks necessary to operate a professional franchise - the Rider organization drafted a new policy on these matters, and Eric Tillman was a proponent of having that policy adopted by the Riders. Now he is - most sadly and ironically - the first one it had to be applied to.

I think such a policy is an important thing for any organization - not just in this day and age, but in any day and age. Personal character always influences professional behavior. Our recent history is littered with examples in every area of endeavor - finance, politics, manufacturing, religion, entertainment. We have always known that this matters. Now with an insatiable 24-hour-a-day-365-days-a-year media industry that craves grist for its mill, there is no life that is immune from scrutiny and, because of the internet, no issue that can escape public opinion and reaction.

And there is no place for forgiveness and restoration. All is retribution and hard, cold justice - or justice denied - depending upon your perspective. Few organizations give thought to the path of repentance, recompense and restoration, even though many organizations recognize the significant investment that lies in employees - even employees who fail. A broken machine might be repaired or restored if the investment seems fiscally sound, but people are more expendable it seems.

But would the public accept the repentant, forgiven and restored person? Would they allow time and space for healing and change or would they demand their same voyeuristic position they enjoy during the accusation and conviction stages. My guess is that they would clamor for this right, and little healing or change of any true consequence could come in such a bubble. Reality TV shows notwithstanding, there is an overwhelming list of failures who have shown change and progress in the eye of media scrutiny only to end up wrecked in life's ditch for the same reasons they were so fascinating to watch in the first place.

True character needs to be developed out of the public eye. If the only time you can behave is when someone is watching you then you need to be in prison.

Will Mr. Tillman repent and offer restitution? Will he seek forgiveness and reconciliation? Will he find redemption and restoration? We shall see, but it remains that these possibilities will happen - if they happen - elsewhere. And the benefits of those efforts, hard won, will be enjoyed elsewhere as well.

Shalom

Signs! Signs! Everywhere a Sign!

My deep respect and props to Canada's own 5 Man Electrical Band and I hope they will forgive me for borrowing the lyrics from their excellent song "Signs". But it just jumped into my mind when I read a Facebook post today about how a friend of mine saw a sign at their local medical clinic warning against abusive behavior and language when dealing with the staff. Their question was along the lines of asking if this sort of thing was a regular enough occurrence to actually warrant a sign. And they opined that if it was then maybe barbarians were no longer at the gates but might have actually moved in down the block and begun frequenting the local Wal-Mart.

To be sure that question might be worth exploring, but my brain took another tack and I ended up thinking about my own medical clinic. When I visit my doctor (which I do frequently as we are monitoring a number of things that require regular blood tests - all is well dear readers, do not fear) I can read no less than EIGHT signs in the waiting room. There's the one about turning off cellphones; the one about having your government health care card; the one about how you can only see the doctor for ONE problem per visit (so don't even TRY to sneak in another one); the one about how missing appointments can get you dropped from their client list (includes instructions on rules for notifying the office if you wish to cancel an appointment); the sign about doctors' hours; the one about picking up the toys and putting them away when your children are done with them; the one about declaring if your injury is work-related; AND the one about zero tolerance of abusive behavior.

It seems to me that you can discover that you are in a new era when an obvious social convention starts to be used in a fashion that seems unusual. My understanding of the use of signs is that they are most useful when they communicate information that EVERYONE who reads them might possibly need to know and understand. Signs are most often warnings or information providers. We really shouldn't need them to declare the common rules of acceptable social behavior. I realize that signs often declare what common sense should already have provided, but as we can see not only is common sense in short supply - now common decency and good manners seems to be evaporating.

I always tend to think that a sign gets posted when those in charge have finally given up on relying on the good sense and judgment of people and have decided to "nip the problem in the bud". But how many times has someone yelled at or abused the staff in my medical clinic? I mean, really - about the only place I find people more subdued and non-communicative is inside elevators! Honestly, in 49 years I have NEVER seen someone lose it in a doctors' office. I know most of us WANT to - usually about the time we realize that we have been waiting long enough that if we could be paid for our time we could take our significant other out to lunch. And missing appointments without canceling - is this really happening so often that the clinic needs to THREATEN its clients with censure? If so maybe this summer's outdoor project should be digging a moat to keep the barbarians off my lawn. And what about NOT having your health card available when visiting the clinic - I mean who DOESN'T understand that we live in a SOCIALIST country and the state is in charge of the medical system? "Documents please! Please show your documents! Please have your documents ready!"

What is really worth pondering is why the clinic needs to post these signs. Does it really make for a better work environment? Does it really help the patients? Or are those signs there so the clinic's lawyers can argue that their client has done their due dilligence in communicating with their patients? And why does TALKING to one another no longer suffice?

Speaking the truth is a rare enough event these days. Speaking the truth out of love and concern is rarer still. Soon speaking itself may become rare. Perhaps it has already - being replaced by texting, twittering and (yes) even blogging. We are becoming a society and culture that increasingly responds only to images and text. Our ability to speak is being diminished as is our ability to listen. If you think I'm off base here then try this next week - make a note of every time you have to repeat yourself for ONE day. I bet you will be shocked.

The real problem with signs (which is where I came in) is that they really don't communicate - they declare. We need to speak and to listen to be able to connect. So before you put up another sign ask this - is there a better way?

Shalom

The Great "Climate Change" Debate

I have been skeptical for some time about the position the most strident proponents of "global warming" have taken, mostly due to the inordinate amount of effort they have expended to limit debate on the subject. When the rhetoric took on the tone of religious debate about three years ago, I was fairly convinced that we were being sold a bill of goods. When my wife began working for a major western Canadian university she told me that professors indicated to her that they had to write their research proposals with an intentional eye on keeping their lines of research within the sphere proscribed by the "green" science cabal - or at least avoid asking questions that might ruffle feathers - or else they ran the risk of not receiving the funding they need. When the lines of scientific research are constrained by what amounts to social and political policy - however well-intentioned it may be - then it has lost it's academic independence and, I would argue, much of its usefulness to humanity.

One of the writers who has consistently poked holes in the "global warming/climate change" conclusions and proposals is Patrick Bedard, a staff writer for Car and Driver (Yes, yes I can hear the cat-calls and hissing saying "Vested interest!" - SHHH CHILDREN! Listen and LEARN!). Mr Bedard is an engineer, and his mantra isn't "cars at any cost" it's more "does this add up?". If you take the time to survey a few of his articles you'll quickly come to see that he does his homework and he doesn't fudge the figures. Now his perspective is going mainstream thanks to a recent article by Lorne Gunter.

Of course, if one has been paying attention to stories on the fringes of the media and the subtle shifts in the rhetoric of the "green" movement, these revelations should come as no surprise. A recent report suggested that the climate change movement was heading for a "tough decade" because global temperatures were trending down, not up - a fact Gunter's article supports. And the label "global warming" has been shifted over recent months to "climate change" - a suitably non-specific moniker that can be interpreted in any fashion to fit the facts. It seems that political expediency, power and money have co-opted the science community, the media and our political leaders. And we probably shouldn't be surprised.

I am a Christian, and as such I am deeply concerned that we take seriously how we use God's creation. I believe we are charged with stewardship of this planet, and all places we may touch - but if we are to be able to do this we need truth in the information we use to help us make our decisions. We need scientists, academics and researchers who are politically, socially and economically independent so they can pursue the lines of investigation they want to without fear of reprisal or censure. And helping maintain and protect this independence must be the first and the constant goal we should pursue in science.

Sadly, most people want the "academic eggheads" to provide us with solutions that we can understand with eighth-grade education and that can be explained in 30 seconds by some "talking head" on the six-o-clock news. And we want solutions that will not require much from us. We are the common denominator in this power struggle and it is by and to our low expectations and selfish lifestyles that the arguments and policies of our leaders are shaped and directed. We are getting what we demand - just like angry, hungry babies. We should be getting what we need.

So my exhortation to the one or two of you who read this blog is this - do some more reading on this. Don't let me or others make up your mind for you. Question those who are sanctimoniously using their authority to dictate what questions may be asked and what answers may be accepted. And talk amongst yourselves. Then talk to your local politicians, write letters to the editors of newspapers, email the news directors of broadcast news, comment on the electronic news sites and share the info. Because - and here I agree wholeheartedly with the leaders of the "green" movement - we ALL need to get involved.

Up to this point there has been no real debate on this subject - it's high time we had one.

The TULIP Died

One of the outcomes of my ordination journey was the examination of where I fall in the Calvinism vs. Arminianism debate. Strangely enough I was prompted to post this because I was channel-surfing the other night and happened across the movie Hardcore in which George C. Scott plays a very conservative mid-western businessman on a quest in California for his estranged daughter who has run away and fallen into the world of hardcore pornography and the sex trade. I actually just caught the scene where Scott is explaining the TULIP acronym to a hooker he has convinced to help him find his daughter. It's an odd scene to be sure, but it speaks to the character Scott portrays and to a large portion of Christian belief and experience in America and Canada.

I admit I have flirted with some of the petals of TULIP over the years, particularly 'total depravity' and 'irresistible grace', but my recent journey has led me to be convinced that I am a Wesleyan through and through - something my parents would have been happy to hear as they were both taught by largely Wesleyan Methodist professors, and were in every way Arminian in their position. As the Apostle Paul observes there is no substitute for a good upbringing in the faith.

Most Christians don't give much thought to these things - they believe what they believe and that's that. I'm not so certain that results in a persuasive witness. In a world where the fanatical religious seem to be uncontrollably following their belief systems like WWE actors - prisoners of inevitable inertia as they fly across the ring of life, unable to change their trajectory - I believe many people are looking for the Truth that frees instead of binds.

At the core of the Wesleyan perspective is the concept of God's prevenient grace. It is that grace that restores our ability to choose God and have an unforced relationship with Him. This does not mean that God leaves it entirely up to us - He does make a persuasive argument - but in the end we have a choice. I struggle with some of the ways we talk about that choice - often I think we describe it with a bit too much emphasis on what we do and so I believe Calvin did have some points worth noting. As my history/theology prof, David T. Priestley said, "Calvin wasn't a Calvinist. He was Calvinian." (emphasis mine) Others who came after him created the five points out of his, and others, writings at the Synod of Dordtrecht in 1618-19. A cautionary tale for us all I'm sure.

In the end, my faith is based on God's Word and the evidence of His grace and love to me - but it is, I hope, a reasonable and understandable faith. The Apostle Paul writes that the Gospel doesn't make sense to the world. In a world where thought, reason and personal reflection seem as archaic as buggy whips and Morse Code I guess this is one more aspect of my life that marks me as His. And I pray that my witness is persuasive.

Shalom

The image attached to this post was found here and was not used in any way that was intended to deprive the owner of their rights.

To Debate or Not To Debate

Simply put, I do not believe what we will experience in the so-called "leaders debate" will be of any use to anyone, except the TV networks and their advertising departments. If the debate is 1 hr (with commercials) that means we will see 44 minutes with 5 candidates (8.8 minutes per candidate). Even without commercials it will only allow 12 minutes per person, but we all know that what we will get will be an hour of poorly controlled mayhem. No one uses dictionaries anymore - we're just like Lewis Carroll's caterpillar, "When I use a word it means what I choose it to mean." "Debate" indeed!

At the risk of offending - I'm not quite sure who - neither M. Duceppe nor Ms. Mays has any business being in a national leaders debate. I'll not go into depth here, but I cannot vote for a candidate from either party in my riding (as far as I know at this time) so they are, in the strictest sense of this word, irrelevant.

Our political system has devolved into a media circus that can only communicate in 5 second sound bytes. Watch the debate if you want - I suggest taking two Excedrin beforehand to ward off the inevitable migraine it will produce - but remember this, the media has absolutely no interest in providing you with anything in the way of useful information. They just want you there to watch the ads and prop up their market share numbers.

As Liam Neeson said to Clint Eastwood in "The Dead Pool", "Bums on seats, luv. That's what it's all about."

Kicking Glass

I took a picture today of about a dozen glass containers sitting on the ground beside a Loraas recycling bin. I can't post it because my personal computer is "in the shop", but rest assured dear reader, (if you exist) I will post it soon. It is an image that should be used to indite and shame our provincial politicians.

Glass manufacturers have been recycling their product since the 1600's or even much earlier but we can't do that in Saskatchewan unless the containers we do deal with once contained either sugar-loaded drinks or alcoholic beverages.

Saskatchewan.
Can't.
Recycle.
Glass.

Morons can recycle glass - but not Saskatchewanites. We have 2 BILLION excess dollars in our provincial coffers that have not been budgeted to be spent on anything yet and we still can't recycle pickle jars. And our provincial members of the Fourth and Fifth Estates should also be ashamed because they are saying NOTHING about this.

If I even hear ONE person say anything about how it isn't "economically viable" to recycle general glass products at this time I'll go ballistic!. That is exactly the kind of thinking that has gotten us to the ecological crisis we now face. If we can't do the right thing because we can't AFFORD to do the right thing then we are officially screwed to a wholly breathtakingly new and frightening level.

So John Gormley et.al., before you claim to be "holding the politician's feet to the fire" let me hear you get our provincial Minister of the Environment on you radio show and ask him a couple of hardball questions about glass. And Premier Wall, before you go off spouting about how great we are in Flatland and how we're ready to move into the future let's see if you and your cabinet can figure out how to do something Europeans have been doing since before Samuel de Champlain discovered how bad the black flies were in northern Ontario.

'Nuff said.

On the Road to Forgiveness

Prime Minister Stephen Harper has set Canada on the road to finding forgiveness between First Nations People and the culture (our culture) that has dominated and damaged them for so long. The range of reaction to his apology on our behalf read in the House of Commons yesterday was to be expected. Thankfully, even the most negative reactions I have heard so far have at least acknowledged the open honesty of Harpers words, even if some could not bring themselves to accept them, yet.

It is now that the Gospel has a real chance to influence the path our country will take in the coming months and years. Colossians 3:13 says in part, "Forgive as the Lord forgave you."

We have an example, a model, a benchmark to reach for in our pursuit of forgiveness and reconciliation. We need to pray for and work for nothing less.

If we do follow Christ's example our destination will be true Shalom.

Arts & Culture Roundup

So we took in the "Andy Warhol - Larger Than Life" exhibit at the MacKenzie Art Gallery on Saturday. The best part of the experience was being with the Ashton family, especially Beth who is their "arts" child - now living in the BC lower mainland - who was back to visit for the Easter weekend. We miss her but it was good to catch up and fun to see art together and discuss it. I like Warhol because, for me, he made modern and abstract art more accessible. When it comes to fine art and visual stuff I'm pretty much a philistine in a trendy t-shirt. I will say that the exhibit is quite good, well conserved and displayed with interpretive tours available. I say it's worth the $12. So check it out. (BTW the pic on this entry is attributed to Warhol but it came from the World Wide Weird Web so who really knows.)

The CBC just took their radio orchestra (the last such ensemble in North America) out behind the barn and shot it according to a report I heard on CBC radio this morning. My fav quote was from an emotional and understandably upset orchestra member, "They're taking this away so they can pay banjo players!" (This isn't verbatim but it's the best my shaky memory can do.) I love all kinds of music, and music is supposed to be the universal language of acceptance and peace, but take away an oboe player's meal ticket and it's every sensitive artist for themselves. Banjo players vs. cello players, the brass section vs. the percussion section, vocalists vs. the strings, rockers vs. folkies.... Oh, the humanity! Where will it end?

And once again the CBC management manages to live down to the reputation they have earned for being insensitive, heavy handed, myopic and artless. As a final point, the annual budget for the radio orchestra is under one million dollars. That's about what Rick Mercer has in his spare change holder on his bedroom dresser. Let's add managerially inept to the descriptive list above. Monkeys could figure out a plan to keep the radio orchestra going inside the CBC budget. If the CBC worked like public TV does in the US - even just a little bit - the listeners in Canada could be approached to help fund this and I bet they would.

As most of you know my real love is music, and usually popular stuff, by I am an eclectic listener so here's an overview of what I'm listening to and looking forward to listening to:

The Luther College High School Choirs Home Concert is taking place on Sunday, April 20th at Christ Lutheran Church, 4825 Dewdney Avenue, Regina at 7:30PM. Simply put this is an exceptional night of music from a program that always impresses and delivers a truly musical experience.

Nils Lofgren, guitar virtuoso and perennial member of the E Street Band is the source of my favourite quote about "The Boss". In the 1996 video released to support the EP "Blood Brothers" Lofgren says something to the effect that, "He (Springsteen) always has half an album in his back pocket. He's always got a few tunes he's working on and they're always good. Really, really good! I hate him." Obviously tongue-in-cheek, yet poignant and truthful from someone who should know and who has suffered and benefited from a long-running and tempestuous relationship with the guy I like to call the "rockin' Dylan". Still, Lofgren and the rest of the E Street Band has come together on Bruce Springsteen's latest album, "Magic", and my friends, it is.

I'll simply say this, if rootsy rock 'n' roll infused with cinematographic lyrics, virtuoso musicianship, killer production and acute social sensibility is your cup 'o' tea then this is it. I got mine for $9.99 on sale at HMV and frankly it was a steal because there isn't a bad tune on the whole disc.

The unlikely pairing of Robert Plant and Alison Krauss for the making of "Raising Sand" was one of those musical experiments that I was frankly a bit dubious about, despite all of the critical acclaim. I was wrong! (Does admitting that make me a 'bigger man', and will that question be a source of schadenfreude-based humour for many of you at my expense? Wait, why do I care? Nobody's reading this anyway. Whew - relief!) Anyhoo, the "Raising Sand" CD has been one of my recent happy discoveries and it also suggests to me that not every current music critic is a vacuous gasbag bent on shameless self-promotion or the pursuit of the sound of their own voice. (Hey, am I in that group? Naaahhh!) "Raising Sand" - try it, you'll like it.

Susie and I just purchased tickets to see Mark Knopfler in concert at the Conexus Arts Centre on Wednesday, July 9th. We saw Mark once before in Edmonton when he was still doing the "Dire Straits rock 'n' roll band" as he described it. All I could say to anyone who asked me about the show was, "Oh yeah! The boy can play!" If you want to see one of the greatest living guitarists and a fine, fine songwriter doing his thing then get on board. Mark may not be the "top of the pops" these days, but that might actually be a GOOD thing!

Months ago we also obtained tickets to see Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers in Edmonton in August. We've been listening to Tom and the boys since we got married, so this, like the Knopfler concert, will be a nostalgic experience. I guess we're just a couple of middle-aged rockers now. (Hey, Hey, Hey!! No jokes about furniture here! I heard that!)

So we're getting some art into our lives. I am always moved, and amazed, and challenged, and disturbed, and inspired by these artistic encounters. I truly, truly believe that if an artist - whatever kind of art they do - is honest and steadfast in pursuing the truth they will necessarily encounter God, because ALL truth is God's truth. And so I find God playing with His children and intimately involved in their process of making art in the most unlikely and likely of places. I hope you find Him around you too.

"Coming Soon" - a review and discussion of "Horton Hears a Who".

Shalom people.

Another "Cover" for The Savior

So Jesus has made the cover of Macleans magazine again for Easter. He gets Time, Newsweek and Macleans covers with startling regularity. After 2000 years he's still newsworthy and good for a bump in reader responses if not in circulation.

The article isn't very flattering. Another thing that hasn't changed much in 2000 years. Jesus hardly garnered much positive press during His ministry and of course has gotten consistently bad reviews ever since, so I'm not surprised by the article's content. The really sad thing is that today's reporters are presenting this material like it's somehow new and earthshaking - when in fact, the basis of the criticisms against Jesus in this article are as old as the New Testament.

The more things change, the more they stay the same.

And the question still remains - who do you say He is?

Whatever you may say you can't say He is insignificant. Love Him or hate Him, you have to deal with Him and make up your mind, unless you're of the habit of letting others do your thinking for you. And still the basic approach it seems is to try to categorize, control and contain Jesus.

I suggest contemplation, cognition and communion.

As for me and my house - we will serve the Lord. (Joshua 24:15)

Shalom

Only Giant Shadows

"Any reasonably advanced technology would be indistinguishable from magic."

That is my gloss of a quotation attributed to the renowned author Arthur C Clarke. You'll notice that I didn't write "science fiction" before the word "author" above. It's my own personal rejection of the common practice of relegating certain writers to the artistic ghetto of the genre they write within. All of my life "Sci-Fi" has been relegated to a status below "literature". Now Clarke is gone, passing away last week and we are just beginning to discern the vast landscape his artistic shadow occupies.

I've been becoming uncomfortably aware recently of an increase in the number of artistic and culturally iconic persons who are shuffling off this mortal coil and this had led me into musing as to who, if anyone, is moving forward to occupy the void such losses create. Perhaps that is a misbegotten question, having more to do with my rising angst about my own mortality - which these passings are seeming to make keener in my mind. Still, I find myself looking for new shadows cast by new artists that seem to measure up to the ones cast by the giants I have encountered thus far.

I suspect that each generation asks similar questions, and that these questions become more personal and poignant as the one voicing them perceives they have truly passed the halfway post in the race they are running. It is our human perspective to ever view the world and events through the lens of self, even if we say we strive for empathy. We are hopelessly wrapped up in ourselves at times, especially at those time when we feel the Grim Reaper's breath cold upon the nape of our neck.

Still I am grateful for Clarke and his generous, creative energy that has so infused my life and thought with ideas that are at once wildly fantastic and deeply human. Indeed, it seems to me that the fantastic is often a better place to observe the truly human moments of truth we are all heir to. The fantastic can often provide a sharper sense of contrast, irony and inconvenient truth than we perceive amid the familiar. It was, and still is Clarke's uncompromising commitment to look straight into the human condition that has lent the ring of truth and the air of worth to his great canon of work.

But new fantastic revelations will flow no more from his mind into ours. We are left with only his giant shadow it seems, but perhaps something more as well. Shadows only appear in the light, and the bigger and more distinct they are, the brighter and more focussed the light must be. And the light draws us all, doesn't it?

Of Rhetoric and Reaction

You just can't find sober, reasoned reporting in the media anymore. Well maybe you can, but it isn't coming from the major sources in English Canada anyway. The tragic story of the Parvez family of Mississauga is just the latest example. The news reports in all of the major media, as this example demonstrates, go way beyond "just the facts" to include speculation about how this sad event will become a major cultural "flash-point" issue. They hope. It would give them something to flog mercilessly to sell more papers and boost their viewer/listener share ratings.

My fundamental source for "what's goin' on" offers this short, but well reasoned opinion. Like a breath of fresh air it reminded me that at the root of this story is a human tragedy that has no real connection to social and cultural clashes. A certain number of white Anglo-Saxon protestant fathers, or Catholic Latino ones, or African atheist ones, or Asian Taoist ones have been, from time immemorial, and will continue to be, treating their daughters, wives and sons with violence for any number of perceived acts of disobedience. And every so often their anger will take one of them too far.

That the media should spin this story into a public debate over cultural and religious differences that cause social friction is the crime upon the crime. It should be viewed in the same way we view shouting "FIRE!" in a crowded theatre. I am a free speech advocate, but the opinions aren't being carefully kept on the Op-Ed page anymore. The "spin", the "opinion", the "agenda" and the (often way too narrow) "perspective" is everywhere in the media these days. And this constant barrage of sensational fear-mongering, speculation and rhetoric is having an effect.

I don't know about you, but I am encountering more and more people who view people of different cultures and races in stereotypical ways. I am hearing more and more broad-brush-stroke statements that begin with "those people", "they all" and "they believe". While I know the truth is that the uniformity of opinion, perspective, values and beliefs in any group in the world is the same as the uniformity in the tribe I belong to - which means not uniform at all.

If there was a common human experience in the Parvez story it began with the common human emotion of anger. We all know it. We all experience it. We all have hurt others and been hurt by it. Many of us fear it. Most of us respect it. We all try to control it. Almost all of us understand its destructive potential. Wisdom says, "In your anger do not sin." I don't care what god you believe in or what religion you practice or what culture you belong to or what tribe are your ancestors - these words are universally true. Because we all know what happens when we follow our selfish and dark impulses down a road fueled by anger. It NEVER ends well.

Too many will accept the rhetoric of the media in this story as reasonable and true. Too many will react to it and the results will be a further escalation of the cultural and social tensions we are already experiencing far to often. But I won't, and you don't have to either. We must remember that wisdom also says, "there, but for the grace of God, go I".

So if we're going to react to the rhetoric, let's go in the other direction. Let's agree that until each of us personally knows a person of another culture, race or religion we don't know anything about that group - and even then we only know one person. And one person, or one family, does not define a culture, a religion or a race. If you believe that then you better be ready to be the example to the entire world for whomever you represent - to be the one person the rest of the world measures everyone of your culture, race, religion and country by. Are you ready to accept that responsibility?

I thought not.

'Nuff said!

In For a Penny, In For a Pound

My friend Rick often has a unique view of issues, especially as he's an American. Theology and politics can make for interesting debate and I think we've got one going at his blog.

Do obviously wealthy televangelists make you crazy? Me too! Do you think they deserve to be scrutinized? Me too! Should they lose their tax-exempt status? Seems just. What about shutting down tax-exemptions for all churches? Now that's Canadian!

Follow the dia-blog-alogue here!

Man, I just LOVES links!

*We're in yur web - debatin' yur ishyoos!*

Navigating "The Golden Compass"

This is what it sounds like when I try to communicate with my "tribe". Maybe some of you will find this interesting and thought provoking.

It appears that another pop culture anti-Christian conspiracy story is brewing again just in time for the Christmas season. The storm is gathering around the soon to be released film “The Golden Compass”. This conjures up for me memories of the hyper-rhetoric that surrounded the releases of the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy, the “Harry Potter” books and films, the “Narnia” film and other offerings.

I am a strong advocate that Christians everywhere “guard your heart” (Proverbs 4:23). This quote from the OT must be understood to also refer to the mind. Ancient Hebrews did not distinguish between the “heart” and the “mind” as later Greek thinkers did. For the writer of Proverbs the “heart” would have represented the core of a person’s reasoning, intellect, emotions, experience and character. Thus to effectively “guard” our hearts, and minds for that matter, we must use our minds.

The apostle Paul points out in 1 Corinthians 6:12 & 10:23 that the expanse of freedom the Christian has in Christ Jesus is all encompassing, but not everything we could choose to do or experience may be good for us. We have the freedom and the power to choose – so do non-Christians. One thing that I believe regularly turns off non-Christians about Christians is that very often we seem to choose without thinking, or expect other Christians to fall in line with our thinking because we must be inherently “right” in our views on a particular matter. While I do expect ALL Christians to agree on fundamental doctrinal issues (the divinity of Christ, the totality of sin in our nature, the full atonement of the Crucifixion, the supremacy of God in all things, the essential necessity of forgiveness and so on), I think we often stretch our credibility with others when we react – and expect an en masse "Christian" reaction – to things in popular culture which we object to.

Very often these urgings come to us from brothers and sisters who are sincere in their efforts to be helpful to the cause of Christ and who are acting out of honest feelings of love and concern for others. Very often these issues DO require sober consideration on our part. Very often these warnings ARE useful and should be heeded. But we need to proceed from a solid understanding of the issue at hand, and a clear sense of our purpose in regard to our mission for Christ in the world.

In the case of books, movies, TV programs, video games, internet entertainment and other mass media I believe our loving responsibility, to each other Christian or not, is to be informed and be able to speak the truth of Christ into these issues. Some brothers and sisters may not be able to deal with some material without it seriously affecting them adversely – they must know themselves in this regard and refrain. Some media does not need to be viewed to be opposed (pornography, hyper violent fantasy, promotion of bigotry, fascism and other obviously dark and reprehensible themes), however there are, I pray, those who are gifted by God to view, understand and refute these very dark and evil things well. Other media falls into a wider category where we need to be discerning by learning what we can about it, understanding what we may be able to glean from viewing it and using our experience and knowledge of God's Word and will (Yes, you're going to have to do some Bible study here people, but wouldn't it be refreshing for others to encounter some Christians with reasonable Bible knowledge for a change instead of just reactive dogmatism as their basis for argument? 'Nuff said!) to dialogue with friends and family about the Gospel as we talk about it.

As an example, I believe the “Harry Potter” phenomenon has provided untold opportunities to engage a whole generation of young people on the issues of power and its proper use, the struggle between good and evil, issues of morality and character and other ideas that easily lead to spiritually significant discussions. Frankly, I thank God for J.K. Rowling when I think of her, and I pray for her too.

Now we have “The Golden Compass”. The email I received that started all of this had an article attached that was verifiable and from a credible source. I am including the following links to help you broaden your perspective on this issue. Undoubtedly, some of you will view this movie, some of you won’t. Neither is a sin. Why you do or don’t might be though, because God is concerned with WHY we do things. It is the state of our heart (and minds) that He is most concerned with (see Philippians 4:7).

Dear friends please read, then pray, if this issue matters to you – but remember we are all accountable for our choices and decisions, so we should make them as well as we can in the Grace of God.

'The Golden Compass' - Atheist Propaganda for Children?

Director Defends Golden Compass

'Golden Compass' movie opening to controversy

Golden Compass Under Fire

"I'm Not Afraid of Atheists (Or Their Movie)"

Please consider that we can only show the grace of Jesus effectively when we understand what we are being gracious about.

Shalom

Roll The Bones

Recently a good friend of mine sent me the following email message:

Hi Brian,

How much would you pay for a ticket on a chance to drive a BMW or another fancy car for one year…if only 150 to 200 tickets were sold? Curious.

Aloysius P Tackhammer

(he asked me to protect his identity)

My friend is a Christian as am I so this was my response:

Hi Al,

Generally speaking gambling is frowned upon in Christian circles – has to do with that nasty bit at the foot of the cross with the Roman soldiers casting lots for Jesus' clothes. I know that raffles and other pseudo-gambling activities are often part and parcel of church life. That being said, I guess it would depend upon the cause this "raffle" would be supporting. If I was interested – and the car in question was a Cadillac STS-V (see link below) – then I might get involved.

http://gmcanada.com/gm/english/vehicles/cadillac/vseries/feature01

I guess $100 is the most I'd pay. I hope that helps you out.

Shalom,

Brian

P.S. Do you think a Baptist pastor driving a brand new Cadillac V-8 BMW killer is a bit "over the top" – or would it be a good advertisement for following Christ?

As you can see we kid around a bit, but Al didn't leave it there.

Hey,

It could be the health and welfare gospel that some US TV preachers peddle. Really sad.

Is it biblical or by tradition that gambling is frowned upon? We would call it a contest because that's what a radio station would call it.

Al

So I decided to give him a fuller response.

Hi Al,

It's Biblical. The disciples drew lots to replace Judas Iscariot because they couldn't decide between two candidates, and lots were cast in the OT when leaders couldn't choose between two alternatives that both had merit. These appear to have been moments of allowing God to work through chance, as it were, to affect the outcome of a situation. Basically it's a coin toss between two equally acceptable alternatives. The only scene we see in the NT of gambling for profit is the scene I referred to earlier of the Roman soldiers casting lots at the foot of the cross for Christ's clothing. Lots were probably dice.

The Biblical position is that gambling takes advantage of people by giving one person wealth at the expense of others. Truthfully, only the ones running the games truly benefit. "The House always wins." It is also true that raffles, Bingo and other "soft" forms of gambling have been a cultural part of church life for as long as fund raising has been an issue. The prime motivation for individuals participating in any of these activities is usually the hope of having an outcome that is very beneficial for them. Greed is the issue – or the love of money – which Christ called "the root of all evil".

It is true that I can't point to a specific passage of Scripture that says, "Thou shalt not gamble." However, we are all well aware of the personal and social cost attached to this "vice" that has gone beyond being a "bad habit" and has become a Government and community revenue stream at nearly every level. It's hard to reconcile broken relationships, shattered families and wasted lives with the "good" causes that use and promote gambling as a means to a better community for us all. And don't even get me started about the propensity for First Nations to see gambling as one of, if not the only, way for them to develop a viable economy for themselves – even though one could consider it a cosmic form of "payback" for the abuses these people have suffered.

I know it's hard to imagine children's extracurricular activities being able to exist without "casino nights" or local charities remaining solvent without the income provided by lotteries, raffles and 50/50 ticket sales at local sporting events. But the truth is "there is no free lunch". Somebody wins – many, many, many more lose. The hypocrisy is that gambling – however seemingly benign and helpful for good causes – is only really easily tolerated by the middle and upper classes. For the poor and marginalized it is always a cruel game that preys upon their meager estate and their desperate hope for a bit of the economic freedom you and I take for granted.

If there isn't a passage in the Bible that speaks directly against gambling then at least the miracles of the feeding of the multitudes (yes, it happened more than once) certainly speak against the ethos of the gambling mentality and human selfishness. The economic truth of the Kingdom of Heaven isn't like human economic structures. The Bible teaches us that if we share selflessly in Jesus Christ there is more than enough for everybody. Scripture says that God "owns the cattle on a thousand hills" – an OT image that would have imparted the concept of wealth beyond human comprehension or ability to handle.

You need to know that I'm not judging you or the methods you might use to do good work. Paul also said "everything is permissible" although he also said "not everything is beneficial". Bake sales and rummage sales often won't cut it when it comes to fund raising for critical needs and we need to remember that we also mustn't judge those who don't follow Jesus for behaving as they do. But I think we also need to ask ourselves serious questions about the methods we choose to use in our pursuit of doing what we believe to be the will of God. Sometimes we may have to forgo what seems to be an easy and effective strategy and rely on God to provide what we need. We may have to limit ourselves to what we will do in order to allow God to do what only He can do. Jesus did say "the way is narrow".

Shalom,

Brian

And Al replied:

Hi Brian,

So it's not the gambling but the MOTIVE behind the gambling that causes the problem. E.g. Greed. Middle and upper class might donate just because it's a good cause or they might really be greedy. The poor cannot participate. Of course, there's the whole addiction element too.

There is a part of me that would rather just auction the car off...but then only the rich will get a very good deal and get a crack at driving a fancy car while the middle class are driving Corollas.

Al

What do you think?

Shalom

School - Pride or Punk?

Recently students at Central Kings Rural High School in Nova Scotia made national and some international headlines with a brilliant response to bullying in their school. Their high school is an nearly twin like version of our own regional high school here where I live - similar in size, economic and social makeup. Now our regional school is poised to make a media splash of its own, but for an ironically opposite reason.

While students at the Nova Scotia school have spent time and their own personal resources to stand up against bullying the students at Greenall are doing the same in order to beat each other senseless.

Today I was standing in line at the local Subway during the lunch hour and overheard four lads from Greenall discussing the fascinating and finer points of fisticuffs. Youthful male exuberance is one thing but in our day and age it seems to me that teachers and authorities are hamstrung when it comes to responding to this issue. "Consensual" fighting is OK, or at least not a chargeable offense.

Parents may be able to influence some of their children, but frankly in my experience, if your young man or woman has a particular personality and perspective by the time they are 14 or so there is little if anything that can be done to change their way of behaving until they do something that truly has serious consequences. Some adults I know would even be of the opinion that the kids involved in these "cage rage" fights were showing good sense by wearing protective gear. The mind boggles.

While I have some thoughts on solutions, anything I might suggest wouldn't be worth two pins. What I wonder about is whether or not there are any senior students at Greenall with imagination, creativity and courage to match their peers in Nova Scotia. Are any of the senior class at Greenall upset by their sudden infamous notoriety - or are they all a little proud of their school's fleeting moment of media attention? Are there any students at Greenall who know why the fights going on among their peers are wrong - without having to have it explained to them?

The story from Nova Scotia was one of those ones that tends to restore my faith in the future and in the next generation. My own sons also frequently give me reasons to hope. I know that there are always some bad influences in every community - that is the reality - but we can make our communities better and give hope to ourselves and others when there are people of vision and courage in our community who will stand up to evil where it lives. I'm praying the Greenall story is in it's first stage - that the students who care are formulating their response. I'm waiting to see what the real character of the student body at Greenall is.

Dollars to Donuts and Back Again

My friend Lee Distad has weighed in on the subject of the Canadian Loonie attaining parity with the US Greenback. I've commented already at his blogsite, but I found the whole subject so fascinating I decided to place some of my comment here and expand further.

What I found really interesting was how much has changed culturally since the last time our dollar was worth the same amount as a US dollar. As my beloved Professor of Church Leadership and Pastoral Theology, the Rev. Dr. Gary Nelson, reminded us, "Only three things matter in ministry. Context. Context. Context."

It has been a generation since the last time the Canadian Dollar was worth as much as the US Dollar. At that time -

- the Canadian dollar was not called a "Loonie".
- Prince Charles was still single, and by all accounts, not even dating.
- Oprah was unknown and middle-class.
- there were no cellular telephone networks in North America.
- the three best selling home computers were the Commodore PET, Radio Shack TRS-80 and Apple II and they all had just been introduced.
- no one had a debit card and "bank machines" did not exist.
- other than friends or family, no one knew who Johnny Depp was.
- all of the members of The Tragically Hip were too young to go to the bar, let alone play music there.
- it had already been a decade since the Leafs last won the Stanley Cup.
- there was no MTV.
- more people watched TV broadcasts off antennas than cable in Canada.
- Pat Robertson launched the first satellite-delivered basic cable service, called the CBN Cable Network, in the USA.
- no one had e-mail.
- the Toronto Blue Jays launched their franchise.
- "Star Wars - Episode IV: A New Hope" was in theatres for the first time.
- fuel injection, front-wheel drive and airbags were not standard equipment on most cars sold in North America or worldwide for that matter.
- Michael Jackson was still a member of his family vocal group - "The Jacksons"- and no one even knew they had two sisters named Latoya and Janet.
- Lloyd Robertson's hair was still a "natural" colour, he had only been with CTV for one year and was the co-anchor alongside Harvey Kirk.
- the only people on the "internet" - which still didn't really exist - were the US military, some government agencies in North America, Europe and Asia, a number of universities around the world and a relative handful of scientists.
- no one was worried about AIDS, West Nile Virus, Lyme Disease, SARS, Bird Influenza, Mad Cow Disease or Superbugs.
- the video console game "Pong" by Atari had only been in bars and arcades for two years.
- Microsoft Windows did not exist.
- there was no such thing as "reality TV contests".
- "environmentalism" was a minority lifestyle choice - not a growing worldwide political imperative.

Economists, social & political pundits are making much of this "Loonie" issue. This morning the CBC reported that the Loonie had slipped just below the Greenback only a few hours previously. People, media, governments and institutions will start watching the dollar now with all the neurotic regularity we display when we check our wristwatches. And they will tell the public what will happen and how they should react. And many, many, many of them will do just that. I think we have to realize that for a huge number of people the Canadian economy has crossed over onto uncharted ground, despite the fact that people like myself can remember "the day when".

Like it or not, we now live in a society where the majority of people have the attention span of an over caffeinated squirrel with ADHD. And when our politicians, economists and cultural pundits are also part of that group then I say it's time to listen to Bette Davis -

"Buckle up kiddies. It's going to be a bumpy ride."

When issues like this one pop up and we see that there is a history we can draw upon for wisdom, yet most don't, I wonder if the postmodern rejection of the "meta-narrative" - the story that tells us how we got here and why - is such a smart idea. The philosopher Charles Santayana observed that, "Those who refuse to remember the past are condemned to repeat it." My friend Lee observes that what has happened to our dollar has happened before - things go up in economics and they come down. But this present generation seems to make the myopia of my generation (called the "Me Generation" by some) seem like a momentary lapse of focus by comparison. It hasn't happened before "to us" so therefore we have no way to know how to deal with it. The media echoes that sentiment every day if not in every story they report.

The wise author of Ecclesiastes wrote, "There is nothing new under the sun."

This is especially true of money.

Jesus talked about money - a lot - because money was just as important to people 2000 years ago as it is today. His bottom line was basically this - who is in control, the money or God? One of them will be. You get to choose.

Choose wisely.

Shalom

Where I Find God

We were discussing the Nooma video "Trees" last night and I was really jazzed up by Rob Bell's question, "Where do you find God?"

I find Him in nature. Every day.

I find him in people of passion. Every day.

I find Him in art. Every day.

I find Him in well made and done things. Every day.

My wife is friends with a Prof. at U of R. He's got eclectic taste in music as we do, so we trade CD's from time to time to introduce each other to new music we hope we all will appreciate. He just lent me Elyza Gilkyson's new CD Paradise Hotel.

Do you remember when artists made albums that seems to have a thematic core because it was obvious that they were dealing deeply with very personal issues and compelling ideas - rather than just trying to make some "product"? Maybe you've never discovered such a piece of work.

Well Eliza has done this.

In spades.

And my life is richer today because God made Eliza and put her in the world and blessed me with the opportunity to hear her art. She probably won't win a Grammy, or a Juno, or an American Music Award, or an American Country Music Award - even though she should. But she has won my appreciation and if you give her a chance, she probably will win yours, too.

As Rob would say her art is "drenched in God".

Shalom