Hey all- I’ve been a little slow to post this week. Life sped up and I had a lot going on. I don’t have any great theological (or even life style) insights to share right now. On a cool note I surfed with some good friends yesterday and we’re going out again this morning. Tomorrow I’m going to The David Crowder Band concert in Los Angeles. Pretty stoked on this weather too.

I couldn’t tell what my son was just saying. He was yelling something at me from his bed. Then my wife Danielle told me he was saying “God is in my heart” tonight they were upstairs and she told him he could ask God to come in his heart if he wanted. He asked God to do that and then said “Mommy can you feel him” as he stuck his stomach in the air. Well, he just asked me to come upstairs and see if I could see it. Amazing 2 1/2 year old.

I like North County San Diego. Today my famiy went to a Surf Competition in Cardiff. Fun to see so many people I knew there and even more so to see Switchfoot do a couple of accoustic songs. I like the beach, I like people that like the beach, I like that my wife likes the beach. I like it that even with 3 kids and a 1/2 mile walk we still went to the beach. I like it that my boys like the beach. I like it that my daughter (4 months old) tolerates the beach. I like my church. I like the Switchfoot listening party we had today. I like it when I get to hang out with friends at church. These are just a few of the things I like…… I like a lot of stuff.

Just a quick update. Switchfoot is doing a live accoustic set in Cardiff, CA today at 2:45pm. There’s a big surf competition going on and their playing for the end of it. Come on down and let’s go. Also, we’re hosting a listening party for the Album tonight at Northcoastcalvarychapel in Carlsbad. That’s from 7:30-10pm and ummmmm free Pizza

I just finished reading the U2 book “Walk On” that’s listed on this site. Pretty powerful book about the spiritual side of The biggest Rock band in the world. I was struck by a couple of things. 1. Bono has a bigger platform than the evangelical church. 2. He has done amazing things. 3. He has been rejected by the church 4. That’s why I get so tired of the church. Reading about how his faith is so evident in his life and in his writing makes me question my faith. Today I went surfing while thousands died in Africa. Sort of puts life into a different perspective.

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So I am still planning on putting up my article about Jack FM but it’s going to have to wait a couple of days. This weekend the first big swell of the fall came in and it has put everything on hold. Friday I went to the beach to check out the waves and it was going off. The swells were hitting the 10+ stage and had decent form. It looked as if everyone was bailing out of work and school to surf. Its funny that I have only lived here a year but life in a beach community does revolve around surf. Today there was a big NSSA contest and some of my students made it pretty far in the competition. Everyone I talked to that paddled out said it was amazing. Of course I didn’t make it into the water. I’m working on getting in shape first and logging a lot of time in the pool swimming laps so that when I get into the ocean I have some paddle strength. Looking forward to the days when my boys push me to surf with them. More postings when the swell is gone.

Here’s a little snippet of an article I’m writing. I think that Jack FM is the future. Here’s the deal. Every song they play (even the ones I don’t like) are amazing songs. I think the way the church has segregated itself into XM channels that only play one type of music is killing it. If we can be together and say that its ok if we don’t like something as long as its great and meeting someone’s needs. There is a much longer article about this coming.

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I’m on a bit of a spiritual pilgrimage right now. As a part of my research project I have decided to explore the connection between the contemporary church and pop culture. Specifically I am aiming at trying to figure our a hermeneutic that works to connect the 20-something generation with theology. It’s funny when you begin doing research in this area because although there are some amazing books that were written years ago like “Christ and Culture” by Richard Niebuhr most of the great stuff is fairly new. Like pop culture I guess it changes so rapidly that its hard to keep up. A bit disenchanting when I think that the three years I put into this project might be irrelevant by the time its finally published. But I am convinced that as with most things dealing with faith these days the important part is that the dialogue is started and continued. As culture shifts the church will need to continue to shift in order to follow it. Here’s a little taste of my thoughts.

The church historically has had a love for “High” culture. Music, literature and the arts that fall into this category are loved by the church. Think to yourself how many times you’ve her Handel’s Messiah done at a church. We grab hold of something like the “Hallelujah chorus” and claim it as our own. Don’t get me wrong I think there is something incredible about having the congregation up on stage belting it out. There is something “spiritual” about that moment. I put most “High” culture into the category of “Dead White Guys” because that’s pretty much what the church has as a sub-category for “High” culture.

The church also has a great love affair with “Middle” culture. This is mostly defined as culture that is common to a particular region. This “Folk” culture is something that churches hold on to tightly because it is usually a huge part of their historical roots. This is why many churches still have festivals and activities that many people outside the church think are strange. Growing up in the Lutheran church we had a festival every Christmas where we celebrated our Norwegian heritage. This potluck event was a scary smorgasbord of odd Norweigian food such as Lutefisk (raw fish soaked in lye) and Lefsa (a tasty little pastry.) The church embraced jokes about Ole and Sven and we had a great time accompanied by music from the old country. Whatever your particular church clings too as its historical Folk roots tends to come out in its love for the “Folk” culture. Its unfortunate I think that many “mega” and “non-denom” churches don’t have these types of folk experiences to draw from.

Pop culture is a phenomena that the church does not know how to handle. By “Pop” I’ll loosely define it as the culture of the “day.” Granted this definition has a huge spectrum of meanings based on geographic and socio economic diversity but it is still a real problem that the church doesn’t know how to respond to. I contend that “Pop” culture is a scary thing for the church because we have lost a lot of our ability to be relevant to post-modern society. Things move so quickly outside of our doors but inside we tend to be embroiled in committee meetings and other issues. Please understand that I love the church and have worked in some amazing ones. I point to myself as being part of the problem because as a Youth Pastor I probably have the best stage to work on a Theology that allows for this interface. I just haven’t done enough and am now scrambling to see how to fit it together.

Here’s one last thought. I was in a church service one morning with Brittany Spears, Jessica Simpson and Tori Spelling all in attendance. I’ve sat behind David Hasselhoff and conversed with the Producer for “Saved by the Bell.” These people and the people that love these people need to know that the church wants to interact with pop culture and dialogue in such a way that doesn’t condemn who they are and what they do.

Some of these thoughts began to be fleshed out in one of my D.Min classes at George Fox and reflect some of the ideas of Leonard Sweet who in my opinion “gets it.”

Side note. Go to the Reel Spirituality Conference at Fuller Seminary in Pasadena on October 21st. See you there. Let’s go see some movies too.