New Music - Stations of the Cross

I am working on a new concept piece based on the Stations of the Cross. I have done a lot of the plotting out already and I am now working on songwriting. I am excited because I am about 30% through writing the piece that will probably be station 12 (maybe 13 not sure yet).

Its an instrumental piece with really lush moody chords on piano with electric distorted guitar playing the melody. I think there will probably be some Ahh's in harmony at the end.

Mind your Manners

It's that time again.

A couple of the websites that I manage for churches went down yesterday. I got a nice note from the guy who hosts the sites for free because they are church sites.; saying he was working on it and it should be up in about 24 hours. I wrote him a nice note telling him that I appreciated his letting me know and all his hard work in getting it up again.

That got me thinking. Would I have behaved any differently if he was not (or if I did not know he was) a christian. My question is this. Do we behave more like Christians to other Christians, and if so why? In my case I sure do not believe I should treat non Christians any less well than Christians but maybe I do tend to act based on how I think I will be judged. Does the world have lower standards. Do only feel the need to behave in a way according to the standards that I perceive I will be judged. If this is the case then I am in trouble because I am forgetting that it is God that truly judges me. I am saved by faith but that faith should be pushing me to live up to a higher standard. No matter who I am interacting with.

Lord help me to live up to your standards and to always be a light to the world for You.

A half thought about Worship

Be humble, broken, and ready to completely submit in service.

In worship I see this as the ultimate mindset yet it is also the hardest to achieve. It is a little ironic but I have found that event to do start to reach this mindset I have to ask for help.

Every Sunday morning before going into the worship service I ask the Holy Spirit to help me submit. To guide my fingers and voice as I play. I ask Him to guide my words as I speak.

I need to do this everyday.

Worship should not be a Sunday morning activity. Like prayer we should worship without ceasing.

10000 Stones

An occasional good catharsis is good for the soul. I had one just know listening to 10,000 Stones by Adrianne. Another post is coming later today but I wanted to share this and its too long for a Facebook status :)

My days are filled with mistakes
Some that I didn't make
I carry them around

Some people don't feel a thing
Some kind of blissful dream
I wish that I could live that now
Oh, I wish I could live that now

'Cause ten thousand stones
Hanging deep in my heart
No, I don't know
How they don't tear me apart
How could I ever believe
That ten thousand stones
Would build the best of me

I've seen a lot in my life
I've seen two wrongs make a right
When everything was crashing

I know that you've got your plans
You're always taking your stand
But I was only asking
No, I was never asking

For ten thousand stones
Hanging deep in my heart
No, I don't know
How they don't tear me apart
How could I ever believe
That ten thousand stones
Would build the best of me

Yeah

Oh, who knows
What you think of me now
Knowing sooner or later
The truth would come out
But I don't want to look back
Don't want to look back

To ten thousand stones
Hanging deep in my heart
No, I don't know
How they don't tear me apart
How could I ever believe
That ten thousand stones
Would save the fool in me

Ten thousand stones
Would be a strange blessing
Ten thousand stones
Would build the best of me

Its always the other person's fault.

I wanted to do a little bit of research on this phrase before I wrote this and I was surprised to find that my google search was of no help at all. Basically I got result after result of dating advice. Well I am certainly not one to give that because I have been married for almost ten years and I wasn't that great at dating when i did it. Luckily that is not what I wanted to discuss.

What I wanted to talk about the concept of two groups of people divided over some idea or situation each think the other is wrong and is certain they are right. Politics are a perfect example of that. The Conservatives say the liberals are wrong about their political beliefs, but ask any liberal you will get the opposite answer.

And Exaggeration of the alliances
 in a complex social dynamic

This is a blatant example but the examples I am concerned with are much more personal and local.  They exist in my church and I am certain in every church in the country. Only the  parties are much more complex than left and right. The sides change frequently and two people who are mortal enemies on one issue will be strong allies on the other. Sometimes these differences are unspoken, other times they can progress to name calling or even action.

I have seen this for years and I admin I am even guilty of occasionally getting sucked into it. So what is my advice for this disease. I have none, I do not know how to fix it. I am pretty sure that without God's help it cannot be fixed.  All I can say is that if you read this and you are convicted, as I am, join me in praying that God will give us the courage to step outside the circles that separate us and let us truly love one another as He  loves us.

NOTE: about the picture this is what appeared in my head as I was writing this. Basically what I am showing is the concept that we intersect all in various places all over the places. Yes it is absolutely an exaggeration but  hopefully it gets the point across. I think what we should really see is a single circle. Not because we always agree but because we are a family in Christ and we love each other even when we do not like what each other has done.

Why do I defend myself?

 I have not forgotten that I have a part 2 of my last blog coming. I hope to get to that but I had something I wanted to share and I am not good enough at this to let a chance to write pass so here it is.

I was at the bus stop the other day with a, well lets say non-believer, and we were talking about music and I told her about how before I had kids I played on the bar scene. To this she asked, "What do you do now". My reply of course is that now I only play at church.

"Oh thats right, you go to church." she replied.

What transacted next I am a little embarrassed by and I only put it here because I think I am probably not alone.

I started defending my decision to play at church at not once did I say, "Because I Love to worship the Lord" or anything like that. Instead I listed all sorts of practical reasons.  Which while they are all true none of them truly speak to the heart of the matter.

My response satisfied the woman who I was talking to her but I left feeling ashamed. Not of my faith but in my inability to express it. To stand up to her skepticism and to stand up for my beliefs against a non-believer. My prayer is that God gives us all the strength so that when asked Why we go to church we can tell them why and invite them in.

Free Market Capitalism - A Conversation - Part 1

I wanted to take a minute to talk about my thoughts on capitalism. I surely am no expert and I am very interested in hearing peoples thoughts on it as long as they are in the spirit of conversation and not trying to be attacking or hateful.  If everyone tries to do that I will try to do the same.

I want to start off by saying that in its most basic definition I am absolutely pro-capitalism. Here is what Wikipedia says about it

Capitalism is an economic system in which the means of production are privately owned and operated for a private profit; decisions regarding supply, demand, price, distribution, and investments are made by private actors in the market; profit is distributed to owners who invest inbusinesses, and wages are paid to workers employed by businesses and companies.

That sounds good to me. However I do disagree with the the concept of free market capitalism defined in the same article as

Free market capitalism consists of a free-price system where supply and demand are allowed to reach their point of equilibrium without intervention by the government. Productive enterprises are privately-owned, and the role of the state is limited to enforcing property rights.

The issue I have is with he line "without intervention by the government". I know this sounds like a horrible thought at first. A lot of people right now will be tagging me all sorts of hateful names but If I may (And its my blog so I certainly may, although you may discontinue reading) I would like to  back up my decision

My issue really boils down tot he idea  that capitalism will generate good decisions for the community at large by nature of competition. Government should stay out of things because every thing will be OK because when everyone, the consumer and the corporations start looking out for their own interest there will be a balance achieved. I think this is wrong.

I do not think your average consumer determines their purchases based on what they perceive as the long term good. Your average consumer is concerned with convenience and price, and in may cases the free market system will control these two things. I will go into cases where I believe it does not shortly.

I do not think the same system will make the same promises for achieving balance for the good of society. In a true free market you can have two companies one using ethical manufacturing techniques and the other using child labor. If the child labor is cheaper then they will survive and all they have to do is hide their manufacturing practices which is not that hard to do. Even if they do not hide them often that does not make a difference because cheaper prices will take precedence. I suppose you can argue then that the system worked because the consumer decided that low prices are more important that not using child labor. Maybe, but that is certainly not a Christian belief and since I am a Christian and this blog is called PraiseBlogger I have  to use that as a criteria in my argument.

So hopefully I have given a clear argument that free market in a consumer to business market does not promote fair business practices or moral behavior it only promotes lower prices and convenience.  My poster child for this is Wal-Mart. People hate Wal-Mart for so many things but they will still shop there because it is cheap and convenient.

In part 2 I will discuss non Consumer to Business Scenarios and hopefully get to what role I think government has to play in regulating business.