The Transformed

New Site

2005-12-25T00:00:00.000-08:00

For the past month I have been working on a new blog. I figured that since Christmas time is the time for celebration of a birth and also the time of giving, I would launch the new blog on Christmas.

Head on over to my new blog site at www.thetransformed.net

Nothing more will be posted here so bookmark the new site!

More Holiday Cheer

2005-12-13T10:13:00.000-08:00

It seems like every day I fall deeper and deeper into the comforting and warming heart of Christmas. I walk into my office every morning welcomed by my mini-tree with golden lights and purple ornaments (hung by paperclips), and I am filled with a sense that everything is going to be alright. I wish you could all see my office Christmas tree...maybe I will take some pictures and post them. Christmas feels like it has come so fast. There is less than two weeks till Christmas, and I wish there were still a month. Before I know it, this season will be over, the trees and lights and decorations will be back in their boxes, and I will have to wait a whole 11 months for this time.

While the we are in the midst of the season, here is some more holiday fun and cheer for you all to enjoy:

Christmas Time (Dont Let the Bells End) Video by The Darkness. (A hilarious music video)

Narnia

2005-12-09T12:20:00.000-08:00

Last night I got to see a pre-screening of The Chronicles of Narnia that was put on by a local church here. I hadn't planned on going to this particular event (that's code for: I was boycotting it) even though I have been waiting with much anticipation to see the film. But leave it to my very un-postmodern friend Jared to offer me two tickets which he had previously purchased for the event. After much deliberation, Heather and I decided to go because hey, who turns down free movie tickets to a pre screening of a film that you have been waiting to see for the past 6 months?

Before the film started, a man in slacks and a nice blue button-down shirt came out and talked to us about how within Narnia there are a lot of metaphors that parallel to scripture and the story of Jesus. He also shared that after the film the senior pastor of the unnamed church would be coming out to address us more specifically about the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. I apparently didn't know what I was signing up for when I accepted those "free" tickets.

Immediately when the film concluded, the pastor came up on the stage with a microphone and began to address us very bluntly and suddenly about what we "needed" to do. He said that Jesus died on the cross for us, and that we were required to do something in return for this. The thing that we "had" to do was "believe". "And the way you believe is through prayer" he said. Then he said that he was going to lead us in a prayer. At about this time, Heather and I got up, and left the crowded theater.

Now I don't know about you, but I wasn't aware that this sort of thing was going to happen with "Narnia". I read a post by Dan Kimball about a week ago where he mentioned that a church in his area was doing this type of thing. I couldn't believe this. I mean, I guess I could sort of understand why they did it for "The Passion", but with Narnia? Now that "Passion" is completely out of news headlines, Christians are calling Narnia the biggest evangelistic opportunity this year. This to me is wrong for more than one reason...

I get kind of scared. Not for me, but what if I would have brought a friend with me to Narnia? I mean, I can sorta handle crazy christian culture and laugh it off, but I worry about those who don't know God as they see the telemarketer Christians interrupting their evening with something they never asked for. It is just sad to see our Christian faith reduced to this type of cheap marketing scheme. Where the gospel is no longer spread by a life lived out, but rather by something as offensive as an unwanted and unwarranted internet pop-up ad.

Only Talk

2005-12-05T13:45:00.000-08:00

Today I am convicted. I am saddened at my own lack of action. When will I move past talk and into action? I say I care about justice for the poor and the oppressed, but do I really? Si Johnston's Article on justice and mission really hit home with me as I read it today.

"Have we bought hook line and sinker into British Telecom's jingle 'it's good to talk' and talked ourselves impotent, or are we so busy 'doing it' that we don't feel compelled to write about it?"

I feel as if I've been too busy talking about it that I haven't done very much. Stories of actual events that have taken place in my life will speak louder than any motivational speech that I could give of how we need to care for the poor and oppressed. Talking without doing is hypocritical at the least and mostly downright defiant of God.

Lord, please do everything you must to allow my life to be broken and electrified into movement. I don't want to be a man who's words are cheapened because my life doesn't reflect them. Instead make me a man who's life is so full of action that it tells the story of who I am.

Conversation...

2005-12-02T11:24:00.000-08:00

That's right. I said it. It is a dirty word for all you "lurkers" out there, but I would like to talk about it. Billy's comment followed by my own interaction sort of inspired me to write about the dreaded "C word" as it relates to the blogosphere. There is this sense (as Billy pointed out in a previous comment) that as I write something in this space and others join in to converse with me (aka: comment) and the others who read that connection is actually happening (for what is worse than a one sided conversation with the talking head Ryan Myers?).

I see this as a valid point and a great argument for why participating in the conversation that takes place here is a good thing to do. BUT, I see others as well. Today as I was rifling through my blogroll, I came across Billy's blog as I normally do and read his most recent post. After reading his post, I felt compelled to do more than I usually do and to actually contribute to the conversation. The topic made me think, and at first I didn't have an opinion. I read it and thought: "huh, that's interesting." but my thoughts stopped there. Usually I do this, thinking that I don't really have anything to add or that I don't have an opinion and so I move on to the next blog. This time was different though. This time I re-read the post, thought about what I actually believed/thought/sensed, and after much wrestling within me, I posted a comment.

After I posted my comment I realized, more than I ever had before why conversation is necessary. When we read thoughts on a blog and we use the "comment" button we are actively wrestling with what we believe. It was important for me to write what I thought on Billy's blog today because it caused me to wrestle and think and challenge my thoughts. If I wouldn't have commented, I wouldn't have gone through the internal wrestling that I believe is so important for our growth into becoming thinkers. I believe that its important for us to have to wrestle with things, and to think about things rather than just sit back and agree with the talking heads.

In no way do I mean to threaten those who enjoy reading and strolling through this place. Just for me, I realized today the importance of conversation and why it is so imperative that I engage in conversation and begin to share my thoughts. Thanks to everyone who reads, comments, gets angry at, and loves being in this space.

The City Christmas Tree

2005-11-23T12:49:00.000-08:00

Yesterday as I was riding to work, I saw that State Street between Victoria and Sola was blocked off. Normally my excitement wouldn't bubble at the viewing of a blocked off street, but I knew why the street was blocked off, and was prepared for what was to come. I continued on to work, and as 9:00 came around, I left my office, walked one block to State Street and began to witness something that is absolutely magnificent. In the middle of the street (right in front of the Arlington Theater) was a huge crane, several large trucks, and - most noticeably of all - a 50 foot Christmas tree lying on its side. It is the "Santa Barbara Christmas Tree". I watched as they prepped the tree for its stage where it will radiate the spirit of Christmas to all who see it. After much cutting with chainsaws, they were finally ready to hoist the giant arbor into place. It really was magical watching this all take place. There were about 15-20 people in all beholding this site. Take a few minutes to view some pictures of the Santa Barbara Christmas Tree, and the events as narrated above: Take me to the pictures.

Sidenote: Its been mentioned to me that I haven't posted anything new in a while (not that long...its only been one week). Its funny to me though that the people who have mentioned my lack of sharing in this space are those that I call "the lurkers" - Those who very rarely or never contribute to the conversation we have here, but nevertheless still belong and are always welcome here. Anyways, I have been occupying myself with a new project that I hope to release to you all on Christmas Day...

Used

2005-11-15T15:17:00.000-08:00

You ever feel used? I do. I was going to say that being used is usually not that bad; that you get over it; that you sort of deal with it and it doesnt effect you that much. But the truth is, it sucks. No matter which way you slice it, it sucks. I've felt used in the past, and it does effect you, probably more than you think at first.

I've felt used recently. This person is never there and always too busy for me, and then the second their life comes crashing in and their friends dissipate, I am supposed to be there...every step of the way. This part alone wouldn't particularly faze me. I mean, I am not opposed to playing the prodigal son's father some of the time, but what really gets me is when I decide not to be there (after being used time and time again), I get thrashed on and dubbed a horrible friend and a guy who doesnt care. What makes it worse is that these things are not only said to my face, but to other people as well, who begin to feel sorry for them and disgust towards me. I feel a bit angry that I would pour so much into a life time and time again, and not only am I not thanked, I am damned as well. I just don't understand the blatant disregard for a shared life in community which expects community but doesnt live in it.

Sounds of the season

2005-11-15T09:44:00.000-08:00

If you haven't already noticed, there is now music that accompanies the festive look of the blog. As optimistic that I am that everyone loves Christmas music and would love to listen to it every time they visit my blog, I know some people will not enjoy this new feature that I have provided. So, to keep these people from running through the cyber door and not visiting my blog as often, I have installed a pause button at the bottom right hand side of this page that I have aptly given the alias "the scrooge button". Press it and the music will cease to sound, along with your holiday spirit. Enjoy...erm...or not...

Friday night in Hollywood

2005-11-14T09:28:00.000-08:00

Went to a Death Cab For Cutie show this past Friday night in Hollywood with Heather. We had crap for seats because we got there a bit too late, and everything was General Admission which means first come first served, but Death Cab was still amazing. Before the show we got to share a meal with our good friends Jared and Regina in Agoura Hills at a great little Italian place called Fabrocini's Italian Kitchen. The food was excellent, the conversation and company was even better.

Renovation

2005-11-11T00:17:00.000-08:00

Just a bit of renovation for the holiday season. I hope you all enjoy the festive changes...I just couldnt help myself; anything to get people into the spirit of Christmas.

Recent Films

2005-11-08T11:05:00.000-08:00

A couple quick movie recommendations. Sunday I saw
The Weather Man and I enjoyed it. It is a bit depressing, and has a similar feel to that of American Beauty, but it is still a good film. Cage is a broken man, tattered by his father's disappointment of him, and his own disappointment of himself. He goes through life, with the best intentions, but always seems to fall a little short. Though he tries to be a good father as well as resuscitate his corpse of a marriage, he fails...miserably. But at least he tries. Don't get me wrong, there are many glimmers of hope in this film, and it is pretty funny as well.

Also, although I saw it in theaters, we rented it again and shared it with a couple of our friends who hadn't seen it: Millions. Two brothers find a bag of British Pounds (265,000 to be exact) and have different views of how they should spend it. The older brother wants to buy a lot of things like underwater jet propellers and invest in a house, while the younger brother wants to give it to the poor. Very sobering indeed to watch a movie where the two ways presented in which to spend money are material items and giving to the poor. A great film. Also, check out Dear Frankie if you get a chance.

Joyous Season

2005-11-01T12:54:00.000-08:00

Well, today is November 1st, and that means for me, today marks the beginning of Christmas season. I love Christmas, so I just can't help but talk about it. There always seems to be a happiness and a joy that wells up inside of me every year right at the first sight of the green trees hung with silver balls and red ribbon inside of Bath & Body Works. Its not Bath & Body Works every year that sleighs me (did you get the pun?), but it so happened that B&BW was the first setting I saw this season that radiated the color and feel that launched me into a frenzy of euphoria. As I was walking downtown on State Street today, I saw the city workers beginning to put up the Christmas lights on all the trees. It looks amazing when you drive down State street at night, with all the trees on both sides of you lit up.

The smell and crispness of the air, the vibrant colors, the visible breath, the shopping, the giving, the people, make me like a 5 year old boy on Christmas eve, trying hard not to let his eyes droop in worry that he might miss something spectacular, while he eagerly anticipates the next morning. So, here I wait, eagerly anticipating this joyous season that is already upon us.

Time for Halloween...

2005-10-31T12:15:00.000-08:00

Wow...I had to post before I came upon an entire month without sharing anything in this space. I got a little frightened that my good friend Jared might be rubbing off on me a little too much in this area. So anyways, its Halloween today...so...Happy Halloween everyone. I hope everyone enjoys their pumpkin carving, apple bobbing, costume dressing, tricking and treating, candy gluttony, scary music, laughing and any good times you have planned. I know I will certainly enjoy my night filled with eating candy and popcorn whilst I enjoy the company of several good friends and Tim Burton's Nightmare Before Christmas.

Born Into Brothels

2005-10-04T11:46:00.000-07:00

I just watched this documentary a few nights ago, and boy, is it good. The two filmakers capture their time in the "red light district" in Sonagchi, Calcutta, and the relationships they formed with the children of the prostitutes who work there. Zana Briski, A London native, teaches these children (Ages 10-14) the art of photography, gives them each a camera, and instructs them to take pictures of their world as they see it. The photos the children take, and their understanding of life is utterly jaw-dropping. The filmakers show that there is hope for these children amidst a people and a culture that are so hopeless. They show that there is hope for these children even though they themselves wrestle with the fact that they can do so little. The honesty of this documentary is what gripped me most. The honesty of the children as they express that they see no hope for themselves, and the honesty of the filmakers as they think that all of their sacrifice might be in vain.

Rainy Thoughts

2005-09-26T15:58:00.000-07:00

Random thought: Listening to Sigur Rós while it's raining should be mandatory...

I just picked up their new cd "Takk..." and it is beautiful.

BBC Article

2005-09-21T10:48:00.000-07:00

There is an interesting article on BBC News called American Dream Eludes the Poorest. It deals with the aftermath of Katrina as it looks further into race and poverty. The author of this article noticed that: "Because the United States is the richest country on earth, there was something particularly shocking about the images of America's poor, stranded, helpless and hopeless, begging for aid from the US federal government." A huge question the author raises is: How much can and should the american government help the poor? This article is definitely worth a read. Its short and is pretty insightful. Feel free to post a comment or share your reaction here.

Perils of iPodding

2005-09-20T10:54:00.000-07:00

As a spin-off of Si Johnston's post on The Perils of Blogging, I thought that I would talk a little bit about the perils of ipodding. Let me start off by saying that i don't think that ipod's are bad. I own one and use it frequently; But I would like to talk about a danger that we fellow ipodders can be caught in if we are not aware of it. Please feel free to add to the peril that I suggest with anything that you have experienced or feel would be relevant to this conversation.

I work in downtown Santa Barbara, and I frequently walk the city streets of the downtown area. There are many people who also walk the streets of downtown, and also many who basically reside on these same streets. As I walk from my office to grab a bite of food, or to meet up with a friend, or check out the newest releases at Morninglory Music, I push the white headphones of my ipod into my ear, scroll to find a good album, press play, and turn the volume up, all the while shutting out the conversation and happenings of the world around me. You see, with these little white earpieces inside my ears, I easily become deaf to the Vietnam Vet in a wheelchair who shakes his cup of change at me as he mutters a sad story I can ignore. I can pretend that I don't notice the man walking next to me, with whom I could probably have a meaningfull conversation with. I can become numb to the world around me.

Today we live in the world of the ipod where people don't have to have conversation and have an excuse not to help their fellow man. If everyone had an ipod and used it as they walked their city streets, more and more people would begin to feel left out, unloved, and uncared for.

Avast! It's Talk Like a Pirate Day

2005-09-19T09:23:00.000-07:00

So arr its "Talk Like a Pirate Day" today. I thought that I would join in th' fun an' find ou' what me Swashbuckler name would be. If ye take th' test t' find ou' what yer name be, use th' "Swashbuckler talk translator" when ye leave a comment.

My pirate name is:

Black Sam Rackham

Like anyone confronted with the harshness of robbery on the high seas, you can be pessimistic at times. You have the good fortune of having a good name, since Rackham (pronounced RACKem, not rack-ham) is one of the coolest sounding surnames for a pirate. Arr!

Get your own pirate name from fidius.org.

Cool Pirate Day links:
"Talk Like a Pirate Day homepage"
"learn t' be talkin' like a buccaneer"

Soliton

2005-09-12T11:22:00.000-07:00

This past weekend, starting on Thursday morning, I was apart of a global conversation in Ventura called Soliton. There were many practitioners from around the globe that spoke and facilitated mini conversations ranging from Finding Christ in Brothels to Non-Violence to Human Trafficking to The Death of the Short-Term Missions Trip to Human Sexuality to Living Missionally Within the Sacred Rhythms of the City. For me, this was an amazing trip and an amazing time. A lot is going on in my head as the time I was there was filled with much thought and conversation. It will take me a while to process all that I heard, felt, experienced and saw at Soliton, but I hope to begin unpacking shortly.

I really can't put into words the sense of community that I felt at Soliton. From sharing a pint of Guiness while talking about the spiritualities of blogging with Si Johnston (Northern Irishman who pioneered a faith community in London called Headspace), to sharing life over a burger with Doug Pagitt (Pastor of Solomons Porch in Minnesota), to singing Irish benediction songs while holding hands around a fire at midnight, to hearing Sandro Baggio's (4square church planter in SÃ£o Paulo, Brazil) amazing story of life transformation in his city is indescribable. I feel somehow connected to everyone, and yet I only shared a few days with them. I hope that I continue to keep in contact with the new friends I made at Soliton so that we can continue to encourage and share our life with each other from the many continents we are on. Here's looking to continued community and more good times...

Freeing Grace

2005-09-07T13:06:00.000-07:00

Just a quick thought...A lot of responses to "Junebug" got me thinking a bit more about grace. The whole idea of grace, seems to be encapsulated in just one sentence that Jesus spoke. I think back to the time a woman was caught it adultery and brought out in the streets before a growing mass of people and placed in front of Jesus. As the enraged crowd waited for Jesus' strict indictment of death with rocks in their hands, Jesus began to show us what kind of grace He offers. "...let those who have never sinned throw the first stones." As everyone leaves the scene, it is only Jesus and the woman there together as Jesus says:

"Where are your accusers? Didn't even one of them condemn you?"
"No, Lord," she said.
And Jesus said, "Neither do I. Go and sin no more."

Jesus exhibits the entirety of grace in this last single sentence. It is nothing short of extraordinary. It is that deep love that says "even though you did what you did, I still love you and don't condemn you". It is understanding that sees into the depths of our heart and loves us the same. Yet, at the same time, Jesus also tells this woman, "Go and sin no more." It's amazing to me that Jesus doesn't just stop at not condemning the woman, but he goes deeper and further by telling her not to do it anymore. To me, Jesus epitomizes grace in his interactions with this woman as an all encompassing love that doesn't look down on us and condemn us, but instead frees us from the entanglements of sin.

A Night to Remember

2005-08-23T15:38:00.000-07:00

So, on Sunday evening, Heather and I drove down to Irvine to see Coldplay. The show was really, really good despite the rubish we got for seats. Even though I logged onto the ticketing source the second that the tickets went on sale, we still ended up with tier 3 seating! The seating went as follows (in order from best to worst): Orchestra , Lodge, Terrace, and upper grass field. We happened to be seated in the upper, waaaaaaaaaaaaaay left section of the terrace. This made the sound really muffled and unclear; we were unable to see the drummer at all; and the huge video screen behind them was totally blocked. During their opening song (Square One) we wised up and went towards the center of the stadium and stood behind the last row in the terrace. The sound was insanely better, we could see the entire band, and the video screen behind them. This video screen, by the way, was amazing. It was showing clips of each member of the band with crazy video filters on it as they played their songs.

Coldplay was brilliant musically, playing longer cuts of their songs where, at the end, there were 3 solid minutes of sweet sounding "ooooooh's" from Chris Martin as he softly stroked the keys of his piano. Several times he asked the 12,000 people in the audience to sing the "ooooooh's" along with him, creating a wall of sound that was beautifully moving. They played a couple of songs accoustically, among them was their new song dedicated to Johnny Cash "Kingdom Come" and a cover of Johnny Cash's song "Ring of Fire". At the end, Chris Martin ran out to the center of the crowd (between the Orchestra and Lodge seating) and stood on the sound board as he seranaded the people in the less fortunate seating with more of his oooooooh's. After a couple minutes of clapping and shouting, the foursome came back on stage and played 3 more tunes, the last to be their newest single "Fix You".

Coldplay was amazing in concert. I can't wait to see them again...hopefully with better seats.

Bloody Pirates!

2005-08-16T08:52:00.000-07:00

Thought I would get in on all this quiz-taking action...

Which Pirates of the Caribbean character are you?

Junebug

2005-08-10T12:05:00.000-07:00

I picked up this quote while listening to a soundbite from the film Junebug on the Ebert & Roeper Movie Reviews Podcast.

"God loves you just the way you are, but he loves you too much to let you stay that way."

Struggling in SB

2005-08-03T15:51:00.000-07:00

I have had some interesting conversations about living in Santa Barbara lately. Through these conversations, I have come to realize that there are only a couple of different types of people who live in Santa Barbara. The 1st group (a lot of the times it is the wealthy ones) love living in such a beautiful place, and wouldn't trade it for anything. The 2nd group (usually the middle, working class) is always whining and complaining about how expensive it is to live here, and their desire is to move away. I realize that there are probably people somewhere in the middle of these two spectrums, but most people would be able to drop themselves in one of the two groups.

Many of the people I have had conversations with recently are disgruntled with the expensive Santa Barbara housing. I don't mean to be rude, but basically all I hear is a bunch of bitching and moaning about how hard it is to afford housing in this town. Most of the people that I talk with seriously consider moving away to a cheaper city so that they would be able to buy a house, or be able to rent a house for a much cheaper price. I guess the thing that bugs me about this is that it seems like such a huge act of faithlessness and selfishness. In essence, when we decide to move to another city because things are tough in the one we are in, we are basically telling God: "I am taking things into my own hands because you can't provide for me enough to live here." Sure, there are those of us who are "called" to other countries and cities, but we better not justify our lack of faith with the "I am called" speech.

Sure, Santa Barbara isn't the cheapest city in the world to live in, but I love the fact that Jesus said "he will give you all you need from day to day if you live for him and make the Kingdom of God your primary concern." I know that God has me here for a reason, and as long as I follow Christ with my whole life, God will take care of me, and that includes my housing. I know that because I follow him, God's got my back...even in Santa Barbara.

Life Together

2005-07-21T12:05:00.000-07:00

Lately I have been realizing that sharing life together isn't always easy. When we talk about living life in community and sharing life with each other, I always think about the times when we hang out with one another and we laugh and play and share our life experiences. These times are great, and for many people, where their life lived out in community ends.

I am beginning to see that communal life goes deeper and much beyond laughter in a coffee shop and that living life together is something that we have to consciously make an effort to do because we tend to pull away from it. Thinking of community as a sort of happy-go-lucky hang out time gets us only part of the way there because life isn't that simple all the time. Life is filled with conflict, pain, indecisiveness, love, lust, greed, and sin, and if we aren't living in community our conflicts and pains will leave us alone and in the dark, and our sins will fly by unnoticed and unchallenged. When we truly live life together, we allow people to see into our lives and discover who we are. This can be very scary because when we allow our life to be opened for other to see, we run the risk of being judged, looked down upon, hated, despised, and misunderstood. But when you do take the risk to live in close community with others you will always have someone who will plead to Christ on your behalf, someone who loves you enough to challenge you, someone who will tell you when you are full of sh&* and Someone who will love you no matter what you do or don't do.

Sure, there will always be those people who judge us when we begin to give them a peek into our life, but I think that we all know who the people are in our lives that we can begin to share life with in a powerful and life altering way. All we have to do is take a risk.