The Rockalot Blog

I'm Going to be in the Guiness Book of World Records

True dat..Double True!!  I WILL be in the Guiness Book of World Records with thousands of other guitars players who will be meeting in The Community America Ballpark to play "Smoke On The Water" (ironically the very first song I ever learned on guitar) all at the same time to set a new record for most guitar players gathered together to play a song at one time.  It should be a blast...if you are in the KC area and play guitar you should register to go and ROCK OUT with everyone!  Click Here if you want to register and participate in setting a world record in ROCK!!

OK...I have something to say...you ready??

Professional Christianity

What is it?  It's the addiction to self righteousness and judgement.  What does it mean to be Professional about your sin?  It means to hide it.  Professional Chrisitanity means you have a reputation to maintain at all cost, even if that cost is dishonesty.  You want to go back to being an amateur, but you're too experienced for that.  You have to search to find your sin.  You have hidden your sin so well for so long you have to search to discover where you put it.  [from the book Confessions of a Caffienated Christian by John Fischer]

I believe this to be a big problem among church leadership.  The underlying pressure to "always have it together" and the unwritten code of "you better not mess up, the cost is too great" feeds this need to hide sin.  But, "We encourage our leaders to be real people and honest about their struggles", you say.  Well, I hate to tell you this, but, Christians are sometimes the FIRST to shoot their wounded.  Somehow we get it backwards and protect the 99 while abandoning the 1.  We know we are hypocrites.  We just like to only admit the hypocrisy that's acceptable to us.  The longer we hide our sin the more numb we become to it taking place in our life and it's effect on us and those around us.  Further fueling pride and the addiction to self-righteousness and judgement.  And all the while Satan is strengthening his grip around our life and taking us deeper and deeper into bondage and further into sin.  We must confess our sin, bring it into the open, ["confess your sins, ONE TO ANOTHER"....not just to God in your head] and into the light where God can heal it and bring restoration.  The consequences may be great but there are consequences to sin unconfessed or not.  Amen?  "...You may be sure that your sin will find you out", Numbers 32:23.  Bringing our sin into the light allows God to heal it and free us from Satan's grip.  And the life experienced on the other side (not hiding, ignoring, denying, lying, or pretending everything is fine) after confessing our sin, is  SO MUCH greater than that spent in the tormoil and bondage of hiding and lying about it and "playing church."  Don't we want Christian leaders who are willing to stand up and confess their sin, be real about their humanity, and allow God to heal them in front of us and not just talk about it?  Aren't these the kind of people that we want to follow, we can relate to best, and admire most for having courage and integrity??  Unfortunately, giving grace is more complicated for us than that.   It seems to me that our congregations understand what it is to "be the church" more than the leadership does.  Example: The body gives grace to the body....The body gives grace to the leadership....The leadership gives grace to the body....BUT the leadership doesn't give grace to other leadership.  Therefore releasing and hurting a lot of good leaders when they could have chosen (at very least) to give them grace and restore them.

For a long time I equated being a Christian with being good.  That meant as a Christian leader I not only had to be good.  I had to be better.  Now I realize being good is the least important thing about being a Chrisitian.  I'm a Christian because I'm NOT GOOD.  I'm a Christian because I found out the fantastic news that God loves me anyway. [same book]

The Perfect Night

Last night was the perfect night.  My wife and I sat out on the front porch with a good friend and watched an incredible lightning storm, listened to amazing thunder, and enjoyed the rain pouring down around us.  It was like a meteorological rock concert!  I like thunderstorms as much as I like the ocean.  It makes me feel closer to God because of the awesome power on display.  So I got my guitar and amp out on the porch and we played and sang while it poured.  Spontaneous worship moments like that don't come around too often.  Wish you were here to enjoy it.

Pour it out

Living Water come and fill us
Living Water come and heal us
Open doors pour in life
To a heart that's dry
Restore us
To a soul that's tired bring more

Pour it out 'til it's more than I can hold
Wash over and make me whole
our it out 'til it's more than I can hold
Wash over and make me whole

Pour out Your living water Lord to fill, heal, and restore us.  Pour it out until we can't hold anymore and it overflows and spills out of us onto those around us.  Wash over us and make us whole again like only you can Lord.

No Mo Faux

Yes, it's true.  I have (almost) shaved my head.  There is no longer a rockalot faux hawk.  It's now the rockalot shaves-a-lot.  (:)>   formerly known as ~:)>

New Myspace

check out my new myspace.  click here

Be careful what you ask for...

My life in places is twisted and overgrown
I am bruised and dirty and wander on my own
You stop and turn Your attention to me
Reaching down from heaven to tend to me
I trust You

Cut away, cut away all you see
Cut away, cut away the sin in me
Cut away so I can see
I can be free
Cut away

My choices have left me ragged and scarred
I trust you to heal me remind me I'm yours
Your life flows in me as I remain in You
Your faithful to finish Your work in me

Cut away, cut away all you see
Cut away, cut away the sin in me
Cut away so I can see
I can be free
Cut away

You bend, You mend, You mold, You break
Lord do with me whatever in takes
You bend, You mend, You mold, You break
To seperate me from this world

Cut away, cut away all you see
Cut away, cut away the sin in me
Cut away so I can see
I can be free
Cut away

Thank you Lord for cutting away the things in my life that don't belong and have gone astray.  Thank You for also pruning back those things that you want to keep but are overgrown.  I feel true growth for the first time in a long time.