Notes from The Rock and Roll Preacher

Wanted: one punk and two stolen guitars

2009-07-06T12:16:00.007-05:00

As the host of the GodTalk Radio Show on CJOB 68, I have an opportunity to reach a large audience on the air and on the web. On last night's radio show, I did something most preachers never do: I put out a $500 bounty on the thief who stole my guitars last week (see picture on the left).

The Gibson Les Paul and Heritage 535 were expensive guitars. They had sentimental value that is worth much more than dollars and cents. But the real reason I put out the bounty is that I can't sit back and do nothing. I can't put all the onus on the police to solve society's problems single-handedly. The Winnipeg Police Service is handling the forensic side of things. I'm focusing my efforts on reinforcing good citizenship and bringing perps and punks to justice. THAT'S what my bounty is really all about.

Some people think I've got it all wrong. They think I should be more forgiving and less materialistic. They think I should focus less on putting criminals behind bars and more on doing something about the social problems that lead to crime. They think I should do what Jesus would do.

For the record: Jesus wasn't a limp noodle or a wet blanket. He called it as he saw it. He offered truth to the deluded. He offered grace to the downhearted. I offer the same.

And I'm offering $500 to the person who turns the thief into the police and helps me get my guitars back in safe condition. I promise: I'll visit him in jail.

If you have any information leading to the solution of this crime, please contact Constable Machado at 986-8111 or dmachado@winnipeg.ca.

Press? Release? Both?

2009-07-04T13:50:00.003-05:00

I sent the following press release to media today. Tell me what you think.

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CJOB 68’S ROCK ‘N’ ROLL PREACHER PUTS OUT $500 BOUNTY TO HUNT DOWN LOCAL THIEF.

Rev. Greg Glatz, otherwise known as the Rock ‘n’ Roll Preacher on CJOB’s GodTalk, is chasing down the thief that stole his guitars.

This week, two guitars – a Gibson Les Paul and Heritage 535 – were stolen from Glatz’s studio. Glatz has decided to fight back by putting out a $500 bounty for information that leads to the thief’s arrest and the safe return of his guitars. The guitar-playing preacher is the host of the GodTalk Radio Show on CJOB 68 (Sunday nights 9-11) as well the lead pastor of Central Baptist Church and the lead guitar player for two local bands.

“I'm tired of lying down and rolling over when it comes to crime in this city. The police are doing everything they can for me. Now, I’m doing my part. On Sunday night’s radio show (July 5), I’m offering $500 cash to the person who turns in the thief and gets my guitars back. This guy picked the wrong preacher to mess with. I’m turning the tables on him. Putting him on the run. I want to make him think twice before he steals again.”

Rev. Greg Glatz can be reached at 204-771-8290 or gregglatz@godtalkradioshow.com

Ideology and idiocy ...

2009-07-03T09:42:00.003-05:00

Self respect. Pride. Discernment. Common sense. I think these qualities are lost on most Canadians. It seems like uncritical social liberalism in this country has robbed us of the ability to discern what best serves the interest of Canadians. Ideology usually leads to idiocy … and Thursday’s decision by Canada’s Immigration and Refugee Board is one of the most idiotic stories of bureaucratic bumbling ever.

Today, convicted sex offender Farid Noedost is virtually walking free on the streets of Winnipeg instead of being deported to his native Iran. Noedost was released on parole on Thursday after the Immigration and Refugee Board determined his fears of being killed in Iran are valid.

Noedost was arrested in 2006 after two girls, aged 16 and 15, said they were abused by the man on three occasions after passing out from drugs and alcohol. Noedost was sentenced to three years in prison in December 2007 for possession of cocaine for the purpose of trafficking and given a three-year suspended sentence and probation for a sexual assault conviction in April 2008.

Noedost was slated for mandatory deportation because his sentence was a federal term of more than two years.

But Thursday's hearing was held after concerns arose for Noedost's safety in Iran. He has a warrant for his arrest after escaping from Iran years ago. He has also become a Christian since incarcerated. He claims he will be killed for his newfound faith if he returns to Iran. Noedest played the religious persecution card with Canadian bureaucracy and won. And we lost. Big time.

Michael McPhelan of the Immigration and Refugee Board said he wasn't convinced Noedost will not reoffend. "I have concerns that you are dangerous to the public in Canada," McPhelan said via video conference from Vancouver to a Winnipeg courtroom.

"The way you have conducted yourself in Canada is despicable. You are a danger to girls under 18."

But McPhelan added, "The need to protect the Canadian public is outweighed by the risk you face in your country of origin."

What?!?! For the record: NOTHING outweighs the need to protect the Canadian public. McPhelan should be reprimanded, if not fired, for his statement. And he should be replaced with someone who puts the people he serves first.

With contributions from Kevin Rollason's article in the Winnipeg Free Press.

Tragically not hip ...

2009-05-22T20:14:00.014-05:00

I wasn't surprised. In fact, I pretty much expected it. Actually, I would have been disappointed if it hadn't happened. It was Tuesday morning and there in my inbox was a note from my co-host, Marlo Boux. She was at it again. Mixing it up in online discussion groups. Sniffing out stories. Looking for angles. (Looking for trouble.) She'd come across a stream of judgmental, self-righteous rants from believers taking cheap shots at atheists and agnostics (or even other believers who didn't buy into their particular brand of right-wing conservativism). And she was taking them on.

They never saw it coming. They never knew what hit them. Armed with her Amplified Bible, the grace of Jesus, the love of God, and the comfort of the Holy Spirit, Marlo pushed them hard, arguing for compassion, understanding, and respect for others. She served it with a smile (and probably a muffin), but she kept coming back at them every time they tried to shut her down (or shut her up). Marlo's intervention may or may not have been changed people's minds. What it did for certain was introduce a conscience into the conversation. Why do we think we can diss others with impunity?

The church has a problem. It has a nostalgia-driven notion that the U.S. and Canada used to be "Christian" countries. According to this hyperreal version of history, the good old days were heaven on earth: everyone feared God, everyone believed in the Bible, the courts and schools upheld Scripture and prayer, and everyone prospered. All what we need now is a return to the good old days: more God in the court house, more God in the school house, and more God in the White House (or 24 Sussex Drive).

I'm not going to bother to dredge up all the state-sponsored and church-sanctioned atrocities of the so-called good old days. I just want to say I'm tired of looking for Jesus in all the wrong places. I don't expect to find him in the court house or the school house. I'm happy if he shows up in the church house. When Jesus walked the face of the earth you'd find him outside the court house and the school house (and the church house for that matter). If you want to find him today, hang out with the hungry, the thirsty, the strangers, the naked, the sick, and the prisoners (Matthew 25.35-40). I keep bumping into him on Wednesday nights, handing out sandwiches and drink boxes down on Princess Street.

Why do "believers" spend so much time lamenting the state of society, yet buying into at the same time? According to Andy Crouch, author Culture Making, the church (especially its conservative varieties) has a love/hate relationship with culture. It either condemns and critiques it or copies and consumes it. What the church rarely does these days is cultivate and create culture. That's shocking when you think about it. Shouldn't creationists be creative? Shouldn't people who think they're made in the image of creative God be creating a vivid/vibrant culture instead of complaining there isn't enough God in the existing culture? (Or worse: baptizing existing culture with Christianeese and passing it off as "Christian".)

I think it's time we stopped looking for Jesus in the surrounding culture and started looking like Jesus. That's creative. That's redemptive. That's inspiring.

I'm taking my cue from the apostles, who admittedly started off looking for Jesus instead of looking like him. I attribute the false start to separation anxiety -- one minute Jesus was there, the next minute he was gone. Literally. Here's how Jesus peace'd out:

"You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." When he had said this, as they were watching, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. While he was going and they were gazing up toward heaven, suddenly two men in white robes stood by them. They said, "Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up toward heaven? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven." (Acts 1.8-11)

The apostles eventually got their act together. They stopped looking for Jesus and started looking like Jesus (they became his witnesses as he said they would). They turned the world upside down (Acts 17.6). The Spirit of Jesus exploded their doubts and insecurities like metaphysical dynamite. They became "empowered" in the most profound sense of the word. There was no God in the court house, no God in the school house, and the church house (synagogue) wasn't that friendly either, but none of that held the apostles back.

In true apostolic fashion, I think it's time for the church to get hip. HIP was always supposed to be the game plan. Check out the Apostle Paul:

I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation as you come to know him, so that, with the eyes of your heart enlightened, you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance among the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power for us who believe, according to the working of his great power. (Ephesians 1.17-19)

It's time for so-called believers to live like they have Hope, an Inheritance, and Power ... instead of living like the best days are behind us, we've got nothing to draw from, and we can't really do anything about what's happening around us.

It's the 21st century. We live in an age of unprecedented freedom. With that freedom comes the real possibility of making mistakes, doing more harm than good, and leaving a legacy of chaos and consumption. But with that freedom also comes a real longing within people to find what's hip. People are looking for hope. People are looking for an inheritance to draw from. People are looking for power.

The world wants hip. The world needs hip. I think it would be tragic if the people who name the name of Jesus were the only people not hip.

Throwing out the Bible ...

2009-05-17T06:37:00.007-05:00

Don’t get me wrong. I love people that go to church.

But I’m finding some of the most spiritually astute people I know outside its walls.

Take J, for example. J was brought up in the Episcopal church in the southern United States. For years, J's mother was actively involved in diocesan leadership and very active in the church as a lay minister. Unfortunately, church politics and back-stabbing within the church community took its toll … not on her, but on J who left the church years ago and went through life in a state of spiritual semi-ambivalence. J is done with church, but still looking for God. J writes,

“I have been turned off of the church. I hate that it's come to that. I still believe there is an almighty power somewhere around us and hope one day I will be able to give testimony to it.”

J is one of a fast-growing number of people who've been forced to make the ironic decision to walk away from the church in order to cling to a sense of the divine. J is done forever with “Christen-dumb”. But J isn't done with God.

And I don’t think God is done with J.

In fact, I think God is just getting started. As we round off the first decade of the 21st century, it's becoming apparent that God is about to revolutionize the church within by using the people without.

And this won't be the first time.

Take this story this first-century story, for example:

While Peter was still speaking, the Holy Spirit fell upon all who heard the word. The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astounded that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the Gentiles, for they heard them speaking in tongues and extolling God. Then Peter said, "Can anyone withhold the water for baptizing these people who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?" (Acts 10.44-47)

The seismic spiritual shift created by this event is easily overlooked, because we live on the finished side of change. But if you read closely, the signals are still there: the Jewish believers in Jesus were astounded that God was unmistakably present and visible in the lives of people who weren't Jews.

Which should have been impossible.

How could the Spirit of God be working in people who lived outside the covenant of Abraham and the law of Moses?

Today's typical warmed-over 20th century evangelical mindset would have attributed this Gentile tongues experience to demonic spirits mimicking the work of the Holy Spirit. If people don't line up theologically, then obviously God's Spirit cannot be working in their lives. If evangelicals had been heading up the apostolic church, they couldn't have got their heads out of their religious rear ends long enough to recognize that a revolution was taking place before their eyes.

The apostles, however, opened their hearts and minds to the seemingly impossible. God had poured out his favor on the unfavorable: uncircumcised, unclean, unbiblical unbelievers. Peter baptized the Gentiles -- the ultimate signal of inclusion -- and acknowledged them as more than equals in the fullness of God's grace.

And that was just for starters. Over the next few weeks, a backlash arose in the church: "Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved" became the rallying cry of the "true believers" (Acts 15.1,5). Scripturally speaking, they had a point. There is no abrogation of circumcision in the Hebrew Bible.

But Peter, and Paul and Barnabas, refused to deny the obvious. The Spirit of God was clearly present and visible in the lives of those who did not accept the biblical injunction to be circumcised.

So the Apostles tossed out the Bible. Peter went first:

And God, who knows the human heart, testified to them by giving them the Holy Spirit, just as he did to us; and in cleansing their hearts by faith he has made no distinction between them and us. Now therefore why are you putting God to the test by placing on the neck of the disciples a yoke that neither our ancestors nor we have been able to bear? On the contrary, we believe that we will be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, just as they will. (Acts 15.8-11)

Paul and Barnabas echoed Peter's words. Then, James put it out there:

I have reached the decision that we should not trouble those Gentiles who are turning to God, but we should write to them to abstain only from things polluted by idols and from fornication and from whatever has been strangled and from blood. (Acts 15.19,20)

The language and conditions might sound strange to our ears, but the message couldn't be clearer: "We're throwing out the Bible. All 613 commandments - gone. The endless, extensive interpretations of those commandments - gone. We're done with all the rules and regulations. We're starting over. We're saved by the grace of Jesus. End of story."

All this leaves me wondering about the political and theological agendas the church has sponsored for the past 25 years. Equating those agendas with godliness. Demonizing those who didn't sponsor those agendas. We're in the 21st century, but it seems like we're right back where we started: a legalistic, conditional, exclusionist religion.

At least one scholar agrees. At a recent conference of journalists organized by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, Robert Putnam outlined the conclusions of his upcoming book, American Grace. To the dismay of hard-core secularists, Putnam argues that religious people are three to four times more likely to be involved in their community. They are more apt than nonreligious Americans to work on community projects, belong to voluntary associations, attend public meetings, vote in local elections, attend protest demonstrations and political rallies, and donate time and money to causes -- including secular ones. The data also reveals that religious people are "nicer": they carry packages for people, don't mind folks cutting ahead in line and give money to panhandlers.

But there's a downside. According to Putnam, young Americans are "vastly more secular" than their older counterparts. "That is a stunning development," Putnam asserts. "The youth are the future. Some of them are going to get religious over time, but most of them are not."

Religion -- particularly evangelicalism -- bounced back in the 1970's and the 1980's, but began to drop off again in the 1990's after the political ascendance of the religious right, Putnam notes.

"That so-called politicization of religion triggered great hostility toward religion," leading to a "dramatic growth in secularism and none's" (sociologists' term for people who claim no religious affiliation).

As many as a quarter of young people would be in church -- many say they still believe in God -- but they're turned off by how political American religion has become.

Which brings me back to J. Which brings us back to the first century. Which brings us back to the radical belief that "we will be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus" (Acts 15.11). Why, a decade into the 21st century, is the church still "troubling the Gentiles" with political and theological agendas? When, in the true Spirit of the apostolic church, will we be ready to throw out the Bible and recognize that the uncircumcised, unclean, unbiblical unbelievers have been welcomed into the fullness of God's grace?

We know who they are. They know we know. God knows we know.

I don't know what's next. But I'm watching J. To quote Rick McKinley, I'm looking for Jesus in the margins and finding God in the places we ignore.

I'm preaching this essay on Sunday, May 17, at Central Baptist Church. (I'll let you know if I'm invited back to preach on the 24th.)

Fighting my fears ...

2009-05-10T07:06:00.009-05:00

Maybe you feel it too. A looming sense of judgment. A foreboding sense of doom. Nothing generates this more than religion. Nothing could be farther from the heart of God towards us.

Fear mongers have been using the furor of God to control the thoughts and feelings of the faithful since the beginning of time. It produces conformity. It generates revenue. It creates an insatiable need for assurance, so people keep coming back for more. And keep leaving with less.

What if God actually loves us?

What if God’s love, not his anger, judgment, and condemnation are the bottom line?

What if, at the end of the day, after we strip away all the other attributes of God, all that's left is God’s love for us?

That changes everything for me.

I used to think the antidote for fear was courage, but I’ve realized that courage only fights against my fears. It doesn't take them away. Only love take fear out of the picture.

There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear; for fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not reached perfection in love. (1 John 4.18)

When I start living in the fearless flow of God's love, I start to breathe. Instead of shutting things down for fear of pissing God off, I start to see the possibilities. I stop thinking about the impossibilities. The road ahead becomes clearer, wider, more open. Life moves forward. Momentum builds. Things start happening. Clarity. Change. Freedom.

The Lord disciplines those whom he loves, and chastises every child whom he accepts. (Hebrews 12.6)

I don't always get it right. I often get it wrong. Clearly there are times when I need to make changes in my life. The love of God should make it easier for me to accept these changes. If I know God loves me, the battle between maintaining my sense of self respect vs. appeasing an angry deity should be over.

But it's not that simple. When God begins stripping away the detritus in my life, it causes disorientation. It's unsettling. It's uncomfortable. People don't understand. It looks messy, wrong, ungodly, even unbiblical. And here's where the ultimate battle between fear and love is played out. When God takes away the things I no longer need, will I start thinking God no longer loves me? When things in my life begin to disappear, will I start wondering if God has turned against me? Will I go forward into the unknown, or go back to the old and familiar to avoid the inner turmoil?

Jesus said that God removes every branch that bears no fruit, and in the same breath said every branch that bears fruit God prunes to make it bear more fruit (John 15.2). What makes this tricky is that both the fruitless and fruitful branches experience a cutting away. When God cuts away what is no longer needed in our lives we may wonder at the moment he cuts if he is discarding us -- throwing us out because we're no longer useful. Has he condemned us? Has he held our sins against us?

Even in this act of divine love, the fear creeps in.

I overthink everything. Music helps me get out of my head and get into the groove. I'll always be grateful for a South Dakota college DJ who handed me a tape during my second year of grad studies and told me to check it out. It was one of the toughest years of my life, but that recording helped me see that year as a step forward instead of a step back. Everything I needed to know in seminary, I learned from Rick Elias and the Confessions. For what it's worth (and for everything it's worth) ...

The long way home ...

2009-05-02T23:53:00.003-05:00

Got dropped off at my old "office" today – the Starbucks on Academy & Lanark. This winter, I moved to a new Starbucks in Tuxedo Village. Coming back to the Academy & Lanark store brought back waves of memories: writing sermons and essays; editing books; trading stocks; coding software; and, of course, drinking coffee (lots of it). One of my favorite memories is a meeting with Dave Balzer that led to a first appearance on the GodTalk radio show.

My afternoon at the Academy Starbucks was preceded by an unpleasant but not unnecessary reality check: a long conversation that was tremendously difficult, but incredibly powerful in its clarity. I don’t have these conversations often. I’m “too busy”. But I realized today that I’m too busy in large part because I lack the clarity and focus these conversations create. For the first time in a long time, the things that matter most appeared front and center in my mind ... and a lot of other things immediately fell off the wish list.

If I had the things that matter most, I wouldn’t want the other things.

“Good enough” is never good. And it's never enough. Ultimately “good enough” is not enough good ... and not enough God. “Good enough” can never get me to good. Trying harder won’t change "good enough" into good. Praying harder won’t do it. This is particularly true in relationships: if people in my life are happy with “good enough”, they’ll never want good (and I can’t make them want it).

I feel the church is guilty of something between gross negligence and grievous sin in its sanctification of "good enough". As a young follower of Jesus, I was presented with cavalier notions of life, love, and God. I was told that life was a mostly forgettable preparation for Eternity, that love was a superficial experience, and that conformity to a casual (careless) understanding of Scripture was a sign of God's will. I paid a huge price for these idiotic ideas: I threw away my 20's, I turned my back on true love, and I used the “will of God” as a sophisticated denial mechanism to cover up the loss.

In more recent years, I’ve discovered that life is a sacred trust (Matthew 25.14-30), that nothing is greater than love (1 Cor. 13.13), and that nothing less than "good and acceptable and perfect" can be called the will of God (Romans 12.2). When I embrace these notions of life, love, and God, I become aware of the incredible opportunities inherent in each moment. And I pray that I’ll never settle for good enough again.

Good things are happening in my life. New opportunities, new people, new possibilities. I can't enjoy them fully and completely if I make room for good enough.

When I walked home from Starbucks today, I came to an impasse: a low-lying footbridge submerged by the flooding of Omand’s Creek. I was forced to take the long way home, which brought to mind the 1979 Supertramp hit, Take the Long Way Home:

So when the day comes to settle down,
who’s to blame if you’re not around?
You took the long way home.

The song is a testament to a life of lost moments and missed opportunities. A life of trying to play the hero and winding up with zero. A life of giving oneself to causes, groups, and people that are happy with good enough. A life devoid of good. Autobiographical in more ways than I care to admit.

Today, I took the long way home from Starbucks and it cost me an extra 10 minutes. “Good enough” is long way home that will cost me a lifetime if I don't set my sights on good.

I'm grateful for all the good. I don't want to settle for "good enough".

He is able to accomplish abundantly far more than all we can ask or imagine (Ephesians 3.20).

Praying for Winnipeg ... one kilometer at a time

2009-04-25T20:41:00.006-05:00

Last night, I embarked on a shopping adventure. I went looking for shoes. Because I didn’t leave the house till 10 p.m., I severely limited my choice of stores to Wal-Mart and the other Wal-Mart. At first, I thought this was going to work for me. I found shoes I liked at Wal-Mart #1, but they didn’t have any size 10’s. So I headed over to Wal-Mart #2, where I found my size, but the magic was gone. I didn’t like the shoes anymore.

Wal-Mart #2 was closing, so I went back to Wal-Mart #1 (open 24 hours) to see if I could find a better set of shoes. It just wasn’t happening, so I decided to cut my losses and do something else. (A 24-hour Wal-Mart is no place to spend a Friday night.)

I felt like a road trip.

Whenever I go looking for adventure, I drive west. I don’t know where I’m going. I just keep driving till I find what I’m looking for. So I wheeled onto Portage Avenue, plugged in the iPod, and headed toward the edge of the city. As I passed the streets and buildings where my family and friends live and work, I began to pray.

By the time I approached the perimeter, I had a vision: I would circle the city in prayer. When I hit the perimeter highway, I veered north and began my 82.3 kilometer road trip around Winnipeg. In the darkness I passed from one corner of the city to the next, praying for people the Scriptures describe as widows and orphans, foreigners, and the poor. I prayed for the sick, the homeless, and for people going through tough times. I prayed for my family and friends. I prayed for the people that listen to our radio show on Sunday nights. I prayed for all the people of Winnipeg, and I prayed that somehow these prayers would make a difference in ways I’d never know.

I’ve driven the perimeter highway my whole life, but when I got home last night I felt like I’d been on a road I’d never travelled before. I hope to travel that road again. If you see someone in a black Pontiac racing round the perimeter in the dark on a Friday night, honk: the Rock ‘n’ Roll Preacher is praying for you.

Tune in to the GodTalk Radio Show on CJOB 68 (www.cjob.com) on Sunday night from 9-11. I'm going to talk about my road trip religious experience. We're taking your calls at 780-6868 / 1-800-665-2202.

M is for Manitoba ...

2009-04-17T23:59:00.002-05:00

The more I head down to the legendary Mississippi delta, the more I realize Manitoba is an incredible place. That’s because all the things I love about the birthplace of the blues can be found right here in the place I call home: muddy waters, flat farm land, good music, good food, and good people.

Two of those good people crossed my path today. One of the them was Hal Brolund, who without a hint of exaggeration is the finest slide player I’ve ever heard. He’s also a great singer/songwriter, flat-picker, and finger-picker. Not a week goes by where I don’t dig into some of his tunes.

Today, Hal and I headed down to Lovey’s BBQ and Smokehouse on Marion Street. Roger and the crew at Lovey's are slow-smoking the best ribs, chicken, brisket, and pulled pork north of St. Louis. Hal and I were both satisfied customers today, but Hal expresses his satisfaction way better than I do.

He writes a song about Lovey’s … using the takeout menu as inspiration. Then he calls me up and plays it for me on the phone. (I should eat out with this guy more often.) Hal's new song has a great Mississippi John Hurt vibe. We're going to lay down a demo next week.

As Hal is playing his Lovey’s musical masterpiece for me on the phone, there’s a knock at my door. I open the door and in walks Blair Hordeski, with his new CD and posters (and a bottle of wine).

(Interesting coincidence: it was Hal who introduced me to Blair four years ago.)

I can’t say enough about Cold Cold Heart, Blair Hordeski’s new CD. The album rocks with an alt. country vibe. Blair sat down in my living room and we spun a few tracks on the MacBook. Impressive, but why settle for Memorex when live is right in front of you? I pulled out my Martin D-35 and asked Blair to give me a song off the new album, live and unplugged. Blair ripped my heart out with I Loved You More:

They always said we’re doomed from the start
You with the devotion and me with the scars
And now I know your friends were right
Six years and a week/weak moment in time

No one could have known
No never you
To break the promises we knew

No shoulder to cry on
No comfort to bring
No one to throw in the towel before the bell rings

I’ve lost and I’m one alone with the score
It just goes to show
I loved you more

Mix in vocals by Chris Thornsteinson (from Doc Walker) and Amanda Stott, grooves from some of Winnipeg's top session players, and Dylan Thomas Hermiston as producer, and Cold Cold Heart is a local disc with country-wide cred. Check this album out ... especially the title track, as well as Better Than Never and I Loved You More.

Country radio in Brandon, Portage la Prairie, and Dauphin are already spinning the disc. For now, Winnipeg’s QX104 fans are missing out. Cold Cold Heart is scheduled for release on May 4. I’ve got a few copies to pass around.

I’m just a lowly rock ‘n’ roll preacher – a guy who loves Jesus and loves rock ‘n’ roll. As I watch 11:59 of this day pass into midnight, I can’t begin to comprehend the creative people who cross my path every day. I’ve been playing with singer/songwriter Royal Unruh and the band for seven years. Larry Updike and I are getting ready to launch the B-side Apostles. Sitting in with pro’s like Hal and Blair have been tastes of the big time. (And it was Blair Hordeski who christened the Rock ‘n’ Roll Preacher.) All made in Manitoba moments and memories.

M is for Manitoba.

And I’ve got another M to tell you about. She can clean her house, do ten loads of laundry, shake a bunch of kiddies off her leg … and produce some of the finest content you’ve ever heard on the GodTalk Radio Show.

That’s another blog post ... but here's a preview from the Blog Catalog spotlight.

M is for Manitoba, but check out M is for Mississippi, produced by Roger Stolle and friends down at the Cat Head in Clarksdale, Mississippi. I met Roger this summer and he's paying his dues to tell the story of the blues. For $40, you get the M is for Mississippi DVD, the CD soundtrack, and free shipping anywhere in the world. Worth the price of admission. (A tip for guitar collectors: Sled Dog Music in Winnipeg is selling a Silvertone that's a dead ringer for the one L.C. Ulmer plays in the film.)

Winnipeg morning show host announces his conversion ...

2009-04-11T23:10:00.004-05:00

Some people won't be surprised. Many saw it coming. But for those who haven't been following the local news, today the announcement was official. Larry Updike, the host of CJOB's Morning Show, has undergone a personal conversion experience. The Easter season is noted for baptisms and confirmations, and Updike joins countless tens of thousands of souls around the world who are rediscovering religion.

In a limited press release on Facebook, Larry Updike (now also known as The Apostle) told his friends and family that he had converted ... from PC to Mac. The Apostle purchased a 20" iMac on April 11 from a local, independent electronics store. He admitted that he finds the conversion experience daunting, but is relying on friends to support him in his newfound faith.

For more information, contact The Apostle at lupdike@cjob.com. Further announcements are expected on the Monday edition of the Morning Show on CJOB.

Very superstitious ...

2009-04-03T16:10:00.004-05:00

I've been wondering for 30+ years how Stevie Wonder laid down the Hohner Clavinet groove on Superstition. Watching him on American Idol this week didn't get me any closer to a solution.

But thanks to "Funkscribe", the mystery's been solved. All it took for Stevie to nail the sound was eight simultaneous clav tracks! Check it out:

More notes available on the NoiseAddicts web site.

Get up on those beautiful feet ...

2009-04-01T12:18:00.004-05:00

From the daily office readings ...

Romans 10.14,15
But how are they to call on one in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in one of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone to proclaim him? And how are they to proclaim him unless they are sent? As it is written, ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!’

A song for the Red River Valley ...

2009-03-27T15:55:00.003-05:00

This video goes out to all the flood fighters of the Red River Valley ... both in Canada and the U.S. During tough times, we all could use some amazing grace. Keep looking up, brothers and sisters.

Welcome home?

2009-03-19T12:09:00.005-05:00

"Love this guy," Rev. David Pinckney says as he pats his house guest on the shoulder. "He's just a good guy."

The house guest in question is Raymond Guay, convicted for murdering 12-year-old John Lindovski in February, 1973. Johnny was walking home from an after-school square dance when Guay, now 60, picked him up and shot him in the head. The boy was found over a month later, wearing nothing but his socks, underwear, and eyeglasses.

Today, Raymond Guay is out on parole and Rev. Pinckney has welcomed the child murderer into his home. The Rev's neighbours aren't happy. "We were warned," says Pinckney, who has four children living at home. "People wouldn't like it. He's not liked. But at the end of the day, this is what Jesus did. He defended the defenseless. He was a friend of sinners." The Rev refuses to back down. Guay is staying and the Rev won't let anyone near him.

There is definitely something wrong with this picture.

The Rev's naivete shows reckless disregard for the safety of his children and those of his neighbours. If the pastor wants to help Guay, that's commendable, but he should do so without putting children at risk. Instead of minimizing the potential danger, the current house guest arrangement maximizes the risk to children. I can't think of a dumber scenario. Baptizing the scenario with goobly-gook about Jesus makes it surreal.

Jesus cares about kids.

The followers of Jesus should put children front and center. I'm not talking about unborn children or children in far-off Africa. I'm talking about our own children -- the children in our homes, on our streets, and in our schools and recreation centers. In North America, children have been reduced to tax dollar-funded, social engineering experiments. We spend billions on education and child-welfare infrastructure, but we don't have the common sense to keep them out of harm's way from child murderers ... and a multitude of other dangerous situations. In the Pinckney/Guay story, the social-engineering approach to children has made them dispensable potential casualties in an experiment with a pastor and child murderer.

Rev. Pinckney thinks Jesus would do what he's doing. I've got a different spin on the situation. The disciples were always trying to outdo each other. They spent their time arguing about which of them was the greatest -- who did the right thing, said the right thing, etc. Finally, Jesus sat them down, took a child into his arms and said, “Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me" (Mark 9.37).

Kids come first for Jesus. Forget wacky religious stunts like high-risk hospitality. Think about the kids.

That goes for Raymond Guay as well. Jesus said, “If any of you put a stumbling block before one of these little ones who believe in me, it would be better for you if a great millstone were hung around your neck and you were thrown into the sea" (Mark 9.42). Instead of hiding behind Rev. Pinckney, Guay should be front and center, admitting he has no right to be around kids, let alone living with them. Guay needs to get out of Pinckney's home. And he needs to find a new pastor ... someone who will help him walk the road of recovery, not tell him he's already home.

A postmodern pilgrim takes the pulpit ...

2009-03-08T17:53:00.004-05:00

Today, most people know Larry Updike as the host of CJOB's morning show. He's also been a rock jock, a philosophy scholar, and ... a preacher. Larry preached his last sermon in 1981, but returned to the pulpit today at Central Baptist Church. Feel free to download his message or listen online:

This Boat Won't Be Going Under.

Every story needs a story-teller and John Longhurst did a great job telling Larry's story in today's Winnipeg Free Press. Larry has also written an autobiography -- a fascinating read, but not yet published.

Memphis-style miracle on Marion St. ...

2009-02-27T23:13:00.012-06:00

I've been there twice in the past 6 days ... and I'll be back.

I'm talking about Lovey's BBQ, the kind of place I never thought I'd see in Winnipeg. Real southern BBQ. Cooked low and slow. Makes me think I'm back in Memphis, Nashville, and Clarksdale, Mississippi.

Roger LeBleu is the pit master at Lovey's. Roger spent a lot of years on the road as a salesman, stopping at dozens of bona-fide BBQ restaurants scattered throughout the American mid-south. He caught the BBQ bug, started BBQ'ing in his back yard, and this past year decided to open up Winnipeg's first and only real southern BBQ restaurant.

I'm sure glad he did. I head south every year for two reasons: the food and the music. You can get the music up here in Winnipeg, but you can't get the food. At least you couldn't until Roger opened up his restaurant. I owe him a debt of gratitude. Long winters in Winnipeg just got a whole lot easier.

I shared the Lovey's Mixer ($29.95, feeds 2-3) on both of my visits. Ribs, chicken, your choice of beef brisket or pulled pork, and sides of beans, slaw, cornbread, and fries. Everything is fantastic, including the sides. And to wash it all down, Roger's got my favorite Honey Brown on tap along with Hog Spit, a Sleeman's special brew for Lovey's customers. Could anyone ask for more?!?!

If you've never had southern BBQ, head on down to Lovey's at 208 Marion Street. Southern BBQ is a fine art. Very different from the burn and turn BBQ we have up north. Pulled pork is cooked for 15 hours, brisket is cooked for 20 hours, and ribs for 7 hours. The meat is moist and tender, it falls off the bone, and the flavor is incredible.

You'll love it ... or I ain't no rock 'n' preacher.

BTW: it looks like Lovey's is a good news story on a number of different levels. Roger and his co-owner and daughter, Jocelyne LeBleu, recently received an economic development grant from Indian and Northern Affairs Canada.

Indian and Northern Affairs is no stranger to controversy. Both aboriginals and non-aboriginals regularly complain to me about how IANA money is allocated. In 2006/2007, for example, IANA handed out $5.6 billion in grants and contributions. $3.75 billion (67%) of that money went straight into the hands of band councils. Another $1.3 billion (23%) went to organizations created or mandated by band councils (e.g., tribal councils and social service agencies). All this band council bureaucracy doesn't necessarily translate into benefits for reserve residents (just ask them).

In a beautiful example of government spending gone right, Roger and Jocelyn used their IANA economic development grant just as intended ... for economic development. Three months after they got their cheque, they were open on Marion St. making the best BBQ north of St. Louis and spurring the local economy ... and all of Winnipeg is reaping the benefits.

Might just make me glad I pay taxes.

Iconoclasts ... blase?

2009-02-17T08:54:00.005-06:00

A quick note from the road ....

I've been making my way through Iconoclast by Gregory Berns. I've always been fascinated by the idea of iconoclasm, ever since Professor John Wortley taught me about the infamous Byzantine controversy in his medieval history class. Iconoclasts are image-breakers, a reference in the middle ages to smashing or removing the supposedly blasphemous images of Christ on paintings, coins, etc. Today, Gregory Berns describes iconoclasts in more appealing terms as "a person who does something that others say can't be done".

The driving concept of my doctoral work is iconoclash. Iconoclash is the idea of taking two opposing images/ideas and bringing them together in ways everyone else thinks is impossible. Rock 'n' Roll Preacher is my take on iconoclash, and the unique contrast generated by bringing rock 'n' roll and religion together gives new meaning and dimension to both terms. Music fans love discussing religion. Religious people need to talk about music. You can't really understand rock 'n' roll or religion unless you understand both.

I've been reading Andy Crouch's Culture Making, which is a call for Christians to stop trashing and bashing culture and start cultivating it instead. Right-wing (and left-wing) Christians are notorious iconoclasts - they're infamous for complaining about cultural trends. Maybe they should give up the iconoclast role and embrace iconoclash. Iconclash is the challenge to create something different -- to be constructive instead of destructive. It's Crouch's idea of cultivating culture. Shouldn't be hard for people who believe they're made in the image of a creator.

Culture making ... or culture faking?

2009-02-07T10:03:00.004-06:00

One of the best books I've read in a long, long time is Andy Crouch's Culture Making: Recovering Our Creative Calling. I'm going to talk about some of Crouch's insights at our MissionFest Manitoba workshop today.

The workshop is called" Leave boring and bigot behind: be a Christian in a multi-faith world". Dave Balzer, the show's host for 10+ years, and Melissa McEachern, the show's producer, are bookending my comments. We'll give our audience a behind-the-scenes look at the creative energy that brings the GodTalk Radio Show to Winnipeg's largest news/talk audience every Sunday night.

MissionFest Manitoba 2009
Grant Memorial Church
877 Wilkes Avenue
11:30 a.m. Rm. 249

Would love to see you there!

A rotary-dial church in an iPhone world ...

2009-01-24T12:34:00.005-06:00

It’s an iPhone world, but the Church is living in a rotary-dial past.

I’ve borrowed this metaphor from Anne Kornblut of The Washington Post. President Barack Obama moved to Pennsylvania Avenue this week, and Kornblut used the iPhone/rotary-dial images to describe the ensuing clash between Obama’s Apple-savvy staff and a White House encumbered with archaic PC’s and six-year-old versions of Microsoft software.

Obama spokesman, Bill Burton, summed it up succinctly: "It is kind of like going from an Xbox to an Atari."

Coincidentally, we still have a rotary-dial phone installed at church. Hardwired and bolted to the wall for decades, the phone has stayed longer than most of its users over the past 40 years. The phone works … sort of. I keep it around mostly for its symbolic irony: it reminds me how easy it is for the Church to stick with the status quo … as long as it works … sort of.

The point hit home this week as I wrestled through the lectionary readings for Third Sunday after Epiphany:

"Follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will make you fish for people" (Mark 1.17).

The Bible’s two main metaphors for reaching people – fishing and farming – have no currency in postmodern culture. Over-fishing destroyed the fisheries and forced Maritime and Atlantic families to find other occupations. The farmers of Western and Central Canada disappeared too: in 1931, about one in three Canadians lived on a farm; by 2006, the number was down to one in 47.

In a fishing and farming world, netting people or binding them up in sheaves were useful outreach images. The images reflected commonplace activities of the time. That time is gone. The medium is the message. Outdated fishing and farming metaphors are the wrong medium and send the wrong message to everyone concerned.

In an iPhone world, we don’t fish for people – we Facebook the world.

Facebook is a flurry of status updates, wall posts, and inbox messages. It’s 150 million interwoven narratives all at once. In Facebook, you make friends. Then, you meet the friends of friends … and the friends of those friends … and so on.

In Facebook, you converse, not convert. You tell your friends where you are, what you’re doing, who you’re doing it with … and when it’s over, you post pictures.

In Facebook, there are no slick presentations, no pre-written scripts, no canned music played on cue. Just authentic living, one status update at a time. Your Facebook status matters more than your syllogism. It’s about you the person, not your pitches, proposals, or propositions. Either your life captures the imagination of others … or it doesn’t. There is no compulsion. No catching people in nets. No binding them in sheaves.

Within a year or two, Facebook may be supplanted or supplemented by a different platform. (For some, that platform is already here: Twitter.) The platform doesn’t matter. What matters is that technology has facilitated a social networking phenomenon, which has brought a postmodern vibe to the way we impact each other’s lives. Truth is no longer a content dump. Truth is conveyed in personal, not propositional, terms.

So pack away the nets and put away the sickles. Pick up a keyboard or switch on your smart phone, and log on. A Facebook world is waiting for your next status update.

The birth of a rock 'n' roll preacher ...

2009-01-12T02:24:00.005-06:00

I recently shot a promo video for Family Life Network. It tells you a little bit about my faith journey and how I got the name Rock 'n' Roll Preacher. I'm still grateful for the day I walked into a Joe English concert with a lot of questions and walked out with a newfound sense of joy and peace. It was a beginning.

Change ... cataclysm and catalyst

2009-01-09T16:37:00.005-06:00

Got some big news today. It wasn't a big surprise, but it means big changes are coming.

My life tends to go through protracted periods of stability, marked by concentrated experiences of incredible change. Take the summer of 2003, for example, when we decided to get married, sell my house, sell my fiance's house, find a new house, plan a wedding, have a wedding, move out of two houses, and move into a new house ... all in the space of 7 weeks.

Change (real change) is cataclysm. Massive upheaval. Unsettling. Unpredictable. Disruptive. Cataclysm is usually destructive. It takes away what we know, leaving in its place a temporary void ... and the fear of the unknown.

But change is also catalyst. It launches new opportunities. It exposes us to new people and places. It replenishes our reserves and augments our capacities.

Without change, stability becomes stagnation. So, I welcome change. Cataclysm and catalyst.

Holding on for the ride ....

Less is more?

2009-01-07T16:46:00.004-06:00

I love paradoxical maxims. Cruel to be kind. The last will be first. Less is more.

I'm still writing out my goals for 2009, but I can already see the finished product is going to look a lot leaner than 2008's ambitious manifesto. Maybe it's the shrinking economy. Maybe I'm getting old. Maybe I've already spent too much money on doctorates, trips, and guitars!

Mostly, though, I'm painfully aware (from personal experience) of how dumb it is to work hard instead of work smart:

If the iron is blunt, and one does not whet the edge, then more strength must be exerted; but wisdom helps one to succeed. (Ecclesiastes 10.10)

Wisdom. I'll take more of that. I've got lots of everything else. I just need to know how to use it ... wisely.

Is love alive?

2008-12-15T00:41:00.009-06:00

The days are short. The nights are long. It's cold and dark.

Winter is here and I dread it. Many people embrace winter by cross-country skiing, skating, or power-sledding ... but I just can't go there. Winter is the season of death.

They say that things just cannot grow
Beneath the winter snow,
Or so I have been told.

The human race lives in a winter age. It's been winter ever since we left the Garden. Paradise lost. Cold and darkness is our way of life. We've adjusted to it, but when spring finally arrives, we'll realize how cold and dark it really was.

I still believe in summer days.
The seasons always change
And life will find a way.

On a cold, dark winter night a long time ago, Light came to earth and brought good news of great joy -- the promise of spring and the resurrection of life.

My love a beacon in the night.
My words will be your light
To carry you to me.

The Light has left us for now and the winter goes on. But every once in a while, the Spirit puts a song in my heart to remind me that someone will be waiting for us when spring returns.

This is my winter song.
December never felt so wrong,
Cause you're not where you belong;
Inside my arms.

Christmas Eve candlelight service at Central Baptist Church on Wednesday, December 24, 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. Worship in the quiet darkness. Reflect on the Light. All welcome.

Sara Bareilles and Ingrid Michaelson recently recorded Winter Song for the Hotel Cafe album entitled "Winter Songs". Check out their live performance of the song on the Tonight Show.

The speech Harper didn't make ...

2008-12-03T23:52:00.002-06:00

Some people never learn. (I might be one of them.) After launching a neo-con sneak attack last week that backfired terribly, Stephen Harper got on national television tonight and took more potshots at the Liberals and NDP. I don't get it.

FWIW - here's the speech Harper should have made tonight:

"On October 14, Canadians elected the Conservatives as a minority government. In so doing, they affirmed our previous term as the governing party and gave us a clear mandate to lead Canada into the future. Canadians did this, however, with the expectation that we earn the confidence of Liberal and NDP members of the House of Commons. Last week, we failed to meet that expectation. This was a regrettable deviance from our previous course of action.

I pledge tonight to return to a more cooperative approach to government. I look forward to recognizing the contributions of the Liberal Party and the NDP as we provide peace, order, and good government for all Canadians. Good night, and here's to a bright tomorrow for our great country."

The world's coldest banana republic ...

2008-12-02T12:06:00.007-06:00

Full disclosure: I've voted Liberal, NDP, and Conservative in various elections for various levels of government. I even had Green Party signs on my lawn during the last two federal elections. So, I'm not a hard-core political idealogue.

But I do agree with National Post columnist, John Ivison, who suggests that the imminent defeat of the minority Conservative government gives Canada the prospect of becoming the world's coldest banana republic.

Other pithy comments from Ivision:

The most likely scenario will see Mr. Dion become Prime Minister at the head of an alliance so unholy it would have been burned at the stake for heresy in the Middle Ages.

The inherent contradictions of this coalition will be exposed sooner or later. The accord signed by Mr. Dion, Mr. Layton and Gilles Duceppe says that "within the limits of common sense, the partners agree to work on a 'no surprises' basis." But common sense is in short supply in Ottawa these days, and it will only be a matter of time before one or other of the leaders springs a surprise on his partners.

What was Harper thinking?

I have no idea why Stephen Harper decided to push an agenda last week that would have created serious problems even for a majority government. I am stunned by the incredible lack of judgement he demonstrated.

In typical Canadian fashion, we elected Stephen Harper to provide middle-of-the-road direction for this country. He did so successfully as a minority government leader prior to the last election, and we awarded this mediocri ... er, moderation ... by sending more Conservative MP's to the House of Commons on October 14.

Canadians did not give Harper free reign. He had no mandate to put a hardline Conservative agenda on the table last week. Admittedly, Dion, Layton, and Duceppe are three of the most ill-equipped leaders I have ever seen, but did Harper really think they would give him a pass?

Harper's indiscretion has let Canadians down. By refusing to function as the leader of a minority government, he has forced us to face the possibility of moving from mediocrity to outright ineptitude in the House of Commons. The prospects are dim.

Back to the polls

I don't relish the idea of spending another $30 million on yet another election, but it's time to go back to the polls. (And this time, Canadians need to show up and vote.) Harper did not respect the will of Canadians to govern as the leader of a minority. Now, a coalition of incompetents think they can hijack the House of Commons and impose their agenda on Canadians. Voters need to make their voices heard. Demand an election. Don't ever let politicians think they can bypass the will of the people. It's too cold in Canada to enjoy the fringe benefits of a banana republic.