"I Kissed a Girl and I Liked It"

For a long time I thought things like Focus on the Family's Plugged In were for up tight folks. Consider this line from the "Iron Man" movie review: "He shows very little regard for traffic laws or public airspace." GUYS, COME ON.

But maybe the efforts of Plugged In and other groups like them aren't so bad. I used to roll my eyes at the fundy's who insulated themselves from everything except Michael W. But the more I listen to the radio the closer I get to old-fashioned-ness. It's a terrible feeling, but we'll get into that later. But let us look at a couple parts of the song "I Kissed A Girl" by Katy Perry. The song is currently #35 on the Billboard Top 100 and number 18 on iTunes top singles. If you'd like to hear/see the song, here is the video link.

Verse 1:
This was never the way I planned | Not my intention
I got so brave, drink in hand | Lost my discretion
It's not what, I'm used to | Just wanna try you on
I'm curious for you | Caught my attention

Chorus:
I kissed a girl and I liked it | The taste of her cherry chapstick
I kissed a girl just to try it | I hope my boyfriend don't mind it
It felt so wrong | It felt so right
Don't mean I'm in love tonight | I kissed a girl and I liked it I liked it

Verse 2:
No, I don't even know your name | It doesn't matter
Your my experimental game | Just human nature
It's not what, good girls do |Not how they should behave
My head gets so confused | Hard to obey

This is playing on the radio. A lot. I will have middle schoolers who will know all the words to this, I guarantee it. I can't decide if the worst part is getting drunk and excusing your actions, the actual kissing of another girl, or treating said girl as an object, an "experimental game".

This song, this album, this artist are all absolute garbage. I would link to her site, but I'm embarrassed because of some of the other content.

As I've said before navigating the waters of entertainment for me is tricky. Why do I find alcohol driven lesbian encounters offensive but not all the killing in Iron Man, which I thought was great? Arrrggg!!!!

Well, I just wanted to point out how terrible this song is to everyone. It communicates that people are objects and that you can just do whatever you feel like, especially if you're drinking, and that there are no consequences for whatever you happen to have done because of however you happened to be feeling.

This is not reality.

What do we do with this trash?

World's Tallest Man

So yesterday my almost-wife got her wisdom teeth removed. Doing my almost-husbandly duty drove her to the dentist in Alton, IL. Being a fairly lengthy procedure I brought some reading. Instead of just sitting in the crowded office, and being that it was so nice outside, I decided to take a stroll around Alton. I stopped at two different churches along the way to see if I could read in there- both locked. Real welcoming guys. I then settled on trying to find some sort of picnic table or park bench.

So I grabbed a Dr. Pepper and a Nutty Bar (my favorites) from a gas station- then, lo and behold, I came across a nice little park. This was not just any park my friends. This was a memorial to "Alton's Gentle Giant" the 8'11 Robert Pershing Wadlow. The world record holder for tallest man.



You never know what might be around the corner. Maybe it's something really cool you don't even know about. Something like this:

Empathy

"We must learn to regard people less in the light of what they do or omit to do, and more in the light of what they suffer."
-Dietrich Bonhoeffer

My friend Andy had this video up a couple weeks ago. Although there is a bit of a cheesy factor I think it has a great point.

We have no idea what most everyone around us is going through. None. Although choices people make are still right and wrong, we certainly can't just make assumptions and assume that everyone starts with the same clean slate. I love this quote and am trying to let it sink into my life and how I think about people; because so many are hurting, lonely, insecure, scarred, or struggling with addiction. My prayer is for the church to be "a hospital for sinners, not a museum for saints".

Another Reason Youth Ministry Is Awesome

The church as a mission, not fortress

Last Wednesday at worship we looked at the following scripture:

Matthew 16: 13-18
When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, "Who do people say the Son of Man is?" They replied, "Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets." "But what about you?" he asked. "Who do you say I am?" Simon Peter answered, "You are the Christ,the Son of the living God." Jesus replied, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven. 18And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.

I've heard this many times, but only recently read the distinction that gates are defensive. So the church is to be a like a rescue mission, going "behind enemy lines" to rescue the captives.

I think that is such a cool image. The church isn't a fortress keeping bad people out, and keeping teenagers locked in so they can't have sex. It's about being on a mission with God. Is this new? No. But I think it's very profound.

Pastor John Drage from a church on the campus of Mizzou came and spoke, and it was wonderful!

Hey kids! Can you say "collusion"?!?!?

It's not every day you learn a new word. ESPN.com posts this article about free agents like Barry Bonds and Kenny Lofton not being signed to any MLB teams. The players association is investigating for possible collusion (secret agreement, esp. for fraudulent or treacherous purposes; conspiracy.)

Hhhmmm...Maybe it is collusion. Or maybe

-Barry is old
-Barry is a distraction to a team, as he is a walking media circus
-Barry has not been Mr. Congeniality in the locker room
-Barry could very well be facing perjury charges soon

But other than that, who wouldn't sign him!?

If there's two occasions where multiple question marks and exclamations are used- I hope you're picking up the sarcasm here! COME ON. This is ridiculous! Barry is washed up, so why does it have to be some big conspiracy? Take the hint!

Movie Review>Iron Man

YES! I missed opening weekend, heard it was gonna be awesome from some friends, but was a little worried. I'm the type of person that hypes things up in my mind to the point where the actual event never lives up to my ridiculous expectations. Iron Man delivered! I went with my now home-for-good almost wife, her sister, and her sister's husband (who had already seen it, which should tell you something). We all had a blast.

It doesn't take itself to seriously, doesn't require a huge amount of "voluntary suspension of disbelief", and isn't just all stuff blowing up. Loved it, would see it again, look forward to buying it on DVD.