Periodically Coherent

My Blog Has Moved!

2011-02-19T13:56:00.002-05:00

Dear reader,

And you are dear to me. You know that right?

My blog has moved! If you've been accessing it via http://blog.michaeljthom.com, then you're still good, but chances are if you've ended up here, your bookmark or rss feed reader is actually pointing to http://periodicallycoherent.blogspot.com. If that's the case, please update the reference because after today this blog will no longer be updated. I will keep it live for a little while longer, but it will eventually be taken down altogether.

So come join us on the new blog location! Don't worry, all my old posts have been moved over. And there's even a couple new posts since I migrated over to the new host. My blog is coming back from the ~~dead~~ dormant. :-)

Passions

2009-08-27T16:52:00.001-04:00

Author’s Note: To those of you looking for information regarding the discontinued NBC soap opera, you will be dismayed. Furthermore, this post will not deal with Dictionary.com’s first five definitions for the word “passion,” three of which deal with “sexual desire.” Sorry to disappoint.

Editor’s Note: This post is long. Also, it is a relatively “personal” post, instead of the usual commentary on life in general or specific things in society of interest. If you’re not interested in reading something personal, just move along…

Producer’s Note: Yes, the Author and Editor are one-and-the-same. Or is that two-and-the-same?

Why is it often so hard to figure out what you truly enjoy doing the most? I’ve never been a big fan of the career aptitude tests some high school students take to help guide the college major selection; I’ve always believed that an individual will know what is right for them to pursue, whether as a college major or a career.

I must admit I’m having a little trouble with this myself, though.

Most people know me as a music guy. I play trombone. (Or, if you know me from church, perhaps you know me as that drummer who plays some guitar on the side.) “So where are you teaching now?” I get asked by old friends and acquaintances, those who knew me during my tenure as a music education major at Ball State. Though I appreciate the conversations, I hate having to answer that question, largely because I don’t have one, “perfect” answer.

Brief aside: I don’t think it’s right that we, as a society, put so much importance on our jobs that when we meet someone it seems the only important things to find out are “what’s your name?” and “what do you do?” Nonetheless, this is the world we live in…

I am set to start working on Tuesday, September 8th, as a substitute teacher in Lawrence Township schools. I am thankful for a job (albeit a “full-time” job at “part-time” wages), but it’s not my life’s dream. I don’t take any particular joy or pleasure in teaching, especially middle-school kids (which is where I will be). It’s not my strongest suit. So I find myself daydreaming about, applying for, and occasionally even interviewing for other jobs (especially ones that are actually full-time and salaried!).

The problem is, as I sit there thinking, I cannot seem to settle on one or two main things I enjoy doing, things I am passionate about. Dictionary.com’s sixth definition for “passion” is as follows:

a strong or extravagant fondness, enthusiasm, or desire for anything: a passion for music.

I have too many things that I have some level of fondness, enthusiasm, or desire for. I’m struggling to “limit” myself by choosing just one as a career and relegating the others to the “hobby” category (and, in reality, doing away with some entirely for lack of time and/or funding). Here I will hash out a few ideas.

Music

Music has always been an important part of my life. I love listening to music of all kinds. I enjoy making music, whether playing trombone, playing drums, playing guitar, playing bass, singing, or even arranging music. I do enjoy teaching music, particularly being in front of an ensemble and making music through the players in front of me (again, why I would enjoy high school/college over middle school).

I’m just not sure that it is something to do professionally, full-time. I have said since finishing high school that if I could get a full-time orchestra gig, playing with the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, or the Cincinnati Symphony, or Cleveland, etc., I would love that. To get paid to play my trombone is awesome. (I am fortunate enough to be playing with the Muncie Symphony Orchestra “full time” this year, but the MSO’s full-time is still very part-time.) The reality is that it is very unlikely that I will ever win a full-time orchestra audition, so I cannot bank on this.

Computers

Literally as long as I can remember, I have been using computers. 8088, 286, 386, 486, Pentium, PII, PIII, Celeron, Centrino, AMD, Motorola (PowerPC) Mac, and Intel Mac, I’ve had them all and used them all. I installed an internal modem with my dad and my grandpa (his dad) when I was probably 8 years old. And yes, I helped, because I wanted to jump ahead to set the jumpers (yes, those) before my grandpa was ready to move to that step. (I recall this because of his reaction, which taught me a small but important lesson: “One problem at a time.” I don’t always remember this lesson very well…)

But what to do with my computer skills? Many friends and family know me as the go-to guy when it comes to fixing/building computers. And yet, lacking any formal certification or training, I’m not terribly marketable to potential employers who want someone with “proven” computer chops.

I have had some good friends of mine suggest I start my own computer-repair business, starting by just putting fliers on mailboxes and going door-to-door in area neighborhoods. This may in fact be a terrific idea, but I’m terrified of 1) not making it financially, especially as I’m building [and I don’t have enough in savings to truly invest in a start-up project], and 2) the notion that, even in that arena, no one will trust my abilities and knowledge because of my lack of certification: why would they pay me to fix their computers when they could pay someone from the Geek Squad to do it? (And trust me, I have about a million answers to that, but that’s not the point here… and no offense to any Geek Squad employees reading this; I’m sure you’re all lovely people.)

Politics

“What? Michael can’t even read!” Yes, politics. There are times that I get very deep into reading, listening, and learning about current events and issues and historical events and issues, and at these times I feel that I would love to be involved on some level in politics and current events. That might be as intense as actually running for some local office. That might be as far from that as just writing and commenting about issues. As anyone who truly knows me can attest, I am very opinionated. I wish I had the time (the “reason”) to spend truly becoming knowledgeable about issues. If I did, I would love to use that knowledge to help make a difference.

Law Enforcement

Yeah yeah, it’s dangerous. But what kind of a man am I if I am more concerned with my own physical safety than the safety of others? I enjoy a certain level of risk in most things I do, so that wouldn’t bother me. I am respectfully aware of danger, though, not recklessly unsafe. I am also very alert, perceptive, vigilant, aware of my surroundings at all times, and I would love to use these traits to help protect and serve others.

Some may know that I already have gone as far through the application process at Fishers PD as they would let me (about halfway, I finished 37 of 68 when they took the top 34 to the next level). I am just about to start the same process with Indianapolis Metro PD. Fully aware that IMPD is statistically a more dangerous jurisdiction than FPD, I still want a foot in the door to the world of law enforcement. (And let’s be honest, despite the increased crime rate in Indy versus Fishers, only six IPD/IMPD officers have died in the line of duty since I was born over 23 years ago; with all due respect to the deceased, that’s not that terrible.)

Summary

These are just the main four areas that come to mind as I am writing this. If I had to pick just one of even those four to focus on, it would be very difficult – a near-tie between law enforcement and computers. Computers I have more experience and direct knowledge about, but I feel that I have a great aptitude toward both; I probably would receive more direct pleasure from law enforcement. See my quandary?

I enjoy serving people. I think that is apparent in what I’ve already written as well as in what I didn’t write about: my recent history, college experience, and full-time employment with a church last year. I’m just trying to find the best way to use the gifts God has given me to serve Him by serving His people. This should be a happy experience, and it mostly is, I’m just struggling to find the best fit for me. The job market isn’t helping much, to be sure, but ultimately it is up to me to make an opportunity for employment.

Fourteen Days

2009-05-30T20:40:00.001-04:00

In fourteen days, I will be married. So unbelievable. It wasn’t that long ago that I thought marriage was for all those “grown-ups” who were done being young and having fun but wanted to raise kids.

Alas, here we are. After a near-two-year-long engagement, Natalie and I are getting married in weeks’ time, in Indy. I cannot wait – both for the ceremony itself and the beginning of the marriage. (Additionally, I’m just ready to “move on” to a new chapter of my life.)

Natalie and I have both grown so much the past few years, and I am certain now that we are ready to get married. Two years ago when I proposed, I knew we weren’t yet ready to get married right then, but I was confident that we would be, and confident that it was Natalie I wanted to spend the rest of my life with, share everything with, and, yes, raise children with. But I’m happy to say the Lord has worked in us in so many ways, through several important people, particularly over the last two years.

I’m also very much looking forward to becoming an official resident of Fishers. Don’t get me wrong – Muncie’s been great to me the last five years. In fact, I actually have grown quite accustomed to the “small town” feel (yes, people from truly small towns: it’s a “small town” compared to what I grew up in). I feel that I have made as much of my home as possible, particularly in the past three years since I moved into my house off campus.

But I really like the Town of Fishers. It’s located just across the county line from where I grew up (we lived literally six blocks due south of Fishers), so it’s pretty familiar. Our apartment seems nice and quite large, and I cannot wait to set up our home.

I move in six days; I have already packed most of my stuff. These next six days cannot pass quickly enough!

Ten Steps for Resolving Couple Conflict

2009-01-24T12:59:00.001-05:00

So, let me explain… truly, don’t read too much into this. Basically, I had this laying around my house, wanted to keep it but wanted to throw the piece of paper away, and don’t have a scanner. Thus, I’m posting it here to save it digitally, in a sense… in the cloud, I suppose.

At the same time, it is a bit interesting, and perhaps thought-provoking. Feel free to read and comment, as I guess I am posting this for a *little* more than just the purpose of it serving as my online backup, haha… anyway, it’s from the “PREPARE/ENRICH Program” Natalie and I did as a part of pre-marital counseling through East 91st Street Christian Church.

Ten Steps for Resolving Couple Conflict:

Set a time and place for discussion.
Define the problem or issue of disagreement.
How do you each contribute to the problem?
List past attempts to resolve the issue that were not successful.
Brainstorm. List all possible solutions.
Discuss and evaluate these possible solutions.
Agree on one solution to try.
Agree on how each individual will work toward this solution.
Set up another meeting. Discuss your progress.
Reward each other as you each contribute toward the solution.

Windows Computing

2009-01-17T14:30:00.001-05:00

Okay, it’s no secret I’ve been a “PC,” a Windows user, for my whole life. I voluntarily prolonged the condition upon purchasing 3 computers for myself in the past 5 years – and building myself a fourth. Since October 2008, I’ve been evaluating a pre-beta release of Windows 7, the upcoming major OS release from Microsoft. Now, for about the past week, I’ve been running the official beta release of Windows 7 (build 7000) on two of my three active machines (the other is just a media center, so I feel the upgrade there is less exciting).

It rocks. It just does. Sure, Apple fanboys may draw comparisons to the Mac OS in a few places (the new taskbar, the Aero Peek feature, and the jump lists, to name three), but the origin of some of the design features are neither here nor there. They are (nearly all) beautifully integrated, and almost all of the new UI features actually improve the user’s experience on a functional level – in other words, it’s mostly more than just mere eye-candy.

And yet, it’s the stuff you can’t see that really makes Windows 7 the significant improvement that it is. The kernel has been cleaned up, from the lowest levels, and it runs much more smoothly. It is quicker upon boot-up, and most tasks seem to run faster and more effortlessly. Hardware recognition is even better than in Windows Vista.

While it may not be 100% perfect quite yet, Windows 7 has found itself sitting among a surprising amount of praise, including specific improvements such as its ability to run on lower-level machine better than Vista and the inclusion of an awesome, troubleshooting “Problem Steps Recorder.” When the production version of Windows 7 comes out, as with Vista when it was new, I don’t necessarily recommend everyone plop down the $200-300 to buy themselves a brand-new copy. But for anyone upgrading a PC or buying a new one, Windows 7 is sure to improve their computing experience a lot.

Musings on the Electoral College

2008-11-05T22:27:00.001-05:00

Since last night I have been planning on writing a post regarding the electoral college. First, I should clarify that I am not writing this as a frustrated McCain voter or something; I’m well aware that Obama won both the popular vote and the projected electoral college vote. So this is not at all based on my feelings on the outcome of the election. Instead, it is based on some conversations I’ve had with friends in recent weeks about what might happen should the popular vote once again be very close, particularly if the electoral count should also be very close (or tied).

However, I’ll admit that I’m not writing what I had generally been planning on writing. My thoughts lately have been that the electoral college system is antiquated and needs to be done away with. But, in order to be fair and accurate in my writing, I did some research before beginning to write. I now have a renewed confidence in our Founding Fathers and the work they put into crafting our Constitution and the wonderful federation that we call the United States of America.

The electoral college (which was not originally given that now-common name) was chosen to solve several problems, a few of which I will enumerate.

Around 4 million people were spread sparsely throughout the eastern seaboard, and the communication methods of the day made it very difficult for a candidate to be truly known by all voters.
Candidates did not run campaigns as we know them.
The USA is a federation, under the concept of federalism; thus, the Framers were wary of anything that would risk a national mindset superceding that of the individual states.
Also due to the small number of original states and their sparse populations and lack of communication, it was feared that each state’s voters would only vote for a local candidate; they feared, potentially, 13 different candidates each receiving a small portion of the popular vote, which would cause a useless outcome with no majority.
Additionally, many voters did not feel that they were qualified or knowledgeable enough to effectively vote, so it was felt that it would be better to elect a small number of knowledgeable, trustworthy people to then gather and select a president.

These reasons all make much sense, but all of them except number 3 are now irrelevant, as we now have a very different population and population spread, and the candidate and campaign situations are entirely different. So why shouldn’t we get rid of the electoral college system and just go to a popular vote-based election? Here are some common arguments for doing just that.

If we’re electing the federal president, not a state representative, then why don’t we just use the popular vote tally?
We no longer have a lack of communication nationwide.
The two-party system, for better or for worse, has made it such that, in reality, only two candidates have a real shot of winning on election day, so there’s essentially no chance that each state’s voters will just vote for their state’s person and no majority will be reached.
Because we are a more connected society than 200 years ago, where we frequently cross state lines for commerce and pleasure, state delineations seem to have less importance.

These were some of my own arguments. I basically said, “the electoral college made sense 200 years ago when communication and campaigns were very different, but there’s no reason we can’t directly elect our president.”

Nonetheless, after my research today, I was reminded of the place of federalism in all this. We are taught far too little about federalism in school, so many are not familiar with what federalism is and why our Constitution is based on entirely on the ideas of federalism.

Everything in our government is set up as a balance between state and federal power. The Congress is half based on states (Senate) and population (House). Likewise, our presidential elections are also a combination: a popular vote in each state (rather than by county or city or such) determines the candidate for whom the proportionate number of electors are named (based upon a combination of the number of seats in the House and the Senate, and three in the case of the District of Columbia).

All said, the electoral college needs to stay. It’s not perfect; it’s government. However, it’s the best compromise that will continue to allow our government to be most effectively selected. By its citizens and its states, both of which are equally important.

For a much more thorough explanation of the electoral college, read the excellent article I read through the Federal Election Commission website: http://www.fec.gov/pdf/eleccoll.pdf

Pride is a Killer

2008-08-24T23:04:00.001-04:00

So, this has been a bit of a tough week for me... for so many reasons. It's also been a great week, for some of the same reasons, frankly. All details aside, let's just say I've had a couple significant blows to my ego.

I have no great thoughts to impart here, but just allow me to say, pride can be a killer, and it can be so easily a problem without even realizing it. If you had asked me two weeks ago if I had a problem with pride, I would have said no way; sure, I can be a little arrogant on a small thing or two here or there, but I have no significant problem. Unfortunately, I have learned that's not the case. Actually, though it's unfortunate that it's been the case, I'm very glad that I found it out now, before any more time went by.

Evansville's Best-Kept Secret

2008-08-05T15:39:00.001-04:00

Last night, during a break from the National Student Conference (hosted by the NACCM), the rest of the Christian Campus House staff and I join a couple other guys from the conference and drove through Evansville a bit to go to a restaurant. It was a Greek restaurant called Acropolis, and it was absolutely amazing. Apparently, the two other guys who went with us ate there last year as well, and, upon entering the restaurant last year, the owner greeted them at the door and said, "let me cook for you tonight!" Well, long story short, this year they asked if we could do the same thing, and this is what happened. We ordered drinks, and the waitress (the same one they had last year!) called Doros, the owner, and he told her what all to have the chefs prepare for us. For $20 a person plus drinks, we had probably 4 appetizers, salad, and 3 entrees plus desert, served "family-style" for the 5 of us to share. It was absolutely astounding, and the service was fantastic. Mind you, I had never eaten Greek food before, but the stuffed mushrooms were the only thing I didn't try (I'm definitely not a fan of mushrooms). I tried everything else, and liked everything else, with the exception of the cucumber sauce - but I'm pretty sure that was me, not the restaurant.

Then, after a bit, Doros arrived (he had been running some errands) and joined us for probably 10 minutes. It turns out he has a young son who was very sick during the conference last year, and the guys we were with heard about this and told him and the waitress that they'd pray for his son. Well, his son (who was around a year old at the time) was in a coma for four days, but suddenly came out of it and is 100% healthy now. He said they were "blessed." What an amazing picture of the power of prayer. Surely our two new friends weren't the only people praying for Doros's son, but how cool that was for them to be able to ask about him and hear such a great report.

Doros also reported that, a few months ago, Evansville was the host of a baseball tournament of some sort. Several guys from ESPN came in, and Doros offered to cook for them (he didn't know they were from ESPN until after he had started cooking for them); they essentially got the same awesome deal that we did. They told him, on their way out, "on the radio tomorrow, we're not going to be talking about baseball, we're going to be talking about this restaurant!" Truly an amazing place, it is well worth the time and money to enjoy an awesome Greek meal. And be sure to ask to dine "off the menu," as Doros was so kind to do for us again this year.

Acropolis Authentic Greek Cuisine & Spirits
501 N. Green River Rd.
Evansville, IN 47715
http://www.acropolisevv.com

Election 08 - What Everyone Needs to Know

2008-07-31T13:40:00.001-04:00

PREFACE: I did not write this. I am re-posting this excellent commentary posted on facebook, written by Alex Pombar.

As the presidential election approaches, I would like to take time to share with you what I think about the current political issues surrounding the war in Iraq.

We MUST stay in Iraq until the job is done. A few things WILL happen if our future president decides to leave:

The Sunni's and Shiite's will kill each other until one side is dead. Since Iran feels they are entitled to Iraq's land (and also being the world's largest Shiite empire) you can bet that the Sunni's will not hold out long.
Leaving Iraq will prove to terrorists all over the world that America can be beaten. Then they will never stop attacking us because we would no longer stand as a legitimate threat to their terrorist cause... period.
They will attack anyone and everyone until they establish the new Ottoman Empire, re-instituting the Caliphate (a position Bin Laden has already claimed rights to).

The candidate who becomes the next president of this nation should ALREADY be embodying sound judgment and displaying good leadership capabilities. Leaders should be elected to hold leadership positions because of what they do NOW, not what they say they will do in the future. Senator McCain has been to Iraq at least six times to get a personal feel for the situation. Senator Obama has visited once.

The United States needs a leader who is willing to go to war, but will use sound judgment on whether we should or should not go to war. When the vote on the original proposition for the war in Iraq was cast, Senator Obama was not yet in the Senate while Senator McCain voted against the war. If anyone knows the extreme consequences of war, it is John McCain.

I appreciate the love my friends and family have shown for me, but please do not vote for someone because you want to keep me from risking my life for my country. I have thought about going to war since 2001. If you did not know, I contracted with the Army in 2004 and signed up for the Infantry Branch in 2007. I did not sign up with the Army to not go to war. I have thought and prayed about the consequences and I know what I am getting into. I would rather fight the enemy in Iraq than allow them to blow up innocent civilians here on American soil.

I promise you, it is not a question of whether or not they will attack us... it is when. If you want to get a good look at how bad they want to kill us, I highly recommend that you see the documentary film, “Obsession”. Even the trailer for it does a good amount of justice. You can see the trailer and buy the movie off of www.obsessionthemovie.com. To say that they hate us is truly an understatement. Loathe gets closer, but still doesn’t scratch the surface. With every atom in their body, they want to kill us. If it is not fellow servicemen and me fighting them there, they will kill us here. If we leave Iraq, it will give terrorists confidence that they can beat the strongest country in the world. It will also tell over 4000 servicemen’s families that their son or daughter died for ABSOLUTELY NOTHING. If we leave, there WILL be another 9/11 or worse. The ONLY reasons we have not been attacked again is because 1) the war has been brought to their doorstep and 2) because of our large and strong defense budget. Senator McCain has a strong defense plan and Senator Obama wants to cut defense spending. Billions of dollars being spent on a war may seem like too much from a stateside perspective, but there are soldiers who still don't have the best armor available to them.

Despite the fact that terrorists have not attacked us since 9-11, we are still at risk in a very real way. For example, here is a hypothetical, but very possible, situation to show you how simple a plan can be to really hit us hard. A terrorist could learn to fly a small plane and use it as a very precise and effective weapon. They could probably just steal one and hope for the best. After packing the plane full of explosives, they could fly that plane into a school. This attack could potentially kill hundreds of people or worse, hundreds of our innocent youth. Unfortunately, the attack could easily be more horrifying. As every child and teacher runs out of the school for safety, they would soon be met by responding emergency medical treatment vehicles and personnel. That is when a second suicide bomber would drive up to where everyone is located with a car filled with explosives killing most, if not all, of the people standing outside. Scary, is it not? Can it happen? Absolutely. This is what happened in Israel and the country has gone bankrupt trying to prevent this situation from happening again. Every school in Israel has AT LEAST one counterterrorist unit assigned to it. Every time the kids go on a field trip they MUST have at least one armed guard with them. This is the reality in Israel. This is how they live. If we leave Iraq, something like this is more likely to occur. If it does, we will be back in Iraq for a second time with more deaths on our side. Except now, terrorists will know that all they have to do is wait it out until the American public forgets the atrocities committed against it, beats itself up politically, and brings the troops home again. This cycle will repeat over and over.

DO NOT blame their hatred for us because of decisions we have made. Nothing makes me more furious than hearing someone say "Well, they hate us because of our relationship with Israel and because of the war in Iraq". Give me a break. That is one of the most cowardly point of views I have ever heard. They don't hate us because of our actions. These extremists hate us because we are not Muslim. Because we are a power that stand in their way of re-establishing their future empire. Because we stand for freedom and truth.

If you haven’t noticed, there has been less news about Iraq than usual. I can assure you that it is because we are winning and doing great things in Iraq. I spoke with a friend who has been there twice and the first time he was there, it was EXPECTED that an IED or small arms fire would hit every patrol. The second time he went, his patrols were never attacked. General Petraeus' strategy and surge of troops has worked wonders there. The surge of troops has demoralized terrorists from thinking they will outlast us. The General's plan of patrolling on foot, instead of from inside humvees, has worked. We are supplying water, electricity, food, schools, and building new shops. We talk to their people, help their businesses, buy things from their stores, give toys to young kids, and we are training them to defend themselves. The turn around in that country has been tremendous. In desperation, Al-Qaeda has turned to killing Iraqis when they don't do what they say. The Iraqi people are tired of it and are helping Americans instead. If we leave, that will all be lost. We already left these people in the first Gulf War. Let's not make the same mistake again.

Sunset over Lake Michigan

2008-06-29T01:23:00.001-04:00

Sunset over Lake Michigan
Originally uploaded by thom.michaelj

Cool, huh? Also, just trying the blog-from-flickr feature.

I took this pic with my phone camera while in Michigan with Natalie for her family reunion.

SCOTUS Decision in Favor of Gun Owners

2008-06-26T22:52:00.001-04:00

I am so happy to be posting these links. The much-awaited D.C. et al. v. Heller case that went before the Supreme Court has been decided. In a narrow 5-4 vote the Court has overturned the D.C. gun ban law, calling it unconstitutional and specifically stating that "the Second Amendment protects an individual right to possess a firearm unconnected with service in a militia, and to use that arm for traditionally lawful purposes, such as self defense in the home." While not a sweepingly broad decision, the case makes it much harder now to deny citizens the right to at least own a gun and keep in ready to be used in the home. Only time will tell just how much more will come as a direct result of this decision, but it's at least a positive step in the right direction.

Read the SCOTUS Blog's report, or go straight to the decision (pdf).

Spiritual Receptivity

2008-06-26T22:38:00.001-04:00

I am a little over halfway through A.W. Tozer's classic The Pursuit of God (also available to read online). This is my first read of the book, and, despite the language being just a bit old-fashioned (it was written around the middle of the 1900s), he is an amazing man of God with a lot of interesting things to say. I just read one portion tonight that struck me as something that I need to keep in mind, now more than ever, in my position working at a church (but, really, to a certain degree, these are thoughts that everyone should think though).

Failure to ... [be spiritually receptive] ... is the cause of a very serious breakdown in modern evangelicalism. ... The tragic results of this spirit are all around us: Shallow lives, hollow religious philosophies, the preponderance of the element of fun in gospel meetings, the glorification of men, trust in religious externalities, quasi-religious fellowships, salesmanship methods, the mistaking of dynamic personality for the power of the Spirit. These and such as these are the symptoms of an evil disease, a deep and serious malady of the soul.

Strong words, eh? I'm just fascinated by how relevant those words are, even today. "The preponderance of the element of fun in gospel meetings" - how did he know we'd be more interested in exciting music and cool slideshows than strong teaching of the Word? "The mistaking of dynamic personality for the power of the Spirit" - I know some preachers who are not the most elegant with words, but have an amazingly Godly spirit and a servant's heart. Tozer warns that these misguided desires are "symptoms of an evil disease" - harsh, perhaps, but true. Let us pray that our church cannot be described with any of these symptoms of a "deep and serious malady of the soul."

Survey: More Americans dropping dogma for spirituality

2008-06-23T13:13:00.001-04:00

Read the link: Survey: More Americans dropping dogma for spirituality - USATODAY.com

I can hardly believe some of this. Well, actually, that's not true. I believe every word of it; especially being near a college campus for four years, I don't doubt any of this. I just hate to see it in words, as stats, proof of the lack of teaching that is going on and the compromise that people are willing to make.

The Never-Ending Adventures and Journeys of the Jesus Followers

2008-06-21T22:20:00.001-04:00

I just started reading another book, this one by the guy who spoke at the NACCM Campus Ministers' Retreat a couple weeks ago, Don Everts. It's called Jesus with Dirty Feet, and it's a look at Jesus that attempts to do away with all of the cliches, ideas, stigmas, mindsets, and perspectives that we seem to collectively have from our 21st-century viewpoint (well, 20th-century, actually... it was written in 1999).

To greatly paraphrase his very first chapter, the term Christian and Christianity has been greatly distorted and misunderstood in modern-day society. So, for now on, whenever you hear the term Christianity, think the following:

The Never-Ending Adventures and Journeys of the Jesus Followers.

Last from Anderson Highland

2008-06-03T22:28:00.002-04:00

Well, my time at Anderson Highland has finally come to an end. (Well, actually, it officially ended 5/2 and practically ended 5/10, but I'm just now getting around to blogging about it.) What a wonderful time I had there. Mr. Fletcher and Mr. Stickler truly were wonderful to work with, and I had so much fun working with all the students in all the various ensembles. I'm blessed to have been given the opportunity to student teach at Highland.

I wanted to share the corollary to my first post about Highland. In the middle of the semester, Mr. Fletcher had the students write two things I was doing well and something I needed to improve on. This produced many interesting (and all anonymous) notes. Well, I asked him to have the students do similarly again, this time at the end of the semester. This produced many interesting responses again, but in very different ways. I even had many students sign the notes. What follows is, again, selections from these notes (typed verbatim, if any errors exist).

I think you're doing AWESOME :) GOOD LUCK! Congrats on your engagement too! :) (I'm sure that's a little late.) If you're dealt with some in this class, you'll be ready for almost anything.. Ha Ha!

You have progressed tremendously. Work on: Discipline & authority.

You're Amazing
don't change Mr. Thom!!!
sectionals are amazing with you!
woot! woot! congrats

it's all good so far that I can see
Don't go
Mr. Tom
You've done a great job. You don't constantly mess up like our student teachers last year. Thanks for putting up with all of my stupid sounds and stuff, and good luck after graduation.
Mr. Thom,
Thank you for being a director for our band
You did well.

Mr. Thom is an awesome conductor and student teacher. Compared to all over the other student conductors, I would say I like him the best. He is easy to get along with and he knows A LOT about what he's doing - more so than our previous student conductors.
Can't think of anything for him to improve on.

Mr. Thom,
You did a super job putting up with this band. I know that even just as a student, this class can be frustrating to deal with, and as a student teacher, you dealt with it well.
You'll make a fine teacher, and whatever school you go to, they'll be lucky to have you! :)
GOOD LUCK!
and have fun at graduation.

Mr. Thom -
You are amazing, don't ever change. We'll miss you sooooooo much. Thank you, You're the best!

You were confident without seeming cocky. You seemed laid back but in a good way. (You weren't stressful). You did a Great job conducting.

Mr. Thom,
You did a great job this year with us. Your conducting was actually better than a certain someone else that shall remain nameless!
Thank you

Mr. Thom
I think your great. You did a great job. I like the way you dress. Your style is fly. Good luck in the future. Hopefully one day there will be a cozy couch with Mr. Thom and don't read me and Jordan's text message when you have my phone.

I think Tom is a really good band director. Whatever band he teaches will surely benefit them all.

Mr. Thom,
I think you were great! You were fun and most of the time pretty energetic. I really enjoyed being taught by you. Keep your good sense of humor, because I'm sure your future students will dish out all kinds of stuff. Don't be afraid to stand up for yourself though. If they make you mad, tell them! Have a great summer! :]

Mr. Tom youre an awesome guy. Even though you cant beat austin in a race, you're a really great director. Good luck with your career.

goo yob!
(That's what she said) lol

I sure am gonna miss those kids.

What Do You Think of Jesus Today?

2008-06-03T22:03:00.001-04:00

Tonight was the first night of the NACCM's annual Campus Minister's Retreat at McCormick's Creek State Park in Spencer, Indiana. The speaker (whose name is Don, but otherwise has not been fully introduced) explained that he would be speaking out of Hebrews this week, as God has been "messing him up" through Hebrews recently, so he thought he'd "mess us up" with Hebrews this week. (Very funny guy, by the way... seems to be a terrific speaker.) Don described how most people tend to focus on chapters 11-13, as they seem to be the most accessible of the book. He also suggested that chapters 1-10 are largely all serving the same purpose - to basically shake up the "shrinking" Jewish converts (his audience) and shout to them, "Don't you know what Jesus has to offer you?!" He likens the situation to a person who has a winning lottery ticket in their pocket, knows vaguely of this fact, but shrinks away from the idea of doing anything with it, perhaps even saying, "Eh, it was taking up too much space in my pockets anyway," as he throws it out. The converted Jews were believers, they knew who Jesus was and what he offered them, but they were now ignoring it. Don pointed to the first verse of chapter 2:

We must pay more careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away. - Hebrews 2:1 (NIV)

Basically: WAKE UP! You know all the right things; I have nothing new to tell you. Just pay attention to what you already know!

Additionally, Don challenged us with two questions with which he was challenged years ago by a mentor. 1: What do you think of Jesus these days/this week/today? In the midst of everything that's going on, just what is your perspective on Him? And more so, how you should redirect your focus so that you once again have a proper view of Jesus? 2: Can we ever think about Jesus too much? This one hopefully has an obvious answer: No.

Some interesting thoughts. I hope to blog more as the conference goes on.

Graduation

2008-05-03T00:27:00.002-04:00

Unbelievable... not that I ever actually thought I may not graduate, but I still can hardly believe that this day is here now. High school graduation was one thing, but college graduation was always the lofty, far-off goal to which most all of my classmates and I attained, but it nonetheless always seemed so far off. But it's here. Tomorrow. Well, actually today, given the time. It's surreal.

And most of all, I'm just struck by the mixture of emotions. I cannot remember the last time I had this diverse and extensive a collection of emotions all at the same time. I am relieved to be done with student teaching. I am happy to be graduating. I am proud to be graduating magna cum laude, even if I didn't follow through with the Honors College. I'm happy to be moving forward. I'm optimistic about my job. I'm sad that I'm going to be leaving friends (or, more accurately, I'm sad that my friends are going to be leaving me). I'm nostalgic about the times we have had together. I'm reminiscent of the activities and fun we've shared that will not happen again. I'm apologetic for the times I've screwed something up (and Lord knows there have been plenty of those times). I'm humbled by the presence of such fantastic friends. I'm repentant to God for the way I've acted at times over these four years. Most of all, I'm just a bit stressed over the enormous transition, milestone, and turning point that is graduation.

I pray for the Lord's guidance moving forward, as the inevitable dispersion of friendships and relationships takes place and the wonderful, if not uncertain, new chapters in our lives begin.

More Amusing Student Work

2008-04-08T22:24:00.001-04:00

Yesterday at Highland High School, Mr. Stickler gave the Blues Band a 5-minute assignment: using the provided paper, answer the following question: What is Jazz? Here are some excerpted responses.

It's that feeling when you first get in the shower and no matter how hot the water is it still feels cold at first. Jazz is when you find yourself sittin in a dark corner by yourself.
Jazz isn't just another genre of music. Jazz is a feeling. ... Traditionally, jazz is a genre in which rhythms have lots of accents and tenuto markings. ... In a typical concert band, music is usually soothing to the ear and has a message but jazz is one big party. Jazz can be loud and rhythmical or it can be soft and smooth.
Jazz is a form of music using swing and slurs to make different kinds of sounds. ... Jazz has a nice beat and its [sic] consistent.
I think it's a popular form of music that people enjoy lissoning [sic] to. It's a style of music that has a nice feel to it.
Jazz is a music form that first originated from Blues [sic]. It brought something new with is [sic] swing, accents, and its different styles. Since the only thing before it was classical. Its music that can more easily describe the players personel [sic] mood rather than classical.
The Risky type of music that involves putting together a variety of notes that will sound different and unfamiliar but at the same time still sound pleasant to the ear.
From scattin' to actively playing an instrument, jazz grew rapidly.
Jazz to me is the gathering of musicians for the common purpose of having fun and playing the same kind of music.
Jazz is a form of music that was founded in the early 1900s. Major elements in jazz include rhythm, improvisation, and instrumental choice. Jazz takes on many styles of rhythms, but most share a "lazy" swing feeling with unexact [sic] beats. Improvisation is used in jazz solos. To solo, one must improvise with the chord being played.
a laid back kind of music, with wind, drums, stringed instruments. Its [sic] very fun to play. but also challenging.
Jazz is enjoyed by all ages today and has made many musicians into legends. ... Jazz is fun and it seems to make older people feel young again. Jazz is fun to dance to and it's lively and exciting.
Jazz is a style of music. The playes make up notes as the [sic] go (sometimes). It expresses how the [sic] feel. There are many different styles of Jazz (to [sic] many to name). Jazz is listened to every ages today.
Jazz is a kind of music that is played more for entertainment that other kinds of music.
Jazz is a way people express themselfes [sic] threw [sic] music. When someone is happy they play bright and joyfull [sic]. When someone is sad they play slower and the music is relaxing.
Jazz is music. It is groovy + it is good dance music. It has many different rhytms [sic] like Rock, Latin, + Swing. There is Blues too. I really don't know alot [sic] i'm still getting adjusted to it.
Jazz is expressional [sic]. It has mood and many different styles such as: swing, rock, Latin and many more. The greatest musicians played jazz. Louis Armstrong ~~and many others~~ is ~~great~~ credited for the style of scat. Many people don't understand the true meaning of jazz.
Jazz a enumoosmet that is injoned by lots of people throught the years of muncie it is the most inportint thing in life for a methless a kasins. It was brought too US from African people.

Ultimate Pictionary

2008-03-30T00:20:00.001-04:00

I finally got to play a game with some friends tonight who have raved about playing it before. They call it "Ultimate Pictionary." While I have no idea where this idea actually originated, it's brilliant. In short, each player gets a number of scrap pieces of paper (this number is equal to the number of players; 6 players -> 6 pieces of paper for each player per round). Each player writes something (anything, really: a name, a movie title, a person, a book title, a phrase, anything) on the first piece of paper in the stack. Everyone then passes their stack (at this point just the first paper has anything on it) to the left. Now, each player reads this new card and, on the next paper in the stack, draws a representation of what was written on the first paper. Next, pass the stacks to the left again. Now, each player looks at the drawing on the top paper (but not at the first paper!), and writes, on the next paper (which is blank), what he or she thinks the drawing is describing. Play continues like this, alternating back and forth between writing a word-based description and drawing a visual representation of the words. Ideally, this game is played with an odd number of players, so that by the end of each round, each player has a stack that begins and ends with a set of words - it just finishes off nicely this way. Regardless of how many players are playing, each round is over when the players all have their own stacks back in their hands. Each person then goes through their stacks, showing or reading each paper aloud. There is no scoring and there is no winner; it's just super-fun to see what happens to the original words or phrases. It's sorta like Pictionary meets telephone. Please see the following seven frames for an example of how one hilarious round might transpire.

A New Apologetic Method

2008-03-24T22:30:00.001-04:00

Okay, so it may not actually be totally new. But it's new to me, and it's new to many modern Christians. You see, many "classic" Christian apologetics just aren't as applicable to today society and situation. With the "New Atheists" as prominent as they are, we must adapt and take on new tactics when dealing with these issues. Dinesh D' Souza spoke this evening at Crossroads Bible College in Indianapolis. I will blog more on his talk in upcoming days, but here are just a couple of thoughts that he shared with us.

In his mind, Atheism has only recently become as militant as it now is. In the past, Atheists have sought little more than for removal of Nativities from public places or the dismantling of 10 Commandment replicas from court houses. However, these days, Atheists are attempting to discredit Christianity. They try to "make Christians feel like idiots" for believing as we do, as D' Souza put it tonight. We Christians were taught to defend our beliefs and explain our beliefs by pointing to the Bible. Quoting Scripture is also recommended. However, what do you do when somebody inherently disbelieves the Bible and its veracity? Saying "because it said so" is meaningless when they don't give the Bible any credit to begin with. Thus, we must become "bilingual," in a sense. We need to be able to speak secularly with Atheists/secularists. This is just one tenant of his methodology for dealing with Atheism as it has presented itself in modern society.

More to come soon; right now, I am simply much too tired and it is past my bedtime. I just want to leave you with one more nugget of knowledge that I gained tonight. I will perhaps put it in context in a future post, but, for now, know that Heaven is adult Disneyland. :-)

Last-Minute Trip to Indy/Test Post

2008-03-24T15:54:00.001-04:00

Well, I'm heading to Indy in a half-hour. Mark informed us that Dinesh D' Souza (author of What's So Great About Christianity?, among other books) is speaking at Crossroads Bible College in Indy this evening, so I'll be traveling down there with him to see Dinesh speak. Should be interesting! Depending on how the talk goes (and my energy level when we get back), I may blog about it later tonight.

On a slightly geeky side-note, this post is partially just to try out a new method of blogging. Same service provider (Blogger), but I'm using Microsoft Windows Live Writer (a desktop-based app) to compose and publish from.

A Bridge or a Rug?

2008-03-23T00:13:00.003-04:00

Unfortunately, today is the next-to-last day of the E91 devotional that I've been reading. I'll have to find something to take its place, and fast. But I wanted to share, yet again, a very short excerpt from tonight's reading. This one is by Scheduling & Records Director Vonda Gilley. Referring to the choices we have when encountering difficult or pushy people, we may occasionally get walked all over, as the saying goes. But the way we choose to handle these situations is key:

Think about it, both a rug and a bridge get walked on. A rug wears out eventually, but a bridge helps people get from one place to the next.

"Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends." - John 15:13 (NIV)

A Summary of Ministry

2008-03-21T22:30:00.002-04:00

More from the E91 devotional. The words of Preaching Associate Dave Mullins (he'll be performing Natalie and my wedding ceremony! or at least he's the official E91 person involved; we're going to have Mark Pike do a majority of the ceremony). Anyway, I really like this summary of the ministry. While it may not be literally a complete, all-encompassing definition, I really like its perspective.

We have been called to the ministry of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:16-21). We are ambassadors for Christ and let people know that through Jesus and Him alone can all men find peace with God.

His Grace Covers All

2008-03-19T22:29:00.002-04:00

An excerpt from my previously-referenced E91 devotional, this one written by Senior Pastor Derek Duncan:

I want you to make a list of what you think God doesn't love about you. Look at it and ask God if He loves you in spite of these things. Sure, we all need to change and grow, but do you really think God would love you more if these things were not a part of your life? The answer is no. He loves and accepts you because of the grace of His son Jesus. So, that the list, write the word "grace" over it, and rejoice in the eternal love of Jesus Christ.

How great that is to think about. His grace, literally, covers our sins, shortcomings, errors, mistakes, and bad habits.

A Nation of Cowards

2008-03-17T12:23:00.003-04:00

A Nation of Cowards

Oh my goodness, every American needs to read this article. It may be a bit old (Fall 1993), but it is absolutely excellent. My favorite quote, among many:

As the Founding Fathers knew well, a government that does not trust its honest, law-abiding, taxpaying citizens with the means of self-defense is not itself worthy of trust. Laws disarming honest citizens proclaim that the government is the master, not the servant, of the people.

Student Evaluations

2008-03-16T19:57:00.005-04:00

Last Wednesday, March 12, Mr. Fletcher (my supervising teacher for student teaching at Anderson Highland High School) had all the students in the Wind Ensemble write on a piece of paper two things that I am doing well and two things that I need to improve. The responses ranged from very helpful to useless, very serious and boring to hysterical. Overall, the general (useful) themes were: speak up, be more emotional (or just show a personality!), and discipline more/harder. Those are all very valid points. However, I wanted to quote a few specific entries here, because they are just amusing.

I really like Mr. Thom. He is probably one of my favorite students directors I've had. I like how he's not full of bologna like most of the other people that come into here. Like, he doesn't try to act all tough in front of kids to prove he has dominance over us. He if [sic] he was a bit more strict that might help.

I think Mr. Thom is a great music teacher. He actually works with the group until we get it right and doesn't just run through all the music like some special director I know. [Who's that?]

I think is a great well-rounded person
- He directs very good
- He actually think about the band
- He's a nice guy! [all that, sic... yeah....]

Mr. Thom,
Your [sic] doing very well with us here at Highland. You seem to like us and have fun with us. You seem to know what your [sic] doing. The only thing I would say is to [sic] talk to [sic] soft. Just be able to yell at us if your [sic] trying to get us to pay attention. haha!
It's been fun! [It's not over...]

We're getting better at the pieces that he works with us on (different from other student teachers).

You are a very good student director. You have a very good way to direct the band.

Well organized (good planning before directing) [ha! I have them fooled!]

Mr. T is actually the best student teacher that I have ever had. He actually involves his students and makes it fun.
he is Neat-O

Mr. T is very good at being a music teacher. As he teaches us, he is also learning by observing. [uhh, okaaaay....?]

Mr. T keeps control of the class well. He is smarter than most people. He should replace Mr. Stickler. Better than last years [sic] student teachers.

Mr. Tom [sic] is a nice, well dressed guy. He needs a backbone though.

Just give him an "A". He did fine. I'm sure whatever school he will (eventually) conduct will love him.

He has a much better style than the other directors and he is a good guy. [style... conducting style? teaching style? clothing style?]

He is a cool guy and I like his sweater.
But in all seriousness he's pretty good.

I like Mr. Thom because he is very lively, he knows a lot about music. I also like how he knows how to have fun but is serious about what he does.

Keep up the good work. Your [sic] doing a really good job. [oh, thanks, that's informative!]

He's been conducting well. [also useful]

G: tries to keep tempo pretty well
B: go faster

YouTube - Star Wars Cantina By Richard Cheese!

2008-03-15T23:10:00.001-04:00

YouTube - Star Wars Cantina By Richard Cheese

This is very funny, particularly if you're a fan of the Star Wars series at all. Just a warning, I don't necessarily condone all of Richard Cheese's work, but this particular video is fine and very funny.

Oklahoma may allow college students to carry guns - CNN.com

2008-03-14T15:05:00.001-04:00

Oklahoma may allow college students to carry guns - CNN.com

We can only pray that this is allowed to stand and that other states follow suit.

Or maybe I'll just move to Oklahoma :-p

Kingdom Dream vs. American Dream

2008-03-07T23:01:00.005-05:00

I was just reading today's devotional entry in the 40-day devotional guide published a few weeks ago by my church in Indy, East 91st Street Christian Church. This week's study is from Matthew 6:19-34.

"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

"The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!

"No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money." - Matthew 6:19-24 (NIV)

Student Pastor Todd Holzworth, referring to our desire for material things, money, comfort, retirement, travel, and the so-called American dream, writes:

... recently God has showed me something bigger. I don't know what to call it. Maybe it is the Kingdom dream because it is so much bigger than the American dream.

I think that's a terrific name for what our "dream" should be. Furthermore, it reminds me of the Casting Crowns song entitled, appropriately enough, American Dream.

Casting Crowns
American Dream

All work no play may have made Jack a dull boy
But all work no God has left Jack with a lost soul
But he's moving on full steam
He's chasing the American dream
And he's gonna give his family the finer things

"Not this time son, I've no time to waste;
Maybe tomorrow we'll have time to play"
And then he slips into his new BMW
And drives farther and farther and farther away

So He works all day and tries to sleep at night
He says things will get better
Better in time

And he works and he builds with his own two hands
And he pours all he has in a castle made with sand
But the wind and the rain are comin' crashing in
Time will tell just how long his kingdom stands
His kingdom stands

His American dream is beginning to seem
More and more like a nightmare
With every passing day
"Daddy, can you come to my game?"
"Oh Baby, please don't work late."
Another wasted weekend
And they are slipping away

'Cause he works all day and lies awake at night
He tells them things will get better
It'll just take a little more time

He used to say, "Whoever dies with the most toys wins"
But if he loses his soul, what has he gained in the end
I'll take a shack on the rock
Over a castle in the sand

Now he works all day and cries alone at night
It's not getting any better
Looks like he's running out of time

'Cause he worked and he built with his own two hands
And he poured all he had in a castle made with sand
But the wind and the rain are coming crashing in
Time will tell just how long his kingdom stands
His kingdom stands

All they really wanted was You
All they really wanted was You
All they really wanted was You

Wisdom from Bible Study

2008-03-06T00:08:00.006-05:00

This evening's Bible study was a good time, both spiritually fulfilling and just fun. Kristen made a comment at one point that I feel like quoting here. This comment is a bit out of its original context (which is, at this point, irrelevant), but I think it has an even deeper meaning than how it was originally intended.

Everything that happens makes us forget what He said.

This is actually quite profound. If you think through our daily lives, we get very busy and preoccupied with things that worry us, concern us, frustrate us, even excite us, and just otherwise take our time and concentration. It is often easy to forget about the Bible and the words of Jesus. However, if we just remember His words, our everyday lives can be changed.

Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. - Matthew 11:28 (NIV)

How true it is that "everything that happens makes us forget what He said."

On a side note, I also told my group tonight that "'sup," roughly translated from the original Hebrew, means "peace be with you." :-)

FOXNews.com - Violent Jet Landing in Storm Caught on Tape in Germany

2008-03-03T15:13:00.001-05:00

FOXNews.com - Violent Jet Landing in Storm Caught on Tape in Germany

Whoa, make sure you check out the related video. Major kudos to the pilot for trying and then (smartly!) aborting the landing, but also major kudos to the plane for holding together for this ride. Commercial jets aren't exactly known for their nimble handling skills, but this is pretty good given the circumstances.

Sitting in a Live Concert

2008-03-01T22:34:00.003-05:00

So this is cool. I'm sitting in the Student Center at Ball State University, watching Jon Hainstock perform live for a Late Nite event. I've had the opportunity to see Jon at least three other times, all of them in Muncie. In fact, the Christian Campus House has had him in to play twice as a part of our Stone House Stage series. He's a great guy, a Godly man, and a terrific singer/songwriter. And the band he has with him tonight sounds especially good (I suppose it's his new touring band?).

This concert is just another instance of the great partnership with UPB and Late Nite that we have had this year. We have had the opportunity to bring some of what we do to the campus, rather than doing what we can do bring the campus to us. Though that certainly has its merits (after all, the hope, even here, is that we would be able to be a place that students can come to in order to get plugged in), this is a much more effective way to meet and talk with people. Even if we never see them show up at the Campus House, we can hopefully at least have a few minutes' impact on them for Christ. And while these events are not explicitly a "Christian" show, they are nonetheless co-sponsored by us, and we are available at these events to talk with anyone who wants to talk.

On a side note, I'm doing my best to take mental notes as I will be in charge of activities like this next year. Yikes!

Exciting News!

2008-02-26T22:39:00.003-05:00

Well, it's official: I have a job!

And furthermore, it's an opportunity that I never thought I would have (although, in a small way, always wished I would). In short, Alex Robinson is leaving the Christian Campus House. This makes me so very sad, because I have looked up to Alex ever since he joined the ministry in the Fall of 2005. He's been a good friend and leader at the Campus House, and he will be greatly missed by all of us there. However, his departure has created an amazing opportunity for me (and apparently it was first his idea to have me succeed him).

Starting this Summer (nearly right after graduation), I will be spending the next year as Associate Campus Minister at the Christian Campus House, with my main responsibilities being music and media, with some preaching and teaching responsibilities.

This is yet another opportunity for me to say, "Well, okay Lord, if you say so!" If it was up to me, I would tell you that I am so under-qualified for this job. Nonetheless, Mark and Alex (and apparently many of my peers, too) have faith in my and my ability to be used by the Lord in this new role at the Campus House, so I should just trust them and have faith that He will guide me through this.

On a more surfacey level, I'm so excited just to have a job! And, yes, a paycheck! And no more of this duality; I'm so used to "doing school" and then coming home and doing all the stuff at church that I love to do. Now I get to do just what I love to do so much!

And now back to our regularly-scheduled program...

2008-02-05T22:55:00.001-05:00

Whoa, it's been a year - more than a year!

Regular posting will resume very soon. Several very important things have transpired since my last post, and they bear mentioning - but not for a few more days. Check back again soon!

More From Harold Best

2007-01-07T22:46:00.000-05:00

I finally have had a bit more time to read. I'm really going to try to make that a regular occurrence.

Unceasing Worship by Harold Best. Excellent book. Every word he writes is so specific, so clear, so meaningful. As I've been reading, I have been trying to write down interesting portions, or quotable sections. I don't know how many times I've had to restrain myself, because if I wrote down everything I considered writing down I'd have practically made a copy of the book! Anyway, to a few of my latest specific thoughts.

Reading in the fourth chapter ("The Corporate Gathering and Authentic Worship") I came across this passage:

Specializing in the things of the faith should be so important to laypersons that they do the kind of reading and thinking that lead to the formation of a truth-centered world-view that informs the whole of their living. No believer should say that there is no time to do this in his or her "busy schedule."

So true. How often do we tell ourselves we are "too busy" to spend time "with the Lord" (Wait, shouldn't that be always? Thoughts for another posting...)? How many times have I not read even this very book, simply because I was too busy, too tired, too lazy. As a Christian, a desire to read and study and grow closer to the Holy Spirit should pour out from a life of worship, if I were truly living one. In truth, in the (unfortunately few) occasions in which I actually do spend this sort of time (like right now), I love it! I find it to be so spiritually fulfilling! In fact, when I had the opportunity last semester to preach at the Campus House, I found it very interesting that the best part of that whole experience was not the actual sermon delivery, nor any congratulations I received afterward. Instead, I found the Bible study (the deepest personal study I had done to date) to be incredibly rewarding and fascinating.

To take those thoughts a little further, let us first look at another excerpt from Best's book, just a little later in the same chapter:

Another way of stating this is that Christians should be amateur theologians and Scripture specialists, but in the older meaning of the word. Amateurs are those who love something (hence the Latin ama at the beginning of the word), enough to study and practice it as thoroughly as possible, to become skilled in it, without the need to call it a profession or a specialized calling.

Simply analysing this passage is easy; it makes lots of sense as an extension of the previous discussion. However, how might this apply to me, specifically? Well, I am honestly not sure how to take this. I could stretch it one way and say that I need not go into vocational ministry, I should simply be an amateur theologian. However, I am also quite sure that Best does not intend to imply that some people are specifically called into vocational ministry (he in fact says so just sentences later). So where do I fit in here?

For now, my plan will continue to be more or less like it has been, I just now have some new terminology for it: I will continue to become the best amateur theologian I can be, as I also continue my studies in Music Education. In the time between now and graduation (still a year and 4 months), I will seek the Lord's will and find out what he has planned for me.

Thank you Lord for your many blessings, even those we cannot readily see.

Thank You Father

2006-11-21T21:47:00.000-05:00

As we approach Thanksgiving I thought I would take a moment to talk about Thanksgiving. I have never actively participated in the time of thanksgiving that the Mayes family always has during our Thanksgiving gathering. It felt awkward. I didn't feel qualified.

Lord, I'm not qualified for your love. But yet you gave it to me. THANK YOU!

Some things I'm thankful for:

the breath of life

a loving Savior

a family who truly loves me

a beautiful loving girlfriend

the most amazing group of close friends I could imagine

more earthly possessions than I deserve

the Christian Campus House

music - and the ability to play and enjoy it

sub-freezing mornings with frost everywhere

the opportunity to live the life God has planned for me

lastly, a big warm bed. especially nice after not even going to bed last night. 0:-p

Lord, I want to specifically take time out of my busy schedule and recognize all that you have blessed me with. Thank you for life, family, friends, stuff, and most of all your Son.

How Much Am I To Do?

2006-11-14T11:18:00.000-05:00

So I'm sitting here in the sound booth at church, working on the podcast. One thought has come to mind just now, as it often has recently. How much stuff am I really to try to do?

With all my school work going on, especially right now, I don't really have a ton of time to be as involved at church as I am. But I love it. My involvement at church is the main thing keeping me going right now - I love serving the Lord, and I love all the actual projects that I do over there (well, here, right now...).

I know the Lord doesn't expect a certain quantity of work out of us. He wants us to do what he presents us with a worshiping, prayful attitude. I hope I am doing that, but it's so hard to tell. Am I serving the Lord, or am I playing with fun technology?

I hope it's the former. If not, I need to drop this stuff because there just isn't time to go to church just to play. If I'm truly doing it all for the glory of God, then I don't care so much how much school work I have; I'll find a balance somewhere.

But I'm struggling right now.

How Does One Love The World?

2006-10-20T00:24:00.000-04:00

The following was written by a guy I don't know, but his name is Adam Schultz. I want to just copy and paste it here (from a CRU listserve email sent by Steve Van Elk), and then I'll discuss it a bit at the end.

A guy I mentor in highschool asked me the other day how he can love the world. I sat and pondered and this is what God put in/on my heart. Mind you, it is not complete, there are so many others ways to love, just I felt that I should post this. These are not my words, but God's. Give all the glory to Him!!

A. Accept people for who they are, exactly how they are.
B. Befriend them, not just to "save them from Hell" but for actually being a person that God created and loves. This is called being genuine and is a large part of integrity.
C. Love people with pure motives. Don't have a hidden agenda as to why you want to get to know them.
D. Be generous to them with everything you have. Whether it is money, your time, books, games, food..etc. when we give of ourselves to others without any expections of getting anything in return, this is real love.
E. Watch your words, actions, and thoughts. I'm not saying you have to walk on egg shells all day, but you are showing who Jesus is to people whether you believe it or not. Sometimes people don't become a follower of Jesus because some yahoo who claims to be a Christian is not loving people and is dishonoring the name of Jesus.
F. Spend time with people. When you are with them, value them and the time you have with them. Don't be thinking about what else you could be doing. You are there and God has you there.
G. Don't retaliate when people wrong you. To steal a few words from Jesus/Bible: "love your neighbor", "turn the other cheek", "be QUICK to listen, SLOW to speak, and SLOW to become angry". Bascially, watch how you respeond to what people say.
H. Pray for the people who you don't like, who treat you like crap, who hate you etc. and let God transform you heart to love them.
I. A short story..... Mother Teresa was once asked how she could help so many people who were sick, dying, had aids, STD's, infections etc. She looked up at the man who asked and simply said, "I see them as Jesus. When I take care of someone or help them, I am actually doing this to Jesus."
J. View everyone as Jesus and treat them the same way you would treat Jesus, especially of they don't know His love for them yet.
*Check out Matt 25:31-46--this is huge for us who are Chrisitians.

Do 3 things to start:
1. Love God.
2. Love people.
3. Ask God to help you love Him and others.

I like this list. As 'simple' as it is, sometimes I wonder if I am capable of coming up with stuff like this. I am glad that Adam did; part of why I'm posting this is in hopes that more people can read it. Despite being a 'simple,' 'introductory' guide, I think these suggestions are all suggestions that we can all use.

I think item letter C is one of the toughest to do. In reality, we have many different reasons why were first talk to someone. They're cute; they are in our major; they are older; they hold positions of leadership; we would like them to hold positions of leadership; and the list goes on. Now, none of these are inherently wrong; but, as Adam is suggesting, we really need to talk to people, show interest, love them from the get-go for no 'reason.' We need to love them because they are. Because they exist. Because they were created by God.

Loving people, truly loving in a Christ-like way is hard. That list is a great "Quick Reference" of how to go about loving people. As Adam stated, it is by no means exhaustive. But I think it's worth a read every now and then. Goodnight and God Bless!

Keep On Shinin'

2006-10-16T01:46:00.000-04:00

So I've decided life is hard. Okay, I suppose this is no huge revelation to most people. But seriously. I've attempted to help a couple friends deal with some stuff this weekend, and I dealt with some personally too, and sometimes life sucks.

You know what's amazing? God is good. God is great. God is God. I don't always remember (or even immediately believe!) this when stuff's all going wrong. And man it can be hard to convince others of this fact.

Look around. See all those blessings? No, I'm not just referring to the "stuff" in your room (but that too). An friend of mine who has a heart and mind for God bigger than I think I can even understand has been going through a lot of stuff lately. Just today she posted a note in which she described her feelings. But then she decided to list the blessings in her life: college, nature, friends, hugs, Starbucks, prayer, music, and the Bible, among others. We all need to do this more. When things aren't going "right" (at least according to our limited-scope perspective on our lives), we don't often remember the good things. God has blessed us with everything, starting with our very lives! And if the fact that we have breath isn't enough, his ultimate depicion of his love on the cross oughta do it.

Guys, God's love is amazing. Unbelievable. Phenomenal. Indescribable. When life's got you down, stop. Pray. Remember God's grace. Ask for help. Take comfort in his love. There, it's my new acronym - PRAT.

I leave you tonight with lyrics from Third Day's newest album (Wherever You Are). The song is titled Keep On Shinin'. If we have received God's grace and love, then we need to share it with others! This song encourages a continued outpouring of his light. (More on continuous outpouring in another post.) Goodnight, and God bless.

Keep On Shinin'

It feels like forever since I can remember
It seems like it's always been this way
Keep the good news to ourselves, like a secret we'll never tell
I don't know why we've been so ashamed

But changes are in the air, sparks are starting everywhere
And oh, what a sweet, sweet sound
With millions of voices, singing new choruses
Leading the way to higher ground

Keep on, keep on shinin'
Wherever you may be
Keep on, keep on shinin'
For all the world to see

Having faith in the long run is easier said than done
It's hard to live out in the light of day
You're bruised and you're battered, your dreams have been shattered
Your best laid plans scattered over the place

Despite all your tendencies, God sees it differently
Your struggle's a time to grow
And you, you're a miracle, anything but typical
It's time for the whole wide world to know

PFR and Unceasing Worship

2006-10-10T00:07:00.000-04:00

Okay, first, who among you have heard of PFR? Yeah, okay, not many... stands for Pray For Rain. Awesome Christian band of the 1990s, produced a best of-type album in 1997 (The Late Great PFR), still performs a few times a years and has recorded two albums since '97. Fantastic stuff; you should check it out. Anyway, I've been listening to them all evening long... Here are the lyrics to one of their tunes, a powerful song titled, appropriately enough, "Pray For Rain."

Born in a dry season
Wind and sand have blown through me
Haven't found shade anywhere
Only moments of relief
But sometimes I think I hear the thunder
Somewhere on the horizon line
If I could just find a way to get under
The rain that can reach this soul of mine

(chorus)
I pray for rain to come
And wash away what's made me numb
I pray for a raging storm
To drown what's in me
And the rain comes in the nick of time
I swallow hard cause my throat's been dry
The rain comes beating on my skin
Till I'm washed away - nothing left within
When the rain comes
Your rain comes

Seasons have passed so quickly
Since I felt that first big storm
Still there have been times of drought
When i've prayed for the clouds to form
And I often hear the thunder
And I know of its coming rain
Many times in my life I'll kneel under
The moving showers that brought this change

Also, I just finished reading the second chapter of Unceasing Worship. This books attempts to clearly define worship, more specifically Christian worship, and authentic worship. In doing so, many areas are explored. At the end of Chapter 2 ("What is authentic worship?"), Best writes:

These words of Christ ["It was said of old, but now I say unto you..."] are of such magnitude that the entire shape of the New Testament depends on them. And it is only because of this that the Old Testament can be quoted with such force and probity throughout the Gospels, Acts, and Epistles. To put it negatively, the Old Testament is quoted because it is not finished until Christ reaches it. In this sense the Old Testament reaches ahead of itself longingly and hopefully to its finality. To put it positively, Christ is established in the Old Testament so efficiently as to make the Incarnation an inevitable reality.

So what does this mean exactly? Well, interestingly enough, it is actually related to a portion of the material I covered in my sermon a little over a month ago. In that sermon I talked about how Jesus established a new covanent; the Jewish Sabbath was Saturday, but after Christ's resurrection Christian's celebrated the Lord's Day - Sunday. His death and resurrection superceded Old Testament Law (observance of the Sabbath). Anyway, Best's interpretation of the relationship between the Old and New Testaments is very good.

It seems to be quite simple, really. If we realize that God, in his omniscience, inspired the writers of the Old Testament with his plan for his Son in mind, then the Old Testament is not as separate from the New Testament as we often make it out to be. We completely segregate the Old from the New, as if they are two separate and different works. In reality, I believe Best would argue (and I would tend to agree), the Bible as a whole is unilaterally the divine Word of God; sure, we divide it into two parts, due in large part to historical and chronological reasons, but the Old Testament directly provides for the arrival of the New Testament and Christ Himself. His arrival, death, and resurrection, allow for the "completion" of the Old Testament and the full understanding of the New Testament.

So I'm not sure if any of that makes any sense. Perhaps I just muddied the waters even more. I said it was "simple" and then expounded on it for another enormous paragraph. Anyway, those are my thoughts. I haven't posted a real post in over a month, and I thought I'd give it a try again.

Thank you Lord for all your blessings, You are truly amazing!

Carter Beauford and Victor Wooten

2006-10-09T20:21:00.000-04:00

Oh goodness... These guys are two of the best... I wish I could play either of those instruments half as well as they can! Anyway, I just thought this video was just cool.

Anti-Tank Missile

2006-10-05T20:35:00.001-04:00

Okay, so this is really not a useful post of any sort. But I just ran across this and found it to be freaking sweet. It's a 2000 fps video of an anti-tank missile being fired. Check it out.

Lest We Forget...

2006-09-11T01:41:00.000-04:00

"The difference between us and the terrorists is clear: We endanger ourselves to protect their civilians. They endanger their civilians to protect themselves. If we want to live in a world where civilians are never used as human shields, then we must create a world in which employing such measures results in the unequivocal condemnation of terrorists and in forceful action against them by the civilized world."

Thanks to Adrienne for posting this on her away message; not sure where she got it...

God Bless America and the families of all those who lost their lives 5 years ago.

Lest we forget...

A MusEd Paper vs. The Rest of My Life

2006-09-05T10:05:00.000-04:00

So I had a nice long talk with Melissa yesterday. You see, we have this paper due in our MusEd class tomorrow - a paper about our philosophy of music education, it's place in schools, etc. One problem - I'm not sure what my philosophy is! Also, I don't totally agree with the things we're being taught/told in class about the importance of music education - especially when it comes to performance ensembles. Furthermore, I'm not sure of my place in music education, or whether or not my place is even in music education or not.

It was on those subjects that we talked, for essentially two hours. The following are some of my thoughts, after our discussion.

I do not have to agree with everything we are taught. Individual's philosophies will differ; we cannot all be clones of one another. It's not even that I hate music or disagree with everything; quite the opposite. I just take issues with some of the things; for example, I do not find music (in any form) to be as completely essential to a person's well-being and ability to function in society as English (as one article tried to say it is).

Music has a very important place in elementary schools. Kids will never know what they might be talented in or interested in if they are not exposed to many different things. Music, art (visual), P.E., computers, and drama are just some of the areas that kids need exposure to, right alongside "normal" subjects like math, English, literature, history, and science. In middle and especially high school, however, music takes on a bit of a different role. Though most states require a Fine Arts class or some equivalent for graduation, music classes exist almost entirely as electives. Thus, to my mind, they do not have to be truly curricular. Well, performance classes anyway. A non-curricular music theory or general music class will never get anything done; a curriculum is essential here. But I say that performance classes do not need (and in fact cannot function properly with!) a set curriculum.

Now, I am assuming a couple of things here. One, I am assuming that the teacher/instructor/director of these performance classes is doing his/her job well. To run an effective rehearsal and perform well, teaching is still required, even without a curriculum! The students must learn about the pieces they are playing, the historical context surrounding those pieces, the composers' backgrounds, the musical concepts contained within the pieces, and the best methods to perform the pieces effectively. This still requires teaching and learning! I simply believe that a performance class cannot be oriented to a curriculum; it must be oriented to performance.

Stepping back a little further, than, beyond more than simply my philosophy on music in schools, I look at my future. Do I truly see myself teaching band or some other music class in 5 or 10 years? Honestly? Not really... While I still love music and do enjoy helping others enjoy music, I'm just not convinced that it is truly my main passion. Melissa made a good point while suggesting a couple of things for me to think about as far as how to deal with this semester and the major in general. She reminded me that I do, in fact, care about music and music education. Thus, I need to continue to treat it as such. I care about it and it is important to me, so I need to not completely neglect it. I should not get out of the major and the school and immediately pursue something else. I am much too far in at this point to get out, and I am completely capable of finishing this major strongly and, if it comes to it, even being a very good band director and music teacher. This is all very true, and I need to keep it all in mind.

However. (There's always a 'but,' isn't there?) I feel my true passion and calling elsewhere. More specifically, at church. I'm not sure exactly what that means, but that's where I care the most about everything. There have been way too many signs of this over the past year to continue to call them "coincidences." The part of me that is afraid of change wants to ignore all these signs, but I shouldn't. Mark and Alex apparently see potential in me, and I can't honestly say that I don't too. I have been given opportunity and opportunity to serve in many different capacities at church, and I still can't get enough - I love it. I had the opportunity to preach this past Sunday. Is that what I want to do with my life, become a preacher? Maybe! I don't think that's my primary area of calling, but it's possible! Frankly, I've seen myself as an Alex (assistant minister, being in charge of music and other like-minded tasks) for quite some time. Like, 6 to 8 months probably.

The church has been given some money to use for student interns. Joel and Jessica are presently serving as interns, and they receive a stipend for their internships. Mark and Alex have mentioned to me that they'd like me to consider doing an internship, very possibly in the spring. This could be part-time as I still attend school and classes, or not. I could take next semester off and work at the church essentially full-time.

You know what, that sounds amazing!

But I have a problem. Well, a couple. I really want to graduate in four years. Partially for cost, and partially because I know I can. Well, frankly, I also can't imagine not staying in the tracks of classes with Melissa. Especially with me less-than-enthusiastic perspective toward it all right now, I need her there. Perhaps that's a lame reason, I don't know; but it's true, I want to stay in track with her. Not just so she doesn't beat me ;-P

Other problem? Dad. He'll have a fit if I tell him I'm considering not taking classes for a semester. Or that I want to graduate with my B.S. (or is it B.A.? who knows) in Music Education and then ignore that degree and either work in ministry or go back to school. There's no way he'd go for any of that. Which is unfortunate, because if that's truly what I'm being called to do, he shouldn't be able to stand in my way. But presently, even if only in my mind, he is. That doesn't seem right.

So, here's where I'm at overall. I still like music and even music education. I'm going to try my best to do well (enough) in my classes, and I still want to get out of them what I can. If they're not my number one priority, that's fine. But I am not going to blow them off or develop a rotten attitude toward them. I am going to talk with Alex at length again about this whole situation and see where we go from here at church. I want to be even more involved. We just have to find the right balance. I am going to pray. A lot. If this is what I am to be doing, I need that to be clear. And lastly, I'm going to hope (well, pray) that once I have reached some sort of conclusive decision on this all, my dad will be receptive and supportive.

Okay, so that post is enormously long. My apologies. But it doesn't even begin to approximate the breadth of our conversation last night... lol... To sum it all up, please pray for me!

Preaching? Who, me?

2006-09-03T15:37:00.001-04:00

Well, I just delivered my first sermon this morning. "Jesus, Lord of the Sabbath," at the Christian Campus House. Pshew, who knew... It's been a bit of a stressful week, juggling school and the "normal" stressors but also dealing with preparing for this. I've never done this before; I've never even delved this deeply in the Scriptures before, at least not in one concentrated amount of time. It was awesome! The Bible studying, alone, was fantastic. So much so that I bought a new Bible to make it easier and more enjoyable! :-)

The sermon went well, I suppose. A little short (estimated at around 13 minutes; a review of the tape will tell me for sure), but I stayed on topic well (even if that meant that I glaced at my notes a bit more than I should have). Although, I did make up a word this morning: dramastically. :-p

But, here's the crux of this post. Is this any sort of calling for me? Or just something fun to say that I did. Sure, I was a bit stressed out before it; who wouldn't be? I need to think and pray about it a lot more. The Lord may very well be leading me in this direction; I need to not let stress get in His way.

To that end, I continue to be confused. I am struggling, ideologically, in a MusEd class or two, and yet I love the idea of preaching like this. I just don't know what to do.

Anyway, my first (and hopefully not last!) sermon is in the bag. Crazy, isn't it?

Confusion...

2006-08-31T00:52:00.000-04:00

Do you ever wonder why God puts certain people in your life? Perhaps they are frustrating, nay, angering, at times. Maybe they force you to think differently about things. Possibly they challenge you directly or in roundabout terms. Other times, these people may be your friends, help you out, make you laugh, or give you some encouragement. But all the while, you just can't figure out the reason for that particular person and the assortment of feelings you have related to them. Anybody know what I'm talking about?

Music Education - Curricular, or Not?

2006-08-30T16:44:00.000-04:00

So I just got done reading an article for my MusEd 360 class entitled "Making Arts Education Curricular." The basic point of the article was to explain why arts aren't yet widely considered curricular and what we (as [future] music educators) can do to make the arts curricular. But I have some issues with this thinking. Here's an excerpt from the article review I wrote:

If music is so critically important, as much so as English and Math and Science, then I agree with essentially all of the article – true curricula need to be written; teachers need to adhere to their curricula; schedules needs to be more reasonable; the arts need to be more inclusive; etc. But if music is not as crucially necessary, which I do not believe it is, then many of those points become moot – it can remain largely extracurricular; it can be more selective; a true curriculum becomes less important; and so forth.

Is this bad? Should I be fired as a music education major? In a sense, I truly think so... In the past, some of us 'good' music ed majors have scoffed at 'bad' music ed majors, wishing they'd leave the major so that we don't license bad teachers. We've secretly rejoiced when some of these people have, in fact, left the major for performance, for example - jerks, bad teachers, people who don't believe in music education? They're welcome to play, just stay away from our students.

But now I feel like a hypocrite. I still fully believe in music education as being important. It has been a very important part of my life, and I am what I am today in large part because of it. But I just don't feel it to be as completely necessary as some of my classes are trying to make me believe it is. And I feel like the only one in the music education department who still feels like this.

I just don't know...

In the Beginning

2006-08-30T00:30:00.000-04:00

So I decided to be super-cool and get a Blogger, um, blog. And I figured that title was somehow appropriate. I don't really use my xanga (http://www.xanga.com/mjthom) as it is, so we'll see how much this gets used. I'm thinking about making this a little more of my thoughts on life, rather than a useless narrative of my life. Just a thought.

I leave you, then, with this thought:
Think twice before you speak, and then you may be able to say something more insulting than if you spoke right out at once. - Evan Esar

Okay, so perhaps this blog will not be quite so sarcastic. But you never know, it's me you're dealing with! :-p