The Golden Compass Revisited

I mentioned in an earlier post that I would let you know more about the book The Golden Compass after I had read it. You may recall I said there was a good possibility that I would read it long after the movie was released. I finished the book last night.

As far as the movie is concerned, it may be somewhat of a moot point. It has been out for a month or so now and received only fair reviews. Most critics say that the movie gets lost in the details and special effects. It has been panned as "over-reaching" in an attempt to cover every aspect of the book. The viewers have voted with their pocketbooks as well. As of yet, it has not even reclaimed the money it took to make it. Speculation is that there will be no sequel.

I would not count Hollowood out though. And beyond that, video sales in three months may put it way over the top. Which brings me back to the purpose of this post... the content of the book.

I wanted to read this book and see what the hubbub was all about. As a piece of literature, I found it well written and engrossing. It has a very good pace, similar in style to that of the Harry Potter series. No section is too long and it leaves you wanting more each time. It was an enjoyable read.

As to the accusations of anti-Christian themes, I would say there is some merit. Philip Pullman, the author, has been associated with comments ascribing the purpose of the book (and series) to be the gentle corruption of the church in the mind of young people. If there is truth to this, I would say this book certainly plants a seed for that root.

A strong tool for this, I believe, is the constant use of the singular term "daemon." In the series, every human is endowed with an animal form that encompasses their essence, or spirit. It cannot be separate from them without pain and eventual death. These animals speak to the human and the major part of the storyline revolves around them. It is the near constant use of the word daemon that slowly rankles my skin. I, as most other Christians, have strong negative feelings associated with the term demon. Pullman uses this term as an object of affection, something to be desired. He makes his daemons extremely attractive and lovable. By itself, this is not something to damn the book (pardon the pun), but I believe it is somewhat insidious by its repetitive nature.

The book takes place in an alternate universe, a common theme among science fiction and fantasy writers, which allows Pullman great leeway in his factual reporting. He uses this tool to make corrections to what he sees as an an ineffectual church system. The story takes place in the mid 19th century, after the last Pope, Pope John Calvin (which is a statement unto itself), has been deposed and the Catholic church has been replaced by an intellectual/scientific oriented organization called the Magesterium. They are set up as the villain throughout the book. The church is the bad guy, or at least one of the bad guys (there are several).

Again, this alone is not so bad. In some ways I even agree. The problem comes in that there are so many small jabs at Christianity throughout the book, you feel like you've been sucker punched when you hit the last fifteen pages.

It is here, in the last chapter of the book, that Pullman's true nature seems to rise to the top. I'll not reveal the ending, in case some of you wish to read the book, but the actions taken in the final few moments and the conversation that is recorded between the two major "bad guys" takes away any doubt as to Pullman's intentions. In all honesty, I was prepared to write a review basically saying, "what's the big deal?" until I read the final chapter.

Yes, it takes place in an alternate reality. Yes, the church that is so lambasted in the end was a replacement for the church that we know. But it does not feel that way. He even goes as far as re-writing and quoting scripture to fit his alternate reality and twisting theology to take away any personal responsibility for sin.

Final tally: A good read for a mature, intellectual and grounded believer. A dangerous read for non-believers (who would not catch most of the subtlety anyway). I would not recommend it for children (Pullman's stated target).

I can only imagine what books two and three are like. I have heard they are not as veiled as the first. I will not be reading them. ~Gary

Dan Fogelberg 1951-2007

I was saddened to learn that one of my lifelong musical idols died this past week. I remember my first experience with Fogelberg's music. It was a Jr. High ski trip to Ruidoso, NM and someone brought a homemade compilation tape that included the song Lahaina Luna. I was fascinated by the sound of the song, an instrumental tune from the mostly instrumental album Twin Sons of Different Mothers.

I returned home from the trip determined to find another album by this guy named Fogelburg. I was pleasantly surprised to find that most of his albums contained singing as well. Even better, he was an amazing guitarist. And as I investigated even further, I found that he played the majority of the instruments on his albums. I was hooked.

I had already been involved in guitar lessons under Dave Branson for several years. I found that Fogelberg's finger-picking style was a great match for the style that Dave had started me on. I began learning as many Fogelberg songs as I could. I became somewhat of a Fogelberg junkie.

I even remember a night in college on a quartet tour in California. Robert Hinds and I had the Greatest Hits LP (that's a vinyl record for you young-un's) and we were playing it backwards ala Beatles backward masking style. Sure enough, during the song Power of Gold, we could clearly hear Fogelburg say, “Oooh, you can sleep with anyone, sweet Melinda is the one.” Scandalous. He wasn't saying that when the album was going forward. Like I said, Fogelberg junkie.

It's 30 years later and I am still playing his stuff. He made a big impact on me. I would like to think that wherever he is now, he is still playing. Unfortunately, I never saw any evidence that he ever found the true Inspiration for playing. Such a loss...

Get a Job... Pt. 2

OK... I did.

Thanks to God, I have finally been offered a job. After five months of searching and countless false leads and dead ends, God has opened a door and I intend to step through it.

Mission Health is a non-profit adult day care that specializes in Alzheimer's patients (although the client list is much wider). The current Executive Director is stepping down on January 1. I have been offered this position. I have not officially signed the contract yet, but it's the weekend now, followed by Christmas eve. I will probably turn it in after Christmas. I begin working Jan 1.

I'm sure I will have much more to say about the new position. It will be a steep learning curve for me, I'm sure. My job is almost completely administration. The health stuff is handled by the people who know how to do health stuff. I'm sure I will certainly lend a hand, but that will not be my main area. I handle human resource, fund-raising, marketing, board functions, etc. It will be a change from my usual music-centered job, but I am looking forward to it.

I will continue to pursue music. I don't believe I have a choice in that. Some interesting things are beginning to crop up in that area. You probably read earlier that I had a chance to lead worship recently at New Life Church in Odessa. I am joining them again for a Christmas Eve service, along with some other players. I would say we have a definite "Eagles" sound. Should be lots of fun. And if God blesses us, at least a two of us may continue to play together doing the coffee house thing. But I will let you know more about that when it happens.

For now, Merry Christmas to all and God bless us everyone.

Still Going...

Many people have been asking about my job search and how things are going. I have intentionally not commented much about it in this blog. I figure that the ins and outs of a job search are not the best thing to discuss in a public forum. I figure a potential employer probably doesn't need to know about how many people have turned you down, or how many other jobs you are considering. I know if I were considering hiring someone, I would certainly do some searching online to learn more about them.

So, I will say that there are some possibilities coming up that, if the Lord wills, could be a good fit. I'll let you know when something comes up.

I am returning to worship leading this week. I get to lead at New Life Church in Odessa for their Tuesday night Thanksgiving service. And I get to play again. Pull out the old guitar and dust it off. I am really looking forward to playing and worshiping again. Honestly, I have not been excited about a worship service for months. I hope you can understand why. If not, well... that's another blog entry. Probably another book.

More later. God bless.

The Golden Compass

I've seen previews of this movie coming soon, starring Nicole Kidman. I even bought the book for my son, thinking that this was another "Narnia" type movie and book series. He has not read the book yet. Turns out this is a good thing.

I received an email from a friend recently. It reads as such, "This atheistic author's avowed goal is to "kill God in the minds of children". The author hated C.S. Lewis and wanted to UNDO what C.S. Lewis did in the Chronicles of Narnia. His trilogy has sold over fifteen million copies globally. Spread the word and boycott the movie. Read the article below. Its scary."

I'll leave the boycott issue up to you. But the email pointed to the Snopes site, which is a website dedicated to urban myths and legends. you may visit the site which is located here, but I'll quote some of the site.

"The Golden Compass, a fantasy film starring Nicole Kidman that is scheduled to be released into theaters on 7 December 2007, has been drawing fire from concerned Christians. The film is based on Northern Lights (released in the U.S. as The Golden Compass), the first offering in Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy of children's books, a series that follows the adventures of a streetwise girl who travels through multiple worlds populated by witches, armor-plated bears, and sinister ecclesiastical assassins to defeat the oppressive forces of a senile God.

The series' author, Philip Pullman, is an avowed atheist who has averred that "I don't profess any religion; I don't think it's possible that there is a God; I have the greatest difficulty in understanding what is meant by the words 'spiritual' or 'spirituality.'" Critics of Pullman's books point to the strong anti-religion and anti-God themes they incorporate, and although literary works are subject to a variety of interpretations, Pullman left little doubt about his intentions when he said in a 2003 interview with The Sydney Morning Herald that "My books are about killing God." (Conservative British columnist Peter Hitchens labeled Pullman "The Most Dangerous Author in Britain" and described him as the writer "the atheists would have been praying for, if atheists prayed.")"

The article quotes several emails that are circulating. The following are quotes from some of those emails:

"The movie has been dumbed down to fool kids and their parents in the hope that they will buy his trilogy where in the end the children kill God and everyone can do as they please. Nicole Kidman stars in the movie so it will probably be advertised a lot. This is just a friendly warning that you sure won't hear on the regular TV."

"What I thought was important to communicate is what part of the agenda is for making this picture. This movie is a watered down version of the first book, which is the least offensive of the three books. The second book of the trilogy is THE SUBTLE KNIFE and the third book is THE AMBER SPYGLASS. Each book gets worse and worse regarding Pullman's hatred of God. In the trilogy, a young girl becomes enmeshed in an epic struggle against a nefarious Church known as the Magisterium. Another character, an ex-nun, describes Christianity as 'a very powerful and convincing mistake.' As I understand it, in the last book, a boy and girl are depicted representing Adam and Eve and they kill God, who at times is called YAHWEH."

I have the book and plan to read it. I will let you know what I find out, unless the movie comes out before I get it read, which is a distinct possibility.

Laugh #1

Did you hear about the dyslexic devil-worshiper?

He sold his soul to Santa.

Dust

Over the past few days, I've found myself in a cycle of depression, anger and confusion. I am told this is normal in my circumstance (loosing my job, for those of you who have not read down further). I've caught myself blaming God, then feeling guilty for thinking those thoughts, then blaming myself, then feeling stupid.

Then I'm usually hungry. Some things never change.

I ran across two things in the past few hours that helped. The first is a song by an artist/producer named Joe Beck. It may not mean much to you, but it helped set my perspective a little clearer. Here's a verse and a chorus:

You magnify my helplessness
That I might see Your faithfulness
I stand in awe because of who You are
Creator of my heart, O God

The Mystery of You in words
When Heaven's mercy kissed the earth
The price completely paid by You alone
I fall before Your throne and I cry

I am dust
I am frail
I am weak
I fail
You are God
You are King
Over all the universe You reign
And I stand amazed that You could truly love
This dust

Then this morning I picked up a book that I was reading and had set aside for a while, Richard Foster's Celebration of Discipline. I vaguely remembered that where I left off had seemed something that I wasn't catching. The importance of it had not settled into me. So I opened up the dog-eared page and looked at the title of the section where I had quit reading.

The Dark Night of the Soul.

It seemed a little more appropriate now. I quote Foster:

What does the dark night of the soul involve? We may have a sense of dryness, aloneness, even lostness. Any overdependence on the emotional life is stripped away... The dark night is one of the ways God brings us into a hush, a stillness so that He may work an inner transformation on the soul... When God lovingly draws us into a dark night of the soul, there is often a temptation to seek release from it and to blame everyone and everything for our inner dullness... Be grateful that God is lovingly drawing you away from every distraction so that you can see him clearly. Rather than chafing and fighting, become still and wait."

And so I quietly wait. I am dust.

Burning Rubber

Austin was out on his new bike the other day. We were at Grande Stadium and he was breaking it in. In the process, he left some serious tread marks. Take a look...

Get a Job...

Well, that's what I'm trying to do. I've not posted much here about my job search, or for that matter why I'm even needing a new job. I think I'll continue my self-imposed silence on the situation at GCR.

But as far as jobs are concerned, thus far I have been approaching the search with the thought that I am open to whatever is out there and that God will lead me to the right position. I have even caught myself thinking "just get a job that pays. You can pursue your passion on your off-time." I am beginning to rethink that.

This morning a new acquaintance recommended a book to me. Maybe you've heard of 48 Days to the Work You Love. It is highly recommended by Dave Ramsey (although he is not the new acquaintance I mentioned). The book was released this year (2007) and is written by Dan Miller. I have only read the introduction and first chapter and it's really gotten me to thinking already.

Here is a quote from the first chapter... "Perhaps we can create a definition of work that includes more than just completing duties for a paycheck. What if we were able to create a model for work that included work, play, leisure, and spiritual components? Would it be unreasonable to expect to find fulfilling, enjoyable, spiritually significant, income producing work?" According to Miller, the obvious answer is a resounding "no, it's not unreasonable!"

I truly believe I was in this situation when I worked for Acappella Ministries. I felt the same at Christ Family Fellowship in Corpus Christi. I believe I would have come to feel this at Golf Course Road, given time. And now, I need to pray and believe that it can happen again here in Midland. I certainly do not want to settle for a "job."

Lord, give me the faith and patience to see what you've laid before me. Or at least to make the best out of the situation if I pick the wrong thing. Is that a contradiction in faith? *sigh*

Pitch Pipecast: Episode 10

The new Pipecast is up. Episode 10 features Eric Gwin, solo a cappella artist. You can find it at PitchPipePro.com or, as always, download it direct from this link. Hope you enjoy it.

Nearer My God to Thee

Dave Gerhart pointed me to a fabulous video that I want to share with you. As you know if you've read this blog any at all, I love good a capella music. I do a podcast dedicated to it. Here is one that falls right square into that category.

This is a group from BYU called Vocal Point. The video is of them competing at the ICCA Quarterfinals this past February of 2007. As you will see, it is a fabulous arrangement of Nearer My God to Thee (done by James Stevens) and garnered them 1st place. Enjoy...

Pitch Pipecast: Episode 9

I have just posted the most recent episode of the Pipecast. Chris Lindsey of Watershed Worship makes an appearance. We talk about their trip to South Africa, their recent run-in with Mandisa, and their latest album entitled "I Know You Love Me."

You can catch it at PitchPipePro.com or as always you can download it right here directly from this link.

Another Change

I began this blog in early October of '06 partly as an attempt to chronicle a life change. I was searching for a new job. It seems this blog is still needed for that purpose.

Nine days ago I was called into the Executive Minister's office and let go. I was told that my reason for dismissal was that I am "not a good fit for this church." I've done nothing wrong, other than (in their opinion) not having the skill set to lead the church in worship as effectively as has been done in the past here at GCR.

I do not feel that this public forum is the proper place to air my grievances about this, so I will not elaborate at this time. Sherri and I are understandably shocked and hurt. The only thing I will say about this is that it is a shame that I have never really been able to let them see the real me. I have tried to tailor my style of worship leading to fit a package that they were desiring. I was never able to move the church to a point that I could feel free to cut loose and lead the way I would like (which in my opinion this church needs badly... a new and refreshed approach to worship). Maybe this in itself is a sign that I am not a fit. The elders have been gracious to give me a long period in which to find new employment.

I have committed to my children that we will not be moving. The change from Corpus Christi to Midland was devastating to my kids. It has taken them, Ashley especially, months to recover their smile. It has only been in the past few weeks that I have seen them return to normal. I'll not mess that up again. Also, my wife has just begun teaching in the Midland school system. She is working with special needs children in a local Jr. High. So unless God throws us a really big curve ball, we are staying in Midland for the foreseeable future.

Please pray for our family as we enter this new period in our lives. Pray that I will be directed to the job I am supposed to have and have the wisdom to recognize it. Sherri and I still firmly believe, even through all the troubles of the change, that we were supposed to move to Midland. God made it pretty clear. It turns out that GCR was just the tool to bring us here. So now we wait on God to show us the real reason.

Lord, illuminate us.

Pre vs. Post

My son begged not to have his hair cut for the summer because he wanted to "wear a ponytail." I don't think he realized that naturally curly hair is hard to put in a ponytail.

Anyway, here is Austin before 4:00 PM this afternoon.



And here is Austin after 4:30 PM this afternoon.



Same kid? You tell me. The eyes seem similar. I think I remember them from before the bangs.

Rice Noodles

This is a strange entry.

For the past couple of weeks, our family has been on an exclusion diet. One of those diets where you cut back down to one basic food group that cleans out your system and then you start adding things back in one thing at a time. That way you can see if there is a certain kind of food that gives you troubles.

Anyway, this past week my wife cooked rice noodles. Sort of like angel hair pasta, only made from rice. I recall eating this before when I was in Kungming, China at a restaurant called "Over Bridge Rice Noodles." Great place to eat. But I digress...

So she cooks these noodles and no one in the house likes them but me. I was out of the house at the time and they got shoved to the side before I could get at them. So they left this big pot of rice noodles sitting out for the afternoon. Dry (drained of water).

By the time I got home, they were still edible, just very cold. So they sat there for a while because we just didn't get around to throwing them away. By that evening, we assumed they would be pretty bad and starting to turn green. Not so. These noodles still seemed fresh. They also seemed rather bouncy.

Turns out rice noodles take on an elastic nature when left to the elements. They begin to look somewhat like those small rubber bands you put on your braces. Only these are long.

They are still sitting in that pot by the sink. It's turned into a family experiment now. Every time we go by, we grab a handful and drop it back into the pot to watch it bounce. Three days and still bouncing. Still looks fresh. Not gonna eat it though...

Bouncy trouncy flouncy pouncy fun fun fun fun fun.

Stream Light

As many of the readers of my blog are aware, Stream in the Desert is an annual event that Golf Course Rd Church has hosted for many years now. Due to the massive amount of construction happening on our campus, there will not be a Stream for 2007 (rather obvious, since we are past the usual date).

Fortunately, we have an opportunity to help people scratch that itch for a great worship event. On Saturday evening September 15, Golf Course Rd Church will be offering Stream Light. Ken Young will be leading this free worship event. For those of you who have been to Stream before, this will be a 2-hour mini-Stream... something like a creek. Not as big, but still flowing.

So if you live in West Texas or Eastern New Mexico, plan to join us Saturday, Sept. 15 from 7:00 - 9:00 PM. It should be a great evening of praise and worship.

GCR Day at the Ballpark

They're not going to invite us back.

Some of you may recall a post this past Easter about the snow fiasco at the Ballpark. Every year we host "Easter at the Ballpark," a city-wide worship service at the AA Midlands Rockhounds ball park. And this year it snowed on Easter. The event was canceled, as was the game.

So to make up for it, the Rockhounds set up GCR Night this past Sunday night. We sold tickets at half price to our church. About 4:00, we started getting light rain.

We made it to the bottom of the 2nd inning and then the bottom dropped out. Noah showed up. I actually saw an ark in left field.

But I bought a hat!

Pitch Pipecast: Episode 8

I have just posted #8 of the Pipecast. It's a conversation with Josh Wheeler of Legacy. They are a new-yet-not-new group out of Lubbock, TX. I included some songs from their new self-titled release which came out last week.

You can catch that podcast at pitchpipepro.com or download it directly using this link.

Enjoy!

Oxymoron

This past Sunday our minister used a few oxymorons to make a point in his sermon. Here are a few of them with my most favorite at the end.

Jumbo Shrimp.

Civil Litigation.

Fairly Accurate.

Negative Growth.

Nothing Much.

Pure Evil.

Short Sermons.

And my most favorite had to do with a bit of software many people know...

Microsoft Works.

There you go Lana, how 'bout that one?

Holy is the Lord

A friend turned me on to this YouTube video today. Someone (user name is gregmuzac) has taken the song Holy is the Lord from Andrew Peterson and set it footage taken mostly from TNT's movie about the life of Abraham. It is a fabulous video. Well worth seeing. And here it is...