I was in rural North Carolina when Josh Ritter’s Girl in the War came on the radio for the first time. It must have been two years ago. I pulled in for gas but waited till the song was over to get out of my car. After that I bought the song and listened to it a hundred times. It might be his best. I figured it would be a good morning for us all to remember what Paul said to Peter.
22Jul, 2011
This week I get to hang with some of the most awesome people in the world at one of the most beautiful places in the world. If you’ve read A Million Miles in a Thousand Years then you know about Bob Goff’s Lodge in British Columbia. It’s the only place in the world where I get no cell coverage and couldn’t care less. My absolute favorite place in the world is behind Chatterbox Falls. Every year, friends and I cross the frigid river, climb back behind those rocks, get back behind the waterfall where the force is so strong you can’t breathe, then literally walk right through it. It’s the closest you can come to dying and going to heaven. A few broken toes later and you have the memory of a lifetime (Please don’t do this. There’s a sign right next to the falls saying how many people have died. It’s up to 16 or something) but I’m not married and have no family so I get to do these things. Regardless, I’ll be off the grid, recharging, remembering that God made the world and we made the city and fighting to bring a little more of what God [...]
22Jul, 2011
My friend Jon Collins at Epipheo has put together a great little video explaining Google +. It looks pretty good to me. If you’ve been wondering what all the buzz is about, here’s John’s explanation.
14Jul, 2011
In an age where a few celebrity pastors are projecting an immature masculine image, a guy like Tony Dungy reminds us of what a good man looks like. He looks like a sober, mature, thoughtful, strong, disciplined person who brings peace into chaos. It would be easy for some of us guys to get led astray by false teachers who use shame, guilt and ridicule to make themselves feel more manly, but these guys are just covering up their own insecurities. Here’s Coach Dungy talking like a man. If you’ve not registered yet, come on out and hear Coach Dungy in Portland on July 30th.
12Jul, 2011
Last year I had the chance to have dinner with Matthew Perryman Jones. My flight out of Nashville was cancelled and I found myself, suitcase in hand, standing outside the Nashville airport dismayed because all I wanted to do was go home. But there was a part of me that wondered if something good could happen, if I couldn’t “create a reason” for being stuck in Nashville. I made some calls and the night turned out to be great, one of the best I had that season. Within a few hours I was having dinner at a Mexican restaurant with a couple singer/songwriters and producers. One of them was Matthew Perryman Jones. Matthew doesn’t know me very well but I’m a fan of his music. Over dinner he talked about where he was in his career and how he’s returning to his heart, to his love for self expression as a way to connect with others. As I listened, I knew he’d evolved as an already talented songwriter into an artist who longed for a more personal relationship with his audience and wanted to serve them as a friend. Matthew writes songs about his life and the way it echoes [...]
