“As Christians, we have to give people the permission to be imperfect,

Because we can not demand perfection from others, since we are not perfect ourselves.“

(Pastor Paul Sheppard)

For about ten years, there has been a growing genre of Christian Hip-Hop that has come on the popular music scene.  I must admit I have not listened to a lot of it.  But like any fledging genre, some of it is worth listening to, some of it is not and there are some hidden gems that standout.

I received a copy of Vertical Glory by Peculiar Image a few weeks ago and it took me awhile to listen to it.  I’m glad I finally did.

Peculiar Image are an Austin/San Antonio, Texas-based group that was formed in 2003 by Levester White, Larry Purefoy, John Johnson, and Mike Dillard. The mission for their music is to “Vertical, Relevant, and enjoyable to people of all walks of life.”

I believe Vertical Glory reflects the group’s mission statement.  It is a mix of hip-hop, 70′s R & B, and Worship music that will make you bob you head and even get you to dance down the aisle at church.

The standout cuts are: What’s That Sound, Beautiful to God, Humility, and It’s Alright (Back to the 70′s).  However, when you listen to Vertical Glory, you will have your own favorite songs immediately.

There are a lot of well-known groups in music that receives a lot of publicity.  But it was nice for this reviewer to find some unknown talent that deserves some recognition and has a bright future ahead.

If you want to listen to some good uplifting music that’s relevant. I will recommend you add Vertical Glory to your music collection and will give it 3.5 out of 5 stars.

“The general approach has been that if the middle class likes something, it is bad art. There is a snobbishness on the Left that is rarely noted but is one of the most significant animators of Leftism: a contempt for the middle class, and for middle America, that is essential to left-wing identity. The left sees itself as far superior to the churchgoing, Norman Rockwell loving, flag-waving, Pledge of Allegiance reciting American. So, if the average guy likes it, there must be something wrong with it.” (Dennis Prager)

That quote is from Dennis Prager recently published book, Still the Best Hope: Why the World Needs American Values to Triumph, and in it he posed a question that has been on my mind the past several days.

Is reading a story only for the middle class?

While that quote deals more with a Left/Right or Liberal/Conservative issue than an overall commentary about the arts, I believe there is some truth to it.

It seems to me that reading a story is beneath the elites and artists of our society.  If everybody likes a good story from a Dean Koontz, Stephen King, James Patterson or John Grisham it’s considered low-brow entertainment and not worthy of intellectual discussion.

I must admit that has always troubled me and I don’t if I can articulate it correctly in this blog post.  But it seems to me that there is this sense of anti-entertainment amongst many in our society.

If someone spends seven or eight dollars on a paperback or twenty-five to thirty dollars on a hardback and they get entertained by it, what’s the problem with that? Being entertained is something fundamental to human nature and it should never be relegated to second-tier status or in some cases even held in contempt.

Reading a story is as basic as it comes and people have always wanted stories in their lives.  Whether told orally in ancient times to the print form in modern times and now in electronic form in this multimedia age.   Story is essential to the human experience.

That’s why I have never understood in the fiction world, why would people have a problem with a Grisham or King or Koontz or Patterson or Clancy.  Now, their works could be good or bad and that’s subjective and if different issue. However, because they are popular and the middle class has been entertained by their works, should they be considered as second-tier artists?

So my question to the readers of this blog post is:  Why is a story loved by the middle class considered second rate?

“I know, I know, all Christian artists think they value both the craft and the content. But in my experience, they often fool themselves. When it comes time to make a decision for the story or the “message,” they will go with the message every time. Why? Because they feel obligated by God to communicate a clear “message,” or else they have wasted their time. They do not realize that the story itself, along with its style and craft, is part of the message.”

(Brian Godawa)

Reblogged from A Christian Worldview of Fiction:

The Audacious Ride for Visions, painting by Leda Luss Luyken

When I first started examining postmodernism to know how precisely that way of looking at the world differed from what I was used to, my pastor at the time, Dale Burke, said that postmodernism is no more dangerous than modernism — neither one is a Biblical worldview but neither one is all wrong either.

Read more… 555 more words

I thought this was an excellent article about Christians needing to understand the culture around us.

“I’ve found that most people who tell me that fiction is a waste of time are folks who seem to hold to a kind of sola cerebra vision of the Christian life that just doesn’t square with the Bible. The Bible doesn’t simply address man as a cognitive process but as a complex image-bearer who recognizes truth not only through categorizing syllogisms but through imagination, beauty, wonder, awe.”

(Russell Moore)

“When someone loves you,

truly loves you,

It is not because they don’t know who you are.

It is because they do know who you are,

and what you are like,

and they still love you.

That makes love meaningful.

Also, love doesn’t exists in the absence of judgment.

and that is how God loves us.” 

(Michael Ramsden)

“How you feel is infinitely less important then how you act.”  (Dennis Prager)

This year’s version of the San Antonio Spurs entered the NBA Playoffs as the number one seed in the Western Conference with a 50-16 record (tied with the Chicago Bulls for the league’s best record) in a 66 game shortened season.

And winning last night’s game against the Utah Jazz, 102-90, gives the Spurs a commanding 3-0 series lead in the 1st round of the playoffs. They will go for the series clinching win in Game Four on Monday night.

The Spurs are respected and even admired by most basketball analysts and media pundits. However, they seem to get overlooked in the eyes of Spurs fans as not getting enough love from the public and media as a whole.

I have lived in San Antonio for nearly nine years and I’ve heard it all on that front by Spurs fans. But, I do believe some of it is Spurs fans paranoia for this perceived lack of attention.  It reminds of this quote:

“People would rather be recognized and appreciated for their contributions than ignored or overlooked even if they are wealthy.” (Aaron Johnson)

Those words ring true to me and I believe in many Spurs fans’ ears.  Well, let’s look at some reasons and why I’m a fan because of it.

Since 1998-1999 (I consider as the Spurs Golden Age):

–They have 9 Division Titles (1999, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2009, 2011, 2012)

–4 Western Conference Titles (1999, 2003, 2005, 2007)

–4 NBA Titles (1999, 2003, 2005, 2007)

–They have won 774 games out of 1100 during that period.  That is a 70% winning percentage and the highest in the NBA during that span.

–They have averaged 55 wins a season during this period and that’s the highest in the NBA as well.

–They’ve had one coach for the entire time: Gregg Popovich

–They’ve had one superstar for the entire time: Tim Duncan

–They drafted two other stars to compliment the superstar player in Manu Ginobili (Since 2002) and Tony Parker (Since 2001) and found role players from Steve Kerr to Danny Green to fit their system.

With all these accomplishments and success, it seems outside of the San Antonio Metro Area (which includes the Rio Grande Valley down to the Texas/Mexico border and West Texas to El Paso), the Spurs are not beloved or hated (Well in Phoenix, they are) like the Yankees, Cowboys, Lakers or Celtics.

The main reason for me is that consistency or stability doesn’t sell in a culture that wants drama and conflict as a form of entertainment. I wrote about this in my article, Why Tim Duncan is My Favorite Athlete.

Consistency and Stability are boring to the public but are so hard to obtain in everyday life. That’s one of my reasons why I’m a fan. There is genius in consistency and stability and it deserves appreciation just like other traits for success.

Also, I believe the San Antonio Spurs are like Smooth Jazz.  Brilliant, technical, talented but are inoffensive in a world where people are expected to be offended.

Even though they are some real artists playing smooth jazz like George Benson, Ronny Jordan, Marc Antoine, Joe Sample, or The Yellowjackets. The genre is considered bland or vanilla and the Spurs have been accused of playing bland (code word for “fundamental”) basketball.

Unfortunately, perceptions die hard because the Spurs have been anything but bland this season.  They have changed their trademark defensive-oriented style in the past for a more free-wheeling, high-tempo offense that was second in the league for points per game and first in offensive efficiency. These are not your father’s San Antonio Spurs!

Also, the other reason why I’m a fan of this team, that it shows me the little guy can compete with the big boys at the highest levels of competition.

Like the Spurs, the city of San Antonio has been overlooked as a major American city. Tuck down here in South Texas, people forget its the seventh largest city in the country with 1.3 million (surpassing more glamorous cities like Dallas, Atlanta, and Miami.)

Even in the Lone Star State, San Antonio gets overshadowed by Houston and Dallas (and Austin to some extent), but has grown quietly in the shadows and become “Military City, USA” and a major American city because of it.

I do believe that sports can mirror real life at times and being a San Antonio Spurs  fan has shown me that consistency, stability, and finding the right people can work in any location in order to compete at the highest levels in any profession.  That’s an American success story exemplified.

Go Spurs Go and Let’s Get Number Five for the Thumb!!!!!

“We have a tendency to adopt the attitudes of those we spend time with. That’s why Paul wrote, “Your faith will help me, and my faith will help you.” (Romans 1:12 NCV)

Fred Smith points out that there are two kinds of people in any group: polluters and purifiers. The polluters are like smoke stacks belching out dirty smoke all the time. They hate clear skies. No matter how good it gets they find a way to make it gloomy. When the people around them breathe their toxins they feel sicker and sicker. The purifiers, on the other hand, make everything around them better. It doesn’t matter what kind of rotten atmosphere they encounter. They take in the toxic words of polluters just as everyone else does, but they filter them before passing them on. What goes in gloomy and negative comes out fresh and clear.

So, are you a polluter or a purifier? When you spend time with others do they walk away feeling better or worse? Do you clear the air giving them fresh perspective and encouragement, or do they leave you feeling hopeless about things? Watch how people respond to you and you’ll know which group you belong in.

Bottom line: doubters usually get what they expect.  So do believers! Looking for God’s best in every situation is not only scriptural; it helps you to see opportunities that you’d otherwise miss. Seeing people through God’s eyes causes them to be attracted and open to you. Is that important? Absolutely! Your attitude will reach them long before your message does.

I got this from a devotional book I read a few years ago.  It has stuck with me and it came to mind for today’s entry.