Classic: Fruit Cakes, Red Dawn, and "Stealing" An Election

The best man at my wedding (the wonderful Tim Formby, who is substantially more fit at age 60 than I will ever be) grew up in the east Texas town of Corsicana. (If you've heard of Corsicana, it's probably because of Collin Street Bakery... which ships fruitcakes all over the world.)

Kids my age grew up during the Cold War... where pretty much every bad guy on TV shows were Soviet spies and movies like RED DAWN informed our worldview. For Tim & his friends, that meant long discussions about how to defend Corsicana in case of the U.S.S.R. sending troops to invade the U.S. of A. Questions like "which bridges get blown up?" and "how do we cache the proper weapons?" led to plans, notes, and even hand-drawn maps. 

I bring up this bit of semi-ancient history to ask for the same kind of thoughtfulness from those who are supporting President Trump in questioning the legitimacy of the election results. I know that presenting well-researched fact checks doesn't seem to quell their doubts, so I'm hoping this might assist. 

Here's what I propose... grab a piece of paper and write out a detailed plan for stealing the presidential election. Take into account what would need to be done and who would need to be involved. List all of the different county, state, and federal entities that would need to be compromised in some format to explain margins of 20,000+ votes in multiple contested states. Determine what kind of expertise you would need and what kind of resources & communications protocols would be necessary. 

Operational security is going to be an important consideration - how are you going to keep all of those involved from leaking information and/or getting caught? The more individuals that are a part of the conspiracy, the more difficult this will be. If you choose to operate in individual cells to foster secrecy, you will need to account for coordination and control.

Chuck Colson, Richard Nixon's hatchet man who became a follower of Christ and the founder of Prison Fellowship, noted that his belief in the resurrection of Jesus Christ was supported by his experience inside a cabal around the President.

“I know the resurrection is a fact, and Watergate proved it to me. How? Because 12 men testified they had seen Jesus raised from the dead, then they proclaimed that truth for 40 years, never once denying it. Every one was beaten, tortured, stoned and put in prison. They would not have endured that if it weren't true. Watergate embroiled 12 of the most powerful men in the world-and they couldn't keep a lie for three weeks. You're telling me 12 apostles could keep a lie for 40 years? Absolutely impossible.”

I'm guessing by now you have a lot of notes (and your plan is unlikely to involve blowing up any bridges). This leads to an important philosophical principle (which I've posted about previously): Occam's Razor. The Latin aphorism is commonly rendered as "the simplest explanation is most likely the right one."

So, does your plan make sense? Is it plausible? Moreover, is it inside the realm of possibility outside of an X-Files episode? 

I am not doubting that there are irregularities in the voting process and even occasional attempts to steal elections. (The most recent major attempt was done in 2018 on behalf of a Republican candidate in North Carolina.) But none of those are large enough or expansive enough to explain the result of a presidential election. In the words of one of my favorite L.A. bands, Adam Again:

When I touch you with Occam's razor

I will cut you between truth and lie

Meanwhile, talking about Collin Street Bakery reminds me of how good the pastries are at their retail store in Corsicana. And writing about Tim makes me want to get Fortress America (the board game) to the table again.

This post was originally written in November 2020... I've revised it slightly and put it back out there again for... reasons.

Manhandling the Word of Truth

To be accurate, the former president is not selling Bibles - he's simply licensing his name & image through the same company (CIC Ventures LLC) that licensed Trump Trading Cards & his Never Surrender High-Top Sneaker to a company selling a King James Version of the Bible with an American flag embossed on the cover and the texts of foundational U.S. government documents included.

Because nothing says "God so loved the world" (John 3:16) like branding Scripture with American symbols and documents. Note: "CIC Ventures, though, is a conduit to Trump — personally, if not politically. In his financial disclosure released last year, he’s identified as the company’s “manager, president, secretary and treasurer” and the Donald J. Trump Revocable Trust is identified as a 100 percent owner of the business. The same entity also receives royalties from his book “A MAGA Journey” and speaking engagements. A person familiar with the agreement confirmed to the New York Times that Trump earns royalties from purchases." (Source: Washington Post)

----- I've written about politicians and accurately handling the word of truth before:

• former vice-president Mike Pence - ""So let’s run the race marked out for us. Let’s fix our eyes on Old Glory and all she represents."
• President Joe Biden - "The American military has been answering for a long time. “Here I am, Lord. Send me. Here I am, send me.”"
• Governor Ron DeSantis - "Put on the full armor of God. Stand firm against the left’s schemes. You will face flaming arrows, but if you have the shield of faith, you will overcome them, and in Florida we walk the line here."

Suffice it to say that I get the need to use rhetorical flourish and echo classic passages of literature to evoke emotion. But we as followers of Christ are called to "be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth." (2 Timothy 2:15, NASB). The things Mike Pence & Joe Biden & Ron DeSantis said was not accurately handling Scripture.

What the former President has done and is doing makes them look like amateurs at the abuse of God's Word.

-----

Mr. Trump has a spotted history when it comes to both hucksterism and the use/abuse of the Bible as a prop. He's managed to brand and/or sell almost anything that isn't nailed down - some highlights include Trump Steaks, Trump University, Trump Vodka, and Trump: The Game. If you want to see more, the Wikipedia article on the Trump Organization has a very long list.

As for his use of Scripture...

• 
  "Two Corinthians" (which he blamed Tony Perkins for... who in return noted that "It shows that he’s not familiar with Bible.")
• Signing Bibles... and other things (just read the article... which, even from Fox News, does manage to cover the outrage pretty well even as they indulge in a bit of whataboutism) 
• posing with a Bible (thanks to a suggestion from his daughter) in front of St. John's Church - minutes after protestors had been forcibly cleared from the street with tear gas and pepper balls
• And, yes, I'm aware that there is conflicting reports about the orders to clear Lafayette Square that night of protestors responding to the death of George Floyd... but it was still a photo op with a Bible as a prop.

This newest grift - endorsing Lee Greenwood's God Bless The USA Bible - is sadly par for the course.

-----

The reaction to the release of Trump's endorsement during Holy Week provoked a - shall we say? - strong reaction.

The former president once claimed that "Nobody has done more for Christianity or for evangelicals or for religion itself than I have..." - but if memes like the ones shared above are any indicator, the main thing he's accomplished is to drive people away from faith.

The frustration isn't simply limited to The Daily Show and meme-happy Facebook friends... it extends to devoted followers of Christ as well.

I found it equally sobering to think about what a grift like this does to further erode the moral sense of those who've chosen to follow the former president.

...Clips like the one above make a certain sort of shrewd strategic sense.

That seems counterintuitive since many Christians will recoil from it, and Trump can’t afford to alienate Christian voters seven months out from an election. But I suspect that any evangelical who’d hold a little light grifting involving the Holy Bible against him is already long gone, wandering in the Never Trump desert with the likes of David French and Russell Moore.

And Trump is fine with that. His first political priority, even above maximizing his chances of reelection, is purging the Republican Party of anyone who would question his right to rule. He doesn’t want independent-minded Christians in the GOP any more than he wants the traditional conservatives who preferred Nikki Haley in the primary. He’ll win without them—and if he can’t, he’ll at least have consolidated his power over one-half of America’s political establishment in the process.

In that context, whether by design or by happenstance, the “Trump Bible” operates as a sort of litmus test for evangelicals who have stuck with him this far through thick and thin. You won’t abandon me if I make a mockery of your faith, will you? No, of course you won’t.

I see it as an analog to the point he made in 2016 when he boasted that he could shoot someone without losing votes. The reaction of Republican primary voters to the four indictments filed against him last year essentially vindicated that boast; go figure that if they’re willing to indulge him in crimes, he might reasonably assume that they’re willing to indulge him in brazen sacrilege aimed at lining his pockets amid a cash crunch.

It’s a loyalty test, as practically everything in a cult of personality is. He’s testing their faith—in him, not in Christianity. And insofar as those two faiths conflict, he expects them to choose more wisely than the Frenches and Moores of the world have. Those who refuse will find the doorway to exile from the Republican Party that-a-way.

Hawking Bibles emblazoned with an American flag during an election season suggests he’s very confident about how they’ll choose.

I don’t blame him.
Nick Cattagio ("The True Faith" - sadly behind a paywall)

-----

Christians are under siege but must protect content that is pro-God. We love God, and we have to protect anything that is pro-God. We must defend God in the public square and not allow the media or the Left-wing groups to silence, censor, or discriminate against us.

(quote from the Trump endorsement of the God Bless The USA Bible)

I need to push back just a little bit against this... I am a Christian and I don't feel particularly "under siege". The same week this video was released (yes, Holy Week), I actually managed to share Scripture multiple times on Facebook. In an online group of friends (both Christian and non-Christian) counting down our favorite albums, I posted music videos from Common Hymnal, Steve Taylor, and Adam Again (all Christian artists) without nary a peep of protest. I drove without being stopped or hassled to church twice - once on Good Friday and again on Easter Sunday. In both of those services, the truth of Christ's crucifixion and resurrection were clearly taught and sung about. Here in my office where I'm typing this, I count eight Bibles and multiple commentaries in my line of vision.

I have not been silenced, censored, or discriminated against for my faith - well, except when the things I believed were true to Scripture and the character of Christ were attacked and undercut by [checks notes] other Christians.

-----

I wanted to come up with something wise and convicting to close this post with... I wanted to turn on my "pastor mojo" and finish with marching orders to my fellow followers of Christ.

But I'm tired. So tired of watching Biblical truth (and physical Bibles themselves) being used as props... by both political parties.

So, I once again leave you with this.

Pray always. Pray in the Spirit. Pray about everything in every way you know how! And keeping all this in mind, pray on behalf of God’s people. Keep on praying feverishly, and be on the lookout until evil has been stayed.

Ephesians 6:18 (VOICE)

Musical Theater, White Evangelicals & Politics

Over the years, my Grandma Jackson amassed a collection of Reader's Digest created record collections... including the one pictured here - a collection of Broadway standards. I have fond memories of sitting in the front room at her house, playing those records and listening to all of those songs over and over again... which might explain why I can sing "If They Asked Me, I Could Write a Book" from PAL JOEY even though I've never seen a production of the show.

Starting in late elementary school, I began appearing in musicals myself. I played Winthrop Paroo in THE MUSIC MAN, Schroeder in YOU'RE A GOOD MAN, CHARLIE BROWN, Lord Boxington in MY FAIR LADY, Pop in GYPSY, Ali Hakim in OKLAHOMA, and a secondary role whose name I can't remember in TWO GENTLEMEN OF VERONA. And I loved it, even though I didn't have a strong singing voice or any real dancing talent. (Let's be honest: when required, I could waltz or do a box step, but it required me to be muttering the count under my breath.)

In college, I was a theater major for a semester, even stage-managing a production of NO NO NANETTE... but more importantly, I discovered (thanks to friends) the wider catalog of musicals beyond the mid-century hit parade. I was intrigued by the theatricality of PIPPIN and CANDIDE and dove headfirst into the wonder that was BIG RIVER. I was mesmerized by the intricate (if darkly cynical) music of Stephen Sondheim. Of course, in the last few years I've come to deeply enjoy the music and artistry of HAMILTON... 

...but this post isn't really about my love of Broadway (even though I've never been to NYC). 

It's about politics. And white evangelicals.

Really.

It's the tale of two musicals. (Apologies to Charles Dickens.)

In THE MUSIC MAN, Harold Hill is a traveling salesman who is, without question, a con artist. He sells band instruments, uniforms, and the dream of "Seventy-Six Trombones" to unsuspecting townspeople... then skips out with the money. Marian, the town librarian and piano teacher, falls in love with him even though she knows he's a fake. Though he could make a run for it, he chooses to stay and face the music because he has also fallen in love with her. (I'll leave the wonderful coda to the story hidden for those of you who need to go immediately and watch the glorious movie adaption starring Robert Preston and Shirley Jones.)

I've come to believe that many white evangelicals had a similar view of Donald Trump back in 2016. They knew he was a con man, a flim flam artist, but they figured that his willingness to spend time with certain evangelical leaders would cause him not only to appoint conservative judges but also to take faith in Christ more seriously than he did with quotes like "I don't like to ask for forgiveness" and "two Corinthians". 

Yes, I realize that I'm over-simplifying this... bear with me for a minute.

In GREASE (a musical I really don't enjoy), Danny Zuko is a bad boy who's actually a nice guy when he's not around his gang of knuckleheads. His summer romance with Sandy is challenged when she ends up being the new girl at his high school... and comic hijinks and romantic plot twists ensue. And singing. Lots of singing.

Anyway, one of the key elements of GREASE is how it turns the classic "women tamed the West" trope on its head, as Sandy chooses to become a bad boy's dream girl to win him back. 

Which is similar to what has happened to white evangelicals in response to the craziness of the last four+ years. Rather than "the love of a good woman" changing the "unrepentant man" into a hero, the flim flam artist got a huge chunk of white evangelicals to figuratively dress themselves up like Olivia Newton-John in the final minutes of the film version of GREASE. ("Tell me about it, stud.")

I am a conservative white evangelical - though, as many of you have read, not a supporter of the former President or the current lemming-like bent of the Republican Party. My prayer is that we who claim Christ would have "A Brand New Day" (sly reference to THE WIZ) where our primary loyalty is not to a political party, not to a media-driven narrative of fear; and not to a guy with a spray tan whose trail of failed marriages & businesses should have made clear (similar to the song he often quotes) what kind of snake we were electing. 

To bring the metaphor back around, it's as if we lost our collective minds and decided that the best thing for the cause of Jesus was to throw our support behind a mixture of Mama Rose, Mrs. Lovett, Max Bialystock, and Jud Fry. Which makes the musical we've been writing look more like a Sondheim story than Jimmy Cagney in YANKEE DOODLE DANDY.

Now the practices of the sinful nature are clearly evident: they are sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality (total irresponsibility, lack of self-control), idolatry, sorcery, hostility, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions [that promote heresies], envy, drunkenness, riotous behavior, and other things like these. I warn you beforehand, just as I did previously, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit [the result of His presence within us] is love [unselfish concern for others], joy, [inner] peace, patience [not the ability to wait, but how we act while waiting], kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such things there is no law.

Galatians 5:19-23 AMP

Let's write a better story... one where the lead character is marked by the fruit of the Spirit rather than "fits of anger, disputes, dissensions" and "other things like these". Let's sing a better song, one that resonates with grace of the Bishop in the prologue to LES MISERABLES.

And let us live with your loyalties clear:

It’s not Godly to:

• Love a news outlet more than the good news of God’s Word.
• Love your American Citizenship more than your Heavenly Citizenship.
• Love your membership to a political party or church denomination more than your membership to the Church.

Rondell Treviño (Twitter: @Rondell_Trevino)

You Are Responsible for the News You Take In

As we close out this year, some thoughts on the way we process news stories... in hopes that we can move toward a world that reflects Zechariah 8:16-17 (AMP):

These are the things which you should do: speak the truth with one another; judge with truth and pronounce the judgment that brings peace in [the courts at] your gates. And let none of you devise or even imagine evil in your heart against another, and do not love lying or half-truths; for all these things I hate, declares the Lord.

BTW, the thoughts below apply regardless of political position or religious belief... 

-----

Every news outlet has a worldview. 

That's not actually a problem. Your job as a news consumer is to know their worldview and process the stories they report in light of those biases and loyalties. 

The words "breaking news" should remind you that this news story is being reported 'on the fly' and may have accuracy problems, even from the best news sources.

Quality reporting takes time. Hot takes do not. Don't put too much faith in early reporting. 

Headlines never tell the whole story.

Ever.

Headlines in our Internet-based news world are designed to grab eyeballs and clicks... and not to inform you about what actually happened or give context that helps clarify the level of importance of that news. 

Quality journalism may not have an exciting picture attached to it.

It's hard to tell an important story about economic conditions or political gamesmanship - nothing is on fire and there's not a chalk outline of a body. That means you should not judge the significance of a story if it doesn't have "on the scene" video or a stunning picture.

Everybody takes good & bad photos... using the ugliest pictures of people possible is a cheap way to signal your bias.

"You can't judge a book by its cover"... nor can you judge the soundness of an idea or the content of a speech by the unflattering picture of the person advancing those ideas.

There is a profound gap between news organizations reporting the same facts with different interpretations... and dismissing or hiding facts in order to bolster their particular point of view.

This means you need to intake news from a variety of sources in order to spot those holes... and refrain from discounting news just because the news source has a different worldview from your own.

Punditry is not news. 

Many outlets do not properly label editorial content as such - make sure you're paying attention. Don't trust pundits as news sources.

Memes are not news.

They lack context and are primarily intended to signal other individuals of a "tribe" that the individual posting them is part of the group - mostly by dunking on "the other side". Don't trust them as news sources.

Quality journalism is going to challenge you.

And that's a good thing. As a follower of Jesus, I need to welcome truth, even when it's difficult. 

Final Thoughts

• Just because you like what a particular news source reports doesn't make it true.
• Just because you hate what a particular news source reports doesn't make it a lie.
• Just because you want a news story to be true doesn't make it true.
• Just because you long for a news story to be false doesn't make it a lie.

Classic: Fred, Lionel & Erwin: The "Royal Wedding" Syndrome

This classic blog post seems especially applicable here in 2020... so I wanted to make it more visible (and do some slight editing).

I want to add a warning to the beginning of this post... more than usual for me, this is a William Faulkner-esque stream of consciousness kind of mash-up. You may not catch all the references (that's OK) but try and follow the thread of my idea(s). If you can't, it's not your fault but mine.

First, you need to watch this video.

The Secret of the Ceiling Dance by bluebird1111

For those of you who are children of the 80's - no, Lionel Ritchie was not the first performer to be "Dancin' on the Ceiling." 

No offense to Mr. "Running With the Night" (a good Lionel song, btw, as opposed to the utter inanity of "Say You, Say Me"), but Fred's a lot more graceful than you are.

This amazing effect was accomplished by building a set inside a huge wheel - then gluing or nailing down every piece of furniture & decoration on the set so that it wouldn't move when it was rotated. Pretty impressive stuff, eh?!

Second, you need to read this definition from
The Very Best of British:

Momentarily - As you come into land at an American airport and the announcement says that you will be landing momentarily, look around to see if anyone is sniggering. That will be the Brits! I never did figure out why they say this. Momentarily to us means that something will only happen for an instant - a very short space of time. So if the plane lands momentarily will there be enough time for anyone to get off? Weird!

In a similar vein, I once told 4 year old Collin (my now 15 year old son) that I needed to break him of a bad habit that he had. Tears welled up in his eyes as he said, "Dad, don't break me." Now you're properly prepared for the rest of this post.

I was studying & reading yesterday for my message/talk/sermon (pick your favorite - "long-winded diatribe" is NOT one of the choices) and began searching for an Erwin McManus quote. Thanks to the joys of Googling, I not only managed to uncover some great quotes, I also found a group of individuals who are very angry with Erwin and have spend an amazing amount of time writing about it.

Now, I'm a part of the online community of boardgame players/collectors, so I've seen obsessive behavior before - the "Eurosnoot vs Ameritrash" argument (don't ask - it's just as stupid as it sounds) chewed up great swaths of bandwidth & emotional energy while generating more heat than light. The Erwin haters, my friends, are some pretty obsessed folks... they'd fit nicely into a discussion of whether Go or Chess is the "deeper" game.

I'm not going to get into a detailed analysis of their problems with Erwin (a pastor & writer who I admire deeply) - that's not really the point today. I will suggest, however, that there are two possible syndromes that explain this behavior:

1. The "Royal Wedding" Syndrome - lots of folks want their Christianity and/or religion tied up in neat little packages with no rough edges and no sense of mystery. They want everything nailed or glued down so that no matter what happens, they know the rules. These are the folks who deeply love conferences with printed notebooks filled with outlines & sermons with subjects like "7 Easy Steps to a Great Marriage." These same people are flustered (and maybe even a bit angry) at God for not specifically speaking to every potential hot button issue in Scriptures... and since He didn't, they'll do it for Him and pull out proof texts to bolster their point. Erwin, with his artist/philosopher background, is never going to speak their language.
2. The "British English/American English" Syndrome - speaking of language, the fact that Erwin & the folks at his church (Mosaic) are willing to use terminology not often heard in church to describe Biblical truths is like waving a red cape in front of a bull. Erwin says: "The greatest enemy to the movement of Jesus Christ is Christianity." What I hear is "Christianity as a religious institution has stifled & attempted to channel the power of Jesus Christ in order to reach worldly objectives. Erwin wants to send people back to power & grace & love of Jesus Christ." What they hear is "Erwin wants people to not be Christians but 'spiritual people' who believe anything & everything."

Combine those two impulses with Erwin's love of confounding expectations with his speaking/teaching & you've got the recipe for obsessive website building & the same lovely behavior that Stephen faced in Acts 7:57-58 (NLT):

Then they put their hands over their ears and began shouting. They rushed at him and dragged him out of the city and began to stone him.

I'm not suggesting that anyone is headed to Erwin's house for a drive-by stoning... just that the same kind of "stick my fingers in my ears & attack" tendency seems to be present here.

Now, I'm not finished yet. It's one thing when folks have "Royal Wedding" Syndrome over an author. It's another thing when they do it with their lives.

I'm convinced that many of us (and I include myself here) want for everything in our lives to be nailed down solid... so that when life sends us spinning, we can dance on the ceiling without a care. Nothing will be broken, nothing will change... and when our life rights itself, when it returns to "normal", everything will be exactly where we put it.

But an unexpected death or being laid off or your daughter getting pregnant or the onset of depression or a hundred other things quickly end that illusion. When the room of your life begins to turn, nothing stays still. Things crash to the floor and you're reduced to hanging on for dear life. No magical dancing through a wonderland secured by roofing nails & wood glue for you.

As I've been mulling this over, I realized that I'm trusting the adhesives & the hardware to hold my life together - my plans, my nest egg, my house, my possessions, my job - rather than trusting Jesus with all of that stuff... and with me. I want those things to get locked in place because I think that I can hold onto them when trouble starts.

I'm not suggesting that you live in your car or pull a St. Francis & strip yourself naked. I am suggesting that trusting in any of this stuff is foolish - because it doesn't have the strength to support you when life gets rough.

The challenge is (to quote the Southern-fried rock band, 38 Special) to "hold on loosely." And we can do that because Jesus promises to "hold on tightly" to us.

Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you."

Take a look at that passage (Hebrews 13:5-6) in the Amplified Version... talk about making the point clear!

He [God] Himself has said, I will not in any way fail you nor give you up nor leave you without support. [I will] not, [I will] not, [I will] not in any degree leave you helpless nor forsake nor let [you] down (relax My hold on you)! [Assuredly not!] So we take comfort and are encouraged and confidently and boldly say, The Lord is my Helper; I will not be seized with alarm [I will not fear or dread or be terrified].

One last question for thought: what if the stuff in our lives getting moved around and/or broken is a good thing? 

I'm Not Dead Yet

OK, so the blog's been in hibernation for a while... suffice it to say that my life has been complicated, my job (though financially a blessing) is a time sink, and I've been using precious blogging time to actually play board games.

I'm going to try and get going again - though I will warn you ahead of time that there could be dry spells through the early fall. 

If you have a question for me to answer - it can be personal, spiritual, weird or just hobby-related - leave it in the comments section. I'll see if that doesn't inspire some more interesting (and offbeat) posts.

 Recent & Recommended

• APP - Descent: Road to Legend (app for the iPad that works with your Descent: Journeys in the Dark 2.0 games & expansions to create a GREAT cooperative experience)
• BOARD GAME - 7 Wonders: Duel (fantastic re-imagining of a multi-player classic as a 2 player game... can't wait for the expansion!)
• BOOK - The Aeronaut's Windlass (first book in Jim Butcher's newest series... steampunk-y and creative)
• CARD GAME - Bear Valley (weird little racing game that is easy to teach and fun to play... a run through bear-infested wilderness)
• MOVIE - Captain America: Civil War (all the ways it could have gone wrong... and it didn't)
• MUSIC - Andrew Peterson: The Burning Edge of Dawn ("The Rain Keeps Falling" is the song of my heart some days)
• PODCAST - Revisionist History (Malcolm Gladwell + odd bits of history + musing on human behavior)
• TV - Limitless (it's on Netflix... and it's cheerfully wacky)

Yet Another Reason to Go To Germany... Besides the Games

A complete time-waster... but an awesome use of Google Maps. You can explore Minatur Wunderland to your heart's content with 360-view pictures.

Click HERE to see the Google Map amazing-ness.

Dang, I want to go see this in person. 

My Top Five Podcasts (Which Could Change)

Let's start with a few simple statements of fact/personal opinion:

1. Podcasts are wonderful because I can listen to them in the car on my commute.
2. I have no interest in watching a podcast. Internet video as a review/podcast medium is pretty much lost on me.
3. I've actually gotten bored with most board gaming podcasts. 

That said, here's the top five podcasts on my iPhone (in order of how excited I am to listen to them):

• Pop Culture Happy Hour - I have not been shy over the years about expressing my love for the writing, humor & commentary of Linda Holmes, who is now runs the NPR pop culture blog, Monkey See. I first discovered her stuff on the (sadly) now-defunct Television Without Pity website where she recapped both Survivor and The Amazing Race. I'm not sure why it took me so long to add this roundtable discussion of music, film, books & television to my list, but I'm hooked by the witty conversation, the exuberant geekiness, and the "kicky theme music".
• The Unofficial Guide's Disney Dish with Jim Hill - The titular Jim Hill is great - and his co-host (Unofficial Guide's Len Testa) makes a perfect foil as they delve into Disney theme park plans, history and general craziness. For my money, the best of the Disney podcasts out there.
• Serial - I've written about Serial before... and goodness knows, the Internet has weighed in over & over about this podcast. During the first season, I downloaded the podcasts the MINUTE they were available and listened as soon as I could... it's a fascinating & evocative way to report on a huge story. Season 2 is coming...
• BoardgamesToGo - Mark Johnson was one of the earliest podcasters... and certainly one of the earliest board gaming podcasters. His wry yet warm & endearing approach to talking about our shared hobby is a delight to listen to. (Note: I've been a guest a number of times on the podcast and consider Mark a good friend*, so I may be a little prejudiced here.) Mark is currently taking a sabbatical from podcasting - but you've got a great back catalog to listen to while he's having a well-deserved "vacation". 
• Stuff You Missed In History Class - It's quirky, it's short (30 minutes), and the two hosts feel your geeky history nerd friends who can't wait to share their most recent research with you. 

For the record, I also listen to (though much more sporadically):

• Boardgame Babylon (why no new episodes, Eriku?! why!?)
• Garrett's Games & Geekiness (another podcast I've been a guest on)
• Ludology
• On the Media
• Theology of Games
• This American Life

I'm curious if my loyal readers have any suggestions for podcasts for me to add. What say you?

* Mark Johnson & I are often confused for one another - similar names, similar facial hair, same hobby. Here's how you can tell us apart:

• if you see us together, he's the tall one
• if you see one of us playing a fantasy-themed game, it's me
• if you see one of us working on actual science-y stuff, it's Mark Johnson

The Lidless Eye

When you stare into the abyss the abyss stares back at you. (Friedrich Nietzsche)

Sometimes, my best blog post/sermon ideas come to me while I'm in the shower. I'm not sure that what follows is one of those - but it did occur to me while I was trying to get shampoo out of my rapidly thinning hair, so I guess that's gotta count for something. Right?

The title of the post comes from The Lord of the Rings (which we can also blame for Dungeons & Dragons, large chunks of prog rock, and Peter Jackson's remake of "King Kong")... it's one of the names of the "big bad", Sauron. More importantly for my purposes, it's a phrase that seems to aptly describe the new realities of television in a world full of smartphones and massive amounts of bandwidth.

Between the 24 hour news cycle and the ability to stream content at will, we live in a world where the lidless eye is (as the name would suggest) always open. Scarier still is the fact that the lidless eye truly peers at us without blinking... with our television sets hooked up to DVR boxes and our iPhones harvesting a couple of Santa's worth of cookies, we are feeding information about ourselves, our habits and our tastes into the voracious maw of a variety of companies & entities.

Now, I'm not here to advocate dropping off the grid or even exiling your TV to the junkyard. We are not going to be able to put the genie back in the bottle... and, while I'm pretty much over pop-ads and 95% of the videos on YouTube, I don't ever want to go back to watching TV without a DVR. What do I want to suggest that this lidless eye reality has a profound effect on how we "do church" and/or "walk with Jesus".

We have, I think, a trio of options when attempting to speak "capital T" Truth into the lives of those around us:

1. We can attempt to out-shout & out-sensationalize the culture. We can be flashier, bigger & louder.
2. We can run away & hide. We can demonize the culture & the technology that carries it into our lives.
3. We can be the voice of reason & faith. We can engage the culture with wit, wisdom & the heart of Jesus.

If you've read this blog before, you've already figured out that I'm a big fan of #3. 

Quickie Applications (for church leaders):

1.  Bigger/louder isn't necessarily bad - there are times when we need to attract attention to the truth. When our volume is always goes to "11", however, it's easier for people - both Christian & non-Christian - to tune us out.
2. There are times for contemplative retreat & silence - but walling ourselves off from the culture means that we will cease to be "salt & light" (Matthew 5:13-16) to a world around us who needs to hear & experience the love & grace of Jesus Christ.
3. Engaging the culture is not an event - it's a lifestyle that has to be modeled and taught.

Quickie Applications (for Christians in general):

1. You don't have to shout, literally or metaphorically. You don't have to win every argument. Not every theologically questionable statement needs you to bump/set/spike it back in their virtual faces with a Bible verse and and an alliterative cliche. 
2. You need to listen to people who you don't agree with - whether it's politics, theology, philosophy, culturally.. or if you just think they're wrong about their taste in music. The only way we get a chance to speak truth in a way that will be heard is to listen first. You don't have agree with their pseudo-Gnostic beliefs, their love for Coldplay and/or support the politician they campaigned for... but you do have to treat them with respect.
3. Engaging the culture is not an event - it's a lifestyle that has to be chosen & prayerfully lived out.

I've written about this subject before... you may be interested in reading:

• Richard Niebhur, John Travolta & Martin Luther King
• Diving Beneath the Surface
• Open Mic: The New World Slang

Merry Holidays! Happy Christmas! (Classic)

And here's the Christmas classic from 2011... it's the fourth year I've posted it and it's still (sigh) necessary to do it again.

We all get "those emails" - you know, the ones where you are instructed to either pass the message on or forward it to five friends or whatever. (I've sounded off on this before here on the blog - go back & read my post, Forward Christian Soldiers.)  

And I got another one today.

I will be making a conscious effort to wish everyone a Merry Christmas this year ... My way of saying that I am celebrating the birth Of Jesus Christ. So I am asking my email buddies, if you agree with me, to please do the same. And if you'll pass this on to your email buddies, and so on... maybe we can prevent one more American tradition from being lost in the sea of "Political Correctness".

You may sit now, as I did, for a moment of stunned silence at this bit of ridiculousness. OK, silent time is over. Elton Trueblood once said:

“There are those places in ministry and theology that you must draw the line and fight and die; just don’t draw the lines in stupid places!”

Here are three reasons that the above email (and the philosophy behind it) are clearly one of those stupid places:

1. Please, please, please... any time you are tempted to use the phrases "celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ" and "American tradition" in the same sentence, you should use some of that cutesy holiday-themed scotch tape to shut your mouth. The celebration of Christ's birth is NOT an American tradition - it's a Christian tradition... and being an American doesn't make you a Christian, any more than walking into McDonald's makes you a hamburger. (Credit to Keith Green for that analogy.)
2. "Happy Holidays" is not a frontal attack on Christianity... it's an attempt by people (and businesses) to be inoffensive in a season in which there are two major religious holidays (one Christian & one Jewish), one cultural holiday (Kwanzaa), and New Years Day as well.
3. A methodological problem: email forwards and Facebook status updates tend to go to people who already agree with you - meaning you've created feedback loop of people who become belligerent about the way they wish people "Merry Christmas" because they're sure that everyone who doesn't do the same is opposed to all that is good & right in the world.

I'm not telling you to stop saying "Merry Christmas" - in the words of Reggie McNeal, "Don't hear what I'm not saying." Go right ahead & wish people "Merry Christmas"... you are celebrating the birth of Christ in this season. The sincere hope of those who are followers of Jesus is that more people would discover that for themselves.

However, I do want to give you a few tips in how to fulfill the command of Scripture while you're spreading holiday cheer:

1. Stop correcting salespeople who are obligated - in order to keep their job! - to say "Happy Holidays". It's not their fault. And arguing with them or chiding them is not going to bring anyone closer to embracing the true meaning of Christmas.
2. When you say "Merry Christmas", make sure you sound like Bob Crachit rather than Ebenezer Scrooge. Seriously, there are some folks out there who spit the traditional greeting at people like it's a bullet aimed straight at their pitiful heathen hearts. If you can't wish someone "Merry Christmas" with a heart filled with Christlike love, then don't say anything at all.
3. Remember that the (gosh, I hate this cliche) "reason for the season" is Jesus Christ... not the preservation of tradition or winning the "War on Christmas". The Incarnation is about God clearly & completely expressing His love for us - Immanuel means "God with us". When we are just working to accomplish a cultural agenda, we are communicating the exact opposite message... what we're saying is "if you don't accept my particular way of celebration & the theological beliefs that go along with it, I'll simply stuff it down your throat."

And, since I was a pastor, a Scripture to prove my point:

Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone. (Colossian 4:5-6, NIV)

BTW, Merry Christmas!

Wrong Anthem, By Gum (Classic)

A company selling Wrigley's gum wanted music for a commercial in Russia. It went to an English company, and bought a catchy tune. The commercials aired in Moscow, until the Chinese embassy called to ask why the Chinese national anthem was used to sell gum. The company calls it a "misunderstanding."NPR's Morning Edition, January 16, 2007

Whoops.

When I heard this story, I laughed... then I started thinking. (Yes, thinking. I occasionally do that.) How often do we in the Christian church do exactly what Wrigley's did?

You can go two ways with this:

1. Churches have a tendency to go buy the latest program/curriculum/40 Day experience/whatever, expecting since it worked for Churches X, Y, & Z that it will work for them.
2. Churches have a tendency to be completely tone-deaf when it comes to reaching the community around them. We have lived so long in our "Christian bubble" that we don't realize what we sound like to people on the outside.

Either way, it's worth spending some time mulling this one over. First, the church applications:

1. Is my church spending time, energy & cash looking for the "next big thing" that will make us grow & "be cool"... or are we asking God "what's next"?
2. Is my church really listening to our friends in our community who don't go to church & trying to hear what they hear when they listen to Christians?

And then, the personal applications:

1. Am I looking for "the next big thing" to fix my problems, my ills, my hurts? Do I want a "magic bullet" to make all my garbage go "poof"... or do I want Jesus? (These are NOT the same thing.)
2. Am I really listening to the people around me who don't know Jesus... or am I simply reciting the lines I learned in Sunday School? Am I having real conversations about truth & grace & life... or am I simply trying to get them to sign on the dotted line?

Maybe I shouldn't listen to NPR so much - it makes me ask too many questions.

Another classic Grapevine article that was written back in early 2007... slightly edited for my readership.

Serial

I've always enjoyed the radio show This American Life - but I seldom get to listen to it due to when it airs on our local NPR station.

Note: this is the part where I admit I'm an idiot for not considering that This American Life would also be in podcast form until about 3 months ago. All those years, wasted. Sigh.

Anyway, I now listen to This American Life each Monday on the way to & from work, thanks to the magic of iTunes. Also, I'm enough of a fanboy to think it was cool that Ira Glass & the staff were in the Veronica Mars movie.

So when they started teasing that they had a new podcast-only show coming called Serial, I was curious. And when they took an entire TAL episode to give us the first episode of Serial...

...I was hooked.

Let's start with the "official" description of what Serial is...

Serial is a new podcast from the creators of This American Life, hosted by Sarah Koenig. Serial will follow one story - a true story - over the course of a whole season. We'll follow the plot and characters wherever they take us and we won’t know what happens at the end of the story until we get there, not long before you get there with us. Each week we'll bring you the latest chapter, so it's important to listen in order, starting with Episode 1.

Which, I'll admit, sounds a little dry. Until you realize that the first story they're exploring is this:

On January 13, 1999, a girl named Hae Min Lee, a senior at Woodlawn High School in Baltimore County, Maryland, disappeared. A month later, her body turned up in a city park. She'd been strangled. Her 17-year-old ex-boyfriend, Adnan Syed, was arrested for the crime, and within a year, he was convicted and sentenced to spend the rest of his life in prison. The case against him was largely based on the story of one witness, Adnan’s friend Jay, who testified that he helped Adnan bury Hae's body. But Adnan has always maintained he had nothing to do with Hae’s death. Some people believe he’s telling the truth. Many others don’t. 

Sarah Koenig, who hosts Serial, first learned about this case more than a year ago. In the months since, she's been sorting through box after box (after box) of legal documents and investigators' notes, listening to trial testimony and police interrogations, and talking to everyone she can find who remembers what happened between Adnan Syed and Hae Min Lee fifteen years ago. What she realized is that the trial covered up a far more complicated story, which neither the jury nor the public got to hear. The high school scene, the shifting statements to police, the prejudices, the sketchy alibis, the scant forensic evidence - all of it leads back to the most basic questions: How can you know a person’s character? How can you tell what they’re capable of? In Season One of Serial, she looks for answers.

It's a real-life murder mystery - with all the confusing turns, dead-ends, questions & a-ha moments that make it both fascinating & frustrating... and absolutely riveting listening. I can't recommend it highly enough.

You can download episodes each Thursday on iTunes... and you should start from the beginning. (Episode 5 released yesterday.) Other information (maps, photos, letters, etc.) related to the story are available on the Serial website.

Note: the language & subject matter is occasionally non-family-friendly, as befits a murder mystery.

The Beautiful Game(s)

In honor of the USA vs. Belgium later today (go USA!), I bring you a hybrid classic post. That's right, it's the merging of two posts into one sprawling mess of a single post!

Soccer was the first sport I ever felt semi-competent at as a kid... which probably has a lot to do with my enjoyment of the game, particularly played at World Cup level. It's the only sport I've ever "officially" coached. (Note: I coached Under 6 soccer, which is kind of like saying, "I herded cats while they played with a white ball & got distracted by their surroundings.")

I'm not a great soccer player - I don't have the stamina, the coordination or the willingness to practice to get better in those areas. I can handle the ball & can "see the field," which means I was (once upon a time) a passable midfielder. (And by "passable midfielder", I mean "I was slightly better than having no one playing the position... but only by a small amount".)

Soccer, by the way, is probably the easiest of the team sports to teach to young kids. While I enjoy watching the royal mess that is T-Ball, those kids have no idea what they're doing and/or why. But as long as you can sling up two goals, mark the edges of the field & get a decent ball on the ground, you can play soccer. (You may not play it well, but you can play.)

All of this is introduction to my "real" topic, soccer board games. There are a LOT of soccer board games available (Tony A over on BGG has an excellent Geeklist entitled Kick Off & Goal! that contains 50+ of them)... and I've only played 5-6 of them. That won't stop me, of course, from commenting on them.

Soccer Tactics

This is a dice-based game which is played in real time (stopwatch included) and has a nice fluidity to the game (once you get past the tik-takky stuff in the rules). It has a bad reputation due to [a] a ill-conceived design choice to put the scoring spinner in the middle of the board (which has been solved by the addition of a scoring die), and [b] by the less-than-congenial relationship that the company has had with BGG.

The game usually runs a little long... so it didn't hit the table often enough to justify hanging onto it and was traded away in the Great Game Purge of 2013. I'd still be happy to play it - but I no longer have a copy.

Finale

Finale was only published in German in the 2-player Kosmos line... and as far as I can tell, is very much out of print. It borrows the rotating card mechanic from the Settlers of Catan Card Game combined with a set of tactics cards to create a pretty nice simulation of coaching a soccer team. Fouls & injuries are a little too common, though.

The problem with the game is that it's a tad fiddly, what with all the marking & turning of player cards. I've got my copy up for trade, but I like it enough that it would take a really good offer for me to part with it. It even managed to survive the Purge - but i'm thinking that mostly due to lack of interest.

Streetsoccer

This is a backgammon-ish 5-on-5 soccer game that plays quickly (25 turns) is incredibly simple to learn. Don't let that fool you - the folks who are good at the game are REALLY good at the game.(You can play online.)

It doesn't so much simulate soccer (like Pursue the Pennant attempts to simulate baseball)... instead, it uses a simple dice-based mechanic to simulate the feel of a soccer game - and does so brilliantly. In fact, it's not only my favorite soccer game, it's one of my favorite games, period.

Like playing backgammon, winning at Streetsoccer is as much about the position you leave yourself in as well as pushing hard to score. 

Here's two other soccer games:

• Subbuteo - A very cool flicking game that has a RABID following. Someday, I'll trade somebody for a couple of teams so I can play it when I want to...
• Lego Soccer - I have 3 different sets thrown together, so I can make a pretty large field. Sadly, it's cooler in theory than it is in actual play... but, hey, it's Lego!

Sadly, I have never played The World Cup Game... something I aim to remedy this year. I'd also love to try Würfel Kick (from one of my favorite designers, Wolfgang Riedesser.)