You keep using that word

You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means. -Inigo Montoya

Leadership.

Authority.

Submission.

Success.

Failure.

Trust.

------

What looks like failure is success
And what looks like poverty is riches
When what is true looks more like a knife
It looks like you’re killing me
But you’re saving my life

What looks like weakness can do anything
And what looks like foolishness is understanding
When what is powerful has not come to fight
It looks like you’re going to war
But you lay down your life

Derek Webb, "What is Not Love"

Blog Action Day- Poverty

Poverty is so hard to see when it’s only on your TV, or 20 miles across town.

Where we’re all living so good we moved out of Jesus’ neighborhood
Where He’s hungry and not feeling so good from going through our trash.

He says “More than just your cash and coin I want your time, I want your voice,
I want the things you just can’t give me.”

So what must we do? Here in the West we want to follow you.
We speak the language and keep all the rules, even a few we made up.

So come on and follow me. Sell your house, sell your SUV,
Sell your stocks, sell your security, and give it to the poor.

"What is this, hey what’s the deal? I don’t sleep around and I don’t steal."
But I want the things you just can’t give me.

What you do to the least of these, my brothers, you have done it to me
I want the things you just can’t give me.

-Derek Webb, Rich Young Ruler

May we all do one thing today to be better to our brothers and sister in poverty.

We Come to You

This song has been floating around in my head for a while, and I love it for its simplicity and honesty.

As you came to us, we come to you,
Fragile as a baby hopeful and new
But learning fast that to walk is to fall
Soon we’ve done it all

We come broken, and we come undone
We come trying hard to love everyone
But we come up short in all that we do
Because we do,
We come to you

As you came to us, so we come to you
Dirty and hurting then dead in the tomb
But raised, redeemed, to show off the scars
‘Cause you’ve brought us this far

We come broken and we come undone
We come trying hard to love everyone
But we come up short in all that we do
Because we do
We come to you

You came to show the way not around, but through,
So through it all, we come to you

--Derek Webb

In related news, Caedmon's Call has come out with a new album, Overdressed, and guess who rejoined the collaboration (both singing and writing)? Derek Webb! Woo hoo! Go out and get it. It sounds great. I will when I have money to support my habit. :)

Moving Target

Oh my darlin’, you must be a moving target just like me.
They’ll call you right, they’ll call you left,
they’ll call you names of all your friends.

You never know what you’ll have to do.
Baby don’t let ‘em, don’t let ‘em put a name on you.

There’s no categories just long stories waiting to be heard.
Don’t be satisfied when someone sums you up with just one word.

Blindfold your heart and feel for a clue
Baby don’t let ‘em, don’t let ‘em put a name on you.

-- Derek Webb

This is a called "Name," song from The Ringing Bell, Derek Webb's new album (the sixth song if you flip through the book on the webpage). The song talks about the danger of thinking a one word descriptor is sufficient when talking about someone. Let's take the recent blog activity for example. :) Although there are probably people who've known me and/or read my blog for a while, they might find out my thoughts on women's roles and suddenly think I'm a "liberal" or a "feminist" or "heretic" or whatever and think they know what I believe about every other thing.

In an interview, Derek explains that he believes Jesus was a "moving target" of sorts... every time the Pharisees thought they had him figured out and tried to trap him, Jesus surprised them by not fitting the mold they created. I'd like to think I'm the same way. My goal is not to be an activist for the sake of fighting or wanting change for the sake of change, but to live a life glorifying to God and value people as God does. I hope you can see past the fact that you may initially disagree with me on something(s) and try to see that maybe I have a "story waiting to be heard."

Derek Webb Concert

As of tonight, I think my life has been taken to the next level. :) In case you haven't noticed, I happen to be a big fan of Derek Webb. Really, I'm a big fan. Big fan. :) I saw him once in concert before, back before I even knew his name. While he was in Caedmon's Call they came to OC for a concert. Anyhoo, tonight was the big night! He came back to OKC and I got to see him!!!

So yes, I drove through the monsoon and met my DW Buddy and it was AWESOME! :) Derek was singing at a local church as part of a workshop weekend to talk about, inspire, and celebrate art in the church. So the first half of the concert was actually a question and answer conversation with Derek about the importance of quality, honest art in Christian community and how Derek views his own artistic process. That was funny in itself, because he compared writing a song to a passionate make-out session. He says you know it's great when it's happening and when you finish you know want to do it again, but you really can't remember much about what actually happened. Yeah. :)


Then Derek played an acoustic set of some of his "classic" songs and a couple from his new CD, The Ringing Bell, which I have been bad to not promote on here! Although it physically debuts on May 1, if you pre-order online now, you can download it now, then receive the CD and a "graphic novel" by mail on May 1. I'm not sure what the graphic novel is about yet, but the CD is awesome. It's available in it's entirety streaming at www.TheRingingBell.com . Derek's CDs always have a prevailing theme... the church, social justice... this one is peace. Great songwriting, and this one is a rock album so it's not as "ballad"-y as the other albums. Anyway, it's great. Really, I'm not kidding. Rather than overwhelm you with why I love each song, I might just post about them as they move me over the next few weeks. The lyrics are available here.

Needless to say, I'm on a music high. :) By the way, the great photos are by Josh Kingcade.