An Old City Bar

Yesterday Brian filled the church in on our future direction. I hope to have a podcast up by this evening but I was running into some problems yesterday with my software. And for some reason I have a Christmas song stuck in my head today (at least that’s better than the Father Abraham I had stuck in my head yesterday — thanks to Scott).
It’s not a traditional song by any means. It’s from the Trans Siberian Orchestra. But as I read over the lyrics again I thought it was very fitting for the direction I believe our church is heading…

“Old City Bar”

In an old city bar
That is never too far
From the places that gather
The dreams that have been

In the safety of night
With its old neon light
It beckons to strangers
And they always come in

And the snow it was falling
The neon was calling
The music was low
And the night
Christmas Eve

And here was the danger
That even with strangers
Inside of this night
It’s easier to believe

Then the door opened wide
And a child came inside
That no one in the bar
Had seen there before

And he asked did we know
That outside in the snow
That someone was lost
Standing outside our door

Then the bartender gazed
Through the smoke and the haze
Through the window and ice
To a corner streetlight

Where standing alone
By a broken pay phone
Was a girl the child said
Could no longer get home

And the snow it was falling
The neon was calling
The bartender turned
And said, not that I care
But how would you know this?
The child said I’ve noticed
If one could be home
They’d be all ready there

Then the bartender came out from behind the bar
And in all of his life he was never that far
And he did something else that he thought no one saw
When he took all the cash from the register draw

Then he followed the child to the girl cross the street
And we watched from the bar as they started to speak
Then he called for a cab and he said J.F.K.
Put the girl in the cab and the cab drove away
And we saw in his hand
That the cash was all gone
From the light that she had wished upon

If you want to arrange it
This world you can change it
If we could somehow make this
Christmas thing last

By helping a neighbor
Or even a stranger
And to know who needs help
You need only just ask

Then he looked for the child
But the child wasn’t there
Just the wind and the snow
Waltzing dreams through the air

So he walked back inside
Somehow different I think
For the rest of the night
No one paid for a drink

And the cynics will say
That some neighborhood kid
Wandered in on some bums
In the world where they hid

But they weren’t there
So they couldn’t see
By an old neon star
On that night, Christmas Eve

When the snow it was falling
The neon was calling
And in case you should wonder
In case you should care

Why we’re on our own
Never went home
On that night of all nights
We were already there

THEN ALL AT ONCE INSIDE THAT NIGHT
HE SAW IT ALL SO CLEAR
THE ANSWER THAT HE SOUGHT SO LONG
HAD ALWAYS BEEN SO NEAR

IT’S EVERY GIFT THAT SOMEONE GIVES
EXPECTING NOTHING BACK
IT’S EVERY KINDNESS THAT WE DO
EACH SIMPLE LITTLE ACT


I looked for someone to stand up for me against all this, to repair the defenses of the city, to take a stand for me and stand in the gap to protect this land so I wouldn’t have to destroy it. I couldn’t find anyone. Not one. – Ezekiel 22:30

What are you doing to change the world around you? Or are you simply waiting for the world to change?

My Savior Lives

The encounter band played this song Sunday. Never heard it before but I love it.

My Savior My God Aaron Shust lyrics
Artist: Aaron Shust
Album: Anything Worth Saying
Year: 2005

I am not skilled to understand
What God has willed, what God has planned
I only know at His right hand
Stands one who is my Savior

I take Him at his word and deed
Christ died to save me this I read
And in my heart I find a need
For Him to be my Savior

That He would leave his place on high
And come for sinful man to die
You count it strange, so once did I
Before I knew my Savior

My Savior loves, my Savior lives
My Savior’s always there for me
My God He was, my God He is
My God He’s always gonna be

Yes, living, dying; let me bring
My strength, my solace from this spring
That He who lives to be my King
Once died to be my Savior

That He would leave His place on high
And come for sinful man to die
You count it strange, so once did I
Before I knew my Savior

My Savior loves, my Savior lives
My Savior’s always there for me
My God He was, my God He is
My God He’s always gonna be

The media DID report it


I got an e-mail from a friend today about the Colt’s victory prayer after the Super Bowl. While I don’t think my friend meant any harm, there was a comment attached to the e-mail saying, “I DIDN’T SEE THIS ON THE NEWS – DID YOU??????”
A quick Google search shows that despite the e-mail’s comments, the event was reported in the media — USA Today to be exact.

After victory, Dungy and Colts pray before they party
MIAMI — Suddenly, in the middle of the celebration that had the locker room buzzing after the Indianapolis Colts’ Super Bowl XLI victory, Tony Dungy had an announcement.
They were not leaving Dolphin Stadium without one more piece of business.
A prayer.
Dungy had the TV cameras in the room shut off. The interviews with maybe a dozen reporters still lingering stopped. The pictures players were snapping of each other holding the Lombardi Trophy needed to wait.

It’s a cool story, worth sharing but just wanted to clear up the contridiction — someone found the picture through Getty Images (Bill Gates owned) or USA Today before they were able to mass e-mail it.

The News from Lake Wobegon

If you’re a Prairie Home Companion like myself you’re probably saddened anytime you miss a show or the News from Lake Wobegon. But have no fear, the news update is now available on podcast.
Awesome. The only thing I’ve found better than listening to NPR is listening to the podcasts when it fits my schedule. Now anytime I have 15-20 minutes I can catch up on the town where “all the women are strong, all the men are good looking, and all the children are above average.”
Get the podcast here
Thanks to Lifehacker for the tip.