How to Waste Your Theological Education

I posted an article yesterday from First Things online journal, saying it was like taking a seminary course. Well, here's a really good follow-up to that post:How to Waste Your Theological Education.

Amazing Grace - Guitar

Friday I posted my guitar arrangement of Amazing Grace recorded on my Taylor. Today, I wanted to post the same arrangement done on my Breedlove.

Click HERE to download.

Again, I recorded with the Roland Edirol (see below). This time, though, I had to hide in my bathroom at home to get away from all the noise!

Also, I converted this to WMA format, not MP3. I don't know what kind of difference that will make.

Enjoy.

The Death of Protestant America

If you've ever wished that you could go to seminary or take a seminary class, or just desired to know more about America, church history, the conflict between liberalism and Christianity, politics, etc., this article by Joseph Bottum at FIRST THINGS - an online journal of religion, culture, and public life - is for you.

It is lengthy and will put demands on your mind and time as it requires you to engage with the author, who is Catholic, and no doubt has an agenda (who doesn't?). But it is well worth time away from the TV, X-Box, Facebook, or whatever suits your technological fancy.

YouTube - Guitarist Tony Melendez

This is amazing and inspiring. Do your soul some good - use the next 6 minutes to watch this video.

HT: Alicia Davis, Facebook

Amazing Grace

Click here to hear my arrangement of Amazing Grace.

I played my Taylor 814CE on this recording, which caused me to fumble through it in a couple of places. I arranged the song for a funeral recently on my Breedlove guitar, which has a better string placement and action for fingerstyle playing. I didn't think there was such a drastic difference until I tried playing the song on both guitars.

For the recording I used Roland's Edirol personal stereo recorder. It is an amazing little 24-bit Wave/MP3 recorder that has been very handy. In this recording, a computer with a decent sound system can reveal the low end of the Taylor. The Breedlove's bottom end is much better and more present, but the Edirol captured what bass my Taylor could produce.

I played about a foot away from the Edirol.

NB: The original recording was over 10Megs. Box.net won't allow for uploads over that amount, so I had to convert the original recording to a much smaller size file, which decreased the quality.

God is an American

Hopefully, the above blog title will spike your interest enough to read this article by Richard John Neuhaus in his online journal FIRST THINGS.

Problem of Evil

On the heels of the discussion with the presidential candidates about evil (see transcripts 2 and 5 from Rick Warren's online newsroom), a good dialogue on the problem of evil can be found with my former professor at Between Two Worlds: Interview with John Frame on the Problem of Evil.
















HT: New City Pres Blog - Tullian Tchividjian

Library Thing

I have a ton of books and need a way to categorize and catalog them. Like a million other things, I figured I could Google my way to a solution - and I did. It's called LibraryThing. Check mine out.

Obama & McCain w/ Rick Warren Tonight

Saddleback Civil Forum

NPR

YouTube - Bob Kauflin: Why Christians Sing

Even if you don't have a good voice, if you are a Christian, you have a song.

Abby's first day at school

Off to school!!!

Home from school!!!

A very proud Dad!!!!

What I Learned from Leading WorshipGod08 | Worship Matters

I wasn't able to attend the WorshipGod08 Conference, but one thing Bob Kauflin says in his recap struck me as something I'll want to remember and remind others during worship:

...the Holy Spirit doesn’t leave the room when we make mistakes.

A Day in the Pool - Pix

Well, with Momma gone, what else am I gonna do with the kids?? After a wonderful date with Abby this morning, Suz left for Hiawassee, Ga (which meant she got to drive the Tail of the Dragon for the first time - oh yeah!). Below are some snap shots of my merry memory-making moments with my munchkins.

Note: I don't have a really great camera; just a Canon PowerShot S3 IS. However, it always performs well in the sun (what camera doesn't?). I particularly like the camera because it has some weight to it - it feels less like a tin can and more like a real camera. Click on individual pics to see them in the best quality.







Now this next selection I find funny. We always think B is going to be an engineer. He's always trying to figure out things. However, he doesn't seem to get the water gun. But, as the last pic shows, he ain't too worried about it.

Steven Curtis Chapman on Larry King tonight

Steven Curtis Chapman will be on Larry King Live tonight, 9 PM EST, taking calls and talking about the recent loss of their 5-yr old adopted daughter, Maria, and the impact it has had on their faith.

Here's a video from ABC's Good Morning America, aired yesterday morning. It is a must watch, especially for daddy's like me...

CSPC Music Academy

I'm proud to announce that we are opening a music academy this coming school year. Please click here for details.