There is something very surreal about paying to see a pastor speak. Some of the more cynical folks out there feel that way about church in general, but I’m speaking specifically about paying Ticket Master the equivalent of a Maroon 5 fare to sit and listen to Rob Bell teach. My wife and I are getting stoked about driving down to Orlando’s Hard Rock Live next month for Rob’s “The God’s Aren’t Angry” tour.

For the record, this isn’t a new feeling for us. Last year, we traveled to Jacksonville to hear him speak on his “Everything Is Spiritual” tour, which will soon be released on DVD. That night, we sat on the edge of our seats through 2 hours of very intense teaching. The DVD will be shorter, but I’m sure the editors know what they’re doing. If it had been up to me, I would have taken a 30 minute break to hit up Burger King and then come back for another 2 hours of teaching.

For the past four years, I have listened to the messages delivered at Mars Hill Bible Church. I’ve tried to get the messages prior to Week 205 01.05.03 The Land of Between by Jeff Manion. No such luck. I called and was told that they are “on tape and need to be digitized.” I’m about ready to drive up there and volunteer, assuming nobody can lead me to a copy online. I’m willing to pay, folks! I’d especially like to get a copy of the very first year’s study of Leviticus, crazy as that sounds.

Many of you listen to sermon podcasts. Maybe even Jeff Manion’s over at Ada Bible Church. Who’s your favorite?

Please overlook the fact that I haven’t posted anything lately. There is a reason for that, but I’m not ready to go there yet.

Anyhow, I was reading an article in Fast Company magazine yesterday (they have a blog too, by the way) about how certain leaders believe that their abilities are genetic while others believe that they are learned. The interesting thing about this is that each leader approached failure and success different ways depending on their perception of nurture vs. nature.

The author makes a very interesting point: many of us say things like “I just don’t have artistic ability” when facing a canvas, but none of us has ever said “I just don’t have riding ability” when facing a bike. The difference is in the trying.
Being a musician myself, I have spent my life surrounded by “can” people on one side and the “can’t” people on the other. The “can” people often compete to be better than me (which isn’t very hard) and the “can’t” people are in awe of what I do. In the middle, by the way, are the posers, a term used when I was in high school in the 1990’s to describe the people that dress like a skater, talk like a skater and hang with skaters but have no skills on a skateboard whatsoever. Like most of the folks that shop at PacSun, but I digress.

Ever heard this joke? What do you call someone that speaks many languages? Multilingual. What do you call someone that speaks two languages? Bilingual. What do you call someone that speaks one language? An American.

I’ve been a “can’t” person when it comes to learning a foreign language. That needs to change. My wife and I are making a trip to Europe in March 2008 for medical reasons (more on that later) and I wish that I had been more studious with learning Spanish, French, Polish, German, or anything I could use over there. I’m thirty, so I’ve lived long enough to have whole years where I didn’t finish a novel, much less read with the intent of learning something. I got Rosetta Stone’s Spanish I and II 5 years ago and it has gathered dust on the shelf. Pity.

I’m reminded of one of the greatest story of focus, albeit one bent on revenge, in the book/movie The Count of Monte-Cristo. Simply put, if your butt was stuck somewhere like prison or a boating off coast for a long time, wouldn’t that be a great time to invest your mind in something that would better you as a person? Shouldn’t our prison systems be buying more books than weights?

We let huge blocks of time go by where we struggle with the routine and mundane and call it life. I’ve entered a stage of life where I’m more interested in jumping into the unknown, coloring outside the lines and swinging through the air without a net. Call me crazy, but….okay, I’m crazy. Despite my years in the U.S. Army jumping out of perfectly good airplanes as a parachute rigger, I’m not a thrill seeker. I just believe that God gave me a wild heart that I’ve tried to tame unsuccessfully. I’ve been more than a little unsettled since reading Richard Branson’s book, Losing My Virginity: How I’ve Survived, Had Fun, and Made a Fortune Doing Business My Way. That man truly knows how to live.

Like I’m learning in sailing, few get anywhere without planning the trip first. We weren’t born knowing English, but we’ve picked it up somehow, right? If I had spent more time learning Spanish when I had the chance in high school, I could better communicate with my Hispanic neighbors in Georgia. Then, on my trip abroad, I might feel more comfortable about getting lost in Spain on purpose.

I’m a nurture “can do” kind of guy at heart, by the way. I also ramble on. Time to get back to work.