Youth Blog

Welcome to the Youth Blogfrom First United Methodist Church of Fort Collins, CO.  My name is Rev.Joel Kershaw (a.k.a. Peej) and I will blog here on a variety of topics that mayinterest youth of faith.  I will reflect on current events of the day,recent holidays, but mostly on pop culture.  I will post my reflections ona song from pop culture and I invite you to give your point of view. Comment on my reflections, give your own or suggest other topics. Together we can ignite our faith and interact with our world!  Bring iton; I can't wait to hear your voices of faith!

“The Stranger”

by Billy Joel

Billy Joel has long been a favorite of mine.  No, it has nothing to do with the fact that we share a name but more that his music feels good when you hear it; His lyrics hit home when you take them in.  Joel is also one of only a handful of people inducted into both the Rock and Roll and the Songwriter’s halls of fame.  “The Stranger” has long been one of my favorite Billy Joel offerings because it exposes humanity to a reality that we rarely experience.  The stranger is a metaphor for the images we project to the outside world.  When we think about who we are verses who we let people think we are, we often find different realities.  Sometimes they look similar to each other but with careful filters in place to protect the darkest corners of our personality.  Sometimes we can project a completely different person keeping everyone away from our true selves. 

This always gets me thinking about two things.  First, if we do this in our lives in general then how does that affect how we project ourselves as Christians?  If we are so busy carefully crafting our image, how do we craft our Christianity to the outside world?  We might put our best foot forward, so to speak; keeping our good deeds in the forefront and hiding all of those things that might contradict our stated beliefs.  On the other hand we might spend our time crafting an a-typical Christian persona.  As a “Liberal” or I prefer progressive Christian, I find myself emphasizing the ways in which I differ from the dominant perception of Christianity.  If the stereotypical Christian is a clean cut person who only listens to Christian radio stations, then I will wear four earrings and write about bands like Led Zeppelin & Dave Matthews.  I have even found myself relishing those times when people meet me outside the church and then discover I am a minister prompting their “You’re a minister?” response.  The fact is that we Christians are not perfect, but we wear masks that disguise our imperfections or emphasize them, but is that what God calls us do?

The second thing I think about is how we try to put on these masks for God.  Do you ever find yourself hiding your true self from God?  It is only natural, because we spend so much time hiding from others it only makes sense that we would carry that over into our relating to God.  But if God knows us better then we know ourselves, why waste our time hiding?  We all hide; sometimes even from ourselves because we cannot face the implications of our own reality.  What will people think?  How would things change if they only knew about …?  Sometimes we need to protect our most vulnerable secrets but when we model our faith for God and for others we must not get caught up in the race of who’s a better Christian.  This leads us to overlook those parts of our lives that still need work and make faith seem distant and unattainable to anyone seeking. We must, instead seek to do the best we can and acknowledge when we fall short…acknowledge to our selves, to others and to God.  Only then can we grow in faith and model that faith to others; overcome “the stranger in (ourselves).”

For laughs check out a video of Billy Joel playing “The Stranger” from back in the day on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ryhDgFXT-XA&mode=related&search=

“The Stranger” (Lyrics)

Well we all have a face that we hide away forever


And we take them out and show ourselves when everyone has gone


Some are satin some are steel some are silk and some are leather


They're the faces of the stranger
 but we love to try them on.

Well, we all fall in love but we disregard the danger


Though we share so many secrets there are some we never tell


Why were you so surprised that you never saw the stranger



Did you ever let your lover see the stranger in yourself?


Don't be afraid to try again everyone goes south


Every now and then


You've done it, why can't someone else?


You should know by now, you've been there yourself?


Once I used to believe I was such a great romancer


Then I came home to a woman that I could not recognize

When I pressed her for a reason she refused to even answer


It was then I felt the stranger kick me right between the eyes.


You may never understand how the stranger is inspired


But he isn't always evil and he isn't always wrong


Though you drown in good intentions you will never quench the fire


You'll give in to your desire when the stranger comes along.


“Anna Begins”

by Counting Crows

Some spend their lives longing after someone; a deep and genuine connection with another soul.  They look so hard for that connection they can imagine it even when it is not there.  Others spend there time developing casual connections with many souls; feeding off the social energy of others.  They don’t bother imagining a connection because they have many, yet they can still feel alone.  Still others take these to the extreme; never fully connecting with anyone for fear of being tied down or left broken.   “Anna Begins”is from Counting Crows’ breakthrough album August and Everything After and I have always been drawn to it’s mysterious ambiguity and free-flowing form.  Counting Crows made it big when I was a freshman in high school, and this song spoke to the confusion and chaos of that time in my life.  By all account,  “Anna Begins” recounts the tortured deliberations of a man in a relationship with Anna.  The voice of the song battles a hesitation to commit to Anna despite her pleas.  Over the course of the song the voice opens up to the idea of committing to this only to have her slip away in his hesitation leaving him to find new meaning in the hook “I’m not ready for this sort of thing.”  Now he’s not ready for the pain of loosing something he actually wants. 

While this song talks about a human-to-human relationship, I think that it sheds light on how we relate to God.  I believe that God calls us into relationship with God and with each other.  We humans have developed many strategies for avoiding God’s call on us; turning instead to our own selfish bent.  We try anything to talk ourselves out of caring about anyone or anything that does not suit us.  Like the voice of “Anna Begins,” we resist accepting God as a partner in life, choosing instead to seek fullness in people, things, activities that attract our personalities.  We hide from God in the “package of lies” and myths that sustain us and in the dark corners of our self-doubt and fear.  Sometimes we don’t turn to God out of our fear of turning to nothing; we think “(we’re) not ready for this sort of thing.” 

The thing we must remember about God is that, unlike Anna, God is never gone.  No matter how much time and energy we waste ignoring God’s call on our life, it always remains.  Each of us can, at any moment, turn to God and understand the nonsense of this world through a different lens.  We can choose to see a world that is full of potential and love rather then a cold, dark dangerous place from which we must hide.  With time God begins to change our minds and open us up to the possibility of loving another and becoming the “gong” that moves someone else closer to God through love.  There will always be times when we doubt and question but with God we can always begin again.

Watch a live version of “Anna Begins on YouTube at

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zjw8ZEs99qM&mode=related&search=

“Anna Begins” - Lyrics

My friend assures me, "It's all or nothing."

I am not worried

I am not overly concerned

My friend implores me, "For one time only,

make an exception." I am not worried

Wrap her up in a package of lies

Send her off to a coconut island

I am not worried I am not overly concerned

with the status of my emotions

"Oh," she says, "you're changing."

But we're always changing It does not bother me to say this isn't love

Because if you don't want to talk about it then it isn't love

And I guess I'm going to have to live with that

But I'm sure there's something in a shade of grey,

Something in between,

And I can always change my name

If that's what you mean

My friend assures me, "It's all or nothing."

But I am not really worried I am not overly concerned

You try to tell yourself the things you try to tell yourself

To make yourself forget I am not worried

"If it's love," she said, "then we're going to have to think about the consequences."

She can't stop shaking

I can't stop touching her and...

This time when kindness falls like rain

It washes her away and Anna begins to change her mind

"These seconds when I'm shaking leave me shuddering for days," she says

And I'm not ready for this sort of thing

But I'm not going to break and I'm not going to worry about it anymore

I'm not going to bend, and I'm not going to break and I'm not going to worry about it anymore

It seems like I should say, "As long as this is love..."

But it's not all that easy so maybe I should

Snap her up in a butterfly net Pin her down on a photograph album

I am not worried I've done this sort of thing before

But then I start to think about the consequences

Because I don't get no sleep in a quiet room and...

The time when kindness falls like rain

It washes me away and Anna begins to change my mind

And every time she sneezes I believe it's love and

Oh lord, I'm not ready for this sort of thing

She's talking in her sleep

It's keeping me awake and Anna begins to toss and turn

And every word is nonsense but I understand and

Oh lord, I'm not ready for this sort of thing

Her kindness bangs a gong

It's moving me along and Anna begins to fade away

It's chasing me away

She disappears and

Oh lord, I'm not ready for this sort of thing

"Born in the U.S.A." 

by Bruce Springsteen

This week we remember the events of September 11, 2001.  Most of us can remember where we were and what we were doing when we got word that planes had been hijacked and flown into the World Trade Center that crisp fall morning.  What was to happen in the wake of that tragedy would pull us together as a country and then splinter us once again.  This classic 80’s hit from Bruce Springsteen reminds us of another time split by political haggling and military uncertainty.  This song has been famously misinterpreted by casual listeners and co-opted by arrogant and ignorant politicians.  This is not a flag-waving salute to the United States.  It is an anthem for the forgotten and the mistreated veterans that returned from Vietnam to find that the American public had no use for them.  The war had gone so badly that Americans wanted to forget about it and that meant forgetting about vets and their many sacrifices.  This reality, as unfortunate as it was, has led to a sense that we cannot allow this to happen to those returning from Iraq in the wake of 9/11, and this has meant we cannot critique the war efforts for fear of alienating this new generation of Vets.  How many bumper stickers have you seen calling on us to “Support the Troops?” 

Now you might be wondering what all of this has to do with God!  Well, think for a moment about how religion has influenced our country’s path over the last 6 years.  The current president has had his term defined by 9/11 (a religious-inspired terrorist attack).  We “liberate” Iraq only to watch it descend into chaos when different religious factions struggle for power.  The 2004 reelection of Bush is soaked in religious rhetoric desperately trying to attract people of faith to both sides.  And now we face a presidential election that promises to be even more cloaked in religious talk (regardless of it’s religious walk).  In a world where religion is cited as a basis for everything from elections to terrorism we must take back God from the crazies!  That is to say we must stand up and say, “Wait just a minute!!!   This is not the God I know; the God of love and compassion; the God of grace and mercy.”  The God I follow does not call on us to fly plains into buildings and the God I know does not call on us to react in kind with violent military action.  With all of this co-opting of God I keep waiting for one of the presidential candidates to claim God’s endorsement, but God claims each of us!  God calls on us as people of faith to provide a different perspective; a different voice for this world.  We must take back faith from those who seek to use it as a political tool or a lethal weapon.  We must tell the world that God is about love. 

Springsteen models it for us.  “Born in the U.S.A.” is a mix of pride and criticism.  It declares in one statement that we can be proud to be a citizen of the U.S. but that does not mean we a ccept what happens.  This song alternates between the critical verses with their stinging hopelessness and the anthemic chorus claiming “Born in the U.S.A.”  We can be proud of our country, but we must make our voice heard when our country needs help becoming something in which God can be proud.  We may be “Born in the U.S.A.” but we are Children of God.  Let’s live like it!

Grace and Peace,

Peej

“Born in the U.S.A.” lyrics

by Bruce Springsteen

Born down in a dead mans town

The first kick I took was when I hit the ground

You end up like a dog that’s been beat too much

Till you spend half your life just covering up

Born in the U.S.A., I was born in the U.S.A.

I was born in the U.S.A., born in the U.S.A.

Got in a little hometown jam

So they put a rifle in my hand

Sent me off to a foreign land

To go and kill the yellow man

Born in the U.S.A....

Come back home to the refinery

Hiring man said son if it was up to me

Went down to see my V.A. man

He said son, don’t you understand

I had a brother at Khe Sahn

Fighting off the Viet Cong

They’re still there, he’s all gone

He had a woman he loved in Saigon

I got a picture of him in her arms now

Down in the shadow of the penitentiary

Out by the gas fires of the refinery

I’m ten years burning down the road

Nowhere to run aint got nowhere to go

Born in the U.S.A., I was born in the U.S.A.

Born in the U.S.A., I’m a long gone daddy in the U.S.A.

Born in the U.S.A., born in the U.S.A.

Born in the U.S.A., I’m a cool rocking daddy in the U.S.A.

Song of the Week (First Week of Sept.)

"When The Levee Breaks"

by Led Zeppelin

This song was written and originally recorded by a husband/wife blues team in 1927.  The lyrics specifically refer to a 1927 flood of the Mississippi Delta that devastated the residents destroying homes and farms and crippling the economy of the region.  If that sound familiar it’s because Katrina was not the first and will not be the last devastating natural disaster to face humanity.  It happens to be the one we all think about now but that will unfortunately change as we are confronted by the next storm, fire, earthquake, etc. Led Zeppelin recorded the song as the final track on the now famous IV album (known for the intoxicating “Stairway to Heaven” among others).  The music is haunting as John Bonham’s thundering drum beat intros the song and we are forever haunted by the lyrics of the bridge “Cryin’ won’t help you, prayin’ won’t do you no good, when the levee breaks, mama, you got to move.”  When the water of life is rising you’ve got to move!

Disasters like that of Katrina call us as humanity to task in two ways.  First it reminds us that we are not in control of creation.  In our world of cloning, space exploration, global economies, etc. we humans can get pretty arrogant about our place in creation.  Rather then seeing ourselves as a part of a greater creative experience, we behave as though we are in some control over the world we inhabit.  Then comes Katrina (or the next big natural catastrophe) and we ask “Why does this happens?”  Creation is not our personal sand box.  We are a part of this creation; at the same time both beautiful and brutal. When we start thinking that we are somehow better then the rest of creation we forget that we live because creation allows it.  God’s world is amazing and wondrous; complex and yet simple.  We are not called to lord over creation with our advanced intellect but rather to protect creation from the destructive, self-absorbed tendencies of a humanity that is out of touch with God’s love.

That brings me to our second task.  In the wake of tragedy, we are called by God to not only love creation in all its forms but to respond in love to the needs of others.  Just as humanity can become selfish as a species, we tend to become selfish individuals of humanity.  We turn our backs on each other and overlook the glaring needs of the other until a storm like Katrina makes it impossible to ignore.  Katrina exposed the deep racial, cultural and economic divides in the Gulf Cost region, but before we feel all noble in helping those in need in those regions devastated by this latest storm, we must realize that there are people in need here in Fort Collins, CO.  The media focus on something like Katrina exposes a reality that exists everywhere and we must not only respond to this tragedy but God calls us to respond to the great need all over the world and yes in our own backyards!  That need and our call to respond does not stop at the boundaries of humanity but extends to all creation.  If God calls it good then who are we to challenge that. 

Ultimately, it is not when the levees of life break that we are challenged but when life returns to normal and we allow “normal” to go unchecked by the love and grace of God.  Our Challenge is to keep God’s love in front of us like a pillar of fire in the darkness of life and use that light to seek out those in need, even when they are not on the evening news! 

Grace and Peace,

Peej

When the Levee Breaks (Lyrics)

If it keeps on rainin', levee's goin' to break, [X2]

When The Levee Breaks I'll have no place to stay.

Mean old levee taught me to weep and moan, [X2]

Got what it takes to make a mountain man leave his home,

Oh, well, oh, well, oh, well.

Don't it make you feel bad

When you're tryin' to find your way home,

You don't know which way to go?

If you're goin' down South

They go no work to do,

If you don't know about Chicago.

Cryin' won't help you, prayin' won't do you no good,

Now, cryin' won't help you, prayin' won't do you no good,

When the levee breaks, mama, you got to move.

All last night sat on the levee and moaned, [X2]

Thinkin' about me baby and my happy home.

Going, going to Chicago... Going to Chicago... Sorry but I can't take you...

Going down... going down now... going down....