Picasso Links

To prepare for next week's study of Pablo Picasso, you might want to check out these links.

Pablo Picasso: Official Website

Artcyclopedia: Pablo Picasso Online (lots of links)

and for fun...

Mr. Picassohead

Rembrandt: Ending Well?

This Sunday our artist for the Paint by the Spirit study is Rembrandt. He is considered to be one of the greatest painters in European history, and the greatest of the Dutch masters (having NOTHING to do with cigars). Rembrandt is an interesting study. In many ways, he is the opposite of Van Gogh: he never sought any connection with the church, and his art was extremely successful commercially.
But he lost everything in the end. He was left at his death with two paintings in his studio: Simeon with the Christ Child, and The Return of the Prodigal. He was living in poor conditions. He was buried in an unmarked grave. Had he lost everything, or had he lost everything except that which he really needed; that which he came to desire above wealth and success? Were the gifts of the grace and mercy of Christ his only possessions in his last hours?
The worship bulletin for Sunday is here.

Conspicuous Consumption

I tried to find a web link for this article, but it was in an email, and I couldn't find the article on the web anywhere. This article came to me from Relevant magazine, which is pretty good all around. The author of this article does a good job or reviewing music and movies. If you are interested in that kind of thing, check out his blog.

So I was watching this show on MTV last week called Newport Harbor. Essentially it is Laguna Beach all over again, just 20 miles up the California coast in another ritzy Orange Country beach town. The cast of the show is made up of a handful of ditzy-but-beautiful blond girls and a few token surfer dudes whom each of the girls will date at one point during the season (which follows their senior year of “high school”). Everything on the show is pristine, nicely coifed, tanned and very, very rich.

So I was watching this show on MTV last week called Newport Harbor. Essentially it is Laguna Beach all over again, just 20 miles up the California coast in another ritzy Orange Country beach town. The cast of the show is made up of a handful of ditzy-but-beautiful blond girls and a few token surfer dudes whom each of the girls will date at one point during the season (which follows their senior year of “high school”). Everything on the show is pristine, nicely coifed, tanned and very, very rich. Most episodes of the show, like in Laguna, feature the kids shopping at designer stores, eating at Zagat-rated restaurants or (in the case of the episode I saw) going on weekend trips to Palm Springs. Of course, no 17-year-old really has the money to live this way, but MTV wants us to think that yes, these kids (most kids in Orange Country, actually) do in fact spend their free time surfing, tanning, gossiping and eating braised lamb while the rest of us do homework and eat Ramen noodles. But it’s not just MTV. Everywhere you look on TV and in pop culture these days, you see this strangely alluring thing that is sort of a rich-people minstrel show: wealth being exploited for the entertainment of the underclass. Shows like Bravo’s new reality offering, Welcome to the Parker (which is all about the Parker hotel in Palm Springs—the most ridiculously posh playground for celebrities in SoCal), emphasize how gloriously snobby rich people are, while shows like The Fabulous Life (VH1) and Cribs (MTV) keep tabs on which rich celebrity has managed to spend their money the most frivolously. Each of these shows contains the playful cha-ching graphic, which keeps tabs of the “bill” during the course of any episode, making light of the fact that some people manage to spend more money in a year than an entire developing country has made in a decade. And let's not forget the phenomenon of Paris Hilton, a “famous for being rich” celebrity who embodies all of the above. People are always asking, “Why are we obsessed with Paris Hilton?” But this has a pretty obvious answer: It’s because we’re obsessed with being rich. It’s the same reason we watch Newport Harbor or buy something that Oprah likes. If we can associate ourselves with wealth (even if we’re really poor) by watching or imitating it, we feel more legitimate, desirable and important. The Paris Hilton culture is just the latest incarnation of what Thorstein Veblen first coined “conspicuous consumption” in his 1899 book, The Theory of the Leisure Class. Essentially it is the idea that with the onset of expendable income, the new upper and middle classes took to flaunting their “wealth” as a way to demonstrate their social power or significance, whether real or perceived. In other words, people began to buy lots of fancy furniture and art (but chiefly so they could have dinner parties and show them off), and they began to buy expensive clothes and jewelry, mainly to present themselves as more important than they actually were. Consumerism and the consequent drive to be conspicuous about it is certainly something we all deal with. But despite the number of luxury cars and high-fashion items you see, half of the wealth that is flashed in your eyes on any given day isn’t real wealth. It’s all about appearances. Sunglasses are the best way to feign wealth, especially in my hometown of L.A. (where sunglasses are worn more than socks). Most really good, designer sunglasses are at least 300 dollars—which is not that much for the average stockbroker or real estate tycoon. But you can easily find knockoff sunglasses for, like, 10 bucks that look exactly like the massive Prada pair you saw on J.Lo last week. It’s easy to look wealthy and important if you try hard enough. Christians find themselves in an interesting spot, living in a culture that measures a person’s value or relevance by what model of cell phone they carry. We are followers of a man who once told His disciples that everyone who wanted to follow Him must “deny themselves and “take up their cross daily” (Luke 9:23, TNIV). Jesus constantly dropped lines such as, “What good is it for you to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit your very self?” (Luke 9:25). He also insisted that we not worry about things like food and clothes (Matthew 6:25–34), and offered counterintuitive little quips about how blessed are the poor in spirit, the meek and the persecuted. Can you imagine an MTV show about nerdy little Christian kids in Irvine who take all of this to heart? The Christian life is so crazily counter to a life of conspicuous consumption. Ours should be a life of conspicuous rejection of all the bling money can buy. We should be conspicuously consumed with Christ, so much so that we become much more fascinating to watch than Paris Hilton. Instead of a culture that questions their obsession with Paris and Britney, what if the curious questions were about Christians—why are they so utterly, obviously uninterested in what everyone else is living for (self-aggrandizement)? Now that would be a story worthy of reality TV.

Author: Brett McCracken Brett is a grad student at UCLA's Film School and has recently started a blog at stillsearching.wordpress.com.

Van Gogh

This Sunday, we begin our study, Paint by the Spirit, during which we will explore the spiritual significance of great artists. Our first artist is Van Gogh. What an experience it has been studying his life and work! Here is a brief bio of Van Gogh. The worship bulletin is here. Read last week's post for more links. Probably Van Gogh's most famous work is The Starry Night (1889).

Bicycle Commuting

I managed to ride to and from work twice this week: Tuesday and Wednesday. I made it without difficulty, except for the hill that starts at Broadway and Pantano and climbs Broadway eastbound to Sarnoff. I usually make it halfway up and have to walk the second half. Tuesday evening I drove Tyler to band rehearsal, but Wednesday I did not drive at all.

Paint by the Spirit

On September 9, we begin a new 4 week study on great artists and the spiritual significance of their work. We will begin with Van Gogh, and then consider in subsequent weeks Rembrandt, Picasso, and Monet. At a later date we may consider other artists. Feel free to nominate an artist that has touched you with their work!
A video of Van Gogh's work set to "Vincent" by Don McLean
A website with a bio of Van Gogh and links to view all of his works.
An article about the spiritual significance of Van Gogh's life and works.

Sunday September 2

Look here for a description of this week's worship. Included there is a link to Psalm 24. I encourage you to read it before Sunday's worship. I think this will be a unique opportunity to form our worship around one of the Psalms. Here is the worship bulletin.

From the Save Darfur Coalition

U.S. Must Support Peacekeeping Mission

The UN has authorized a joint United Nations-African Union peacekeeping mission for Darfur. Our task now is to ensure that President Bush upholds the U.S. commitment to support this mission when the UN General Assembly meets on September 18th.

Our goal is to send 100,000 messages in the next three weeks urging the president to uphold his commitment to the peacekeeping mission.

Help us reach our goal! Click here to sign petition.

The New Sign

This is the new sign I wrote about last week. It hangs along the front of the roof of the porch in front of the church office building and faces First Street. It can be seen by people in Himmel Park and by our day school parents picking up their children.

New Sign

Today we put up a new sign on the church office building. It faces First Street and Himmel Park and it announces The Refuge worship services. The big print says "Come as you are". You can see it Sunday, and I'll post a photo here next week.

Bike Commuting

I rode my bike to work today for the first time and it went OK. I think it's about 11 miles and it made it in 43 minutes. I rode west on Broadway for the vast majority of my ride and then turned north on Treat Street to the church. By the way, Treat Street is no treat. It is uphill the whole way from Broadway to Himmel Park and it is mostly uneven, broken pavement which is extremely bumpy.

Sunday Worship @ The Refuge

"Could Faith Be as Simple as Breathing?" is our theme for this Sunday, August 29. Click here for the worship bulletin to see Scriptures and notes. We will view a short NOOMA video by Rob Bell. The title for this one is "Breathe". You can see a preview here. We will pray, think, and discuss.

"Worthy to Approach God" is our theme for next Sunday, September 2. This will be a unique service structured around the pattern we find in Psalm 24 . Psalm 24 has three sections, or movements. Psalm 24 is divided into three sections. The first section is verses 1-2, which is an affirmation of faith; a statement of worship to God. The second section is approaching God (verses 3-6). This segment will feature prayers of confession and forgiveness. Then the final section is opening our lives to God (verses 7-10). We will engage in a journaling exercise. All three movements will include music and prayer and Scripture. This will also be communion Sunday. I will post the worship bulletin next week.

"Paint by the Spirit' is our next series. Beginning September 9, we will spend four weeks exploring the spiritual significance of the works of great artists like Van Gogh, Rembrandt, Picasso, and Monet.

Sunday August 19

You can read the book of Obadiah here. The whole thing is only 21 verses, so give it a look. The worship bulletin is here. I am really excited about this study. I'll see you Sunday!

Pretty Funny

I laughed out loud at a couple of these. Of course, I'm from the South and am as much of a hick as you can get, so maybe I'm entitled to laugh. Check out the criterion for an EXTREME REDNECK on Marko's blog.

Vacation

We had a great time last week on our vacation. I only wish it could have lasted longer. We left Wednesday and stopped for lunch at Cracker Barrel. Then we went on up to Phoenix to the South Mountain Resort and checked in. Tyler and I got in one of the pools for awhile, and then we did a little shopping for groceries and snacks, then went over to the Arizona Mills Mall to eat dinner, walk around the mall, and see Live Free or Die Hard. That was definitely enough for the first day.
Thursday we got up, eat breakfast, went for a bike ride, and then went to the water park. We ate a late lunch around 2pm and then watched 300 on the hotel payperview. Tyler and I played some ping pong and swam some more. Then we went to dinner at Claim Jumper and went back to the room and Tyler and I taught Mindy how to play Egyptian Ratscrew. Friday, our last day, we rode our bikes a few miles to IHOP for breakfast. I bought Tyler some new shoes at a store in the shopping center, and then we rode back. Tyler and I went to play pool and then we went over to the athletic club and played racquetball. Tyler went back to the room and I stayed and enjoyed the hot tub and steamroom. Then we had an early dinner at Aunt Chilada's Mexican Restaurant and then went to the water park for a couple of hours. We went back to the room and watched My Super Ex-Girlfriend and hung out.
Saturday, Mindy swam some laps while Tyler and I played some more pool. Then we packed up and headed home. Fun, but short. Photos are on my photobucket. Message me for the password if you don't know it.

Obadiah

Obadiah is our study for August 19. It is very short. Give it a read and leave me any comments that you come up with.

AMOS

This Sunday in worship, we consider the prophet Amos. Hold on! It is an intense prophecy!
The worship bulletin is here.

Katrina Relief by the Church

Check out this article in USA Today about different Christian groups that worked for Katrina relief. The United Methodist Church did pretty good.

The faithful lend a helping hand

Although officials say it's difficult to know the exact number of people who have volunteered in the Hurricane Katrina recovery, they estimate that more than 655,000 have served in Louisiana and Mississippi since the storm. Many faith-based groups have helped residents return to their homes.

Religious charities	Total volunteers	Homes improved*
Adventist Community Services	2,200	150
American Baptist Men	600	12
Baptist Builders	374	10
Brethren Disaster Ministries	1,608	352
Catholic Charities USA	15,481	2,550
Christian Disaster Response	238	35
Christian Reformed World Relief Committee	2,972	255
Church of Scientology	1,000	N/A **
Convoy of Hope (Christian)	16,962	2,828
Episcopal Relief & Development	18,303	2,471
Friends Disaster Service	1,550	96
Habitat for Humanity (Christian)	71,412	2,896
Islamic Relief	122	22
International Aid (Christian)	1,250	N/A **
Lutheran Disaster Response	26,585	8,242
Medical Teams International (Christian)	437	428
Mennonite Disaster Service (includes Amish volunteers)	9,000	750
Nazarene Disaster Response	15,000	200
Nechama (Jewish)	600	200
Operation Blessing	7,598	1,348
Presbyterian Church U.S.A.	29,345	3,380
Salvation Army	15,232	N/A **
Samaritan's Purse	12,026	5,000
Society of St. Vincent de Paul	4,000	N/A
Southern Baptist Convention	175,378	5,136
Tzu Chi Foundation (Buddhist)	1,319	N/A **
United Church of Christ National Disaster Ministries	4,985	792
United Methodist Committee on Relief	56,656	15,643
Volunteers of America	14,000	430
Totals	506,233	53,226

Source: USA TODAY research

* Improvement may include gutting, repairing or rebuilding. ** These groups have provided services other than rebuilding houses, such as providing food, water, clothes and other needs.

Vacation is ALMOST Here!

Tomorrow begins a SHORT vacation (back home Saturday). We are going to the Pointe South Mountain Resort in Phoenix for a few days of relaxation.

Next Sunday

We will look at the book of Amos. Seriously, take a look at it and pass along any comments you have.