Dave is a Big Fat Jerk

Not really. I love him more than life.

BUT . . .

While filming this promo for our new series, "Sin Monkey" I told him I thought it would be funny for me to sneak into the shot with a Darth Vader mask on. He agreed.

Then, he punched me.

I didn't know it was coming.

This is not camera trickery or Hollywood magic. We don't have the budget or the time.

This is Dave punching me in the face.

The molded plastic on the inside of the Dark Sith Lord's mask pounded my cheek bone leaving me bruised for a few days. He apologized--Dave, that is, not Vader. Just like that time he hit me in the groin for fun. And then apologized--after the doctor appointment.

All in all, the sin monkey is a great metaphor and this video is a great metaphor for the sin monkey. Any connection between sin monkeys and David McDonald are entirely your own conclusion and not my words.

Love you, Dave. Thanks for allowing me to take one for the team and demonstrate the love of Jesus as I forgive you publicly.

Jerk.

Office Art

Tahni needed some new art for her office. She just moved it downstairs where it's warmer.

Opposite her work area is another desk in the office where the kids and I sometimes work. Tahni needed some art above that desk so she bought 6 panels of plywood and asked me to create an art piece with them.

Worked on it for a couple hours last night. I am pretty excited about the end result.

Religiopatriotism

My son-in-law is in the U.S. Navy. I am very proud of him. Both of my grandfathers fought for our country—my dad’s dad (a full-blooded German) fought in WWII as well as my mom’s dad (who had half of his head blown off at Pearl Harbor). I have traveled throughout Europe playing music for American military youth for the past 15 years. I have a love and respect for the military.

However, if I get one more elitist separatist exclusive email that somehow tries to marry Christianity and American patriotism I might consider a move to Canada. This is one I got the other day. I will spare us all the pictures that went with it.

And I quote . . .

How ALL phones SHOULD be answered!
“Good morning, welcome to the United States of America.”
Press '1' for English.
Press '2' to disconnect until you learn to speak English
And remember only two defining forces have ever offered to die for you,
Jesus Christ and the American Soldier.
One died for your soul, The other for your freedom.
If you agree, keep it going.

There are so many things that are offensive in this email (and many quite like it). Something needs to be said. Before you peruse one of these emails and it tickles your patriotic fancy before actually thinking it through, please don’t keep this crap going. Send it to the trash. Then, empty your deleted files. And, please don’t send them to me anymore.

Here’s the familiar Emma Lazarus quote that appears on a plaque at the base of the Statue of Liberty:

Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed, to me: I lift my lamp beside the golden door.

Furthermore, if you want to talk theology, Jesus died for more than my “soul.” Atonement goes far deeper and wider than where I will spend eternity.

Here’s a quote from Him:

“Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”

Do Jesus and your country a favor. Hit delete.

Westwinds Sunday Morning Prayer

You were prayed for this morning . . .

Many of you by name, most of you by face, all of you—not knowing who would be here and if we might have the privilege of spending time with you.

That you would feel comfortable seeking God in this place.

That you would sense the move of His Spirit in the broken people who call this place home and those who are seeking a home and are unsure quite yet if they have found it.

You were prayed for this morning . . .

That you would feel part of “us.” That you would sense you are part of “we.”

That you would be greeted or acknowledged in some significant way. We want you to know you are loved. That this is a great place to begin. A great place to belong. We don’t want you to go another weekend wondering if someone knows who you are. Forgive us if you do.

That somehow the stress of commitments, choices, routine, deadlines, and things out of your control would in some miraculous way lighten and not distract you from embracing Jesus.

You were prayed for this morning . . .

That you would raise your hands and/or sing at the top of your lungs—not because you have to, not because you feel pressured, not because everyone else is, but because you can’t do otherwise as you respond to God and everything God is with everything inside of you as something is awakened in you.

That you would be able to look past our inconsistencies and holes and somehow, in spite of us, meet Jesus and hear from Him in a fresh way.

That in every one of these moment collections we will experience today, you will sense the overwhelming opportunity God is inviting you to embrace.

You were prayed for this morning . . .

That anything stupid we say or do that we might be blind to would not hinder you from having an opportunity to laugh at yourself and feel a camaraderie with us as you say, “wow, we all sure are a piece of work.”

That healing would begin today—for you and those you came with this morning— whom you are at odds with or there is a barrier between you. God, please don’t let another day go by without someone saying, “I’m sorry.”

That your overwhelming pain would be met by a sense of the overwhelming sufficiency of Jesus’ ability and willingness to hold you and heal you.

You were prayed for this morning . . .

That today, this very day, would be the day you say, “God, here is my white flag. I surrender. I need you. You are God. I am not.”

That fear would not paralyze you.

That dreams would be ignited in you and you would feel the freedom to pursue them to the glory of God and the wellbeing of the people He has called you to touch.

You were prayed for this morning . . .

That the uncertainty of the times and of your future would be eclipsed by an unexplainable and undeniable certainty that God is present with you.

That any ounce of suspicion, mistrust, or skepticism that resides in you or in us would be met with peace.

That we would have the privilege of getting to know you.

You were prayed for this morning . . .

Many of you by name, most of you by face, all of you—not knowing who would be here and if we might have the privilege of spending time with you. Thank you for being here.

Welcome to the madness, the beauty, the wonder, the home, the characters, the people, the movement, the journey, the mess, the healing, the solace, the fray, the imperfection, the joy, the dance, the lab, and the story that is Westwinds.

Life on the Road

Picture your spiritual life as a car—a friend once told me (The North American International Auto Show is happening right now. Exciting stuff. 700,000 people, 6,800 journalists covering it. It’s a big deal. We like our cars in the greater Detroit area).

When God changes you, gives you new life, makes you a new creation, you’re like one of those new vehicles being rolled out. Lots of potential. People notice you. You’ve got solar panels that run the gadgets and a state of the art sound system. Your dash board lights up blue—which is the coolest color for any dashboard lights. It’s a fact. It’s science.

So we take the car out for a spin. We go on a cross country trip. We take the top down and we feel the breeze. We love the road. We pick up hitchhikers. We go carpool. We get groceries. We do all the stuff a car is supposed to do.

Then, over time, some of us get caught up in the gadgets. The killer stereo. The comfortable seats. Some of us sit and read the manual. And, we forget the main purpose of the car . . . to move. To move forward.

So, we park it. And, we enjoy the gadgets. Friends come over and say, “hey, let’s go for a spin” and we say, “nah, I kinda just want to sit right here and listen to the new Westwinds CD. It’s awesome! Really gets me fired up. Know all the words.

Ridiculous. Stuck with the radio blarring, looking at your blue dashboard lights, honking the horn, playing with the buttons . . . for what? The car’s not moving. Those solar panels have just enough juice to keep that radio going. And so, you’ll sit. And, why shouldn’t you? Plenty of other cars are doing the same thing.

What does it take to get you going? Someone rear ending you? An emergency call that requires you to get across town? Someone walking by and catching the young hussy you have in the back seat?

What’s your killer stereo system? Westwinds? Is Westwinds your carport? Do you park it here on the weekend and let people look at it, but not get too close? Our carport can be a family member—we let them be the spiritual ones and hope it will rub off on us. Our school can be our carport—maybe we go to a Christian school or University and we feel comfortable hiding from the world for a few years and not engaging—not allowing people inside—not allowing God to convict—not participating in our world, community. Not living.

Thomas Merton said, “The spiritual life is first of all life.” It’s not something we merely talk about or think about or study . . . we live it.

There is hope. Things suck.

As a Christian, and as a pastor, I often feel conflicted.

I believe in Jesus. He is the hope of the world. All is not lost. Good things are yet to come. Peace is something we can all experience now. Today.

And, at the same time, the world sucks. People hurt each other. The wicked prosper. People die because of our apathy. It is a real tension. It isn’t going away.

Often times, Westwinds will be criticized by people within the church for being “harsh” or “saying offensive things.” “Oh, did you have to say it that way?” And, it’s a tension we live with. The world likes it’s Jesus looking like a Chippendales dancer, knocking on doors with a smile, and holding little lambs. Tony Robbins Jesus. No one wants to see the Chuck Norris Jesus kicking tail.

But, He’s both. He’s a loving and gentle friend and he’s a demanding judge. He makes no apologies for that and we shouldn’t either.

Both are true. There is hope. And things suck.

What I don’t want to do is be paralyzed by either truth. Both of those truths should motivate me to do something.

I don't want to live in shiny-happy Jesus land and pretend everything is okay while I sit on my arse. And, I don't want to walk around with my head hung low crying in my scotch because all is lost.

Lord, move me.

LOST Another Sneak Peek

LOST Sneak Peek

LOST Book Club

Looking for a good read? Fan of LOST?

One of the things I love about LOST is how smart it is. Not only is the plot smart, there are a ton of references to history, historical figures, philosophy, philosophers, and literature.

ABC has done a very cool thing by listing the books that are mentioned, sighted, referenced, and that share the same name as an episode. A partial list is here below but, you should check out the site to get the whole list.

No promises of any hints or solved mysteries, but if you read everything in the book club you'd certainly be well read in some classic books.

Can't wait for the season premier! Wednesday, January 21st.

On the Road
Jack Kerouac
Episode #403, “The Economist”
The alias Ben uses in the episode, Dean Moriarty, is a character from On the Road.

The Invention of Morel
Adolfo Bioy Caseres
Episode #404, “Eggtown”
Sawyer is seen reading this book in the Barracks.

Valis
Philip K. Dick
Episode #404, “Eggtown”
Locke offers this book to Ben

Slaughterhouse Five
Kurt Vonnegut
Episode #405, “The Constant”
This episode bears some resemblance to the “unstuck in time” theme of the book.

Survivors of the Chancellor
Jules Verne
Episode #407, “Ji Yeon”
Regina is seen reading it

A Tale of Two Cities
Charles Dickens
Episode #301, “A Tale of Two Cities”
Obviously, the episode shares a title

Carrie
Stephen King
Episode #301, “A Tale of Two Cities”
Members of the Others’ book club discuss the novel when 815 crashes.

Of Mice and Men
John Steinbeck
Episode #304, “Every Man for Himself”
Sawyer reads the book in prison

A Brief History of Time
Stephen Hawking
Episode #307, “Not in Portland”
Aldo reads the book while guarding the building in which Karl is being held captive.

Laughter in the Dark
Vladmir Nabokov
Episode #308, “Flashes Before Your Eyes”
Charlie takes the book from Sawyer’s stash, Hurley later takes the book from Charlie and begins to read it.

Stranger in a Strange Land
Robert A. Heinlein
Episode #309, “Stranger in a Strange Land”
Obvious shared title of book and episode

The Fountainhead
Ayn Rand
Episode #312, “Par Avion”
Sawyer reads the book while noticeably missing Kate.

Evil Under the Sun
Agatha Christie
Episode #314, “Expose”
Sawyer is reading the book while interrupted by Nikki.

Jurassic Park
Michael Crichton
Episode #314, “Expose”
Nikki references the book as she debunks Paulo’s theory on the Monster by telling him “it’s not Jurassic Park, Paulo.”

Catch-22
Joseph Heller
Episode #317, “Catch-22”
Desmond finds Naomi’s Portugese edition of the book

The Oath
John Lescroart
Episode #320, “The Brig”
The book can be seen in Ben’s tent when he is talking to Locke.

Afro-Asian World: A Cultural Understanding
Edward Kolevzon
Episode, “The Man Behind the Curtain”
Seen on the shelves in the Dharma classroom of Ben’s flashback.

The Coalwood Way
Homer Hicklam
Episode, “The Man Behind the Curtain”
Seen on the shelves in the Dharma classroom of Ben’s flashback.

The Stone Leopard
Colin Forbes
Episode, “The Man Behind the Curtain”
Seen on the shelves in the Dharma classroom of Ben’s flashback.

Through the Looking Glass
Lewis Carroll
Episode, “Through the Looking Glass”
Title of episode

Bluebeard
Charles Perrault
Episode, “Adrift”
Sawyer calls Mr. Friendly, “Bluebeard.”

An ECG Workout: Exercises in Arrythmia Interpretation
Jane Huff
Episode, “Orientation”
On the Swan Station’s bookshelf

Dirty Work
Stuart Woods
Episode, “Orientation”
Seen in the Swan Station by Sawyer’s bed as he is recovering from the injuries caused as a result of the raft incident.

High Hand
Gary Phillips
Episode, “Orientation”
On the Swan Station’s bookshelf

Songs for this Quarter

Well, after a very painful scheduling and song selection process, I finally have a list of songs Westwinds is covering for this first quarter. A ton of new songs, old songs, and REALLY old songs that will stir memories, create a mood, inspire, and downright rock the house.

Radiohead, Foo Fighters, The Who, Eddie Vedder, Sheryl Crow, George Harrison, Erin McCarley, Cake, Don Henley, Pat Benatar, Worship Circus, Robbie Seay, Chris Tomlin, Martina McBride, Jack Johnson, Third Eye Blind, Carrie Underwood, and Tracy Chapman. Yeah, it should be a fun quarter!

Lifestraw

On Christmas Eve, as has been our tradition here at Westwinds, we gave a special offering dedicated to impacting our world in a significant way by adopting a specific cause. This year, we chose to raise money to purchase LifeStraws®.

Clean water initiatives have been a passion at the Winds for the last four years ever since we went through a series on the elements. Roughly 6,000 people—mainly children, die every single freaking day because they don’t have access to safe drinking water. Crazy. That’s like 16 747’s going down every day. Or, the equivalent of two 9/11 attacks a day. Sick and wrong.

I am so happy we will be able to purchase over 1,600 straws with the offering.

LifeStraw® was listed as “one of the ten things that will change the way we live” by Forbes Magazine. These straws are simply stuck into yucky water and people can drink through them and get the same quality water as per EPA guidelines for microbiological water purifiers! One straw lasts quite some time allowing 18,000 liters of water to be purified.

One of my favorite musicians, Peter Gabriel is a big proponent of the cause and I am excited an influential and creative musician is giving this a platform.

Westwinds has not seen the end of LifeStraw® offerings. Many at the Winds are talking about their businesses partnering with the church to match contributions.

The most touching story I heard this week—and in a long time—is the story of one young boy in our church who made LifeStraw® his birthday wish. This 9-year-old boy called me on the phone a few days ago to tell me he saved all his birthday money in December and wanted to by LifeStraws®. I teared up on the phone as this young man told me he was giving $200.00 towards the cause. He delivered the money to me this weekend. I love it when our kids teach us how to be Jesus and teach us about sacrifice. His contribution adds nearly 70 straws to the initial offering.

Check the site out. Consider what you might do.

Enter Sandman Kazoo

Adios 2008

What a year.

2008 was full of blessings and some really tough things as well. Here are some of the things that will mark 2008 for me forever. The good, the bad, the trivial, the silly, and the indifferent in no particular order (except for #1 for obvious reasons).

#1 My good friend Randy Shafer went to be with the Lord. Randy was not only a good friend and a fellow pastor, in many ways he was MY pastor. He spoke great things into my life. Randy was part of Coriolis with Dave and I. He came to Westwinds just two months after I arrived. We weathered tough transition together. He was a big part of our decision to stay in Michigan. He passed on the 22nd of December. Just days ago. He changed me forever.

#2 I had three assistants this year. My assistant, Angie left to pursue other opportunities early on. Then, came Frank and that didn’t work out. Now, J is at the helm. Love J. I don’t want any more changes here. Tough changes. J, let’s rock 2009.

#3 Cruises. In April, Tahni and I flew to Miami to get on a ship for the Bahamas. Pampered Chef was sending us because my wife rules. However, I opened my big mouth and said I just got over a stomach illness when I fell prey to their wicked deceitful signage. They put our butts on a plane back home and wouldn’t let us go. The payoff? Pampered Chef sent us on a private cruise in December and paid for everything down to the gratuities. Even got an upgraded room. Blessing in disguise.

#4 Wine Tasting. A highlight for us this year was the very special wine tasting we attended to raise money for Kalein. Hosted by our good friends Randy and Chris Elrod, this event was classy and upped the ante for us as wine connoisseurs.

#5 Concerts. Dang. I saw a lot of great bands this year. I won’t list them all here but here’s a tease . . . Foo Fighters (twice), Lenny Kravitz, The Raconteurs, Radiohead, Black Keys, The Police, Sheryl Crow, Elvis Costello, Third Day, Switchfoot, Jars of Clay, Robert Randolph and the Family Band, Nine Inch Nails . . . yeah, 2008 was the year of rock. Lollapalooza with my son was a memory of a lifetime.

#6 Ap(art). Over 20 artists gathered to create art for 24 hours straight and auction it off for charity. We had our problems (the internet went down, some promo fell through the cracks) but all in all, this event was very successful for a first run and a few kids are going to art school because of this effort. We were also able to donate a small amount to the live-in artists at The Armory Arts Village.

#7 Gadgets and fun stuff. This was the year the Voelz family got spoiled with cool technology. Many of them were gifts. From my iPhone to the High-Def big screen, to the Chumby, to the Wii and Blu-ray player, we feel ridiculously fortunate.

#8 Sushi. Here’s the deal, Jackson SUCKS in the restaurant department. BUT, this year we got a killer sushi place. I can’t tell you how excited I am. They know me by name there. Chef, Henry often makes us special items not on the menu just for fun.

#9 Soccer. Connor rocked the field this year. Their team took division title. I also had a blast announcing all the home games. Proud.

#10 School. Tahni and I both started school again. Tahni is pursuing a design degree and I am plugging away at my Masters in Communication again.

#11 Book deals. Dave and I were both approached for book deals this year. Though the book we are writing together is still being considered, he landed a deal with NavPress for his solo project. This year should be fun. I feel like I have so much to say.

#12 Cre:ate. A.K.A. re:create, this un-conference think-tank always proves to be special for us. This year, the time we spent blessing the Kalein project was amazing. Kasidy also went this year to the Kalein property and vowed she would one day attend Kalein and pursue her art. The inspiration in my little girl’s eyes is priceless.

#13 Karysa and Charlie. Thought they got married in the last couple of days of 2007, it may as well have been 2008. They are now outside of Seattle and Charlie is on a sub for the next few months. Karysa loves the Pac NW as we do—it is in her blood.

#14 Connor and the car. A huge buck hurled himself into the side of Connor’s Honda this year. Wiped out the entire passenger side. The car got fixed and was in better condition than before as our body shop guy went over the top and repainted and de-rusted the whole thing. A few weeks later, Connor hit an ice slick and ran it on to a boulder. Barely scratched the car but the boulder bent up the frame. Car was totaled. Just found another Honda this week.

#15 Arizona. The elders demanded I take vacation this year. So, we kicked it off at Grandma and Grandpa’s home in Arizona. Relaxing. Beautiful. Karysa was able to fly out and meet us as well as Tahni’s brother Doug and the whole family. For the first time, all kids and grandkids were together on Tahni’s side of the family.

#16 Chicago and the WIRED NextFest. Always wanted to go. Took the staff. Special time.

I am so looking forward to 2009. The thread that runs deep through all my highlights is Jesus and people. Can’t live without them.