On: selling out to corporate sponsorship

This post is a bit of a venting (sorry it also contains a lot of links)

On Saturday I had the priviledge of seeing Switchfoot live in Cape Town!!

(sorry, pic stolen off their website)

What an experience. I LOVE the band, LOVE the songs, LOVED the performance, even LOVE the (now not so) new album. There is, however just one thing that really bothers me, and here it is:

As a Christian band, selling out to corporate sponsoship (they are sponsored by Hurley - see this link and scroll down to "donate" or even go to the tab "bro-am") will have an effect on what you can and cannot say at concerts, in your music etc. Lyrics like "Restless" clearly show that there is a tension between what they can say and what they want to say. Because the "you" they sing about could really be anyone, not necessarily God or Jesus. Compare this to one of their earlier songs "I turn everything over" or even "Something More (Augustine Confession)" where thier faith is expressed a lot stronger. Even on their album before this, for which they won the Best Rock Gospel Album Grammy, there is already that sense creeping in, except perhaps in a song like "Hello Hurricane".

The other thing was that I was missing at the concert was a true sense that it was a Christian band. The opening act was more explicit. They at least sang about Jesus and they were pretty good too. Pity they did not have back-up singers or second voices.

I am not saying that every song should contain words like Jesus, Christ, being saved and the like, but I want to know that faith and Christian living has not been compromised. I do read whom the bands thank (always) and I expect there to be something about God in there, because cleary they have not done this on their own or achieved any of it by their own strength.

I'm also not saying that I will stop listening to them, because I really like thier style and can interpret their songs from a  Christian perspective.

It is just sad to see that money is drawing us away from what we believe and the more we sell out to it the more peole will notice. I am so grateful to other bands like Reliant K and artists like TobyMac who, although they are doing well have not compromised on the Gospel message. In every song, in every interview you will hear it. I appreciate that more than compromising and being more subtle in lyrics. We need to ge the message out there that there is ONE Lord and there is only ONE way to Him. That way cannot be found in corporate sponsorship and money.

Other witnessing

What a tesimony this is.... "You cannot sell your face"

An article I read

A friend sent me this article.
Their range lookd fantastic and I am sure that this could be the answer to my extreme sense of being exposed when I go swimming in the sea. However, in a swimming pool? I'm not so sure.

What a witness!

Just thought you would like to read about a supermodel (!) who took a stand. I like it that she feels that her body belongs to her husband.

Go to the link here.

Embroidery - or Paint-by-numbers with thread

Lately I have appreciated the art of embroidery. It is one of my many "needlework" related hobbies, but I have always followed a pattern designed by others. For example this number (from a while back)

The pattern IS from a magazine, so there will be copyrights....

That being said, in essence, an embroidery, whether cross-stitch or tent-stitch (petit-point) or more elaborate stitches, are really Paint-by-numbers as can be seen in this picture (since all threads come coded with a number DMC 7402 for example):

Although both examples are fairly recent, embroidery has a long history, that according to some websites dates back to the Iron Age. I am more intruiged by the use of embroidery in the Bible, where gold-thread was used for the robes of Kings. I wish I could see an example of this type, just simply because embroidery is so fragile and does not usually last. I can find only historic military uniforms embroidered with gold thread that would give me an idea of what it looked like.

The veil in the temple also was embroidered with blue, purple and scarlet (all very expensive colours - as blogged about previously under the series of All the Colours of the Rainbow). How fitting that no expense was spared for God's temple.

But jsut like an embroidery takes shape, so our lives are taking shape as God forms and transforms it. Often the analogy is that our lives are a tapestry that we see from the back, where things seem quite messy. But, when we are with Him in heaven, we can see the beautiful picture that He has created from the mess of this world. An example - the same embroidery (tapestry) seen from the back and then from the front.

This shows, that no matter how messy our lives get, He can create a beautiful picture.

An apology

My dearest readers (and followers, and searchers)
My humble apologies for not updating for such a long time (well, in the blog-sphere at least). I was busy with writing a Masters Thesis and that does take quite a bit of time.
New post to be up by the end of the week (promise)

A Right Royal Wedding

Everyone is talking about it. The date is almost here, and just like in the 80's, every woman is going to be glued to a television screen to watch Kate walk down the aisle. Discussions are going to be held about the dress, the shoes, the accessories, the veil, the kiss and somewhere Prince William is also going to get a mention.

Let's backtrack a bit. Royals used to be the trensetters, so much so that peasants were not allowed to wear certain items or fabrics or styles. The most famous princess of the 20th century was Princess Diana. She carried herself with poise, grace an feminity that caught the attention of the world. She set a trend for cerise pink and red to be worn together. And who still remembers her "black sheep" jumper? But most importantly, her evening wear set trends for many a prom dress (matric-ball) and many a bridesmaid and bride found herself dressed in puff-sleeves and bows. Althought the Brittish royals are in the media, they have not managed to set the trends since Lady Diana.

If we go back to the beginnings of kingship, it becomes clear that what we see as Kingdoms today are nothing more than one in name, not one in power. A King was considered to be the most powerful person in a country and got to rule often by taking over territories from others. Waging war was part and parcel of their lives. In exchange for protecting their subjects and gaining land for them, they were obligated to provide him with produce of the country. Yes, admittently, this was also often abused and either the subjects rebelled or someone within the king's household usurped the throne by assassinating the king.

Because Kings were honoured by other kings, queens and rulers, they amassed treasured beyond imagination. These included clothing, spices, gold, silver, pearls and precious stones. The clothing was of the finest linen, with gold thread woven into the fabric or dyed with purple (indigo). Marriages were entered into to seal a deal with a rival or ally. Certainly seldom were they for love. What a different picture we see in the upcoming wedding.

So, what does this have to do with this blog. Many of you will already know where I am heading, so here goes.....

If we, as Christians are considered royalty, what trends are we supposed to set, and what do our weddings look like? Are we focussed on worldy rends or do we advocate something else? Are our weddings about brides, dresses and food or are they about something bigger?

Please understand me correctly. I am not saying that we cannot buy luxurious clothing or splurge on certain items from time to time. It depends obviously on your stewadship and what motivation you have in spending lots of money. Is the motivation to be different, to be sexy, to be attractive or are there other reasons? Are we drawn by the advertising of a particular brand? Ultimately we need to ask ourselves if these things affect our relationship with Jesus and whether we are still behaving like a royal family.

Weddings are supposed to be about the union between a man and a woman, who make a promise before God to live a certain way. Yes, there is a dress, there's a bride and of course there is a celebration, but these are not the most important. We celebrate these things, because they point to another relationship and an upcoming wedding which will outshine the one in April a millionfold. We will be the bride and HE the bridegroom and there will be a dress of white, fine linen and there will be a celebration so magnificent that we cannot imagine it right now.