Hell

Does the average Christian understanding of Hell come more from the Bible, or more from Dante?

Great article, great questions on the topic of hell, here:

http://www.relevantmagazine.com/god/church/features/18239-one-hell-of-a-question

Keep in mind, he is not refuting the idea of hell, just what is involved in the "place" of hell.

If you have time, read some of the comments, they are very good.

I'll keep my comments to myself for now.

ryan andré

Facebook for Mail

Seriously.

Doesn't anyone else have a problem with this?

Think about what you are doing.

So, I was thinking about how to better keep people in the loop and started figuring I could cave and do everything with facebook and just work with how bad of an organizational tool it really is on the messaging end of things.

Then I started thinking about that.

So, I am going to support a company (website) almost exclusively with all of my mail. A site that says that everything done on their site and through their site is technically their property (oh yes, all those pictures you post on facebook - now belong to facebook).

Read this stuff, from the facebook policy/terms of use pages:

"Facebook may also collect information about you from other sources, such as newspapers, blogs, instant messaging services, and other users of the Facebook service through the operation of the service (e.g., photo tags) in order to provide you with more useful information and a more personalized experience.

By using Facebook, you are consenting to have your personal data transferred to and processed in the United States."

--

"... you grant us a non-exclusive, transferable, sub-licensable, royalty-free, worldwide license to use any IP content that you post on or in connection with Facebook ("IP License")."

Just a few...

Do I really want to do that?

Think about what everyone hates Microsoft for. They tried to force Internet Explorer on everyone by making it the only browser that came with Windows and all of their other little business practices like that. Everyone was all up in arms over that stuff.

And we're just going to happily sell our souls out to the facebook?

This doesn't make sense.

I understand email can be archaic. Give it an overhaul or something. But at least it's free domain and my ISP's do not own my messages.

Yea, I use gmail for personal stuff and almost everything I do runs through them in some way shape or form (even this blog and youtube) ... So I guess I'm being paranoid ..

But still.

Facebook being *the* way I communicate with people, that frightens me. It's so badly designed and takes so many more clicks and time to do anything on a web-based application like that.

I will not go quietly into the night!!!!!!!!

/rant off

ryan andré

thoughts on my blogging.

Well, after a crazy summer, I'm beginning to get back into a routine of sorts again.

Which means more blogs again.

Here's why I've realized I need to blog:

1. I love writing/typing.
2. I am a deep thinker most of the time.
3. I suck at sharing my deep thoughts most of the time when I'm around friends.
4. I *royally* suck at sharing my feelings with even my best friends.

Ya. You read that last one right. When it comes to trying to voice what I personally am feeling or going through, I clamp up and don't usually have much to say (My mom called me once on this - she told me I suck at sharing what I am feeling). And it's not that I have a problem with saying the things I am feeling or thinking (some of my previous blog posts probably reveal that one! lol), it's that I get some form of mental block when trying to articulate them or just generally don't like to talk about myself. It's uncomfortable. It makes me face the skeletons in my closet often and there's too much going on with others to worry much about me. At least, I fall into that trap.

I don't think I'm alone on that. Self evaluation is never easy. It's even less easy when there are others available to critique you and may see things a different way then you do about yourself.

Anyways, that's why I need to blog. It helps me articulate my thoughts AND feelings, and I enjoy it.

So, see you around, blog world. And happy to be here again.

ryan andré


PS. I've been thinking about writing a book. Weird idea, I know. Not for any reason other then that I enjoy writing and it will help me to help me articulate some of my experience. It has the general theme of "entertainment" in our culture and how we interact (or do not) with God as a result. Thoughts? Would anyone read it?

Creation

Wow, so, creation was amazing!

I don't even know where to begin telling you about it, but it was one of the neatest things I have experienced.

To go, you basically have to have an interest in music and realize it is geared slightly more towards young people. It's loud with a very diverse selection of bands.

Honestly, I've gone through phases where I'm not into spending that kind of money on something so, what I thought to be, frivolous. I look at what Hillsong does, and stuff like this and I go, isn't that a little over the top? Isn't that a little too much money to spend on "worship" .. or even just fun?

But seriously, Creation set my mind to ease, as long of course as there is a balance.

I have come to realize that there is something in us that longs to be together. To worship together, to have joy and fun together. And the bigger and more overwhelming it is, the more it resembles even remotely what Heaven itself is going to be like.

I think we're drawn to that.

Worshiping God on a hill with 10,000+ other people under the stars with a lightning storm in the background and an incredible light show and bass that rumbles your body is nothing short of overwhelming. Nothing short of demanding of worship to the Creator God who loves us. Nothing short of pointing towards how awesome Heaven is going to be!

Sure, it wasn't all "worship music" ... Some of it was just plain fun. I do believe God's ok with that. Again, all in moderation. I am glad social justice was pushed so much while we were there. At first, I'll be honest, it was annoying, but then I realized it was a good balance to all the stuff that goes with big bands and merch and stuff.

Also there is the fact that among all the big bands that were just fun was the worship and the speakers. Friday night literally probably close to 1000 people came forward to accept Christ or re-dedicate their lives. There is something powerful that happens when God's people worship together. I actually had to go down and help because there were too many people for the prayer volunteers to handle. I got to pray with a guy who desperately needed to get his life back on track. So cool.

It was hot, it was loud, it was energizing, it was tiring, it was overwhelming. It was worth it, and I believe God was very much glorified. The organizers did a very good job at always pointing everything to God, and inviting people to accept Christ or step out and actually serve him. I was impressed.

So, probably the number one question will be this, but I have to break it in two parts, else it's just not fair to the "fun" bands. The musical worship times definitely overshadowed the rest.

• Favorite Worship Bands:
• Tomlin wins for most intimate and powerful.
• Worth Dying For wins for most fun praise time.
  
• David Crowder wins for just the most awesomest, unduplicatable worship.
  

• Favorite Bands: So tough to pick, but:
• Kutless was the best. Most energetic, crowd involving, humble, worshipful, fun band ever.
  
• Skillet comes in second because of their amazing and showy performance. One word: Fire.
• Red comes in third just for being so stinking awesome. Great energy, singing, and screaming!
  

Here's a link to my facebook album (I set it up so it will work without you having a facebook account, so, click away!). And I will upload a couple videos here soon if you don't have facebook.

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=3145322&l=5661831b23&id=709318905

I'm pretty stoked about this, so if you want to hear more, please ask away!

Much grace and peace,
ryan andré

ps: to those who are wondering, we probably still will not go officially "as a youth group" next year. I don't know that I want to be responsible for everyone in that kind of venue. More then that though, I think it is an incredible thing to do as a family. There is lots to do for everyone. All you have to do is like music. So, I'll probably push it next year, but only as a family or if your parents are comfortable with you being responsible for yourself. We'll see how the year goes. :)

Done.

The insanity is done.

Done preaching. Stuff is set up for the summer. Dan is back in 2 weeks.

I am heading down to creationfest in washington this week. After that, I have a relaxing week of not a whole lot of work to do in the office. One of my best friends is getting married the week after that and I'm going to be there for most of the week before that. Then, finally, the following week I am speaking at Gardom Lake's Encounter camp (but it's pretty chill, so prep work hasn't been/won't be too bad (more real life stuff).

So, I'm going to be gone lots, a good change of pace. Looking forward to it. :)

God has been so faithful to me.

More blogs to come though now that things will be slowing down some. I know I've been relatively silent lately.

g&p,

ryan andré

Sermons...

So, I have to preach this Sunday.

I'm really not minding having to preach.

I'm not super nervous.

I know what I want to talk about and my main points.

But for some reason every time I sit down over the last few days to hammer out some of the finer points, I have ... uh, for lack of a better term: "writer's block".

It's frustrating.

The most frustrating thing about it is that I felt really led to talk about it, so much so that I changed what I was going to talk about this week, and I still feel I should, I just can't get my details together.

It's .. like .. ADD of the worst kind, and I'm pretty good generally at forcing myself to pay attention and work.. But, when my mind starts to wander, and I fail to pay attention, and it starts affecting my work, there is a problem. So .. like, please pray.

Thanks.

ryan andré

Who are we trying to impress?

http://www.relevantmagazine.com/features-reviews/life/17250-who-are-we-trying-to-impress

If you didn't catch it on my facebook, this is a great read. He is spot on. I'm not too familiar with the term "hipster" .. but it made sense to me. I think it's different here in Kamloops a bit. Social Justice is not very prevelant and we seem to be a little anti-"green" or "justice" or anything that might be trendy or "hip" here .. It seems to be a different culture here then mainstream Western Culture in my opinion. Maybe the outcome is the same though the article approaches it form the opposite standpoint for us?

Your thoughts?

ryan andré

Entertainment.

I've listened to this song probably a hundred times. But today, for the first time, I really heard the words. And they caught me off guard. I was on my way driving to Alberta and normally I suck at listening to the words and don't usually know them because I'm so focused on what the instruments are doing and tapping along with the drums, lol .. but today was different, and I was pleasantly surprised by this song.

This is some profound wisdom, very insightful words, I've italicized some that stood out to me, thank you Rise Against!

****

Entertainment

All we are is entertainment
Caught up in our own derangement
Tell us what to say and what to do
All we are are pretty faces
Picture perfect bottled rage
Packaged synthesized versions of you

We've all made petty fortunes but we can't afford a life
Confined to pull-out quotes and hotel rooms
They all scream California and it's toppling empire
But can't you see the end is coming soon

Come one come all the new sensation
Guarantees then obligates you
Spotlights follow every single move
Basking here on ten foot stages
Pouty lips and oh so jaded
All as if we have something to prove

Despite these petty fortunes we still can't afford a life
Confined to pull-out quotes and hotel rooms
They all scream California and it's toppling empire
But can't you see the end it's here

And if we cared at all about this unknown plight
Then we'd do something more to finally make this right

Is this only entertainment
Pull the curtains, places please
we've learned to sing and dance and cry on cue
But this is more than entertainment

In a world so sick with pain
This is the only thing that's real or true:
We've all made petty fortunes but we can't afford a life

Confined to pull-out quotes and hotel rooms
They all scream bloody-murder over graves already dug
But can't you see the end

****

I do however know the "unknown plight" ... it's called "sin". Pride. Selfishness. We all have it. These guys are so close. They have it. They are just missing the one element - Jesus, who died to save the world from sin. May we as his followers live as the answer to this song and follow it's very words in the name of Christ who has conquered the "unknown plight".

ryan andré

Today.

Wow, today was crazy busy, tiring and fun!

I went rock climbing with Ben for most of the day. We've been planning this for weeks, and it was a beautiful day for it. We went near Roche Lake on these amazing cliffs. It was my first time on real cliffs though I have done a bunch of climbing at camp on a fake wall. They were about 20-25meters high and we did the 5.8's there (intermediate climbing - but the easiest ones there). TONS of fun. I made it up the first 2 runs no problem and was surprised at how much my body remembered what to do, but I had problems with the 3rd because I was so tired and pretty out of shape. The second run was my favorite, it was up a wedge with a roof on it, so it was really cool. I WISH I had brought my camera, but I totally forgot it in my haste to leave this morning..... It was so amazing up there! What a great privilege to get out and enjoy some of God's amazing creation!

Then it was off to church to decorate for the grad banquet in great haste, then right to our guys accountability group, and then home to write a bunch of emails and stuff.

It's 12:15, and I am exhausted, but had a GREAT day. :) And so, I just thought I'd share that with you.

I hope you all had a good day too!

Rise Against Concert

... was pretty amazing. :) The whole drive down, supper, concert, drive back was so sweet.

As for the concert, it was pretty incredible.

**I did a blurb about punk culture under the pics and videos, scroll down if you're not interested the concert details and read that part. :)**

The opening band, the riverboat gamblers, wasn't actually that bad. They had some really solid songs, but of course, being the opener, the sound quality wasn't very good and the lights were very lack-luster. The lead singer was hard to hear and didn't seem that on vocally. But it was fun music. Special note: Their drummer was I think the best drummer of the night, though A. he wasn't a punk drummer by training you could tell, he was too technical, and B. it was really hard to see the Rise Against drummer because he was back in the dark most of the time.

Rancid was a big surprise for me. It was my first time seeing them in concert even though they are one of the foundational punk bands. Tim and Lars are a great combo and it was cool to see them together. But man, they sounded really tight! I was very impressed. I can't listen to a Rancid disc very long because his voice gets to me, but Lars did tons of singing and they really worked well together. The lights were hilarious! They just had 2 simple work lights on stands on the side and 2 spotlights coming in on them. No variation or light show. Very punk. :) I was very impressed with their set!

Rise Against. Well, to be honest, the first song sucked (Collapse-Post America). There was something wrong with the sound system and it was terrible. I was like, if the whole concert is going to be like this, I am going to have to leave. But then they went into State of the Union and whatever was wrong was fixed and it was only uphill from there. By the end of the night, the sound quality was spot on. As for the band, what energy and great musicianship! Yes, I say musicianship. One of the things that sets Rise Against above most punk bands is their guitar work. There's lots of little things they do that is far beyond the 3 chords distorted sound of most punk bands. All the instruments are tight, he yells, he screams, he sings, they harmonize. I love it when a band sounds a lot like their CD's. The songs were recognizable and with only a few small improvements here and there they did awesome! Meaning, they can do live everything they do on their disc that we know and love. They are more then punks, they are musicians. :) woot!

Here was the set-list:

• 1. Collapse (Post-Amerika)
  2. State of the Union
  3. Re-Education (Through Labor)
  4. Paper Wings
  5. Long Forgotten Sons
  6. The Good Left Undone
  7. Chamber the Cartridge
  8. Drones
  9. The Dirt Whispered
  10. Audience of One
  11. Blood to Bleed
  12. Savior
  13. Survive
  14. Blood-Red, White, and Blue
  15. Prayer of the Refugee
  Encore:
  16. Everchanging (Acoustic)
  17. Hero of War
  18. Dancing for Rain
  19. Give It All
  20. Ready to Fall

Ya, that's a pretty big set list, and I was a big fan of the 5-song encore. The first two were on accoustic guitars, and that's where I was convinced of their musicianship. Especially their lead guitar player is really good, he was doing some really cool stuff on the guitar. Great setlist, great mix of old and new.

----------------------------------------------------

Here are a couple pics (sorry, I didn't take too many and the lights washed out a lot of them).


And here are a few little video clips (WARNING: TURN DOWN YOUR SOUND!! - apparently the mic on my phone really really sucks, or it was really really loud in there) that show the energy. :)

(fun stuff!)

(I'm pretty sure Heaven is going to be more rowdy then this during worship times!)


(everyone was jumping and cheering and moshing, it was hard to hold the camera steady!)

----------------------------------------------------

... I guess I would like to take the opportunity to talk about punks and punk concerts in general.

I am a HUGE fan.

I know punk music has a special place in my heart and that I am fairly biased because of that, but I don't think there's another genre of music that is so passionate, so energetic and so ... free. There is no other concert that rivals the energy and enthusiasm of a punk crowd. It's almost never about "the show". I almost always get the impression that punk bands are having as much fun as the crowd and would be just as content to be in the mosh pit or appreciating the music from the sidelines as anyone else. Punk is about passion, great music, energy, enthusiasm and fun. Sure, worship music can be passionate, but a purely punk (quality punk!) worship service would make my life complete. :) I'm convinced there's going to be a corner of Heaven where the punks can go to jump, fist pump, mosh and crowd surf. :)

Sure, last night was a secular show. I still loved, loved the energy and music quality. The only thing that would have made it better was that it had been praise to the Father! I am fully convinced that God made all genres of music for a very good reason and am even more convinced that some of these genres will reach places that no single person can.

Let me explain that. Punks are misunderstood. Punks are a community. With exception, true punks generally will raise their fists at the world, but they love having fun and are great at putting others first - especially those in their community. Yes, they are known to be against the system, but often this is in a good way. They are usually against consumerism, senseless war, systems of control, and injustice. Here's the thing, punks don't generally care what anyone else thinks of them - what a great quality! I know I get way too wrapped up in what others think of me. Of course, what they often lack is respect, but truly, many punks I know are also some of the most caring people I know. They come across often hard on the surface, but they are loving people. And ya, I 'll be the first to say I don't think they (as a genre and people group) always handle it all right (ie: swearing at/bashing the government, etc, all the time - overall not too helpful), but, then, they don't know God, so how could they handle it right? But, let's be honest here - even us followers of Christ mess that up at times (I know lots of people who, using much nicer words, say the same things about the government). Sometimes they get it more right then us as followers of Christ even.

Let me put it another way. I think if Christ had come this day in age, it probably be the punk community that would accept him, the rebel that He was, the most. Jesus didn't come to feed the system, to give us safe comfortable affluent lives, to mold us into passivity. Punks understand that lifestyle even if they have no idea who Jesus really is and what he lived for. In fact, most punks are pretty against the church even though Jesus stood for many of the same things they stand for.

I'm not saying they are always right or better or anything of the sort. I'm just saying... They may have spikes and tattoos and piercings and weird clothes - but don't judge them. They understand you and the gospel far better then you realize. I think, if you would even stop and listen to them, they might inspire you in your walk with Christ some.

That said, throw up your rawk fists and have a little fun - Jesus is ALIVE!

What a great concert! I can't wait for Heaven!

ryan andré