If U2’s latest album popping up in your iCloud was your introduction to the band, I’m sorry.
Not because I think it’s a bad record. In fact I thought it was a pretty amazing gift.
But even I have to admit that it does seem a little rude for even the biggest band of the world to arrive unannounced in your download folder.
So if your first impression of Bono and the boys is their drunken stumbling into your music library, I want to ask you today to give them a second chance.
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My dog is hearing things.
Maybe it’s just because he’s getting older. Maybe it’s because he’s still getting used to his surroundings in the apartment complex we just moved into.
But I swear it seems like he’s barking at nothing these days.
He jumps off the couch with hair sticking up off his back, trying to make me alert of invisible intruders.
I laugh at him. I feel bad for him.
Really though, I do the exact same thing. Continue reading
The Boston Red Sox used to be a bunch of losers.
Look – I know my team The Braves aren’t lighting up the world right now. And this year’s Boston team is stinking up the joint. But nothing compares to The Red Sox epic streak of futility.
For 86 years losing was their identity. The Curse Of The Bambino kept them out of the World Series year after year after year.
Yet, despite their pitiful postseason record, the Red Sox developed a legendary fanbase, possibly the best in all of baseball. In fact, the Boston fan culture was so legendary Hollywood made a movie about it.
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Who gives away the most anticipated new album of the year to the entire world for free?
Certainly not the biggest rock band in the world, right?
That would subvert the entire process we’ve become accustomed to as consumers.
That would flip the recording industry on its head.
That would be unheard of…if it didn’t just happen.
You’ve probably seen by now that after 5 years of waiting U2 finally released their latest album “Songs Of Innocence” completely free to anyone with an iTunes account.
And they didn’t just release it – it’s already sitting in everyone’s purchased music folder, waiting to be downloaded. The album is a gift to every iTunes customer, just waiting to be received.
Who could have seen something like this coming?
Actually, it sounds kind of familiar.
Sounds kind of like a God giving away His gift of salvation completely for free. Continue reading
Counting Crows are not the best band you’ll ever hear.
They’re not the best band of the 90s. Adam Duritz is not the best lyricist. He doesn’t have the best voice. His band is not comprised of the best musicians.
That being said, Counting Crows are the best “drive your car down the highway trying to figure out why the girl left you and what’s wrong with your life and what to do about it all” band.
Something about cruising down the freeway listening to “August And Everything After” makes pain and heartbreak a little easier to understand.
To put it simply, the music of Counting Crows has a way of making you feel a little better about the things that make you sad. Continue reading
Cook-Out is the greatest restaurant of all time in the history of ever. Period.
Ok. Maybe I’m going overboard just a tad.
Seriously though: have you been? Did you know you can get a BBQ sandwich, a chicken quesadilla, cajun fries, and one of 40 different milkshakes for under $7? And it’s not just cheap – the food tastes incredible as well.
And they serve Cheerwine on tap. Heaven on Earth.
This is not a sponsored post. Just the endorsement of a true Cook-Out fan.
If you’ve never tasted Cook-Out, you won’t be able to taste what I’m talking about. Continue reading
Welcome to the POP GOD POPcast – an exploration into the lives of people seeking God in the present tense.
This week’s guest is David Keel. David is a teacher, speaker, scientist, youth pastor, legendary coffee drinker, and most importantly my former Sunday School teacher. David shares openly about his journey to meeting Jesus at rock bottom, his on-and-off youth ministry career, and how he comes up with his offbeat analogies. We also get real about the struggles of joblessness and how to keep the faith when the paychecks stop coming. Plus David offers a look behind the scenes of Fort Discovery where he worked for over a decade! Enjoy this deeper look inside the life of a teacher who made a true impact on my life.
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You may not consider yourself an actor. But in this life you are a performer.
I’m not saying God created us just to put on a show for Him.
I do think He created each of us to perform a unique role in His story.
Being called on to perform is incredibly scary. As you stand backstage waiting for the curtain to rise in your life, the weight of your burden can become suffocating.
As you run through the lines you’ve rehearsed in your head, you wonder about everything that could possibly go wrong.
It’s called Stage Fright. It’s a feeling every performer understands. It’s a force every performer must overcome each night.
Just when you’re about to make a break for the exit, the curtain finally rises.
When it’s time for you to hit the stage, you do your best to stick to the script you’ve seen so many other performers before you follow.
The problem is God didn’t create you to stick to a script. Instead we are called on to improvise. Continue reading
I don’t think Jerry Seinfeld is worried about his salvation
I’m not talking about Jerry Seinfeld the man. It’s hard to say if the current Comedians In Cars Getting Coffee host thinks much about his eternal future.
I’m talking about Jerry Seinfeld the character from the classic show Seinfeld which turned 25 years old this year.
While I imagine Jerry Seinfeld is a kind, generous, thoughtful and loving person in real life, his television counterpart was nothing of the sort.
Jerry, George, Elaine, and Kramer were self-centered, egotistical, perverse, and sometimes downright despicable. And for 9 hilarious seasons the world loved them for it. Continue reading
In any competition, there can only be one winner.
In many competitions, there is no question who the winner will be.
So if you stand no chance of winning, why bother competing?
Because if you’re anything like disabled dachshund Anderson Pooper, sometimes running the race is victory in itself.
(Click Here if you can’t see the video above)
Sometimes running the race is not simply about winning.
Sometimes God even uses the slowest people on the track to inspire others.
You may not be the winner at parenting, exercising, selling, blogging or anything else you compete at today.
You may feel like a dachshund in a wheelchair who stands no chance at defeating the other dogs in the race.
It’s ok. You’re not always meant to be the champion.
Sometimes victory comes from losing a race which you never thought you’d enter in the first place.
Disregard your disabilities. Ignore the other dogs on the track. Keep on running the race today.
Happy Friday.
(Credit to Deadspin for the fantastic video.)
POP GOD 