Bono

Why I Run

/ Alex Doriot / 3 Comments

FullSizeRender-5Earlier this week I got a notification from my Nike+ Running App. The App urged me to pledge to run as many miles as I could this week. For every mile I ran, Bank Of America would donate 40 cents to (RED), a charity which looks to end the AIDS epidemic in Africa.

40 cents a mile doesn’t sound like all that much. But I’m a supporter of the (RED) organization and I know how far even that small amount can go. So I’ve pledged to run this week and add my miles to the tally. I encourage you to download the app and do the same.

It wasn’t a hard decision for me to make. I probably would have gone running a couple of times this week anyway.

But what I’m starting to realize is having a reason to run that’s bigger than myself is the best kind of motivation for me. Continue reading →

There Is Such A Thing As Free

/ Alex Doriot / 2 Comments

photo.PNG-2Who 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 →

My Favorite Verse In The Message

/ Alex Doriot / Leave a comment

Some people hate on The Message, the modern translation of the Bible crafted by Eugene Peterson. Not me. While it’s not my everyday Bible translation, I often turn to The Message for a fresh perspective on God’s word. Plus it’s probably the only Bible translation with a quote from Bono on the back.

There’s a lot of great translations in The Message. John 1:14 gets tossed around a lot by Younglife leaders – “The word became flesh and blood and moved into the neighborhood.”

But my favorite verse in The Message doesn’t come from the Gospels.

It doesn’t come from Genesis.

It doesn’t come from a prophet major or minor.

It doesn’t come the Psalms or the Proverbs or the Song of Solomon.

In fact, it doesn’t come from any of the 66 books of The Bible.

My favorite verse in The Message translation comes before the table of contents: Continue reading →

The U2 Trick

/ Alex Doriot / 4 Comments

Who would you say is the biggest band in the world right now? Would it be Mumford and Sons? fun.? Maroon 5? One Direction?

U2-Rattle-and-HumIn the late 80s, the answer to that question would have undoubtedly been U2. In 1989, at the peak of their international popularity, U2 decided to take a break. After ten years of constant touring across the world and six smash records, the biggest band in the world took a few years off to, as Bono said at the time, “dream it all up again.”

When they returned with their next album “Achtung Baby” in 1991, most people expected it would consist of the same uplifting, soul-searching arena rock that was a trademark of U2. Instead, “Achtung Baby” sounded like this: 

“Achtung Baby” was not just a tremendous departure from anything U2 had ever created, but from anything on the radio in 1991. Why would the biggest band in the world completely deconstruct their sound and release an album so far removed from their previous catalog?

Here’s the trick: they wanted to thrive, not just survive. Continue reading →