Missional Living » news http://www.tomcottar.org ...conversation for the Journey... Fri, 30 Jul 2010 13:05:49 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 Copyright © 2010 Missional Living tom@fbcpville.org tom@fbcpville.org posts http://www.tomcottar.org/wp-content/plugins/podpress/images/powered_by_podpress.jpg Missional Living » news http://www.tomcottar.org 144 144 ...conversation for the Journey... tom@fbcpville.org no no Have Guitar, Will Travel http://www.tomcottar.org/2010/01/27/have-guitar-will-travel/ http://www.tomcottar.org/2010/01/27/have-guitar-will-travel/#comments Wed, 27 Jan 2010 16:57:20 +0000 tom cottar http://www.tomcottar.org/?p=947 Having flown several times with my guitar, I can appreciate this. It seems the throwers at United Airlines destroyed a $3500 Taylor guitar. Dave Carroll, the owner, spent 9 months trying to get them to cover the loss. When he told them he was going to post a song on youtube, they said "good luck with that".  Now, with the video in excess of 4 million hits, UA is offering an undisclosed amount of money in exchange for the video being pulled. His response?  "Good luck with that". 

The guitar gods at Taylor have already sent Carroll two new guitars (seen in the video..). 

BTW, if you ever have to fly with your guitar, I recommend doing what has worked for me: a hardshell case, wrapped in duct tape, and damage insurance. 

Enjoy! 

United Breaks Guitars

Click here to view the embedded video.

]]> http://www.tomcottar.org/2010/01/27/have-guitar-will-travel/feed/ 0 Bark at the Baptists http://www.tomcottar.org/2008/12/03/bark-at-the-baptists/ http://www.tomcottar.org/2008/12/03/bark-at-the-baptists/#comments Wed, 03 Dec 2008 19:50:16 +0000 tom cottar http://www.tomcottar.org/?p=601  

Today is a great day. Darkness and light. Yin and yang. Salt and pepper. Regular and decaf.

In the words of Morpheus, "fate, it seems, is not without a sense of irony". As I’ve mentioned before, today is the birthday of two men who have highly influenced the culture of my life, good or bad.

One is Ozzy Osbourne. The original Crazy Train. Black Sabbath. Drugs and alcohol abuse and recovery. Feeble, mumbling reality TV star/rocker recently crowned ‘ Living Legend’ at the Marshall Classic Rock and Roll Awards who turns 59 today. His album, ‘Bark at the Moon’, rocked my world.

The second is Dr. Jim Richards, current Executive Director of the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention, theologian, and former employer of mine, from whom I learned a great deal. Read his message at the SBTC site here.   His passion for the Great Commission and commitment to giving 51% of all undesignated funds to the SBC to help start churches and send missionaries goes unmatched in any other state.

Days like this make me smile.

]]> http://www.tomcottar.org/2008/12/03/bark-at-the-baptists/feed/ 0 Ray Boltz: A Tragic Comedy http://www.tomcottar.org/2008/09/17/ray-boltz-a-tragic-comedy/ http://www.tomcottar.org/2008/09/17/ray-boltz-a-tragic-comedy/#comments Wed, 17 Sep 2008 14:43:59 +0000 tom cottar http://www.tomcottar.org/?p=584  

It’s probably not what you think.

A few days ago, retired Christian recording artist Ray Boltz came out of the closet, announcing his homosexuality. (His website, btw, is having a pretty huge clearance sale. Interpret that how you wish.) “This is what it really comes down to,” he says in a CT interview. “If this is the way God made me, then this is the way I’m going to live. It’s not like God made me this way and he’ll send me to hell if I am who he created me to be … I really feel closer to God because I no longer hate myself.”

On his official website he says: 

"A few years ago I made the decision to retire from contemporary Christian music. I had won awards, performed in front of thousands of people, and sold millions of records. Still, I believed that if people knew who I really was, I would never be accepted."

The tragedy is that within a community of believers, genuine authenticity is not accepted. That, for all our talk of ‘community’, we have to still hide our struggles and pains beneath the veneer of success.

The tragedy is while Ray Boltz struggled in sin, and received unmerited grace to write beautiful songs, the Christian community will yet again throw him to the wolves. (Michael English, anyone? Sandi Patti? Amy Grant?)

The tragedy is that songs that once brought a sense of awe and reverence to the Church will now become the punchline in a joke.

The comedy? That the enemy will have a field day watching as believers debate and fight over the Scriptures, slander each other, and condemn and accuse the other side of neo-liberalism or fundamentalism. No. Wait….that’s another Tragedy.

Ray Boltz will stand before our Abba one day to give an account of his life.

So will you.

No doubt, homosexuality is still sin. But I believe the grace that covers my USAmerican sin of gluttony, consumption, pride and hypocrisy is big enough to cover his sin as well. If not, we are all in trouble.

Matthew 11:28-30 (The Message) reads:

"Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly."

Pray for Ray Boltz. And pray for me, too. We still need Jesus.

 

Thoughts?

]]> http://www.tomcottar.org/2008/09/17/ray-boltz-a-tragic-comedy/feed/ 6 The Leader of the Band http://www.tomcottar.org/2007/12/16/the-leader-of-the-band/ http://www.tomcottar.org/2007/12/16/the-leader-of-the-band/#comments Mon, 17 Dec 2007 04:33:56 +0000 tom cottar http://www.tomcottar.org/2007/12/16/the-leader-of-the-band/ Since I was a freshmen in high school, I’ve loved Dan Fogelberg. (No, it wasn’t ALL hair metal…). Same Old Lang Syne and The Leader of the Band weren’t just songs on the radio–they were experiences. And years later, they still take me back to that freeze-frame moment they created. In fact, I’m a sap: I only listen to Lang Syne at certain times because the place it takes me to is almost sacred.

Fogelberg, 56, died today after an almost 4 year bout with prostate cancer.  Our thoughts and prayers go out to his wife, Jean, and his famly and friends. A guy I would have loved to have known better, he loved the tonal qualities and subtle range of the acoustic guitar. He loved to laugh and abuse the English language. He loved rock and roll. He always thought he’d quit the music business..but never the music. He was blessed with the never-ending gift/curse of music. And wasn’t cool enough for MTV. And he defined success as having just one person listen to his work and say, "Wow! Thanks for writing that!"

"we tried to reach beyond the emptiness, but neither one knew how…"

Wow! Thanks for writing that.

Here’s a live video to take us back.

Click here to view the embedded video.

]]> http://www.tomcottar.org/2007/12/16/the-leader-of-the-band/feed/ 0 Heroes Wanted. http://www.tomcottar.org/2007/12/15/heroes-wanted/ http://www.tomcottar.org/2007/12/15/heroes-wanted/#comments Sat, 15 Dec 2007 17:26:43 +0000 tom cottar http://www.tomcottar.org/2007/12/15/heroes-wanted/ It’s the story of a mother who gave birth to a son. And the son who holds the fate of the world in his hands.

Her name is Sarah. Not Mary.

I gotta admit, there’s only about two shows on television I watch with any commitment, so when the announcement came that my one-of-two favorite shows, Heroes, would NOT be aired beginning in January, I fell into a panic.

But God is good. FOX announced the upcoming Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles.

 After viewing several trailers online, you’ll see why this one is my favorite.

 

Click here to view the embedded video.

 

If you want more of the plotline, watch this.

]]> http://www.tomcottar.org/2007/12/15/heroes-wanted/feed/ 0 Stop Daylight Savings and End Global Warming http://www.tomcottar.org/2007/10/30/stop-daylight-savings-and-end-global-warming/ http://www.tomcottar.org/2007/10/30/stop-daylight-savings-and-end-global-warming/#comments Tue, 30 Oct 2007 14:10:44 +0000 tom cottar http://www.tomcottar.org/2007/10/30/stop-daylight-savings-and-end-global-warming/ As you know, we were already supposed to change over our collective clocks this past Sunday, but Big Brother decided that we needed an extra couple of weeks of Daylight Savings Time. But it goes further.

TreeHugger Labs ran the numbers and has determined that If DST runs half the year for an hour a day, that is fully 1/48th of our total exposure to the sun that could be eliminated with the cancelling of Daylight Saving Time, almost 2% of solar heat gain annually.

That’s huge!

Read the whole article here.

]]> http://www.tomcottar.org/2007/10/30/stop-daylight-savings-and-end-global-warming/feed/ 0 Man On Fire? http://www.tomcottar.org/2007/10/17/man-on-fire/ http://www.tomcottar.org/2007/10/17/man-on-fire/#comments Wed, 17 Oct 2007 15:08:42 +0000 tom cottar http://www.tomcottar.org/2007/10/17/man-on-fire/ Of course, you’ve seen the picture of Pope John Paul II as appeared in the fire.

Evidently it’s been crashing some religious websites from all the hits…

Perhaps it wasn’t JP after all. Maybe it was actually Johnny Storm…

But that’s just me. Either way…

‘Flame on!’

]]> http://www.tomcottar.org/2007/10/17/man-on-fire/feed/ 0 Out of the Ashes http://www.tomcottar.org/2007/08/14/out-of-the-ashes/ http://www.tomcottar.org/2007/08/14/out-of-the-ashes/#comments Tue, 14 Aug 2007 13:04:33 +0000 tom cottar http://www.tomcottar.org/2007/08/14/out-of-the-ashes/
As many of you know, the phoenix symbolizes immortality, resurrection and life after death. According to the Greeks, the bird lives in Arabia, near a cool well. Every morning at dawn, the sun god would stop his chariot to listen to the bird sing a beautiful song while it bathed in the well.

Mythology says that when the bird felt its death was near (every 500 to 1,461 years) it would build a nest of aromatic wood and set it on fire…and then die among the flames. Then, a new phoenix would spring forth from the pyre, reborn.

Reborn. Ahhhh…..

After an insane summer, and 9 days of vacation, I am feeling reborn. Sunday was a great day with the return of By Design, our worship band, and it felt good to be back in the saddle. Unfortunately (?) we played both services, so I missed out on hanging with our students in the youth center that morning. (But Overhaulin’ is just around the corner this Wednesday…)

On Monday, Stan and I began our 10-day Diet of Daniel to help jumpstart our bodies and minds to a healthier us. It’s basically a 10-day fast of anything with water, sugar, flour, or red meat…so bring on the grilled chicken salad. And lots of it. I’ll be sure and update my progress regularly. (Last time, I lost about 12 pounds in ten days, and, while it’s more of a detox eating plan, the weightloss is definitely a bonus!)

Also, Monday kicked off my training for the Scott and White Half Marathon. I’m shooting for going to Waco on October 28 and spending 2.5 hours trying to cover 13.1 miles with my iPod and a smile. (The smile is optional; the iPod is not.) Since it’ll be my first 13.1 miler (I had some IT band problems training with the ATT marathon—primarily because I forgot I’m human…) I’m not shooting for any particular PR time (personal record), …I’m just hoping to finish and finish well. So, I’m in for some pretty intense training in the next 11 weeks–long runs, intervals, speed work, lots of water…and TONS of rest. Me and my Sauconys are going to be logging quite a few miles together. It’s always good therapy: I can worship, I can pray, I can think…and there’s no phone, so, for anywhere between 45 minutes and an hour and a half, I’m basically untouchable. See why it’s addictive?

Meanwhile, I’ve got an inbox full of items that need attention, current events and theological insights that are awaiting their blogworthiness, and a Moleskin journal scribbled with song lyrics, quotable thoughts and ramblings on deck for your insight and contribution. Unfortunately, I also have a load of calendar requests, promotional projects, end-of-summer send-offs and back-to-school ramp-ups to attend to…

So…the question is how do we balance our lives successfully in order to not burn out like our buddy, the Phoenix? What are things you do to incorporate a regular Sabbath rest into your life? How, especially in ministry (which is designed by God Himself to kill you), do you not become a statistic of burnout? Of breakdown? How do you balance yourself? Remember, this journey is a marathon, not a 50-yard dash…and we’ve got to finish well. 

]]> http://www.tomcottar.org/2007/08/14/out-of-the-ashes/feed/ 2 Stormy Monday http://www.tomcottar.org/2007/01/15/stormy-monday/ http://www.tomcottar.org/2007/01/15/stormy-monday/#comments Tue, 16 Jan 2007 00:27:12 +0000 tom cottar http://www.tomcottar.org/2007/01/15/stormy-monday/ Here in Central Texas, we're under a Winter Storm Advisory/Watch. There are about 4 days in the year that we have a snowball's chance of …snowballs. So, we've spent our MLK day cooped up from icy roads, freezing precip, and a pretty stiff north wind. 

Cool.

Tonite, it's supposed to get worse. Tuesday is forcasted to have a high of a whopping 28 degrees I last heard.

Reminds me of another reason why Jimmie needs an iPod: B.B. King and Albert Collins' duet of "Stormy Monday"(recorded live, 1993). Get it here. Order up a Drive By (20 oz. of coffee with a triple shot of espresso, add a dab of 2% leche), close your eyes and let the soul roll. Take 6 minutes out of your day and enjoy.

"Well they call it Stormy Monday, but Tuesday's just as bad."  

 

]]> http://www.tomcottar.org/2007/01/15/stormy-monday/feed/ 2 I’d Like To Thank All The Little People… http://www.tomcottar.org/2006/12/18/id-like-to-thank-all-the-little-people/ http://www.tomcottar.org/2006/12/18/id-like-to-thank-all-the-little-people/#comments Mon, 18 Dec 2006 14:49:03 +0000 tom cottar http://www.tomcottar.org/2006/12/18/id-like-to-thank-all-the-little-people/ …who made this possible. Thanks to everyone I selfishly used, and even for those who used me. Thank you to my wife and kids for their undying love and support. Thank you to all the bloggers and chatters who've agreed with me and flamed me and boycotted me. 

Thank you to those who've encouraged me to pursue myself and who've wiped their feet on my dreams. Thank you for the selfish indulgence of following my own dreams of personal gain and ego, rather than some lofty, noble cause like curing AIDS or pursuing world peace.

Thank you to TIME magazine for naming me their Person of the Year.

 

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