Postmodern Renaissance Culture Revolutionary

There are days when something will strike me in such a way that it's like someone turns the light on in a darkened room. Earlier this week was just such a situation. I have done many funerals so far in my ministry. In fact, I love doing funerals. There is something very rewarding about speaking about a person's life and celebrating who they have been in this life. This funeral was for an extraordinary person. A giving and kind person who respected life. This man was of the Greatest Generation as Tom Brokaw has named them. He was born in the first decade of the last century. In fact, he was born during the First World War. When the time came to serve the call of the country during the Second World War, this man went off to serve. His task was to put aircraft back together after the bombing and fighter raids into Germany. He wasn't a combat veteran. But he saw the horrors of war. He didn't talk about his experiences very often. He was very humble about the medals and cit...

Friday evening Lisa and I went out on a date. We attended a concert. We don't get out to many concerts. And this was one of Lisa's favorite groups - Point of Grace. Opening for PoG was new artist Daniel Kirkley. Daniel Kirkley has been compared to Josh Groban. He has a strong voice and classical quality to his singing. His one radio release is My New Dawn . It appears he is breaking out onto the mainstream. I will admit that his stage presence was a little rough. He is new to this, though. And I was guilty of focusing on the visual presentation of his show. And because I focused on that, I almost missed the true quality that he has. He has a powerful vocal quality. He brings the depth of feeling and the message of his songs right to the depths of the soul. And music is a language of the soul. I really wish, though, that he would have selected some songs that really allowed his vocals to show their full depth. It may have been nerves that led him to cut back on the vocals. He sa...

I watched two things this weekend that appear to have nothing in common yet are strangely similar. Lisa purchased The Prestige . This was a movie she really wanted to see at the theater. It didn't really make a splash from what I remember of it. But it looked interesting to me. It was interesting to Lisa only because Hugh Jackman was one of the lead actors. She has an unhealthy fascination for Hugh Jackman. The story is about two rival magicians. Christian Bale and Hugh Jackman play the rival magicians. They begin working together when they are mentoring with an older magician. But the movie portrays them mentoring with the man (played by Michael Caine) who crafts the illusions used by the magician. As they become more ambitious their rivalry turns violent toward each other. The entire movie is about illusion and misdirection. Not just the art of prestidigitation. The movie is filmed to enhance the illusion of the plot. It all comes down to the prestige. This is the final part of t...

I got the unusual treat this week to take a weekday off and go with a friend to see a movie. It is rare that I take a weekday and go play. It is even more rare to go with a friend. I love my wife and enjoy going out and doing stuff together. But it was a great experience to just go out with a buddy and enjoy good conversation. We also enjoyed a good movie. We saw Rocky Balboa. I remember seeing the original Rocky all the way back in the '70's. It was a powerful movie if I remember it all these years later. So this was a nice bookend for me. As far as the movie is concerned, it has to do with Rocky coming out of retirement to fight one last fight. At almost 60 years old it is a little far fetched. But I gotta say, I wouldn't want to mess with Sly. He is pumped. Watching him work out to get into shape, I got up the next morning sore. And to see him going toe-to-toe with a guy half his age is tough to choke - if you let it. If you sit back and listen to what is happening in th...

Garrison Keillor on "Those People called Methodists" I love Garrison Keillor. The Prairie Home Companion is a great Saturday evening (or Sunday afternoon) treat if you listen to NPR. I don't know where Ben got this, but it is very funny. Interesting tidbits to get out of this bit: Garrison Keillor and Jeff Foxworthy are Methodists. Here are some other famous Methodists you may not have known about: Will Rogers George Lucas ( Star Wars ) Jeff Smith ( The Frugal Gourmet - one of my cooking heroes - UM minister) Stephen Crane (writer - Red Badge of Courage ) Stephen King Jackie Robinson Tom Landry Thomas Welch (Welch's grape juice) William Booth (founder of Salvation Army) Hugh Hefner ( Playboy ) So there is a little bit of Methodist trivia for today. Enjoy.

Okay, admit it. You've googled yourself. If not, you should. You would be surprised what you might find. If you go back to the post about Time's Person of the Year, you will see a couple of comments posted by "Todd". One of those isn't me. It was another Todd Bergman who was searching his name/my name on the internet. Wait a minute and ponder that one. But it was a little bizarre to have another person with the same name make contact. If your reading "Other Todd", I mean nothing personal about you. Personally. Just the circumstance. Not that I was offended. It was just. Bizarre. But in "meeting" another Todd Bergman I am curious and wonder: are we related somehow? Where is this other from? And do we share ancestors? Due to time and other writing responsibilities, I haven't posted anything new in a while. And this was mostly to let y'all know that I'm still here. See you...and the other Todd Bergman...around.

How many times have you been asked, "What religion are you?" and you knew that they really only wanted to know what particular denomination you were. It becomes a little awkward for me when folks ask that. I don't want to sound like I'm correcting them. But it helps to understand that there is a huge difference between religions, faith traditions, and denominations. Some in the church don't even understand the difference. But I have come up with a little illustration to help folks understand the differences. I use dogs. There are many breeds of dogs. You have Doberman's and German Shepherds. You have Labs and collies. There are chihuahuas and schnauzers. All of those different breeds of dogs are like the denominations. Each of those dogs has there specific features that makes them different. But they are all still dogs. Each denomination has its specific features that make it different from other denominations. But we all share common features that make us on...

I was listening to talk radio while on one of my many trips this weeks to Oklahoma City. And, since this is Oscar nomination week, the subject of movies was on the mind of the commentator. Glenn Beck if you just need to know. I love Glenn Beck. But that is another blog. The subject of Star Wars was brought up. I saw Star Wars when it came out in 1977. I saw it at least 6 or 7 times in the theater. I remember how that movie became a part of many hours of play in my youth. I remember going to my best friends house. We would go into the basement (which was cooler than cool) and playing like Han Solo and Luke Skywalker. We would relive the scenes from the movie. I remember the figures that were at the top of my Christmas list that year and the special toys of that time. The only time I really ever messed up a Christmas surprise was because of Star Wars toys. 30 years later (May will be the 30th anniversary of the initial release of Star Wars ), I revisit those times and memories a lot more...

Long ago I remember lying the floor of my grandparents living room floor. I remember lying beside my Pappaw (grandfather) watching the television show Quincy, M.E. I still try to watch it when I can. It was a powerful show. And it sparked an interest in becoming a forensic pathologist (coroner). At 7 years old, I wanted to be like Quincy. That show, as well as my love for all things C.S.I ., has laid a foundation for something that really has hacked me off. I finished reading John Grisham's newest book, The Innocent Man . The book is a non-fiction narrative of the events surrounding Ron Williamson, a man convicted of a murder he did not commit. The main story takes place in Ada, Oklahoma. This is the area I grew up. I went to college there. Lisa lived there a big chunk of her life. And I remember some of the names and events that are retold in this book. This is an emotionally draining read. The events surrounding the death of Debbie Carter are horrible. But Grisham's focus is...

The majority of Americans see good/evil on a spectrum. At the far end of good you have God and Jesus being the embodiment of good. Then spread down toward the middle you have Mother Teresa, Mister Rogers, etc. until you get to the division point. At the opposite far end you have Satan as the embodiment of evil. Then Adolf Hitler, Saddam Hussein, etc. until you reach the middle again. The points in between God and Satan represent increasing level of good or evil in someone's life. Most of us see ourselves somewhere toward middle. We aren't perfectly good. We aren't totally evil. But scripture doesn't present good and evil on a sliding scale. Good is good. Evil is evil. There are some who take the sides of good and evil and flip flop them. Good can be evil or evil good depending on the perspective you have. Classical example: Robin Hood. Is it good to steal and break the law? Modern example: 9/11. Those who seized the planes and crashed them were doing evil in the eyes of...

James 3:5-11 So also the tongue is a small part of the body, and yet it boasts of great things. See how great a forest is set aflame by such a small fire! 6 And the tongue is a fire, the very world of iniquity; the tongue is set among our members as that which defiles the entire body, and sets on fire the course of our life, and is set on fire by hell. 7 For every species of beasts and birds, of reptiles and creatures of the sea, is tamed and has been tamed by the human race. 8 But no one can tame the tongue ; it is a restless evil and full of deadly poison. 9 With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the likeness of God; 10 from the same mouth come both blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be this way. NASU James offered practical teaching to the followers of Christ who received his letter all those long years ago. But it is amazing how powerful and timeless these words are. I am thinking of three semi-current event...

I hope everyone is excited about the prospects of what the new year holds in store for you. I have really been thinking about what to do with this little corner of the world wide web. I know that some of you have found it to be a little slow in updates. I apologize. Part of the reason is the overwhelming responsibility to come up with something. Another part of the reason is it just isn't a high priority in the busy and not so busy times of life. But I want to try something. I know that there are folks who read and don't respond to the blog. That is fine. But I want to offer you something. So I would like to know what you would like to find at this site. Do you want devotional thoughts? Do you want challenging perspectives? Do you want cultural commentary? Do you want witty insights and general light hearted brain candy? Do you want pictures/video/audio? Do you want me to leave you alone? Please let me know how I can use this corner of cyberspace a little better and maybe bring...