Is religion really a bad word? I wrote about that in an article last year. (Why saying “I’m Not Religious” is a Cop Out!)  This video poem, “Why I Hate Religion, But Love Jesus” is powerful, creative and resonates deeply. I applaud the artistry. But, I think there is just something about semantics asking for more thought and discussion, which any good art should allow. I wrote this in June last year:

Religion is not cutting or whipping one’s self, living silently in a monastery, singing emotionally in a worship service. It is not the Inquisition, the wars of the Crusades, the failings of a Pope or local church pastor. It is not complicated and requiring of academic prowess or hours of serving in a church ministry program. In fact, it is not something a seminary owns rights or that one particular church can claim as their original thought.

What is it, then?

Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you.
James 1:27 New Living Translation (NLT)

Being for Jesus does not mean I have to be against true religion. What does “religion” really mean? I think semantics are important. Hypocrisy gives religion a bad name. It feels great to rally when something emotionally feels right, but if we actually spend time to think beyond emotions perhaps a deeper truth is there. Critics are needed, and so are questions.

Here is my question in relation to this video: Can’t we be FOR something, and not AGAINST something?

I thought of writing a book review but ended up with a song inspired by a book. “Grace found me” is a phrase quoted from the book All Is Grace: A Ragamuffin Memoir which is the memoir of beloved author and speaker Brennan Manning. We think we can earn God’s love, God’s favor. We can’t. Even at our best, most religious selves we fall short. We all do. And, at our worst, God’s hand reaches out for us. All we have to do is reach for it. His hand will find our hand. 

As some of you know, I am working on a worship recording called Drink The Divine. This worship project is about grace–the cross section of our belief in it and our experience of it. This is why I believe in giving away the proceeds to help a very worthy cause, Doma International. There are many who need an arm reached out to them. As we in our well-equipped and tuned church facilities cry out in song and prayer, our hand should be held out to the least of these. We are all ragamuffins, anyway.

Fundamentally, I believe that drinking the divine of Jesus includes how we in our human, earthy and real selves live out love to others. It is not an “either or”…it is a “both and” way of loving. Love God, and love people. Follow Jesus. Express your worship to Jesus. These we should not separate.

If you believe in this as I do and desire to support, please do so. There are only a few days left and your contribution will get you a small perk, sure. But, it will give a lot more. However, only you can help make that happen.

God bless and peace in the New Year to you and yours!

Here are the song lyrics to “Grace Found Me”.

Verse 1:
In the dark of doubt
I’m closer to good news
For it takes a broken heart
To finally hear the truth
A prodigal I am
Reaching for the Father’s hand

Chorus:
Grace, grace, you found me
From my shame I am set free
Grace, grace, you saved me
From blindness now my eyes see
Grace

Verse 2:
God’s favor is not earned
My efforts fall in vain
Yes, I have a broken heart
And I’m the one to blame
A prodigal I am
Reaching for the Father’s hand

Grace…

© 2011 Rich Kirkpatrick/Tehilla Music

Those who know me do realize I absolutely love good coffee. Even on vacation the goal is to find the shops with the locally roasted beans and well-trained baristas. This series is a how-to for those who want to save money but love good coffee.

Now, I love to serve espresso straight, occasionally adding a bit of honey or raw sugar. I also like a good latte or mocha latte or espresso macchiato. This means frothing and steaming milk. Here is a short how-to on frothing milk.

• With a pump machine, you are better off because the water reservoir can be refilled where the inexpensive steam machines need you to wait, twist off the top, then refill. If there are more than one of you who you make drinks for that becomes somewhat annoying.
• A stainless steel pitcher really makes a difference. You will also need a thermometer to gauge the temperature. If you steam too hot you might ruin the milk. Also, you want to do the steaming before you pull your espresso shot.
• Start with cold milk, the pitcher being cold may aid in frothing as well. Choose the milk you enjoy, although quality of milk and amount of fat effects results. Trial and error is your friend.
•  The milk will rise as you place the pitcher under the steam wand with the wand in the milk. This is called “stretching” the milk. Lower the pitcher to keep the tip of the wand just below the milk surface.
• When you reach the right temperature, usually 150-155 degrees F you should turn the steam off, remove the pitcher of milk, then use an auxiliary cup to release a few bursts of steam to keep the wand clean. You should stop before desired temp as the thermometer lags its reading.
• Large bubbles are no good. Bang the pitcher on the counter and swish a bit to minimize that. Again, trial and error will teach you a lot based on the milk, pitcher and machine you use.
• Now you can pull your shots. Pour shots into your mug. (I add sugar or syrup or chocolate at this point.) Then pour the milk onto the espresso.

As a parting note, I have tried frothing devices. They just do not work as well as real steam. Next article I will tell how to use your frothed milk. Really, you can figure that out, but I need to show off more photos.

 Tell me how this works for you! Also, any tips from some baristas out there?

Those who know me do realize I absolutely love good coffee. Even on vacation the goal is to find the shops with the locally roasted beans and well-trained baristas. This series is a how-to for those who want to save money but love good coffee.

Now I have had some friends who were and currently are professional baristas.  Their skill amazes me, from coffee art to their knowledgable experience in brewing and pulling shots. I needed  a budget cut at home. And, when my favorite locally run coffee places disappeared, I was left with Starbucks. Sigh. I did not want to be like other friends who spend a fortune each day or week at the drive-through Starbucks on over-roasted, overpriced coffee. You and I are not likely to make coffee as good as the best barista, but I think you can easily surpass the stuff you get at Starbucks from your very own home and save your bank account.

The ingredients for good espresso coffee are the quality of the beans and its roasting, its proper grind and the machine’s ability to provide enough pressure to produce a good head of crema. You need the best beans roasted with skill and ground with a quality burr grinder. Your machine needs to have at least 15 bars of pressure and correct temperature to pull the right stuff out in each espresso shot. Like most of you, I would love to have a fancy $1200 automated machine, or even better yet a decent $600 machine that would do it almost as good as a professional machine. Add another $200 for a decent grinder. We have not added in the cost of beans yet and are nearing at least $1000.

But, go cheap like I did. I use a $99 pump machine with a $5 can of pre-ground espresso coffee beans and it may not be like that gourmet shop in town, but it actually taste far better than your local Starbucks. If you buy two drinks a week at $5 you are spending over $500 a year! So, if you do it my way, you can spend less than half of that and have a gourmet drink everyday. On top of that, you can be green by saving plastic and paper cups from landfills. Here is what you need.

Espresso Machine: Here are a couple options under $100.

•  $99.95 Delongh DGI EC155  (Pump is better than steam pressure). I have used this machine more than twice a day for over two years and it still works. Like all machines, decalcifying is important.
• $21.00 Bialetti Moka Express Stovetop Espresso Maker  (Makes larger amount of espresso, but cannot froth milk. You can take camping!) I bought my mom one of these when we visited her and the coffee tasted fine. Great if you need a larger amount.

Ground Coffee: Here are two options I use under $5 a can/brick that I think are good.

• Cafe Bustelo as low as 3.86 a can of 10 oz.! (Found in corner market and local groceries around Southern CA for about $4-$5)
• Cafe La Llave as low as $4.39 a brick of 10 oz.  (I like this one better, I also have found in the corner market or groceries in Southern CA for about $4-$5)

Accessories: A list of tools you will need.

•  Tamper $5 or so online or at Target, etc. (to press the grinds into the portafilter)
• Measuring: $5 A simple 1 oz. and 2 oz. measuring cup for the shots to be moved to your drink.
• Cups: $5 reusable coffee mugs that can be taken in the car and save the environment.

Any tips you can share? What machines and process do you use? Any questions?

Funny to read in the the virtual newspaper that stocks have soared this morning due to a record turnout for Black Friday. Even without cable or satellite TV, my family received the deluge of intel on it. The marketing force this year executed with military precision this campaign rendering Thanksgiving as a footnote. Some publicity was free. From pepper-spraying-Xbox-buying moms at Walmart to Occupy Bestbuy, our nation engaged in battle with a bad economy. On twitter I read “what recession” while personally knowing many who may never fully recover their losses. Now, Cyber Monday hits!

Our culture loves the idea of this techie stuff. As a cyborg I am attached to my iPhone like it is an appendage. As I type this, I am viewing a young couple walking about in the Starbucks looking at their iPhone screens instead of each other at a 2-1 ratio. There is a church staff meeting going on next to me where they are planning their Christmas show and the cover art I got to peek at as I eavesdrop is a picture of an iPhone. As I am enjoying my Orange Blossom Green Tea, because Starbucks coffee is just over-roasted and beneath me, I type on a MacBook Pro. It is a Cyber Monday, indeed. Steve Jobs, too bad you can’t take it all with you!

The juxtaposition of a beret wearing Occupy-Wall-Street-hipster with a waxed handlebar mustache in his 20s reading an actual book while everyone else looks on a Kindle, iPad or some other device tells the tale. Yes, a crumpled sports page actually makes this a real place. The idea is we feel more authentic, I think, when somehow we have actual paper and wooden chairs to go along with the over-hyped coffee. Those of us online here in the coffee shop feel more real-life because of the hipster reading a 3,000 page book or the barista with tattooed sleeves. I already feel less cyborg-like writing that.

Then the virtual noise deafens with pings to my phone, email, and SMSs. Groupon.com taunts while you are assaulted with “like” requests for the page of a vendor, church or eatery. Yes, you unlock coupons on Foursquare.com as you collect badges akin to video game level ups. Then, you tweet on Twitter.com how special you are for finding the sale first among your friends. My apologies for those of you lost in this banter in the first paragraph. You live either under a rock, or you remain firmly, staunchly a “digital immigrant” in a land of natives who were birthed with a Droid in one hand and a bottle in the other. You reject existing entirely a cyborg while you surf the football games holding one of ten remotes. We cannot help ourselves.

In the constant digital cacophony, Cyber Monday gives us another programmed chance to worship the god of stuff. But, this idol invisibly evades. How? Some of the things we purchase in cyberspace actually remain in the cyberspace. The MP3s stay ones-and-zeros from the ones-and-zeros of our bank accounts. But, nothing about human nature changed with the medium of this technology other than now we easily broadcast a picture of our bagel at breakfast. And, we spend our money with less thought and effort than ever. It is a Cyber Monday every Monday, already. Isn’t it?

In our age of marketing, faith seems to act as a commodity like any other product sold. If evangelizing at a large event, good looking athletes and talented performers share the stage with gifted communicators. The lighting is decent. In fact, the production value at a lot of houses of worship of even modest size rivals those of the average club or music venue.

Are we just putting on a venue to market and display Christianity or are we creating a community of faith and simply expressing it? In order to market, our church may have to say basically what they are not and why they are better. This may not be overt in the copy on our website, but of course messages are sent by what we do as well as what we say. In a church leadership vibe today that tries to be too cool, we might be defining ourselves more by what we are not rather than who we are.

A lot of the seeker sensitive church plants of the 80s and 90s were an open protest to not be what everything else was at the time. Now, this was not nor is not an entirely bad thing given how many churches failed to reach their communities. However, that very attitude while spawning some very effective ministries may have also presented a culture we will have a hard time shedding.

It is more than wearing thick dark-rimmed glasses and designer-cut jeans as you deliver a sermon. But, that could be part of it. The classic youth group culture where everything is better for the kids because it is not like what their parents experience is now the norm for everyone in the church. In the youth group, an arguably dying ministry trend, a group is celebrated because they are allowed to be different. They use a fun translation of the Bible. They have their own music. And, if a church can afford the program, they have their own room, building and house band. Sounds like big church today, does it not?

With more than one generation grown up in a youth group, we now have services designed by the level of volume, how many hymns are sung and what kind of coffee will be served. You can get video piped in to a closer location to where you live. I have launched these types of venues, and think there surely is value to them. But, should the goal be to make church so tailored to me that I feel comfortable? After all, Sunday morning is the most racially segregated hour of the week. Why make that issue worse?

In our endeavor to be cool and relevant and hit people with that marketing sweet spot, we need to put marketing in its proper place. It is a tool, not a function of ministry. This is true of our buildings and organizational structures as well. When we let our tools determine our function rather than support who we are we lose church being church to some degree.

Some questions to ponder:

1. If your church were to be hit with a huge natural disaster, what would still survive as far as programming and why? (For instance, would small groups, youth, etc. still exist?)
2. There is a tension between creating a venue for a targeted audience to connect with and calling people to be fully committed disciples of Jesus. How should this tension be managed?
3. It is possible for our tools to overshadow our function to make disciples. How do we keep our passion for the tools from being greater than our passion to be the church?
4. What is better? To pragmatically deal with how people are different in age, race and culture or to try to create a church environment where the tensions of these and other things can exist under one roof? How does one decide which value is best?
5. What do you think about the term “relevant” as is used today in church leadership circles? What ministry value are we proclaiming when we choose to use it or not to use it? (No offense to a magazine with that title, by the way.)

The “Occupy Wall Street” protests have been getting a lot of press. One has insinuated that it is a “moment” not a “movement” since there is no vision, just protest. Others, may say it is a swelling populist movement against what is know as corporate greed. I disagree with both statements or ideas. First, there is more than a moment happening since a vision for a more equitable and accountable business culture is being forged in the conversation. Second, I believe the whole idea of “corporate greed” is a myth. People are greedy, not corporations. 

Whether we can agree on the vision or not, there is a huge shift in our thinking when CEOs of large companies can make huge sums while failing at running these financial institutions. We have been failed in trust because of seedy operations such as lending money to people who should not have been given home mortgages in the first place. And, there are worse things as well. The vision is to see accountability. Perhaps, the vision is to see equitable redistribution of wealth or a more “socialist” bent in either regulation, taxation or both. People are mad. I admit that I am, too. I am not for giving money away to redistribute wealth as an ideal. However, I am for accountable practices. One thing hard for some to understand is that today’s movements are not top down affairs. They are tribal and viral and very real.

Now the idea of a corporation being greedy is just not true. People are greedy. The financial barons, CEOs and board members who oversee these institutions in many cases have enriched themselves at the cost of hard working people. Wall Street was bailed out, and the average home owners who pay their bills were not. We lost. They were too big to fail. But, we also have our pensions, 401Ks and investments in these very same companies. Think of the teachers, firemen and shop keepers who have money in mutual funds. Are we greedy, too? Perhaps.

Occupying Wall Street is an effective symbol at getting attention, but who is the real enemy? Are not we all? We buy the iPhones and the Tom’s Shoes and shop at Target. We are employed a lot of the time by these greedy corporations. So, are we not as part of these institutions culpable for the behavior as well as the guys and gals at the top of them? Perhaps.

I am not ready to cheer the protesters on, but I will not discount them either. I am not ready to cry foul that corporations are greedy, but I will not allow status quo to persist. If we are going to protest then lets do it to those who can really make a difference. Might that include an honest look at ourselves as well as the logo bearing yet faceless corporation?

What do you think: are the corporations greedy or could it be all of us?

I made a decision before I ever was a professional minister in the local church to serve in the church as a family. My parents modeled that, and as I was courting my dear love as a young adult we forged an agreement that we had to learn to do ministry together if we were to marry. That was back when cell phones were coming of age and before Facebook existed.

 Ministry is a family business. From church plants to megachurch employment, my family has always seen it this way. Sometimes it has been on the stage with me in front of thousands singing together, or in quiet places like our living room praying with dear friends. My wife has ran sound and tech in a church plant as well as filled the role of leadership in children’s ministry. She has been the “tentmaker” in lean times, working to pay our bills on top of all of this.

Years ago, a mentor and influencer of mine shared how he kept his family involved in his creative arts ministry. The thinking was since holidays were often times of heavy hours, why not include his wife and kids in the very ministry where he was spending those hours. One could sing, one could paint sets and all of them could be together. I took his advice and never regretted it, even though I knew some could never understand this decision.

People resent talent. There, I said it. When I discovered my own girl could sing I allowed her–as I did any young person with talent–to join our worship team. She grew in the process and people were blessed by her leadership of worship along my side. Of course, some people chose to see this as a threat. Sometimes serving as a family has a down side. We have experienced that first hand.

In other cases, a lead pastor’s spouse is treated either as someone who has to be at every function or banned from any official input. Why not come up with a way institutionally to help facilitate what we all know already exists? Many resent that a spouse has influence they do not possess. Is there not a way to help support the gifts and call of a ministry leader’s spouse and family that neither excludes them from the organizational structure or healthy boundaries?

A healthy situation will see to it that the gifts and call of each member of that ministry family is empowered. Unhealthy situations will make these issues taboo to even mention and use institutional policy and politics to wet blanket God’s unique calling to a family set apart for longterm, vocational service. When a minister’s family misbehaves or things go awry it is pretty messy, too. But, if our institutions are about keeping things smooth and not about the people in them I believe they have failed.

Ministry should be a family business for all of us. Sometimes one of us is out front. Sometimes, not. But, if we are to raise up others for works of service, should that not also include our own spouse and children? This thick tension to live this out as a family exists not because of bad intentions but because of institution-over-people thinking. And, what does being a professional minister mean anyway?

Patrons of the arts helped shape culture, bringing about social change of many kinds in the history of Western Civilization. Today, we can do the same as “micro-patrons” of creatives who may need a boost now and again. Our nation is in need of gifted artists telling the story of faith and life in settings beyond the four walls of a church building. Many complain about culture. They fear where things are headed. They also see their young artists swallowed up by “the world” only to reinforce cynicism about art itself. But, something can be done about it! We can complain about culture, copy culture or CREATE culture. What is your choice in the matter?

With Emilie’s Kickstarter.com campaign, I fear her being lost in a sea of so many “trying to make its” and then people not seeing her real talent and potential. And, of course there is always a question that makes sense, too. Why so much money? Well, it is not as much as you think. It is a very modest amount that if our family had the means to fully fund would do so in a heart beat! However, we really do need help. We have been hit very hard these past 12 months more than any other season and besides incurring debt, we believe this option makes sense. This campaign is really for a small recording project after all. But, it could launch a career. And, you can be a part of making that happen.

We need you to consider a being a micro-patron, and enjoy the music as well. This is not charity, it is making a statement that you want to help develop talent that will create culture in a world that needs it desperately. I encourage you, if this project is not fitting for you then look around and find a young artist to support!

Are you willing to become a micro-patron?

Emilie’s Kickstarter.com Campaign

In an Amish or Mennonite community there is this iconic thing called a barn raising. The whole community dedicates a day or longer to build something for one family. This collective effort over a short period of time allows a family in the community to sustain themselves for a long period of time. The infrastructure of a barn secures cattle and other livestock for the winter. It stands as a symbol of solidarity. The people care for one another. The whole community’s investment for a small sacrifice times many people equals a long-term benefit. Crowd funding can work this way, too.

I have embarked on my very first crowd funding endeavor with my daughter’s recording project on Kickstarter.com. Crowd funding is where many people get together to pre-fund a creative or entrepreneurial project and in most cases do not buy a stake in it but receive perks of value such as an advanced copy of a CD or names on the credits of a film. With creative endeavors, I am learning that it builds and reflects community or lack of it. If you fund the project, you show you have support! If you do not fully fund with a tool like Kickstarter.com you do not fund anything. It is all or nothing.

Obviously, some crowd funding is done where you get access to the funds regardless of reaching your goal, but if that hampers the quality or vision of a project then I think that is not a good thing. So, with my daughter Emilie’s project we know that if fully funded we can deliver the perks and that in doing so will meet or exceed the expectations of those who show support. If we miss the mark, then we can always try later. This is a hard reality, but I’m OK with that.

Recently, I was happy to support a former pastor of mine who used Kickstarter.com to crowd-fund his independent book. He even had a cover art contest on Facebook. A digital community gathered to see his book released. Launching this book with the funds to edit, print and digitally distribute means for a longer time many will have access to this book! Many will be helped with this leader’s teaching in a book form for years to come.

If you want to get started helping raise a barn, why not help my teen Emilie begin her career. Many ask her and I, “When is your CD coming out?” Well, we need people to make that happen. So, the answer is this: “The CD is coming out as soon as you buy one!” Is not that brilliant? Think about it, no middle man. No big corporation to sign on with debt. Creative people today have a chance to see their dreams come true and the people around them can support them in affordable yet beneficial ways to themselves. It is a win win.

Dialog time: Are you with me? Do you see crowd funding as a barn raising?