What an honor to be among some very talented and thoughtful bloggers who were also nominated in the category of Worship Blogger.

Here is the list:

• DavidSantistevan.com
• Ragamuffinsoul.com
• RKWeblog.com
• Worshipmatters.com
• RobRash.us
• VickyBeeching.com

Go vote there for this category as well as others such as worship band or favorite worship song. And, thanks to you my readers for continuing the conversation about faith and culture which worship surely encompasses!

Forgive the tongue-in-cheek response I have to this scene on the corner of Ynez Road and Rancho California in Temecula this past weekend. There is something to make one chuckle at seeing a “Occupy Temecula General Assembly” sign placed on an empty set of chairs. Really, there is.

So, it appears that the Occupy Wall Street movement has spread. After reading in the Los Angeles Times front page about how the lawn and grounds near city hall are in disrepair due to the inhabitants I went for a short drive through Temecula, California–an Inland Empire suburb of 100,000 people. Surely, I would not expect this “movement” to be here. But, I was wrong.

I would not call three empty camping chairs an occupation, but this IS the suburbs. And, any “general assembly” would seem to be populated beyond this, but I could not visibly see them. However, on the other corner Ron Paul demonstrators were not getting along with those holding “Corporate Greed” signs, even though these groups may have more in common than they know. But, alas I am confused. Is Ron Paul part of the occupation, too?

So, my question to my reader, both the 1% to 99%-ers, is this: what issue with the economy is going to influence your voting this political season? Is it corporate greed, stopping bailouts, balancing the budget, job creation or a new taxation code?

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?

When there is a government budget deadlock, which is rare by the way, we all have our villain spotted in the mess. Our villains include Fox News if you are lean one way or MSNBC if you are on the other team. With the economy we can blame big banks for the loss of our home value, our realtor for the bad price we paid for it or either the current or former president for not doing the right thing.

Villains are always right there in front of us and the media of all kinds from broadcast to Facebook gladly feeds our shark like hunger 24-hours a day in every time zone. The noise from this screaming drives the media. There is no better way to get an audience or reaction than to point out flaws, blame a loser or complain about bad service on twitter, blogs or even the local news.

Even worse, we decry “fundamentalism” because I believe it is nice to categorize villains and extremists in some other class than the rest of us. It is either the radical Islamic plot to take us down like 9/11 or, in Norway, a Christian fundamentalist bomber bent on saving his culture. Could it be that you and I are really not that different from these people? Could our views be extreme to someone and make them feel the same emotions we feel about them? We claim their insanity, but perhaps we are naive. Perhaps. Maybe, there is a fundamentalist lurking within each of us.

Am I the villain? Think about it. Congress is voted in by us. We chose to overextend our living using homes as ATM machines. Fox News or MSNBC exist because of you and I. As you and I enjoy and praise the prices of Walmart we also may be enslaving a child who makes those $10 shoes across the planet. As we hug a tree, we may be ripping away the job of an honest blue collar logger. Either way, I am a villain to someone and so are you.

With all the villains we see, a hero cannot win with the cards we have dealt. We all understand there are winners and losers in economic as well as social issues. So, we draw a line in the sand. Then nobody wins. Like with our doomsday nuclear arsenal, we make sure of that. No reasoned conversation can exist. It means that improving the environment is not acceptable if it at all slows jobs. It means that certain groups demand rights with disregard of the historical context of thousands of years.

Freedom of and from religion does not have to mean its abolition. Even many of my fellow Christians claim to be “non religious” in order to be more palatable. Recently, a large organization removed “crusade” because of course those were bad in history. We want to not offend. Fundamentalists are the ones who offend, so you and I better not be one of those.

People of faith have it in their hands to deal the best cards today. Our restraint is not in neutering our message or marketing the distinctiveness from our lingo. It is in having the belief that evil exists in us all and that good is possible–with God’s intervention in and through us. If we leave it to media, the talking heads and our politicians than we are left with too much spice and no substance. If we leave it to the elites who fuel these and other institutions to think for us, then we cannot be people who see change that can better all of us.

You say, “But I am not a fundamentalist!” Really? The reason fundamentalists scare you and I is because we cannot see ourselves believing anything strongly enough to sacrifice our lives to see it come to pass. This is true even of most people of “faith” today. We live small and fear what price anything more requires of us.

But, we do believe! We believe in our materialism, our kid’s suburban soccer league, or in the freedom to watch TV for hours on end. We choose our path with a cost, whether or not we are cognizant of it. Living for self is our God. We completely recoil in terror from anyone who lives differently. But, it is not about being selfless, it is about being beyond self. This what a hero is, right? The hero gets the wound or worse as he fights for more than his flawed self.  Are not heroes as crazy as we think “fundamentalists” are? Perhaps.

So, do you have a fundamentalist lurking inside of you waiting to get out? All it takes is a Pearl Harbor event to awaken. Do you agree?

If you cannot make it live to our House Concert/Africa Mission event Sunday night May 22 at 6:30pm PST  in Murrieta (http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=171995142856547) you can watch this embedded video here and see us LIVE online. You will be able to login Facebook or Twitter and chat live and interact with us. To go directly to the link, go to http://www.livestream.com/rkweblog/.

How does Rob Bell do in your opinion. Is he the “H” word–a heretic? Or, is he a historically orthodox Christian in his responses?

I had the privilege of writing my first article for a local magazine titled “Taste of Temecula” where I covered a local music venue. Being newer to this region, I’m excited about discovering and writing about local music.

Check out the article here: Jazz Thursdays at the Merc!

Randy Miller was a family man, musician and inspiration to many. Randy passed away yesterday after battling cancer, leaving a wife and two kids. Many of you have agreed to pray with me for him and his family during his illness, so I thought I would inform you so you could pray and support Kristyn and his family. As soon as a practical way to do that is available, I will let you all know.

For now, we mourn with those who knew and loved him. Randy played on my worship team several years ago in Redding, CA and was a good friend. I can say truly that he is one of the most inspiring men I personally knew. Period. He lived out his dream to be a pro drummer, playing with The Myriad. And, he would always talk about his passion to be the best husband and dad he could be.

I still have a couple of his broken drumsticks I saved from the time he would play with the Neighborhood Church worship team. It did not matter whether he was in a church worship band or on stage at The House of Blues, he put electricity and passion into the whole room. And, when you were with him in person he was always the real deal.

Anyway, I will write more later. Kristyn, we are sorry for this huge loss of yours. We love you and the kids.

A 23-year-old actor named Orson Welles dramatized on a radio show this day in 1938 a Martian invasion, terrifying an entire nation of the media-trusting populace. There were rumors of people committing suicide but the reality of this tale which caused the country to be swept in fear is a lasting reminder to how media impacts us.

Fast forward today and spoofs of everything are actually becoming the reality. With politics, its the Jon Stewarts who influence more than the hard news guys. Those that can entertain can influence and media is their playground.

Whether we are in the 1930s in prewar America or in a post-9/11 world the use of story whether with drama or satire works to move the masses. We all love a good story. It may even be that these entertainers have no agenda other than to be story tellers. Unknowingly, they may simply be hooked on the audience being hooked. (Insert wink).

Do you agree that we, even in our media drenched world, are still suckers for a good story? And do these story tellers influence us with real decisions we make?

Over at the Holy Kaw blog today they referred to a Venn Diagram from Blame It On The Voices that shows what a Google search finds by putting “why are Muslims so…” in the search bar and doing the same with “Christians” and “Jews”. As you can see in the diagram, the words that came out are not at all flattering and depict stereotypes.

A famous NPR journalist was recently fired for his insensitivity to Muslim people in public comments. I recently wrote and had a discussion on the controversy of the  local mosque in Temecula on this blog. I believe faith and culture collide more in our daily life than we care to admit in our pluralistic society.

One thing cannot change, regardless of our postmodern thought evolution’s influence on us and our culture.  Our belief will impact and change culture and often that is where sparks will fly. In the Bible the story of the riot of Ephesus among idol makers in Acts 19:23 depicts such a conflict. Local tradesman and merchants were enraged at the message that contradicted not only their religion but how it impacted their culture and commerce.

What Christian thinking do you have that if lived out enough today might cause a riot?