Journey well John. Gone too soon. We grieve your loss and celebrate your memory and legacy. Thanks for the friendship.
What is happening in Minnesota does not automatically equate to my community and neighborhood. I know my neighbors. I know the police in my area. The rush to assign intention and correlation and destroy local and private facility must be limited. Talk to people. Ask questions. Remove the fear and we can make progress together.
The national and global narrative is important but local is exponentially more important. Each of us is responsible for our behavior and our community. I didn’t know the man. I wish I had. I wish I had been with him when he was killed. I wish that someone had stood for him with him when it mattered most. I am angry and deeply saddened that this tragedy occurred.
I didn’t know the man. I wish I had. I’m not sure it matters now. My covenant with my country is to stand and be counted as a brother against the tyranny and abuse of power. I believe that many have a sickness in their soul ls which allows them to dehumanize others. It allows them to deign to rule over those that they deem lesser. Race is one in a long list of inequities that we the people seem incapable of remedying. You may have solutions for the system. I think they will all fail. Only hearts and relationships can change our culture. God is at the center of our repentance and HE is the center of His solution. My solution is to pray and serve others. To pray and serve together with others. To pray and serve God first and foremost. I don’t know the men and women that I will serve and serve with, but I will soon enough. I am sorry that I didn’t know George. be. Love serve. Repeat. When people out there can’t reason anymore they start calling you fat. This is their way to feel superior in their intellectual deficit. What is particularly deplorable, is when adults go after kids and family publicly.
The pain that these deplorables must have felt all their lives must be excruciating for them to be so rude and vicious to other humans. It is hard to keep from despising them. Generational discrimination is passed down indeed and it crosses racial boundaries. Like a virus. Quoting and thinking of great friends and great sacrifice. I give thanks on this Memorial Day and I choose to live into a hopeful and faith filled future.
“I for one will not live in fear of meeting or hugging or dining together or laying on hands to pray... I will honor those who died for my freedom by being free to weigh risk and act accordingly.” MommaY “I am the Good Shepherd. I know my own sheep and my own sheep know me. In the same way, the Father knows me and I know the Father. I put the sheep before myself, sacrificing myself if necessary. You need to know that I have other sheep in addition to those in this pen. I need to gather and bring them, too. They’ll also recognize my voice. Then it will be one flock, one Shepherd. This is why the Father loves me: because I freely lay down my life. And so I am free to take it up again. No one takes it from me. I lay it down of my own free will. I have the right to lay it down; I also have the right to take it up again. I received this authority personally from my Father.” John 10:14-18 MSG I wonder how many of our issues are truly geopolitical. I don’t think most are so concerned about society and justice and the world. I think most of us just want to fit in and be allowed to take care of ourselves. We all want a tribe and a cohort to pursue a purpose.
Global solidarity is not high on my list. It is above my pay grade. I focus on things I can actually affect. Local. Local. Local. Even national politics are only interesting as they apply to me and my community. I will help others but I will limit that help as my top priority is my family and my community. When you have had Covid19... as a family... AND you recognize that fear is more deadly than the virus itself, but noone in the media is talking about it with any fair and balanced perspective.
THX to Luis and BTW 21 for this interview and honest discussion. Not everyone has the ability to look ahead and see what is coming. Caution is appropriate but life is not fair or safe in reality. The sooner that each of us accepts and begins managing this reality mentally and physically, the better off we will be. World views matter. Money runs out and when it does, life becomes traumatic and dangerous.
2 Thessalonians 3:5-10 NLT [5] … An Exhortation to Proper Living [6] And now, dear brothers and sisters, we give you this command in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ: Stay away from all believers who live idle lives and don't follow the tradition they received from us. [7] For you know that you ought to imitate us. We were not idle when we were with you. [8] We never accepted food from anyone without paying for it. We worked hard day and night so we would not be a burden to any of you. [9] We certainly had the right to ask you to feed us, but we wanted to give you an example to follow. [10] Even while we were with you, we gave you this command: “Those unwilling to work will not get to eat.” … “In panic, we want to push the stick away from the spin, wrestle the plane out of it, but the trick is, as in everything, to go with the turning willingly, rather than fight it, give in, go with it, and that way come out of your tailspin whole.” -Edward Field, “Tailspin" I take this time to celebrate mothers everywhere.
Happy Mother’s Day to my mother Brenda. Happy Mother’s Day to my wife, Tracee. Happy Mother’s Day to my sisters. Lisa, Heather, Tara and Heidi! Happy Mother’s Day to all of the mothers that I know. Happy Mother’s Day to all of the mothers that I don’t know. O happy day today and every day in the future. May they be filled with faith, hope, and love. Especially Love!! I'm fairly certain that the major media outlets would consider me to be an "extremist" because I don't share their liberal views on liberty, firearms, or appropriate government involvement in daily lives. Even more because I write and share my opinions and suggestions freely with the attitude that my thoughts are valid, and my platform as a connector, and message as a leader is important. I'm not a threat to them, but I would like to be. I AM REAL and EDUCATED and PASSIONATE and REASONABLE. To be honest, some of you probably already consider me to be overly concerned, and too worked up as I've been really active in past month due to stress and quarantine and my family Rona reality.
Maybe, but if I'm right, and I usually am about these things, then we are in for a really rough time in coming months... and the ONLY thing that will sustain us will be local communities, family, and faith... The government and the central planners are NOT coming to save you... even in the red states. My assessment of your ability is related to my experience with others doing the same job and my desire for greater things. I don’t apologize for standards. I want you to do better.
I have a deep seated animosity directed at “disablers”
- those so willing to make things harder, point out their concerns, fixate on semantics and process points ... make every point about what they want —- yet unwilling to step up and lead and create and build. Complaining, whining, and disabling undermine the very foundation of group progress. #fighty. - church, government, choirs, families... the disabler list is easy to find inside dying organizations/institutions all around. I spend a lot of time and energy reminiscing about my performing life, my time at Juilliard, and WCC and on stage... I am proud of my singing, and my family and my name/brand "vatenor". I consider my work in churches and with choirs over the last few decades and I aspire to be better.
I watch my friends disparage corporate america and I am sickened by the hypocrisy. Perhaps, it arises from a lack of experience and real world perspective. Here is mine: I am THANKFUL for my friends, and relationships and experiences and for my opportunities INSIDE Capital One, and Cisco, and with so many fine fine people. Those companies provided me chances, allowed me opportunities and encouraged me. Those companies are filled with AMAZING PEOPLE and with plenty of questionable people. The reality is that companies are made up of people. Enough with the high minded, condemnation of corporate america. It is wrong. It is just as easy to condemn churches, universities, and even small businesses as predatory... I can write the narrative. The sword cuts both ways. The big difference seems to be that successful companies focus on, and passionately care for their employees. In my experience, way back in the 20th century, that was not the case in performing world, academia, not as a student, not even as a young aspiring minister. As a performer I was one step above slave labor... expected to dance and sing on queue, with little to no respect for my artistry and skill. More often than not I felt exploited, and abused... and I was EXPECTED to just take it because that was the way it is... I contrast that with the nurturing and caring examples of some of my finest mentors in corporate America and the reality is stunning. All too often, those "EVIL" companies took care of me and my family. They paid me, they trained me, they allowed me to fail and gave me second chances. Above all I was RESPECTED. That is key I think. Respect followed with money, and security... and practice, not just rhetoric and facade and optics. Today, I am the man and leader that I am because of those opportunities. The roles that I play were not written for me. I lived them, and continue to live them. There are good days and bad days, but on THIS day.. I am thankful to GOD for providing me a career path and opportunities to work in environments surrounded by great people. They work hard, they compete, they win, and they lose. We do it together. We work hard and we play hard. Ultimately, my choices are mine. The accountability is mine for success and failure. I wonder how my life might be different if I had stayed on the path of performer instead of family. It matters not, my journey to date is set. My future is filled with opportunity just as it always was. How will I choose? I do not know. I give thanks for this day, this year, and for the opportunities to pursue many more ahead. #ATTENTIONRATIOS Some things get my time and attention.
I keep a list of things that you said you would do and didn’t do... When it gets to a certain length, I just write it off... and move on.
Credibility, and a man’s word... matter... Relationships are more important until the risk and cost reaches some theoretical “cliff” Two types of people... talkers and doers... ? Actual progress is about discipline over duration... say what you will do... do what you said you would do... #NotThatHard — Hump day is just beginning. Let me be clear... I care a little bit about what President Trump and the #idiotsincharge are doing in Washington DC... Pretty much the same amount as I did when I thought President Obama was doing all wrong things.. BUT.. it is just a little bit... I honestly think the constant focus on the world and the government is a corrupting form of idolatry... faith in govt where God is actually in control... Adoration of TV and desire to preach to others what "they" should be doing.
I care far more about what my family is doing.. how I'm serving my neighbors.. How my church is functioning.. how my local schools are secured and educating... how well my choir is singing, and how I can help the kids and elderly friends right smack in front of me every flipping day... #WakeUpAmerica #MySoapBox Recognize and confront reality. Things are not okay.
Why? If they ARE okay.. then you don’t need a change.. but awareness is the beginning.. Decide that you will be different… Say it out loud. Pray about it. Keep saying it. Keep discussing it. Learn how to be “different”. Study who is doing it well… and document what they are doing that is different from me? Where am I aligned.. Develop a priority model to enable you to qualify and “score” activities and plans against your new “different: Enlist friends and colleagues as accountability partners.. neutral voices… to help you assess progress.. honestly.. objectively. Measure EVERYTHING that you identified in your learning stage… Constantly reevaluate priorities and actions against results.. Is the needle moving? Be prepared for successes and setbacks. Keep and INVEST - MAINTAIN - RETIRE list… for friends.. activities.. food even jobs, careers, and hobbies.. Your success is about what you say NO to.. It is not possible to do everything.. and/or be everything.. FOCUS FOCUS FOCUS… and then adjust.. Repeat all of the steps… every day… every week.. every month? … and check progress.. Celebrate your successes.. and learn from your failures… My church is failing in my community because I’m unable to effectively share my passion for a hopeful future. I show with my words and decisions that my history and my experience matter more to me (about me) than them. I can’t translate my experience into a shared future that is relevant to others. I expect “others” to see things as I do, want things that I want and to value experience and order as I do.
Unless we can show how our theology and doctrine and polity matter and will make a difference it will not. As a church leader I will fail in my mission and I will harm others in my failure. If my community does not listen they cannot hear. If I don’t speak in a manner which encourages them to listen they will not hear. If I can’t adjust my message and model, the fault is mine alone, and I should step aside and find someone who can. I will fail. I fail. I failed. This is truth. God will not fail, does not fail, and has not failed. When I fail, God will speak through another. He will transform HIS community into a loving, welcoming fellowship which reaches out, welcomes in, and disciples into deeper and deeper circles. WHO:
WHAT:
Crazy tough week so far. And then I realize how blessed I am and how great things are. Get some perspective people. #ChangeHappensInAnInstant #GodHasGotThis #EveryDayIsAnOpportunity — in 2005 on this day thought my ministry career and calling were over... my “secular” Job proved to me that people make the difference... not the job, not the system... Relationships transform. Truth remains. Power from position is so often abused to harm. Intentional or not... it is done. SMH sigh. Wish it was funny. #idiotsincharge used to be funny. Reality is that mean...
How to get credit for being able to manage/hit life’s curve balls? Live.
Share success, even with those who can’t see. “People” don’t and likely won’t give you credit. Most of the time they don’t even see the plans or complexity... seeking credit is ultimately is the failure ... I fail every time. Just live = Just sing. The singing, the journey... is the whole point. I am inspired by ideas and art far more than people.
I am impressed by actions and results. Identity is a combination of many intersections. Intersections of principle, art, and practice never cease to amaze with complexity. |
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