I am at Cornerstone Festival 2009. I am sorry for not posting like usual this week. I am out early, up late, with the family, meeting old friends, making new friends, selling books, and speaking. It's a little hectic but lots of fun. If you're at the fest, come by and see me at the Anchor Stage.

The picture above is when I ran into Sonny from POD. We shared some old memories and laughed. He was showing Brian 'Head' Welch (formerly of Korn) around. Believe it or not, POD opened up for Strongarm many years ago while touring. Thank God it didn't ruin their future career.

But when I get a chance I will get back to normal and start sharing some things on my mind. And I hope this day finds you well...

        

I'm sorry but posts will be patchy at best for the time being. Internet signals are sparse. I am on what is called a working vacation. I'm not really sure what that means because it feels more like work is on my mind than vacation. But there are certainly fun parts.

I piled the family in the rented RV for the next two weeks. Time will tell if this was a good idea. I am speaking 4 times, doing a radio interview in Tennessee, and television show in Chicago. In between we are visiting a water park (actually this leg is done) and some historic cave.

Anyway, I am visiting Cornerstone Fest where I have gone many times in my past band days in Strongarm. I am speaking four times with four different themes. These talks are tied into my book and are as follows:

Why hate?

Why do Christians suck?

Why doesn't love work?

What's the #1 thing?

        

Here is my quote of the week on love, in light of my thoughts on the separation of John & Kate and how it will adversely affect the 8 kids they have. It's also a good time to talk about love as one of the best love song writers of all times (Michael Jackson) has died.

From chapter 6 of my book:

"I’m always on my mind. I have been for a long time. Ever since I can remember, I’ve been thinking about myself. Most of us do...
    ...To make matters worse, our culture’s literature, movies, poems, songs, and the like constantly reinforce our self-love. “Love yourself,” they insist. “Make sure you’re happy.” But happily ever after isn’t real life. Surrendering to that whimsical emotion is reckless and selfish. What do I do when the rush wears off (because it always does)? Do I set out to conquer a new love and ignore the consequences of this pattern?
    So, I’ve had to unlearn and then relearn what it means to love. And it hasn’t been easy."

        

So these are the things bothering me in the news these days. Know where you stand so you know how to make your world a better place:

Senator Durbin mysteriously cashed out on a bunch of stocks Sept. 19, the day after then-Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke predicted the decline and fall of the American economy--but it was totally coincidental, of course.

SC Governor went to the Apalachian Mountains to go hiking, write, relax, and refocus Argentina to cheat on his wife.

Toledo residents now getting parking tickets for parking in their driveway, like they have for 20 years.

Obama continues to increase the size of government as he passes banking regulations that would allow him to take over banks and any private industry that he see fit.

Chrysler dealers say they were lied to and told they wouldn't be shut down so they would be willing to buy huge allotments of inventory. So they did...and then were shut down and stuck with the bill.

Saudi gov't gives more power to a 'morality' police force (this is not a joke).

Bush took a swipe at Obama's economic policies by saying that it is the free market, not the gov't, that will lead us out of this crisis, conveninelty forgetting that he is the one who said that he had to sacrifice free market principles in order to save the free market (which set this pattern in motion).

Senator Barney Frank wants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to relax recently tightened standards for lending. Can you believe this crap!? This is what got us here in the first place.

Gov't run healthcare WILL drive out private insurers (and this is not a good thing), contrary to what our policians are trying to trick us into believing.

New York considers eliminating the valedictorian or salutatorian honors b/c other students mike get their feelings hurt.

Congress is working its way to telling us all how much money we are allowed to make.

Obama looking to zone oceans. The air is next, and that's no joke.

The amazing healthcare plan proposed is going to cost over $1 trillion to cover only 16 million people at best. Anyone see a problem here?

You will not be able to resist the urge to yell "Give me a break!" while watching this video:

        

I don't know if you've ever watched John & Kate Plus 8. I don't. Not me! I only watch movies about zombies and gladiators...

I just happened to be watching this season because I am an ambulance-chaser with the best of them.

I've been thinking about John & Kate Plus 8 lately, especially the 8. And I have been carrying a sense of sadness.

Monday they revealed that they are separating and filed papers to that end. My wife and I watched the episode and the footage on TLC that reveals the announcement of their separation. In fact, we watched it several times and talked about it extensively.

It's sad because I believe the focus is wrong. Time and time again John & Kate said that everything is about the kids, what's best for the kids, and keeping the kids happy etc.

That is problem number one. The premise that is the foundation of their decision (as they themselves put it) is wrong, or skewed at best.

I am a child of divorce. My wife is a child of divorce. 99% of our friends are kids if divorce.

If there's one thing I know about the family dynamic is that It's not about the kids. It's about the marriage.

I don't care what anyone says, kids do best when they grow up in a home with a mother and father that loves them. That's what best for the kids. And that's why it's about the marriage.

I talk extensively in my book 10 Things I Hate About Christianity: Working Through the Frustrations of Faith about Love. In fact, I have a whole chapter.

Why?

Because love is difficult. For me, it's the most difficult thing because I am selfish and self-centered by nature. Most people, if they're honest, are.

So where is the break-down for John & Kate?

With regard to love, I think they are operating under the premise that it wears off, that you fall out of love, that you can somehow stop feeling love for someone. That premise is also wrong.

That would be true if love was a feeling. But it's not. Love is a choice. Just like John & Kate choose to love their children regardless of personality quirks and annoying habits, they can choose to love each other. But the cold hard truth is, they are unwilling to do this--to make this choice.

This means that one (or both) of them are unwilling to do the hard things it takes to make the marriage work: counseling, humility, apologies, admissions of wrong, admission of guilt, etc.

This also means it's not about the kids. It's really about John & Kate and their own happiness. A selfish reason at best.

I know, I know. Some people may be thinking, "But Jason, you have NO idea how hard it is to raise eight kids," or, "Some people just can't work things out."

Your right on the eight kids thing. But you know what? That doesn't matter. Real life involves sticking to hard choices during good and bad times. it's called being an adult.

On the some people just can't work things out thing, wrong. It's not 'can't. It's won't. Some people just won't work things out.

The irony is, it's a show about 10, not 8, individuals that have a lot of growing up to do.

The sick thing is, now they really are using the kids. I never thought that before, but I do now. If it was really about the kids, then they would end the show. That way the kids won't grow up and have DVD box sets in HD about their family falling apart.

One last thought. John and Kate can be sure of one thing. In every case, there is a high level of anger that children develop as a result of divorce. No matter how loving, amicable, and positive the post-marriage dynamic is, it is unavoidable. I hope with all my heart someone is warning them about this so they can prepare.

Don't be fooled...love is a choice.

        

I wrote a new article for Church Solutions. Check it out here! And let me know what you think.

        

I used to love Magnum and it's no secret I love Star Wars. But can the two really come together? Yes.

Here is a little video I found. I hope it will give you a laugh and get the week started right!

        

Here is my quote of the week. It is from my book on the chapter Rules:

"I’ve concluded there are two types of people in this world. There are the goody-two-shoes who like rules and take great pride in creating and obeying them. And there are the other people. The ones who like to rebel. The ones who never saw a rule, standard, or principle they didn’t salivate to defy. They like breaking rules.
    I hate rules. Like most people, I decide when I want to follow them. I love that autonomy. Most of us do. We’re not going to let anyone or anything tell us what to do or how to do it.
    I tend to push against rules because I don’t always see their benefits in the moment. But even if I could, it probably wouldn’t matter. I want to do what I want to do when I want to do it.
    And if just one rule gets me edgy, what about dozens?
    It didn’t take long before I got the impression Christianity was filled with rules. Jesus I found compelling, but I started to wonder why someone would ever want to be a Christian with all those rules that seemed to go with the territory."

        

I just have one item of interest this week. It's a letter that's going around the internet that caught my attention. I read it and found it to be quite compelling. It's by a hardworking grandma who has been a life-long Democrat. If you have 10 minutes read it. It will make you think:

I'm a home grown American citizen, 53, registered Democrat all my life. Before the last presidential election I registered as a Republican because I no longer felt the Democratic Party represents my views or works to pursue issues important to me. Now I no longer feel the Republican Party represents my views or works to pursue issues important to me. The fact is I no longer feel any political party or representative in Washington represents my views or works to pursue the issues important to me. There must be someone. Please tell me who you are. Please stand up and tell me that you are there and that you're willing to fight for our Constitution as it was written. Please stand up now. You might ask yourself what my views and issues are that I would horribly feel so disenfranchised by both major political parties. What kind of nut job am I? Will you please tell me?

Well, these are briefly my views and issues for which I seek representation:

One, illegal immigration. I want you to stop coddling illegal immigrants and secure our borders. Close the underground tunnels. Stop the violence and the trafficking in drugs and people. No amnesty, not again. Been there, done that, no resolution. P.S., I'm not a racist. This isn't to be confused with legal immigration.

Two, the TARP bill, I want it repealed and I want no further funding supplied to it. We told you no, but you did it anyway. I want the remaining unfunded 95% repealed. Freeze, repeal.

Three: Czars, I want the circumvention of our checks and balances stopped immediately. Fire the czars. No more czars. Government officials answer to the process, not to the president. Stop trampling on our Constitution and honor it.

Four, cap and trade. The debate on global warming is not over. There is more to say.

Five, universal health-care. I will not be rushed into another expensive decision. Don't you dare try to pass this in the middle of the night and then go on break. Slow down!

Six, growing government control. I want states rights and sovereignty fully restored. I want less government in my life, not more. Shrink it down. Mind your own business. You have enough to take care of with your real obligations. Why don't you start there.

Seven, ACORN. I do not want ACORN and its affiliates in charge of our 2010 census. I want them investigated. I also do not want mandatory escrow fees contributed to them every time on every real estate deal that closes. Stop the funding to ACORN and its affiliates pending impartial audits and investigations. I do not trust them with taking the census over with our taxpayer money. I don't trust them with our taxpayer money. Face up to the allegations against them and get it resolved before taxpayers get any more involved with them. If it walks like a duck and talks like a duck, hello. Stop protecting your political buddies. You work for us, the people. Investigate.

Eight, redistribution of wealth. No, no, no. I work for my money. It is mine. I have always worked for people with more money than I have because they gave me jobs. That is the only redistribution of wealth that I will support. I never got a job from a poor person. Why do you want me to hate my employers? Why ‑‑ what do you have against shareholders making a profit?

Nine, charitable contributions. Although I never got a job from a poor person, I have helped many in need. Charity belongs in our local communities, where we know our needs best and can use our local talent and our local resources. Butt out, please. We want to do it ourselves.

Ten, corporate bailouts. Knock it off. Sink or swim like the rest of us. If there are hard times ahead, we'll be better off just getting into it and letting the strong survive. Quick and painful. Have you ever ripped off a Band‑Aid? We will pull together. Great things happen in America under great hardship. Give us the chance to innovate. We cannot disappoint you more than you have disappointed us.

Eleven, transparency and accountability. How about it? No, really, how about it? Let's have it. Let's say we give the buzzwords a rest and have some straight honest talk. Please try ‑‑ please stop manipulating and trying to appease me with clever wording. I am not the idiot you obviously take me for. Stop sneaking around and meeting in back rooms making deals with your friends. It will only be a prelude to your criminal investigation. Stop hiding things from me.

Twelve, unprecedented quick spending. Stop it now.

Take a breath. Listen to the people. Let's just slow down and get some input from some non-politicians on the subject. Stop making everything an emergency. Stop speed reading our bills into law. I am not an activist. I am not a community organizer. Nor am I a terrorist, a militant or a violent person. I am a parent and a grandparent. I work. I'm busy. I'm busy. I am busy, and I am tired. I thought we elected competent people to take care of the business of government so that we could work, raise our families, pay our bills, have a little recreation, complain about taxes, endure our hardships, pursue our personal goals, cut our lawn, wash our cars on the weekends and be responsible contributing members of society and teach our children to be the same all while living in the home of the free and land of the brave.

I entrusted you with upholding the Constitution. I believed in the checks and balances to keep from getting far off course. What happened? You are very far off course. Do you really think I find humor in the hiring of a speed reader to unintelligently ramble all through a bill that you signed into law without knowing what it contained? I do not. It is a mockery of the responsibility I have entrusted to you. It is a slap in the face. I am not laughing at your arrogance. Why is it that I feel as if you would not trust me to make a single decision about my own life and how I would live it but you should expect that I should trust you with the debt that you have laid on all of us and our children. We did not want the TARP bill. We said no. We would repeal it if we could. I am sure that we still cannot. There is such urgency and recklessness in all of the recent spending.

From my perspective, it seems that all of you have gone insane. I also know that I am far from alone in these feelings. Do you honestly feel that your current pursuits have merit to patriotic Americans? We want it to stop. We want to put the brakes on everything that is being rushed by us and forced upon us. We want our voice back. You have forced us to put our lives on hold to straighten out the mess that you are making. We will have to give up our vacations, our time spent with our children, any relaxation time we may have had and money we cannot afford to spend on you to bring our concerns to Washington. Our president often knows all the right buzzword is unsustainable. Well, no kidding. How many tens of thousands of dollars did the focus group cost to come up with that word? We don't want your overpriced words. Stop treating us like we're morons.

We want all of you to stop focusing on your reelection and do the job we want done, not the job you want done or the job your party wants done. You work for us and at this rate I guarantee you not for long because we are coming. We will be heard and we will be represented. You think we're so busy with our lives that we will never come for you? We are the formerly silent majority, all of us who quietly work , pay taxes, obey the law, vote, save money, keep our noses to the grindstone and we are now looking up at you. You have awakened us, the patriotic spirit so strong and so powerful that it had been sleeping too long. You have pushed us too far. Our numbers are great. They may surprise you. For every one of us who will be there, there will be hundreds more that could not come. Unlike you, we have their trust. We will represent them honestly, rest assured. They will be at the polls on voting day to usher you out of office. We have cancelled vacations. We will use our last few dollars saved. We will find the representation among us and a grassroots campaign will flourish. We didn't ask for this fight. But the gloves are coming off. We do not come in violence, but we are angry. You will represent us or you will be replaced with someone who will. There are candidates among us when he will rise like a Phoenix from the ashes that you have made of our constitution.

Democrat, Republican, independent, libertarian. Understand this. We don't care. Political parties are meaningless to us. Patriotic Americans are willing to do right by us and our Constitution and that is all that matters to us now. We are going to fire all of you who abuse power and seek more. It is not your power. It is ours and we want it back. We entrusted you with it and you abused it. You are dishonorable. You are dishonest. As Americans we are ashamed of you. You have brought shame to us. If you are not representing the wants and needs of your constituency loudly and consistently, in spite of the objections of your party, you will be fired. Did you hear? We no longer care about your political parties. You need to be loyal to us, not to them. Because we will get you fired and they will not save you. If you do or can represent me, my issues, my views, please stand up. Make your identity known. You need to make some noise about it. Speak up. I need to know who you are. If you do not speak up, you will be herded out with the rest of the sheep and we will replace the whole damn congress if need be one by one. We are coming. Are we coming for you? Who do you represent? What do you represent? Listen. Because we are coming. We the people are coming.

***

        

[Here's an interview I just did. Enjoy!]

***
Jason T. Berggren has written a book entitled 10 Things I Hate About Christianity (X-Media). Before you reach for the pitchfork, hear the young man out. 

Faith, prayer, the Bible, church, Christians and even love are all problematic for Mr. Berggren, but he writes as a committed Christian—his book is subtitled Working Through the Frustration of Faith. 

A member of the nondenominational North Point Community Church in Atlanta, Mr. Berggren spoke recently with staff writer Mary Jacobs.
So what do you hate the most about Christianity?
I think that the most difficult aspect of my faith is love. Ever since I can remember, I’ve been thinking about myself. To put others first is a challenge, to be honest. 

I’d like to qualify that these are 10 things I hate about Christianity. I don’t hate Christianity. That word “about” is there for a reason and it’s an important distinction.

Why should Methodists listen to what you hate about Christianity?
The average church has 80 percent turnover every two years, so I just wrote this book for that 80 percent. I put a lot of real life in here. I am trying to drill down on what it means to have an authentic faith. Like a lot of people, I get tired of pretense and seemingly hidden agendas and formulaic type things. I’m talking about everything that we followers talk about behind closed doors. I just throw it out in the open. It’s a great way to get people to talk about Jesus in a diverse audience.

Have you done that?
Yeah. I got on ABC News. That’s pretty diverse.

One of the questions you’re getting a lot: Why’d you use the word hate?
I wrestled with using the word and I batted the idea around with a few friends. They were always on both sides of this. It’s like a lightning rod. Some were saying, “Can’t you use ‘really, really don’t like’?” Others said, “You can only think of 10 things? I can think of about 30.” 

It’s a passionate and an honest word. I use it for that deep sense of dissatisfaction that can propel you to move forward. Like the feeling I get on New Year’s Day when I look in the mirror at myself and say, “I hate the way you look, Jason. You’ve gotta change something.” It’s that angst-ridden frustration that can move you forward. On the back of the book, the definition I have is, “a feeling of dislike so strong that it demands action.” 

Hate, of course, is used throughout the Bible, and I thought the context in which I used it worked and was appropriate.

If you hate all this stuff, why are you still a Christian?
Because I know it’s true. What I’m doing in this book is what the Apostle Paul says in the book of Philippians: to work out your salvation. This book is just me working it out and working it through.

But if there’s all this negative stuff around Christianity, what still holds you?
God is real and Jesus rose from the dead. There is nothing more hopeful and positive and real to me than being reconciled with our Creator, no matter how messy or difficult or confusing it can be. It’s the only reason I have any peace and hope and sanity in my life. My faith gives me the ability to navigate the unknown. I know there’s purpose to my life and there’s value in each experience, or there can be.

Does your book offer any prescriptions for how we can be better Christians?
I just don’t present problems. I come to personal resolutions. They may not be the resolutions that everyone will come to out of their experience. But the point is, there is a way to work through your faith and a process to come to resolution. 

I have a chapter about Christians and about church. I have what I deem to be some of my own solutions gathered through my own experiences.

Such as?
One thing Christians can do is just talk normal.

Well, hallejujah and amen to that, brother.
Exactly! Say you’re at work, and someone asks, “How was your weekend?” and the Christian says, “Blessed.” What the heck does that mean? Drop the “hallelujah” and “in the spirit” and “quickening” and all these phrases that alienate people. I think we need to be careful when we’re around people who aren’t Christians. The biggest challenge Jesus gives us is to make disciples. When we alienate people, we get in the way of that.

You write that you hate the Bible, in part, because it’s boring.
I get a lot of hate mail on that.

But that implies that the Bible should be entertaining. Which, one could argue, could spring out of a very 21st-century American sense of entitlement.
Portions of the Bible are boring. That’s just the reality. I’m not trying to make excuses for it; it’s just the truth. The flip side of that is when I began my journey of faith someone gave me a King James Version, and they were fairly dogmatic that I really needed to study that version. For a 16- or 17-year-old, a King James Version has enough thees, thous, thines and hithertos—it’s just going to be a barrier. We don’t talk like that. The King’s English just isn’t very helpful. So I moved onto a more modern translation of the Bible. That really helped me as I read through the Scriptures.

But you must still find something compelling about the Bible, if you’re still a Christian. What is that?
I get a history of God’s interactions with humanity and his reconciling us to himself. From the very beginning with the first sin, and the prophecy that the Messiah would come, and God saying that he would bruise a serpent’s head, to the very end when Jesus comes back—you’re making me get all theological here!—to the very end in Revelation with the white throne judgments!

And would there be anything else?
(Laughs.) Really, that’s a story of God reuniting us with him until the very end. It’s a messy history. And in fact, that’s what gives it validity to me. If the Bible were manipulated by powerful people to control others, they wouldn’t leave in all the gruesome details.

Or the boring ones.
Yes. They would make people more perfect, and they would frame God in a different light.

Did you take mainline Protestant churches to task in your book?
I do deal with “high church” ceremony, ritual, repetition—being really stuck in a way of doing something that doesn’t appeal to the culture. I’m not saying change the message; I’m saying maybe adjust the strategy to integrate into culture. 

I visited a very traditional church that wasn’t Methodist with a friend and my wife, who had been there for many years. We were there 3-1/2 hours—between the service and the coffee and donuts—but no one said “hi” to us. They said “hi” to my wife, who is drop-dead gorgeous, but no one said “hi” to us. I know I’m a big, bald, mean-looking guy, but not one person said “hi” to us. There was this real insider focus and that’s not right. 

I think we’ve really got to not compromise our doctrine or our theology, but maybe our style needs to morph a little bit. I just think the essential goal is we’ve got to represent that Jesus is alive and God is real with excellence and passion in how we do things. What we do has to represent that reality. 

I love John Wesley. He’s a great church father—don’t get me wrong. But I didn’t grow up in church, so I’m not drawn to that. Organ music and pews, to some people, are very relevant, and I’m not going to deny that. To the average person who didn’t grow up in church, that’s probably not going to appeal. But I could be wrong.

(Source for the article: http://www.umportal.org/article.asp?id=5444)