Who do I look like to you?

(By Erik)

Here's something Ann's blog pointed me to. It's pretty cool, but it's being WAY too kind! Great to know that I look a little bit like Abdullah Gul? Does anybody know who he is?

(I've had to move the image off the site since it was messing up the rail on the right. If you want to see it, click here.)

A few more memories from the Classic City

(By Erik)
During our recent trip to Georgia I was able to swing by Athens (the "Classic City") and reconnect with Connie and Terry Norwood. Terry is an elder of the Campus View Church of Christ, and he and Connie have been adopted parents for hundreds of students in their decade of ministry. (That's Connie in the photo, talking to one of the new graduate student at UGA just outside Sanford Stadium.)

I wrote a story about the Norwoods for our latest issue of the Chronicle. If you have a minute, please give it a look and let me know what you think.

I can't say enough good things about the Norwoods or the Campus View church. I feel like I grew more as a Christian in my three years in Athens than I did in my four years at a Christian university. I'm glad I went to both schools (I wouldn't have gotten my job at the Chronicle — or met Jeanie — without my connections in Nashville) but I'm especially glad I had the opportunity to be a part of the Campus View family for a while.

Here's a photo that relates to the story about the Norwoods. I love the sign. (Sorry the photo turned out kind of dark).

Here are the Cosgroves, a Campus View couple that served as my "Adopt-A-Dawg" parents during my first year at UGA. They live on a big piece of property out in Oglethorpe County and regularly have the gang over for bonfires and horse riding. Great folks.

Last but not least, here are some current members of the Georgia Christian Student Center, ready for the game. There hasn't been all that much to cheer about in Georgia football this year, but at least we pulled out a win over Mississippi State this past weekend. The guy on the far left is the son of Harold Shank, one of our new Bible professors here at Oklahoma Christian University.

Click on any of these photos to see larger versions.

PHOTO: Jesus 'tween the hedges

(By Erik)

Here's a photo I took outside of Sanford Stadium in Athens, Ga., just before the start of the Georgia Bulldogs' game against the University of Tennessee. Just a few feet away are the stadium's historic hedges.

It was a heartbreaking loss for us Dawg fans, but not nearly as heartbreaking as the at-home loss to Vanderbilt one week later. For those of you who don't follow Southeastern Conference football, I'm trying to think of an apt analogy. But the only analogy I can think of is, "That's as bad as losing to Vandy!"

What can I say? It's a rebuilding year!

We'll post some more information about our Georgia trip soon.

ALBUM REVIEW: Freddy Mercury is back from the dead — and he's praising Jesus!

(By Erik)

A couple of days ago I bought Wide-eyed and Mystified, the latest album from Downhere, on iTunes.

The band’s song, “A Better Way,” has been getting a lot of play on a local Christian station. Another song from the album, “The More,” is in heavy rotation on the Christian alternative station. The rest of the album is equally great.

“A Better Way” begins with Jason Germain’s vocals on the verses. The first time I heard the song I thought, “eh, this is nice.”

Then came the chorus, and the high-tenor voice of Marc Martel kicked in.

“Whoa, this guy sounds a little bit like Freddy Mercury,” I said, and the thought of the late, flamboyant frontman of Queen singing spiritual songs gave me a giddy thrill. I kept waiting for a Brian May guitar solo.

(Most of the hair-metal bands I loved in the 1980s, including Def Leppard, were heavily influenced by Queen, by the way. A lot of them, including Leppard, performed at a tribute concerns after Freddy died of AIDS in 1991.)

“A Better Way” reminds me a lot of “Under Pressure,” a duet by Queen featuring Freddy and David Bowie. (The famous bass line from that song was sampled without permission by Vanilla Ice for the infamous hip-hop hit “Ice, Ice, Baby.”)

Even if you’re not a Queen fan or even vaguely familiar with the band (if you’re my wife, for example) you’ll still love this album. Most Christian music fans will be more comfortable with comparisons between Marc and Kevin Max of DC Talk. He has that kind of a voice, and it’s a great counterpoint to Jason’s vocals on the album.

I was concerned that Wide-eyed would be lyrically thin after hearing “A Better Way,” a beautiful, but simple, expression of Christ’s love for us. But the album has some exceedingly clever lyrics. My favorite song is “The Real Jesus.” Here’s a sampling:

Jesus on the radio, Jesus on a late night show
Jesus in a dream, looking all serene
Jesus on a steeple, Jesus in the Gallup poll
Jesus has His very own brand of rock and roll …

Jesus started something new
Jesus coined a phrase or two
Jesus split the line at the turning point of time
Jesus sparked a controversy
Jesus, known for His mercy, gave a man his sight
Jesus isn't white

Jesus loves the children, holds the lambs
Jesus prays a lot
Jesus has distinguishing marks on His hands

I don't care if they got it off a Christian-bookstore bumper sticker, that last line gives me chills.

'Go ahead, lead all four verses'

We stole this from Bobby and Tamie's blog, but it's too good to keep to ourselves!

Here's what all the 728b kids will be asking for this Christmas — Song Leader Revolution!

Learn more about the video and it's creator here: www.songleaderrevolution.com

Trying out a new mapping program for our blog

(By Erik and Jeanie)

We haven't been updating this blog very regularly. Apologies for that. But we've just added this cool program that will show us where people are who are looking at our blog (assuming anyone's looking)!