Oh, brother...

I've always been a church-going person and am now and I believe in the sovereignty of Jesus Christ. But that's not what this blog is about. That was just the disclaimer.



This blog is about the dumb sayings churches put on their signs. The one on my mind right now is the one I saw on the way home from a friend's house. It read: "One man can make a difference: Jesus did." (emphasis mine -- but you can't really read the statement without the emphasis logically going anywhere else)



Okay. At first glance, that's a nice saying that's meant to make you realize the importance of one single person in the grand scheme of things. But, to me, what's bothersome about that is that one could theologically conclude from that sign, that the difference the average person can make is possible on the same level that Jesus' difference was.



Well, Theology 101 is that "Jesus is God and you are not." So the suggestion that a person can make a difference similar to the one Jesus' made is arrogant and sinful.



Now I get the point of the sign and you do too, but it's the ensuing conversation that is likely to come from reading that sign that is harmful to that church. Most likely, no visitor is going to start attending that church because of their sign. In other words, a statement like that is just as likely to fall on ears (or eyes) that are going to mock it than those that will be inspired by it.



Right before I got home, I saw a sign at another church that wasn't that bad: "Living life in light of eternity changes one's values." Not bad at all. If I were guessing from other signs posted at that church, then this sign is relevant to something the church is studying or discussing. The only disservice a sign like that does is that it is not possible for that thought to be elaborated on. There's the catch -- maybe you'll be intrigued by the sign and want to find out more information. Okay, I can live with that. That church isn't trying to be cutesy, they are trying to be philosophical.



Well, so is the other one, albeit at a much lower level of thinking. So what happens when a well-meaning congregant puts an easily-mock-able philosophical quote on their sign?

Aspire to inspire before you expire.

Sour Grapes make lousy wine.



Forbidden Fruit produces many jams!



The Easter Bunny didn't rise from the dead.



Come Inside for a Faith Lift. (puns are the worst!)



Crack The Bible ... Get High On Jesus



Without the bread of life you'll be toast. (ready? groan.)




Thank you to http://www.rulezone.com/dumb.htm for providing a vast collection of these.





Here are some I remember from the three neighboring churches we lived next to in Joplin, Missouri:





Think you aren't important? Stop making your car payment.



No one looks as good as they do on a resume.






There are several notable others, but I'll have to verify them with Kayla before I state them here.



Kayla and I's joke as we would drive by one of those dumb signs was that we were going to start going to church there immediately! (all sarcasm intended)



When I was looking for a website that had a collection of "dumb church signs" (there were 2, 050, 000 hits, by the way) I ran across this gem: http://www.churchsigngenerator.com/



This website lets you make your own church sign, then save as a jpg and share with all of your friends.



I made this one based on a church bulletin announcement I once heard about:

New Pieces to be Published! & To-do list.

New Pieces to be Published:

This has been an exciting two weeks! Along with the start of school this week, I've been notified that two pieces I submitted for publication have been approved!

There's a part of me that is worried that if I mention the publishers by name, I will somehow jinx the process of completing the publication. So, I will simply hint at who it is, and if you guess correctly, then you, ummm... guessed correctly. When the contracts are finalized and the pieces appear on their websites, I'll update mine and then you'll see who they are. I'm really not a superstitious person, though. I promise. Cross my heart and hope to die...

The first piece is really an entire show for Indoor Drumline. It is an arrangement of Carmen. You can listen to it and read some details about it HERE.

The publisher (who will remain nameless) is a major publisher of marching band music. They have recently added the Indoor Drumline section to their publications and are starting to add more and more titles. I am very excited about having my work associated with this publisher because of how much they advertise their music and how well their name is known -- not to mention their reputation among us band directors!

The other piece is AXIOM the percussion quintet I wrote this past spring. It was originally conceived as a duet for two very advanced players (in fact, the two players I had in mind are/were doctoral candidates working on their performance degrees). However, as I wrote more and more, it became obvious that there was too much material for two players to handle and that the instrumentation might work better as a quintet. Still holding to its original conception, the main theme is stated by only one player accompanied by another (a duet).

Given that the piece has a couple of sections that evoke hip-hop or funk music, I'm glad to see that someone else has bought into my vision and accepted the piece in it's intended form. (Is this the first time that the words 'evoke' and 'hip-hop music' have been put together in a sentence?)

The publisher for AXIOM is another well-known publisher of percussion music as well as band music. I am most excited about having my name included in their catalogue because of their association with one of my favorite living composers who shall also remain nameless. And actually, there are some very serious living composers who have music published with this company, so from all angles, I am very excited to brush elbows with these people!

So as you can see, these are some very exciting times for my compositional life. There is no doubt that this sort of response to my music motivates me to write more. And as my schedule would have it, I'm already up at 5:30 each morning to write before I head to school for a full 10 or 11 hour day. Then juggle trying to be a caring husband and a loving father and it's no wonder that I slept until almost noon yesterday!

How do I do it? I'd love to say something witty or poignant like "I persevere for the sake of my art" or "my family keeps me going with their love and support." And while those are definitely true statements, I mainly am able to keep going thanks to SPARK. Oh, glorious Spark: making the flesh willing right along with the spirit!

To-Do List:

So when I have these great milestones occur, it does galvanize my desire to write. Here are the things I'm working on and hope to finish (as well as projects I want to start or pick back up!):

1. Number one on the list is a transcription of the first movement of Mendelsohn's 4th Symphony, "The Italian." The transcription is for large Percussion Ensemble that will include piano and one or some full range 5- octave marimbas.

For anyone dangerous enough to have studied music in college, you'll understand this: this first movement is in a fairly strict Sonata Allegro form. I've completed enough of the piece to now be working on the Recapitulation.

For everyone else: I have sixteen more pages to go and I can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel!

2. Continuing with my transcriptions, I'm also wanting to start a transcription for a similarly large Percussion Ensemble using the third movement from Tchaikovsky's Fourth Symphony (what is it with me and fourth symphonies?). I've always thought that this movement would make for a great percussion piece because of how much the strings play pizzicato throughout the movement. Cover the woodwind parts cleverly and it might sound like Pyotr meant for it to be played on marimbas. He and Prokofiev would have had a blast writing for percussion if they had been born a hundred years later...

3. I have the first section more or less finished of what I am suspecting to be a three-section band piece. It is quick, in triple meter and has some minimalistic qualities to it (think John Adams, not Philip Glass). I am hoping that it will finish out as a Grade 3 or 4 and can be premiered by Christmas. Better start getting up at 5, then...

4. Hanging perpetually over my head is a project for Honeyrock to finish a collection of pieces for marimba and vibe duo that are meant to be played at church. I am thinking about adding a couple of "wedding" type pieces to make the overall volume appeal to a wider market. Many friends and family members have offered a lot of suggestions for using various hymns and folk songs. In fact, I have one rather lengthy email from my mother with about two dozen suggestions. I'll probably just start right there. She does so much wedding and church playing she is practically an authority on the subject. Okay. Let's call it like it is: she IS an authority on wedding/church music.

Hmmm... Well, as I write this blog, I realize that I have a lot of things to get to work on. So, with every word I type, I'm delaying lunch, and thus, am delaying my writing. And really, this blog post is so long that no one is probably still reading.

Hello?

Anyone out there?

Is this thing on?

I think I'll have leftovers for lunch now...