My Interview With Rob Bell
I had the opportunity to sit down last night with the author of the new and controversial book Love Wins: A Book About Heaven, Hell, And The Fate Of Every Person Who Ever Lived, pastor Rob Bell. We talked about his recent book and the controversy surrounding it, and throughout the night I gained some insight into the man currently holding the number two spot on the New York Times Bestseller List. The following are bits of our conversation throughout the night and two major points surrounding my opinions on Mr. Rob Bell.
BH: What sounds good for dinner?
RB: Mexican. You know of any good places? I’m a sucker for a good burrito. We heard Baja Burrito was good. You know where that is?
BH: Yeah, is pretty amazing. And their fish tacos are great.
RB: Perfect.BH: How’s the family.
RB: Doing well. Yours?
BH: Great.RB: So you’ve been on the road a lot. How’s that going?
BH: It’s been great. Super busy, but really good. Hey, who’s doing the interviewing here?
RB: How long are you away from your family at any given time?
BH: Okay, one more answer and that’s it. I’m interviewing you. I’m usually away from them a max of four days. I’m lucky to travel with bands that also have families and like to be home.BH: What looks good?
RB: I think the steak burrito on a wheat tortilla. Yep. That’s it.
BH: So I know you’ve got a bunch of interviews tomorrow, but what else is going on?
RB: There’s a big event at Belmont and I guess it moved from a church to the school.
BH: Nice. I’ll come out early and we can hang before it, but I have a thing at the boys school until 3:30.
RB: Perfect.BH: So you got to meet Sammy Hagar. That’s pretty awesome.
RB: Yeah, he was cool, and gave me a great quote.
BH: Nice.BH: Hey, I gotta get gas before we head back to the hotel. Is that cool.
RB: Sure.BH: What time is that big college basketball game on tonight?
RB: You’re Central Time right?
BH: I’ll ask the questions here, thanks. But yeah, we’re Central Time.
RB: I think the game is on at 8:06.
So, these two things jump out at me when I hang out with Rob. Two things that shape the way I view him and his theology. And based off of this interview I left completely standing by my Tweet a few weeks ago.
One, Rob is nice. He’s a good person, concerned for others and truly believes that in the end love wins (minor pun intended). He cares about the people around him and hopes the best for them.
Two, there is no doubt in my mind that Rob is 100% a Christ-following believer who desperately wants to share the gospel with people.
So I hope this clears a lot of things up for you guys. I know there’s been a lot of questions and then more questions about Rob’s book and most are from people who haven’t read it, so I’d leave with one suggestion. Go get the book and read it, then start loving people the way we are supposed to.
And if my opinion isn’t enough here’s something floating around the magical Interwebnet right now for your listening pleasure:
An Evening Of Stories
Last night we had the privilege to attend An Evening Of Stories put on by Porter’s Call and Al Andrews at the Country Music Hall Of Fame. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but at the same time I knew if Al was involved it was going to be a great night.
The night was basically these three storytellers taking turns telling their stories. Stories of their faith, childhood, parenthood & love. All three were totally different, but all three were equally as moving as the next.
Anyway, Kristin and I had a blast and can’t wait for next year’s event. And when you get a second check out Porter’s Call. Al is an amazing guy doing amazing things.
The Reversal
So check this out. A couple months ago I met a guy named Milam and he said he had an idea. The idea is to create a community online for artists to connect with other artists and experience real connection. An online Bible Study of sorts. Where artists can be real with each other and be honest about the struggles of being on the road, away from their families, ect. Instantly I decided I was in. I love the idea of someone supporting those that are traveling the country and also supporting the families that are staying home supporting them. Brilliant.
So here’s the first stage of TheReversal.org with lots to come in 2011. Check it out.
3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th of July Weekend
Bart’s family was in town for the 4th of July. Well actually it was the 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th of July but who’s counting? I don’t think our kids have ever slept less than they did this weekend. We ended up hanging out every night until some ridiculous hour roasting marshmallows, swimming, talking and hoping one of the kids didn’t wander off in the dark.
Since they were staying with MercyMe’s manager, he was kind enough to let us take over his house for a few days, riding four wheelers, more swimming, and blowing up fireworks. The boys loved it. Bart and I ended up having to clean up some of the firework mess, but that just started an awesome sword fight and then we wandered off. You know how it goes.
And here’s the funny thing. This was one of the first times that we got to hang out as families. The kids instantly clicked and could have played all day and all night. Kristin and I were talking about how weird it was that Bart and I have known each other for years, but as families we were just getting to know each other. Weird dynamic, but we had an absolute blast.
Now to talk them into moving here…
Monthly Fests
So, back in the day, when Kristin and I lived in California and before kids we started a monthly tradition at our house loosely based off of Oktoberfest. Except it was monthly. If I remember correctly it was the second Tuesday of every month. Although I could be completely making that part up. Anyway. If it was January it was ‘Januaryfest’, February, ‘Februaryfest, March, Marchfest… You get the idea. Basically all it was, was a time for our friends to come over and hang out. We’d barbeque some food, and hang out. You know, a monthly excuse to hang out with people.
Well, since we’ve moved out here we haven’t really had a chance to do it. We haven’t had the time. Or really the group of people wanting to do it with us. But here we are. I’m wanting to start up this thing again. The low-key hang out at our house with food and friends appropriately named after each month.
I’m not sure if we’ll have time to fit in a Junefest, but I’ve got my sights on Julyfest. Now, I don’t know details yet, and Kristin and I haven’t even really talked about it all that much, but I think it’d be fun. Who’s in?
What A Week
Dang. It’s been a heck of a week. Over 1,700 miles, meeting up with over 40 friends, 1 wedding, a couple second degree sunburns, and a cracked windshield. I’d call that a success. Well, except for the windshield.
It’s been a long time since we’ve taken a vacation like this. In fact, I don’t know if we’ve ever taken a vacation like this, but it was a good one. We had amazing time in the car, the boys were fantastic, lots of time to talk, listen to music, watch some movies, play some Words With Friends, you know… all the stuff you’re not supposed to do while you’re driving.
Luckily the oil hasn’t made it to any of the beaches we went to, so it was nothing short of perfect water to swim in.
I’m still sorting through all the pictures but here’s a few of my favorites.
Everything Is Different, Safe & Alive
I’m going to ask you to spend another two dollars today. You know why? Well, first because it’s my blog and I can do whatever I want on it, and second, I want you to hear my friend Michael’s new song and also my friend Phil’s new song.
Pocket Full Of Rocks released their new song “Alive” today to iTunes and it’s absolutely worth picking up. I’ve known Michael for a while now. Him and his wife live down really close to us, but in ‘Nashville language’ that means that we have to schedule time to get together three months out and even then it’s hard to get together. There’s a rumor that we might be getting lunch one of these days, but I’m not sure when…. Sorry… long rambling story about how I wish we could hang out more. Anyway…. go now and first check out Pocket Full Of Rocks’ “Alive”. Then come back here for your next mission.
You back?
Okay, next up is a Mr. Phil Wickham. Phil’s new single “Safe” featuring Bart Millard from MercyMe is also available on iTunes today for the low (though fairly standard) price of 99 Cents. You see how I did that? I made it seem like a reasonable price by saying “for the low price of”… Clever marketing right there folks. Seriously though. If you haven’t heard Phil’s song “Safe” yet, you’re missing out. Seriously. There’s something missing from your life. And that something only costs 99 cents. Can’t beat that can you?
So let’s recap your mission at iTunes today shall we? First up, we’re going to get Shane&Shane’s “Everything Is Different”. Then we’re heading over to get Pocket Full Of Rocks’ “Alive”, and finally we’re grabbing Phil Wickham’s “Safe”. All in all I think it will set you back exactly $11.97. Not bad for 17 songs eh? Go now and you can come back and thank me later.
Humane Society And The Myriad
My friends in The Myriad sent me over this little video and I’d love to know your thoughts.
Steven, their guitar player mentioned that they did a video specifically addressing the issues of factory farming and that surprisingly its been a little controversial among Christians. I’m curious what the crowd here thinks.
And while we’re here talking about The Myriad boys, they are out on tour right now with another guy you need to check out named Tyrone Wells. Tyrone used to be in band called Sypark, but his solo stuff is ridiculous. Check out their dates and see if they are coming close to you…. and then you must go and tell them hey for me.
So back to the original point of this post. Factory farming and cruelty to animals? Controversial or a no-brainer?
Ready? Go.
Too Busy
I’m not normally one to preach on here. Mostly because there’s plenty of other people out there that will say things far more thought provoking than I would, and on the flip side of that, I don’t think so highly of myself that I need to make this blog any sort of authority in your life. That being said, there is one thing I have wanted to mention for a while now, and ironically haven’t had the time to sit down and hash it out.
Growing up I never really noticed it, but the older I get the more I realize that people are quite honestly too busy to care. To care about people, to care about community, to care about anything but what they are doing causing them to be busy. Whether it’s a job, a charity, a project, or something as simple as living day to day. And to be honest with you, I fall in to that too. I get too busy to care about other people. Sometimes I even notice myself getting too busy to even really take the time to focus on my family. And that’s crappy.
Dad’s, are you too busy working or advancing your career that you forget to spend time with your kids? Church’s, are you too busy making sure your Sunday runs smooth that you forget to connect with the people walking in the door? Mom’s, too busy checking off your ‘to-do’ list to make sure that you’re spending time enjoying your family? Friends, are you only interested in hanging out if there’s some project to accomplish?
This is something that Kristin and I have talked about a lot over the past few months, and I’ve sort of just been chewing on it for a long time. When Kristin and I first got married we would have people over all the time to just hang out. Nothing else. There was no purpose, no objective, no projects that needed to be done. We just enjoyed hanging out. A community. Now the older we’ve gotten, the busier we’ve gotten and quite honestly, since we have moved from California, we’ve noticed that people just don’t seem to want to hang out if there isn’t something to accomplish. It seems like if there isn’t a reason to ‘hang out’, no objective, no one is interested. Is it like this with everyone? Is this how adults operate? Something we’ve just got to get used to? A southern thing? Or it’s possible I’m just crazy.
What do you think?
