’57 Chevy Bel Air

My dad owns a ’57 Chevy Bel Air. This is the view from the passenger seat on a recent night drive:

I am not a car guy. I really do not care about what I drive – driving is just a method of transportation. 

But, for me, riding in a ’57 is different. Sitting in this car is a transcendent experience. The car smells like a car; sounds like a car. It’s loud, but not noticibly so. There is no AC. There are vent windows.

The switch to turn on the brights is on the floor. You turn the brights on with your foot! That, my friends, is cool. We ride in silence, mostly. What needs to be said? 

The car represents pure optimism. And, I think that optimism was prescient. The other night my dad and I both had smartphones sitting on the front seat between us. Just the growth in technology alone justifies the optimism of the 1950s. 

But the ultimate feature isn’t really a feature, rather it’s a side effect. Anytime we stop at a light people pulling up beside us get excited. Especially people over 65. ’57s remind people of their youth, their family, their passed-on parents, and so much more. That’s the magic of a ’57. A car with life to it. 

Bob Lefsetz

Everyone should read the Lefsetz Letter – a news letter by music industry lawyer turned analyst, Bob Lefsetz. The music industry is the news letter’s overarching theme but Bob gives his unique take on a wide range of topics – technology, business, politics (he’s a hardcore lefty).
The beauty of Bob Lefsetz is his consistently inconsistent thoughts. Like all of us he has general thought patterns that show up in all his writings, but sometimes the specifics of an idea he proffers will contradict the general pattern. And that’s completely OK. None of us are completely consistent all the time in what we think. Doing so would be exhausting.
Bob lays it all out there. Take his thoughts on the election (summarizing: Trump is terrible but Trump played to win in a 21st century digital era; Clinton played the game according to the rules of the 90s). Most influential general interest bloggers wouldn’t touch the election for fear of losing readers on one or both sides of the aisle. Bob doesn’t worry about that. He knows the best way to keep readers happy is to speak honestly and let the chips fall where they may.
His takes on music are fascinating and his readership is massive. Everyone in the music business reads him. He will often forward a collection of responses he received as a form of a mailbag. Sometimes it’s downright shocking who replies to him. When Glen Frey died J.D. Souther responded to Bob’s piece on Mr. Frey with a truly heartbroken email. I can sometimes forget these people (musicians) are real. They may be famous, but they are also life long friends and creative partners.
 
I strongly recommend subscribing to Bob’s email letter (it’s free!).
 

Tithing

I recently saw a statistic that practicing Christians in North America give about 2.5% of their gross income to the church. Without going into too many specifics I would say that number is similar, though not the same, to the majority of my own giving history. Like most Christians I too have struggled to faithfully tithe. Which is odd considering God promises to provide for a Christian’s needs (even if the Christian doesn’t tithe!). If you’re a practicing Christian you’re familiar with the scriptures on tithing, there’s no reason to hash them out here. But for the uninitiated: God promises that if a Christian gives joyfully and generously, he will generously meet that person’s needs. 
(There is ongoing debate as to whether Christians are required to tithe. My response is: for the first time in history, humans (in the West) aren’t living subsistence lifestyles. If many subsistence-living Christians gave at least 10% in the past then what should we give, considering our historically amazing wealth in the West? Seems 10% of our gross income is a good starting point.)

There’s a whole rats nest in the idea of giving and receiving back from God. It’s important we understand God promises to meet our needs. That doesn’t mean he will simultaneously increase our wealth. He may, but that’s not what he promises. He may also allow our stock portfolio to crash while maintaining our monthly cash flow. He’s God; he can do what he pleases. We ought always keep this in mind, especially with the prevalence of “health and wealth” style preaching. God’s continual meeting of our needs tends to keep us spiritually aware of our need for him, which deepens our faith in him, and leads to an outward love of those around us (the whole point of Christianity!)

 

So I am baffled as to why we Christians don’t tithe, when we know God will always meet our needs. Well, I know why I typically haven’t tithed: I don’t think God can/will provide in my circumstance. My circumstance is unique, I say! But, knowing what I know about the character of God (unchanging; God who provides; knows everything and ordains everything), doesn’t it make sense that I should tithe? What would happen to myself and my family if I tithed? Really, what would happen? Would we go broke? Would we not be able to retire? 

These thoughts, and the scripture related to tithing, have been bouncing around my head and heart for quite a while. 

So we decided earlier this year to start tithing at least ten percent of our gross income. Obviously the specific percentage is private (a long standing custom in Christianity based on Christ’s teaching on how to give). This was a tough decision. We live in the Washington, D.C. area, the second most expensive area in the country. We are paying down graduate school debt. Our daughter’s daycare/preschool costs about one Kia a year – and it’s the cheapest care around. This year I started a new business with inconsistent income. Basically, we are normal people as far as I can tell. 
And the sky has not fallen. We can feel the pinch, of course, and there are days (weeks?) where I stress out needlessly, but we can also see the Lord providing for us. Whether it’s through expense reductions (most common), increased income (rare, but always welcome), or new job/business opportunities, we see the Lord provide in his time, and in the manner he chooses. 
So I would encourage every Christian who is able to begin 2017 by tithing at least 10% of their gross income. The Lord is unchanging and he will meet your needs!

mikeroweWORKS Foundation

 

I saw Mike Rowe (of Dirty Jobs fame) on Meet the Press last Sunday (link here) talking about how his former show connected with Donald Trump voters and was a type of early indicator that something was happening to America’s working class. This got me thinking – what is a reality TV host and voice over actor doing on America’s premier Sunday morning political talk show? What did Mike Rowe do differently than, say, Jeff Probst (of Survivor)? Of course, Jeff Probst may not want to be on the Sunday morning shows. But the point remains.

Mike Rowe connected the idea behind his show to a larger narrative which totally eclipsed his show. The idea is simple and profound: All work is valuable, performed by individuals who have value and collectively have a voice. This idea is not generally embraced by large swaths of the country. Yes, many of those people tend to live in big cities near the coasts. I know, I live in a big city near the coast. I grew up in the “dirty jobs” environment (despite a hilarious lack of mechanical/technical abilities). My dad was (is?)  an aircraft maintainer. I tell people in DC my dad worked an aircraft maintainer and they look at me cross-eyed.

Mike Rowe saw this disconnect between work, skills, and value, and started a foundation to promote skilled trade work in America. He partnered with change makers and heads of corporations to work toward closing the so-called skills gap. In essence, he connected his day-to-day work with a trend which extended far beyond his work, and in doing so created much more value value for himself and society than if he were to just be a TV host.

The question for me then is, “How does my work connect to a larger narrative?”; and “What is that narrative?”.

 

Brewing Beer

Seems to there are two methods to brewing beer – extract and all grain. Extract is a shortcut method with the sugars extracted from the grain and available in dry or liquid form. All grain brewing involves essentially making oatmeal and draining the water out the pot of oatmeal, and from there the process is similar to extract brewing.  If you’ve done your fair share of baking you would recognize the brewing process. Grains, heat, yeast, water. And, as with baking, the fun lies in the experimentation.

I’ve only been brewing for a short while but I can say it is wildly fun. I’ve always enjoyed working in the kitchen and that’s where most home brewers do their brew day (speaking for extract brewers; all grain brewing takes a bit more heat and is best done outside with propane).

 

A few ingredients, time, and patience are all you need and you can join thousands of years of brewing history. The patience part is tough. I’ve been opening up some bottles a few days before their ready, hoping they will somehow magically speed through the carbonation process. The result? Flat beer. It’s my fault. I knew what I was doing, but hoping against hope.

If you’re looking for a relatively inexpensive hobby you can do at home and don’t mind cleaning up afterwards, consider brewing. I suggest Northern Brewer for their starter kits. Or, find a local home brew shop. Did I mention at the end of the process there is beer?