1. We take variety for granted. I spent many meals either with someone with me who was eating normal variety or in a place that served more than beans and rice. We, as middle class Americans, think nothing about what struggles others may be facing. Many times on the radio over the Thanksgiving holiday, I heard talk of engorging on turkey, feasting with family, and indulging in desserts. For the first time, I was painfully aware that there were many who would not have this option for the holidays. What an eye-opening experience.

2. There is a reason why we are the fattest nation on earth. Even with taking a multivitamin and eating to what I felt like was my fill, I still lost 5 pounds over 10 days. Gluttony was certainly not an issue when the menu was the same at every meal, sans a bit of spice variety. When a spread of food is available, it’s easy to give in to our passions for food. When selection is limited, it’s not as difficult a challenge. This experience opened my eyes to just how much I love food - more than I ever imagined.

3. Being radical either endears you to people or makes you weird. I had the chance to talk with several people about what I was doing. Oddly, the response I received the most often was, “well I’m glad it’s you, and not me”. Really?!? I would think that this would be an easy thing for many folks to experience, yet we all have certain items that we refuse to let go of. Conversely, I had many folks who were inspired by my story, and who have used it as motivation in their own lives. If nothing else, I hope that I have at least raised awareness to the fact that we are blessed, and we are called to share that with those who need it.

I can’t stop now. Although my own personal sacrifice is over, there are so many folks who hurt, be it dirty water, disease, cancer, homelessness, and on and on. As Christ followers, and as civilized human beings, we have a responsibility to care for our own, to love each other, and to help the broken. Here’s hoping that I can be challenged by that fact daily.

I’m now in the middle of day 2 of eating rice/beans/fruit, and I’ve got to say, I’m already missing having a wide selection of foods. But every time I think about that, I remember that there are so many people groups that know nothing other than these foods. We are so blessed to live in a country of prosperity, and we take it for granted, even in the little things like food variety.

Admittedly, my first rice that I made was less than impressive. No salt, no taste, and warmed over at work. Luckily, my wife came through with red beans and rice last night, which was delicious.

Remember, I am currently scheduled to eat rice/beans/fruit for 10 days, but any donations through the end of November count towards the challenge. For those of you who haven’t read my previous post, for every $100 given to charity water through my website, I will go 1 day of eating rice/beans/fruit, with a goal of 50 days.

I will post again after Thanksgiving. Look forward to my personal anguish as I will pass on the turkey and go for the rice/beans/fruit. Seriously, I find this a joy, but it will be tough.

Visit my donation site here to be able to give today. If you see me, and don’t feel comfortable giving online, I will be happy to make sure your donation is put towards this cause.

I have already heard from many of you declaring your support for me in the coming days, and I’m sure many more of you have determined to give to this cause. But, always being one to love a challenge, I have a little something in mind to up the ante a bit, if you will.

My charity:water giving total currently rests at $25, two weeks before my birthday. Here is my challenge: for every $100 we raise over the next 2 weeks (through my birthday on Nov. 22nd), I will go 1 day, beginning Nov. 23rd, eating nothing but rice, beans, and fruit.

Let me be clear: I am not doing this because I feel it will bring me some sense of personal pride by doing this. Rather, I feel that having never been to a place in which water, a basic amenity for all of our lives in America, is not available in a clean form, I really have no idea what real suffering is. As a result, I wish to in some way relate to people around the world who are far less fortunate than we. I do not want this to be a pity party for Jay while he eats beans/rice/fruit. I do not want this to be about me suffering. There are MANY more people suffering far worse than I ever will around the world today.

What this is about is giving us motivation, about connecting me physically to people who have far less than we do, and about understanding that we have been blessed with so much, we MUST share it with our brothers and sisters.

I hope you will prayerfully consider joining the movement.

Jay

FOOTNOTE: If we exceed the $5,000 goal by 11/22, the challenge continues up to whatever amount is given. Also, I will be blogging pictures and commentary from the rice/beans/fruit days, just so you know I’m not cheating.

It is becoming cool for businesses to give things away. No longer are we in an age where folks give just because. Organizations have to distinguish themselves. As a result, humanitarian efforts are beginning to form their own “brand.”

A great example of this is an organization called Charity Water, founded by Scott Harrison. Charity Water is a humanitarian group that seeks to bring clean water to those who do not have any. Instead of focusing on seeking donations the traditional fashion, they have worked hard to form a brand that will bring capital to their organization, while giving their contributors something to call their own. This is a growing trend among humanitarian efforts, and I find it a very savvy idea.

Because I find this awesome, and because I am very much pro-giving, this year I am taking a challenge that was offered at the Catalyst 2010 conference a few weeks ago. This year, I will be giving up my birthday in order to bring clean water to those who have none. What that means is, instead of sending cards, gift cards, or gifts, I would love for you all to donate money to charity water. I have set up a page here. I am doing this because I believe it is time that we as Americans stood up for those around the world and here at home who are less fortunate. It’s time that we share our blessings with people who have no concept of Internet, blogging, or even clean water.

Please join me in this campaign. At this point in my life, I would rather my birthday go for others, than for more gain for myself.

Don’t get me wrong, this is not a “I heart socialism” type of post. But really, is making as much wealth as possible still the coolest thing to do with our lives?

Take a company like TOMS shoes, for instance. This is a wildly popular shoe company, particularly among generation Y. Their success is certainly noteworthy, to say the least, as they have sold now over 1 million pairs of shoes. However, this business model is unique because of the philanthropy that is involved. Sure, Blake Mycoskie makes a great profit off of TOMS. However, he also donates 1 pair of shoes for every 1 pair of shoes that are purchased. 1 to 1, as Blake refers to it on the TOMS website.

Or take another company, like Project 7. Project 7 is a company that brews coffee, makes bottled water, and also makes sugar-free gum and mints. Similar to TOMS, whenever a purchase of any Project 7 item is made, a donation is made to one of 7 areas: feeding the hungry, healing the sick, hope for peace, housing the homeless, quenching the thirsty, teaching, and saving the Earth. Charities can apply on the website to be supported by Project 7.

Project 7′s founder, Tyler Merrick, is referred to on the website as a “social capitalist.” This is a very interesting moniker, but perhaps it is the most accurate description of the next wave of businessmen in our world. Generation Y is committed to doing something about the problems of the world, and companies like these are founded not just to support their owner, but to give something back to the world.

So I’m pretty sure that capitalism is not going away. God knows we all love money too much for that to happen, at least in this country. However, what a wonderful way this is to not only support one’s family with business, but to also make a lasting difference in the lives of other people.

Please join me in supporting these types of businesses. Instead of the luxuries money can buy, they are reaping the joy of blessing lives all over the world. And that, my friends, is worth celebrating.

Feel free to leave your thoughts on this business model or if you know of other businesses that are not mentioned here that should be supported.

This organization works by using a fixed premium (although still dependent on your preexisting medical conditions) for each of its members. Sounds pretty good, right? For those who are not insurance-savvy, most premiums fluctuate, especially when the policies are exercised. With Medi-Share, the premium is set.

The reason for this is that each member collectively helps to pay for everyone’s healthcare bills. That’s correct – all premiums are pooled and used to pay for the collective bills accrued by all members.

So needless to say, I found this interesting. I would love to hear thoughts on this model. Is it a) exactly what we should be doing as Christians, sharing in each other’s burdens, b) socialism, c) a business using faith as a tactic to recruit Christians, d) a crock since it is touted to be “for Christians who want their healthcare dollars to help fellow believers”, and not for all comers, or e) something completely different.

Discuss. Also, feel free to pick more than one choice if you need.

Tell me what’s more ridiculous, that statement or this prayer.

While I am not generally the type to respond to that statement and say, “Actually, your grandfather cheated many people out of money to build his empire and never once gave following Christ a second thought, so I’m pretty sure he’s not in heaven”, I do think as humans, we go a bit over-the-top to think that all people go to heaven. Think about it. When was the last time you attended a funeral for someone where the priest/pastor/whatever said, “this guy/lady lived a crappy life, and I’m fairly certain they are rotting in the depths of hell”? I’m doubting ever.

Seriously folks, since when does a) being old, b) being sick, or c) being old and sick offer you a free ticket into heaven? It seems that every time something unfortunate happens to someone, we like make ourselves feel better by convincing ourselves that the deceased has gone to heaven. It’s just not true. It strikes me as interesting that many non-believers only find Jesus when it is convenient for them, aka a loved one’s death, when all the money is gone, or when the wife/husband leaves.

The fact of the matter is that Jesus is just a convenience for many people. Most of the time he is a pest, bothering us with petty things such as helping take care of the sick, feeding the hungry, and my God, asking us to spend some time worshipping him. Doesn’t Jesus know that those things cut into my golf game AND my Wii time? Jesus is only truly missed whenever he was supposed to get us a better job or make us more money. But don’t worry, Jesus. Despite the fact that you blew it, we held up our end of the bargain by not killing anyone and keeping a job, so I know you got us a sweet crib laid up in heaven. By the way, I would like a crushed velvet sofa.

Johnny Cash might beg to differ, but it is insane to think about how we have molded the image of Christ to whatever we feel like he should be. Lover of 401ks? Sure. Forget the homeless, they don’t want to help themselves, why should I help? Absolutely. Lead singer of Lynyrd Skynyrd with a band of angels? Why not?

Our me-first society has done an unprecendented job of taking the Jesus of the Bible and making him relevant. The problem is, Jesus wearing D&G sunglasses and popped collars is not really Biblical, no matter how relevant we make it. I fear that we have done such a good job of making Christ fit into our lives that we are missing the point that we are supposed to be molding ourselves to his image.

Jesus certainly has a place in our lives today, and it won’t be the same as when he walked the earth 2,000 years ago. We do, however, need to closely examine our own lives to see if we fit into Christ’s calling, or are we leaning on “convenient Jesus” as a back-up plan.

It has become increasingly popular within the Christian genre to forego writing new songs. Many artists have tapped into the popularity of covering praise and worship songs and have devoted entire albums to this cause. While this is not wrong in and of itself, this repetition does lead to a stagnation of sorts with regard to fresh musicality.

So why have Christian artists fallen into the trap of covering someone else’s songs (because that’s exactly what “re-doing a praise and worship” song is)? I believe there are several reasons.

1. Recording a praise and worship song/album is an easy sell. There is a market for praise and worship music. Period. That doesn’t always mean that this music is great, but it does make it sellable. And as I have discussed before in this series of blogs, selling records is really the only thing that keeps these artists afloat in the business.

2. These are easy songs to write. And that is purposeful, because these songs have to be singable. Therefore, complex rhythms and chord progressions are not the status quo. As a result, even an average musician can churn out a praise and worship album of covers in 6 months. It’s that simple.

What does this mean for the industry? The lack of creativity leads to a death spiral of perpetual laziness. Quick quiz: what music genre has sounded exactly the same over the past 20 years? Answer: the one, the only, Christian music. Part of the reason for this is the fear of breaking away from a safe audience. Sure you can write better songs if you don’t copy someone else’s hits, but will people listen to them?

To sum up my thoughts over the past 3 blogs, I hope that the artists who make music in the Christian realm don’t die out. There are hugely talented people in each special niche of Christian music, and each listener is going to have different musical preferences. What needs to die, however, is the thought that if the music does not follow the status quo of Christian music over the past 20 years,  it is unlistenable.

Here’s hoping for a change. For the better.

Because that’s probably about to change.

As a musician who has been actively gathering musical interests for the past 15 years, my generalized anger against Christian music has not always been as strong as it is currently. Looking back, the days of Petra and Stryper were what we thought they were: pioneering individuals trying to take the sounds of their day and add Christian lyrics to bring more wholesome sounds to the religious audience. Were these artists talented? Yes. Was their music a great revolution in the world of music? No. However, these artists did what most thought was unthinkable at the time – bring the sounds of rock to the church.

At the time, those two thoughts could not possibly exist in harmony with one another. Rock was sinful. Rock was sexual. The church was fooling itself neither of those things. It was like trying to mix oil and water. But when Stryper unleashed “To Hell with the Devil”, it brought the fury of white metal together with the majesty of Christian lyrics. Finally, Christians could throw up their rock fingers and not feel bad about it.

But as magical as this was, something more sinister happened with the advent of “Christian music”. It’s hard to pinpoint the exact time or location in which it happened, but a dichotomy arose. Within the heading of “Christian” music, there arose 2 factions. One group was the stalwart group. Thinking 8-part harmonies could forever overshadow the sounds of a squealing guitar, their music basically did not evolve. The other group, what I would call the radical group, took the idea that Christian music could be put to more popular musical styles and flourish. However, sometimes this idea was pushed to the limit, with more style than substance, which led to backlash from the stalwart group. The radicals then decided that the stalwarts were too “stuck in their ways”, and the divide opened further.

I swear this is going somewhere.

The stalwarts and the radicals were never able to reconcile. As a result, these 2 factions just began making music within their own pockets of genre. The radicals enjoyed being under the radar and breaking new ground, while the stalwarts enjoyed the success that remained as their popularity was largely the same. As things go, however, the radicals began picking up popularity, particularly in the form of younger listeners. The stalwarts’ popularity with this generation was non-existent, but as the financial support of the young is sparse, the stalwarts clung to the more mature population to love their music/pay the bills. As a result, you found a more radical style of music growing in popularity, similar to what was seen in the mainstream arena, and growing particularly rapidly compared to their counterparts. What was not seen was a paycheck to complement the increased popularity.

As the divide opened, the powers that be (aka the Gospel Music Association) had to make a decision regarding radio airplay. In the earlier days of Christian radio, southern gospel predominated, with groups a la the Gaithers getting the majority of the airplay. With new types of music evolving over the course of the 1980s and 1990s, this status quo would be unacceptable in a short period of time. It was time to make a decision that would affect Christian radio airplay as we know it today. In the interest of keeping their support base happy and pay the bills, the GMA chose to support the music that was less controversial, more like what people were used to, and generally safe.

As a result of these decisions, Christian radio has perpetually kept Christian music as a genre 5-10 years behind what is popular, if not longer. While artists such as Third Day, Stephen Curtis Chapman, and Jeremy Camp are certainly talented, their songs are not relevant in pop culture. Maybe they don’t care if their songs are relevant, and that’s fine for them. The fact of the matter is that these artists are the face of Christian music today, and I’m not ok with it. There are many other more talented artists within the Christian genre who will never see the fortune of, for instance, Third Day because their music is more progressive or their lyrics are less hokie. This is the reason why artists such as Switchfoot go mainstream. Their music will never have the same opportunity to have a consistent fanbase because of the airplay they will never receive.

Way to go, Christian radio.Through this history, I believe Christian radio has made 3 classic blunders that have impeded the progression of Christian music to a wider fan base than just middle-aged Caucasians and subsequently deadlocked the musical genre.

1. Christian radio has consistently refused to allow commercials within their airplay. Now I’m as much against commercials as the next person, but this is a childish move by Christian radio stations. By refusing sponsorship money and cutting down on airplay time of Christian music, they are forced to have the following: telethons (which is a 3-day affair for the local Christian station, but for others, is much, much, much, much longer), Christian pastoral programming (a la Focus on the Family, Chuck Swindoll), and air-time sponsorships by individuals and local businesses. As a result, Christian radio stations naturally play the types of music that their sponsors are likely to approve. No ska, punk, rap, r&b, or metal allowed here folks. Only C, G, D, and the occassional Am chords.

2. The Christian music played on these stations is not even an accurate representation of the Christian life. What do I mean by this? I don’t always feel happy. Or want to be uplifted for that matter. Moreover, there are many Christian artists who write songs regarding struggles in their life, depression, sickness, anger at God, and other quasi-spiritual matters. How many times do you hear these songs? Rarely, if ever. While there is certainly Biblical merit to lifting one another up, one cannot ignore the fact that many Biblical passages are artists writers questioning/crying out to God for answers. Get real, Christian radio, and understand that we are not all getting our Joel Osteen on up in here.

3. Christian radio has made only feeble attempts to invest in the next generation of believers. I’m sorry, but 2 hours of rock programming on a Friday night is a sorry excuse for a youth movement. There should be more songs interposed within normal programming hours, even peak programming hours. Let’s be frank: no generation X or Y-er wants to listen to the equivalent of the all-Michael Bublé station. Quick, name for me 5 Christian songs on the radio right now that could make the Billboard Top 40 in pop/rock. Good luck.

So while playing music that better fits the stalwarts of Christian music has its safe advantages, it also comes with limitations, of which the main limitation is limited fan base. This limited fan base (believers) has only so much money to invest back into programming, and these radio stations will do anything to keep their listeners. Result? More of the same. This is the death spiral that Christian music is in. Good luck ever surviving the whirlpool. The sad part is that it won’t just take down the “popular” artists. It will take down on all of the feeder records labels (Tooth and Nail, Solidstate, etc.) and force these musicians to make a choice to either quit or go mainstream.

Here’s a quick shout-out to some great artists that you rarely hear played: anberlin, emery, beloved, the almost, copeland, mae, mewithoutyou, hillsong united, august burns red, the chariot, haste the day, kj-52, lecrae, and bleach. Thank you for making good music despite the lack of mainstream airplay.

Christian radio, get with the program. There is a rising generation of believers that wants a thematic alternative to “let’s get drunk and have sex”. But let’s face it. Your alternative sucks.