Archive for bryan

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Bryan is an artist, father, husband, and son (not really in that order). He works as the director of youth ministries at a United Methodist church and writes and administers The Fireside Post with his father, Ohg Rea Tone. His writings have not been published, though they have been printed a lot.

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Comcast Buys Out the New Media Christian Paradigm

Scratch Christianity, insert capitalism.  What is the driving ideology – and how do ideologies conflict.  Here is the basic problem with identifying with a specific ideology:  you have to accept the consequences of your ideology.  I have several examples, and I want to take a look at Comcast and the media empires, but I think [...]

8Dec2009 | bryan | 0 comments | Continued
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Marketing War to Children

At a Fourth of July carnival last weekend, I was pushing our double stroller and sweating to the tinny sound of bad music while my children begged their grandparents for tickets to ride the Ferris Wheel. I was looking around and considering the impact that these events have on my children, since I remember being naively fond of them when I was young. It was almost as though things came into focus all of a sudden when I realized that about half of the games and vendors and rides had guns.

9Jul2009 | bryan | 0 comments | Continued
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Finding a Voice With Music

Dad,
I am one of those lovers of music that has no musical background. I wasn’t in band in high school; I never sang in a choir, I never even managed a successful stretch of lessons that allowed me to learn an instrument. I toyed with the idea of learning the violin, but I am afraid [...]

21Apr2009 | bryan | 0 comments | Continued
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Fact, Fiction, Science, and the Story of God

Understanding science and the way that we interact with our world is valuable information, and speculating on the specifics of the stories if the Bible are valuable to a deeper understanding of their significance. We have to admit, however, that there will always be an element that we cannot explain, and that we have a choice every day whether or not we accept that unexplained part as the mystery and power of the story, or shrug it off as a delusion of the minds of men.

9Apr2009 | bryan | 0 comments | Continued
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Mr. Gates Goes to Washington (Again)

Yesterday, Secretary Gates took his place in the new administration as an agent for change and an advocate for a more responsible approach to our defense budget. Strangely enough, the supposed champions of fiscal responsibility have been the first to cry foul.

7Apr2009 | bryan | 0 comments | Continued
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How to Handle a Heckler

In case you ever get the notion that you might launch your comedy career from the seats rather from the stage, I hope that this will be a reminder that the brave and the truly funny are always the people on stage. You are just the annoying person in the audience and, trust me, no one there is cheering for you.

31Mar2009 | bryan | 0 comments | Continued
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Where Have All the Liberals Gone?

So many people are unclear today about what it means to be liberal and conservative, democrat or republican, Methodist or Episcopalian. I think it would be a good idea to examine these things and to make conscious decisions and form intentional and reasonable conclusions about current events, rather than subscribe to an ideology or system of beliefs because our parents did, because the media is in an uproar, or because of the all-to-common cult of personality.

16Feb2009 | bryan | 5 comments | Continued
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A United Methodist Perspective

I am a United Methodist. My wife and I joined a United Methodist church in Sugar Land, Texas before moving to Nashville, TN, and when we moved to Iowa, we transferred our membership to a church that was just down the street from our house. We went through the ceremony for becoming a member of [...]

16Feb2009 | bryan | 2 comments | Continued
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The Changing Face of Etiquette

As we, our culture, are catered to by technology and the marketing machine, we begin to feel more entitled to the things that we consume and the benefits of our service industry. The idea of serving others is lost on those who become complacent with being served themselves.

20Jan2009 | bryan | 0 comments | Continued
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Jesus: Radical Rabbi or Practical Mystic?

There is a lot of talk these days about being “spiritual” but not being “religious.” We often hear, “I see myself as a spiritual person, but not as a religious person.” This is the mantra of the children of the counter cultural movement of alternative spirituality. It is so much the mantra of a movement that it is no longer counter cultural, but represents the mainstream American thought process.

19Jan2009 | bryan | 1 comment | Continued
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The Modern Retreat to the Castle Keep

The worry is not that we are getting more or less safe, but that our perceptions of safety are changing. We have recreated the walled and gated villas of the past and, between our fenced yard, our attached garage, and our parking garage at work, can go entire days and weeks without seeing someone from our neighborhood, let alone someone from around town. We are creating a sense of safety that is grounded in separation rather than reality. We are raising a generation of children who are housed in homogeneous zones that have a comfortable, rhythmic vibration of sameness.

20Dec2008 | bryan | 2 comments | Continued
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What’s the Matter, Don’t Like Actually Reaching Across the Isle?

To date, the Obama engine has been fueled by a rhetoric of change and hope. The “change” part of that language is not referring to a change in the political party in charge of ruining the government, it is a change in the fundamental way that we approach all of the decisions that we make fromt he top down. Rick Warren invited Obama to speak at his church, and Obama has invited Rick Warren to speak at his innauguration. Some say that this will alienate progressives, and I think that, to some degree, that is true. But let me ask you this: What is more progressive than going beyond sitting around a table together, but removing the table entirely and finding a way to stand together?

18Dec2008 | bryan | 1 comment | Continued
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Regaining Respect for the Office of the Presidency.

We, in this country, have a proud history of respect for the office of the President. We rally around those who inspire us and lead us through troubled times. We have worked to separate the man from the office, and we have been successful in the past. There have always been jokes about the President, and comedians are supposed to push the envelope, to go where you don’t expect them to go. Something has changed, however, in the last decade. Where there was once reverence for the office and a certain degree of respect for the man in the White House, there is now complacency about the treatment of the Presidency. In previous generations, bad jokes about the President would have been met with a frown or, at best, a nervous chuckle. But today, the Presidency is the bread and butter of late night routines and gets only slightly better treatment in the mainstream media.

18Dec2008 | bryan | 0 comments | Continued
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Pay Day Loans and Porn

There are scavengers among us. They prey on the poor, the oppressed, and, strangely enough, the military. There are some things that the poor, the oppressed, and the military have in common. Loneliness, desperation, and a lack of money. I think that it is time to call a rat a rat.
Two of the industries that [...]

13Dec2008 | bryan | 0 comments | Continued
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The Counter Culture Personality

I recognize that there is an inherent selfishness in many of the current social movements. Coordinating efforts to reduce waste and to organize distribution to the needy are certainly valuable, and could be more effective in reducing waste and assisting the needy than digging through the trash.  Sometimes, though, it is our individualism, maybe even [...]

12Dec2008 | bryan | 1 comment | Continued
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The Freegan Insurrection

My wife and I have been attempting to evaluate our lifestyle for some time now, hoping to live out our values as followers of Jesus and to create a sense of equity in our lives with the less fortunate.
We have taken up recycling and composting, selling off our excess and getting back to the basics. [...]

12Dec2008 | bryan | 0 comments | Continued
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Is Bailling Out the Big Three Like Bailing Out Your Neighbor?

The Senate yesterday failed to reach an agreement on the bailout package for the auto industry, meaning that it will probably be January before the industry can get any help.  This is something that is being “cussed and discussed,” as my grandfather would have said, in many circles.  Everyone has an opinion, and everyone is [...]

12Dec2008 | bryan | 1 comment | Continued
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