http://www.beaubristow.com/ Sun, 21 Dec 2008 12:32:00 CST Sun, 21 Dec 2008 12:32:00 CST http://www.osmek.com/ Beau Bristow - Blog Sun, 21 Dec 2008 12:32:00 CST http://www.beaubristow.com/
#1



#2


#3



#4
]]> Sat, 25 Oct 2008 06:52:00 CST http://www.beaubristow.com/ www.beaubristow.com/photos and choose the "Live Show Photos" album! Thanks to everyone who came out that night!

-beau

]]> Tue, 21 Oct 2008 10:34:00 CST http://www.beaubristow.com/
Why the term worldview?

Words are powerful things and we will be wise to choose our words with caution. The word "religion" is defined by the Oxford American Dictionary as "the belief in and worship of a superhuman controlling power." This however is a part of a whole, one piece of an extensive puzzle of ideas about the reality around us, and a problem arises when the one's mode of thought is that the majority of the puzzle has already been pieced together and confirmed and that religion is just an extra piece that people may add at their discretion.

My experience is that most people have already embraced this mode of thought and the result is that the "religious" piece of the puzzle is given immunity from the requirement that it be held rationally.¹ It is then only natural that the religious piece is barred from influence or interaction with any other piece within the puzzle.²

This is absurd. An idea is either properly and rationally a piece of the puzzle or it is not.
What significance can a pseudo-piece have? And if the ideas that we have in the past deemed "religious" are true, then are they really any different than any other piece? Should they be treated any differently? I say no.

So what we are really discussing is one big puzzle: reality. The question is: what is real? Every one of us will have a slightly different set of answers to this question, and we should beware that some of the answers we assume are not so definite as we think.³ So instead of focusing on the way we answer the small question of "religion" I propose that we focus on the complete perspective of reality that each of us hold, and to do this it will help to have a specific term: worldview.

What is a worldview?

"A world-view is a conceptual system by which we consciously or unconsciously place or fit everything we believe and by which we interpret and judge reality."⁴ The philosophical systems of Plato, Kant, Hegel, etc. were all worldviews. Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, Christianity, Taoism, etc (and all their variations) are worldviews. The Mayans had a worldview, the ancient Egyptians had a worldview. Naturalism, the idea that the universe is a closed system⁵ of mater, space, and energy in a complex but logical order is also a worldview. Actually each individual person has a unique worldview, though similarities allow worldviews to be grouped into broad categories.

It is important to make a few points here.

1. A worldview includes every idea that a person holds to be true about reality. It is therefore a sum of many parts, which I will refer to as presuppositions.

2. Each presupposition will be held with a differing degree of certainty. The spectrum of certainty is broad and ranges from complete certitude⁶ to the very edge of disbelief.

3. At no point in time are we conscious of all of our presuppositions. In fact most often our presuppositions are simply assumed and applied with no conscious thought. You most likely didn't stop to consciously consider gravity before you first placed your feet on the floor this morning. It is almost overwhelming to stop and consider the number of presuppositions that we hold and act on unconsciously each day.

4. There is often tension between what we consciously confess as our worldview and how we actually act. This may indicate more deeply rooted and less-conscious presuppositions or presuppositions that don't reflect reality. Additionally there is often tension between specific presuppositions within our worldview, generally (though not always) an indication of some incongruence with reality.

5. A worldview is not static. It is always in change as we accumulate more and more experience and data to incorporate into our worldview. Ultimately a worldview should be able to assimilate all data and experience.

My goal here has been to clarify what I mean by the term "worldview" and hopefully to make a push for thinking and conversing in terms of worldviews as opposed to religions. Upcoming blogs in this series will address the elements of a worldview, how most of us acquire our worldview, and criteria for choosing a worldview. Please leave any ideas, suggestions, or arguments as comments below and thanks for reading!

-Beau


NOTES:
1.
Some might take issue with me on the necessity of reason or rationality, but to defend their stance they must set forth a rational argument. Whether we like it or not, logic and its application by way of reason are indispensable.

2.
Some would argue that "religious" ideas are of a different order of knowledge based on our inability to test or experience some "religious" ideas in the same way we do some other elements of reality. First of all, this is not really the case, and drawing such a line reflects unmerited confidence in one's knowledge of things on the "non-religious" side of that line. Second, the real issue is still whether an idea is true or not true.

3.
There is much that can be said here, but anyone familiar with the limits of our subjective senses (a la The Matrix), the inability to reconcile Quantum Theory and the General Theory of Relativity, the questionable postulation of "dark matter" and "dark energy" in the universe to account for anomalies in physics, and the impotence of Darwinism to account for sexual reproduction or the death of an organism by entropy (senescence), should be well aware that our high degree of certitude in a number of areas is unmerited.

4.
I am indebted to the writings of Ronald Nash for this definition. If you would like a short list of his and other books that I value, email me at beau@beaubristow.com.

5.
As opposed to an "open system" in which a transcendent or "outside" force or being is capable of reordering and working within the "system." Christianity, Judaism, and Islam are examples of "open systems."

6.
Note that "complete certitude" is not the same as "logical certainty." Nothing can be proven or held with logical certainty as each proof (if a, and if b, then c) necessarily contains unproven presuppositions. What I mean by "complete certitude" is the psychological state of absolute confidence in the truth of an idea.


Note: This blog is part of on ongoing series titled "We Are Living It Right Now." In this series I address deeper topics and issues in life in as honest a way as I know. The title of the series comes from my song "Stand" which is a call to contemplate and live life with both eyes open and at times with both fist clenched.




]]> Wed, 08 Oct 2008 09:52:00 CST http://www.beaubristow.com/
The grass in my yard is ridiculous and I have weeds and bushes closing in on the front walk to the point that the UPS man refused to walk up it and asked if he could drop a few boxes on the back deck (true story). The house is not much better inside. I guess all of the guys I live with have been busy too, and I assume that others know the drill as well: some things get done and some just don't.

In the past I would freak out if one of the proverbial balls got dropped, but I am getting better with "less than perfect." As a human, I am limited and I am getting better at accepting that. In college I almost never missed a workout, a meal, a class, a meeting, etc. Now there are so many demands that even a lot of good things must go.

One of these has been intense diet and exercise. I used to hit the gym 5 days a week and I ate a pretty balanced diet with plenty of lean meats and produce. Now I try to get in the gym ever 4 days and get in a run at least once between each trip to the gym. I sometimes make it more often, but it is hard to budget that much time...plus the extra sleep that comes with extra workout.

Diet has gotten a little more meager as well. I realized today that I bought grapefruit earlier this week that I may never get to eat because I can't eat grapefruit while I drive, type, or do some other work. Apples and bananas, carrots and celery....thats about it.

In the end, I'll still make health a priority, but I won't be in as stellar condition as I was in college.

Some things will get dropped. Some things will just not get thrown as far. Whatever the case, I can't do everything. The question is "What things will I do?"

And that is a whole other entry....
]]> Sat, 27 Sep 2008 05:35:00 CST http://www.beaubristow.com/

I did the whole book in one day....audiobook on a long drive through 4 states. By the end of the book I found it to be the scariest thing since "Jesus Camp," though on the other extreme.


I think the scariest thing is the number of people who would confess confidence that the Bible is God's revelation of Himself and yet embrace the portrait of God in "The Shack" as accurate. They are mutually exclusive portraits of God!


Pisses me of honestly. This may be the first time I have understood John Calvin's practice of burning people at the stake...(that's a joke, supposed to be funny because of the ridiculous extremity of it...and yes Calvin burned a few people in his day....his doctrine was more correct than William P Youngs, but his actions in this regard were deplorable. A gleaming example that man is complex and his correctness in one area does not mean correctness in all areas. I'll return to this at the bottom. For now I'm gonna close this parenthesis).


I have wanted to write a response to the book for a while, but due to time constraints I have not been able to do so. Recently a friend pointed me to the following article from www.gotquestions.org. I got the article directly from http://www.gotquestions.org/questweek.html. Though I really wish the section I struck-through below was handled better, I agree with 90% of the content.
Read it and then I have a closing comment at the bottom....




BEGIN QUOTE:


Note - At GotQuestions.org, we typically do not write reviews of books. Our goal is to provide quality, biblically-based answers so that people will be able to evaluate teachers / ministries / books for themselves. However, in recent months, we have been receiving a significant volume of questions about The Shack by William P. Young. As with any book, if you read The Shack, compare what it teaches with Scripture, and reject anything that does not agree with God's Word.



Question: "What is GotQuestions.org's review of The Shack by William P. Young?"



Answer: The Shack has become a publishing phenomenon, a bestseller by a first-time author that has rocketed up the sales charts with rumors of an impending movie, not bad for a book that was self-published by the author, William P. Young, and started out being sold out of a garage.



The glowing reviews for The Shack hail it as everything from the new Pilgrim's Progress (theologian Eugene Peterson, translator of the Bible paraphrase The Message) to "the best novel of 2007" and "one of the rare fiction books that could change your life" (various Amazon.com five-star reviewers). According to the book jacket, Young was raised by missionary parents living among a stone-age tribe in New Guinea. He wrote the novel for his six children to explain his own journey through pain and misery to "light, love and transformation," according to a profile in USA Today. The "shack" of the story was the ugly place inside him where everything awful was hidden away, a result of his history as a victim of sexual abuse, his own adultery and the ensuing shame and pain, all stuffed deep in his psyche, as Young explained.



This background is important because Young's past appears to greatly color his view of both God and Christianity, resulting in a severely flawed view of both. The story begins with Mackenzie "Mack" Phillips, a father suffering great pain-a "Great Sadness," according to the story-because of the death of his young daughter at the hands of a serial killer. Mack receives a note from "Papa" to meet him at the rundown shack in the woods where police had found evidence of his daughter's murder six years earlier. Mack, who was raised by a hypocritical, vicious and abusive father who was also a pastor, already understands from previous experience that "Papa" is God. Mack approaches the shack with rising anger, wanting to lash out at God for allowing his young girl to be killed. Instead of the old man with a long white beard, as Mack expects, he's suddenly embraced by "a large beaming African-American woman" who introduces herself as Papa.



Mack is then introduced to the rest of the Trinity: Jesus, a Middle Eastern man dressed as a laborer, and the Holy Spirit, a woman of "maybe northern Chinese or Nepalese or even Mongolian ethnicity" named Sarayu. The rest of the story is a conversation among the three members of the Trinity and Mack as they work through issues of creation, fall and redemption.



Subtle and not-so-subtle heresies
Young's intentions are good. He wants to introduce readers to a loving God who was willing to sacrifice his own Son to save us from our sins. But all heresies begin with misconstruing the nature of God. From Jehovah's Witnesses to Mormonism to even Islam, they all get it wrong when it comes to understanding the God of Scripture. Young joins their company. Part of the problem arises because his story is confused and inconsistent. I don't think he sets out to mislead, but he himself is misled, either by himself or others.



He wants desperately to show us the God of love as found in Scripture (1 John 4:8), but he ignores the other side, the God of utter holiness (Isaiah 6:1-5) and, ultimately, the final Judge (Revelation 20:11-15). Any presentation of God that shows only one side of His nature is wrong. In an effort to counter a false view of God as only the judging avenger of wrath, we must not go the opposite direction and present Him only as a loving, indulgent parent who never judges sin. Both extremes are false in that they present an incomplete picture of God as He shows himself to us in Scripture.



By emphasizing only one part of God's nature, The Shack actually leads readers astray with regard to God's attitude towards sin. Papa tells Mack, "I don't need to punish people for sin. Sin is its own punishment, devouring from the inside. It's not my purpose to punish it; it's my joy to cure it."



To be sure, sin often carries within itself its own punishment (Romans 1:27). But sometimes the wicked prosper in this life (Jeremiah 12:1). More important, Scripture is full of references to God's impending wrath against sin and unbelief (John 3:36, Romans 1:18, Romans 2:5-8, Colossians 3:6, and many others.) For The Shack to give the impression that it is not God's purpose to punish sin is the height of bad theology and irresponsibility.



We anthropomorphize (attribute human qualities to) God the Father at our peril. He is spirit (John 4:24), and when He refers to Himself in anthropomorphic terms, it is always as a father. This is important because any attempt to make God a female inevitably leads to goddess religion and God's becoming some sort of fertility figure, a worship of the creation instead of the Creator (Romans 1:25).



And for some reason Papa changes form later in the book to become a gray-haired, pony-tailed male. No, God does not change Himself to accommodate our flawed understanding of Him. He changes us so we can see Him as He truly is (1 Corinthians 13:12).



Papa acknowledges that Jesus is both fully human and fully God, but she adds,



[H]e has never drawn upon his nature as God to do anything. He has only lived out of his relationship with me, living in the very same manner that I desire to be in relationship with every human being. He is just to do it to the uttermost-the first to absolutely trust my life within him, the first to believe in my love and my appearance without regard for appearance or consequence.



But that's not what Scripture says. Jesus in fact was before all things and through Him all things were created and hold together (Colossians 1:16-17). The words Papa speaks are a form of the ancient heresy of subordinationism, which puts Jesus in a lower rank within the Trinity. Scripture teaches that all three persons of the Trinity are equal in essence.



Scripture also teaches that there is a hierarchy of authority and submission within the Trinity. Papa tells Mack that authority and submission are a result of sin, and the Trinity is a perfect circle of communion.



Mackenzie, we have no concept of final authority among us, only unity. We are in a circle of relationship, not a chain of command or "great chain of being" as your ancestors termed it. What you're seeing here is relationship without any overlay of power. We don't need power over the other because we are always looking out for the best. Hierarchy would make no sense among us.



But Scripture teaches that authority and submission are inherent to the Godhead and have existed from the beginning. Jesus was sent by the Father (John 6:57), and Jesus says it is his intention to obey the Father's will (Luke 22:42). The Holy Spirit obeys both the Father and the Son (John 14:26, John 15:26). These are not the result of sin; they are the very nature of the Godhead in which all three persons are equal in essence but exist within a hierarchy of authority and submission.



The Shack also teaches a form of patripassionism, another ancient heresy that teaches that God the Father suffered on the cross. At one point, Mack notices "scars in [Papa's] wrists, like those he now assumed Jesus also had on his," and later Papa says, "When we three spoke ourself into human existence as the Son of God, we became fully human. We also chose to embrace all the limitations that this entailed. Even though we have always been present in this created universe, we now became flesh and blood."



Finally, God the Father and God the Holy Spirit did not speak themselves in human existence; only the Son became human (John 1:14).



A low view of Scripture
The Shack wants to make God accessible to a hurting world, but its author also has a very low view of Scripture; in fact he mocks anyone who holds that there is such a thing as correct doctrine.



In seminary [Mack] had been taught that God had completely stopped any overt communication with moderns, preferring to have them only listen to and follow sacred Scripture, properly interpreted, of course. God's voice had been reduced to paper, and even that paper had to be moderated and deciphered by the proper authorities and intellects. It seemed that direct communication with God was something exclusively for the ancients and uncivilized, while educated Westerners' access to God was mediated and controlled by the intelligentsia. Nobody wanted God in a box, just in a book. Especially an expensive one bound in leather with gilt edges, or was that guilt edges.



If one is to teach error, it is important to do away with Scripture, either by adding to it (Mormonism), mistranslating it (Jehovah's Witnesses) or simply mocking it (The Shack and some others in the "emergent church"). But if you are going to claim to teach about God, you must stick to what He has declared to be His revelation about Himself and His will to us. In other words, correct doctrine, a point stressed numerous times in Scripture (1 Timothy 4:16, 2 Timothy 4:3, Titus 1:9, Titus 2:1). Yes, we are not just to be hearers (and readers) of the Word; we are to live it. But we can't live it unless we know it, believe it, and trust it. Otherwise, the God you present is merely a creation of your own imagination and not the God that everyone must stand before on that final day, either as friend or condemned sinner.



But it's only fiction
Some defend The Shack by saying it's only a work of fiction. But if you're going to have God as a character in your fiction, then you must deal with God as He has revealed Himself in Scripture. By using the Trinity as characters, The Shack is clearly indicating that it's talking about the God of Christianity. But God has said certain things about Himself in Scripture, and much of what's in this novel contradicts that.



More important, why does the author feel the need to change the character of God in this story? In a way, he's saying that the God who reveals Himself to us in the Bible is insufficient. The author needs to "improve" the image to make it more palatable. But as I said in the original post, God never changes Himself so that we can understand Him better. He changes us so that we can see Him as he truly is. If God changed His nature, He would cease to be God.



If a friend had a cold, abusive father, don't make the God of your story into a warm, loving female to compensate. Show your friend what a true father is like, using the example from Scripture. If your friend is hurting, don't comfort him with soothing lies, such as The Shack's assertion that God does not judge sin. Show him the God of all comfort found in Scripture, the God who was willing to save you from that judgment by sending his Son.



END QUOTE





In the end I understand why so many people resonate with the book: the "great sadness." We all have difficulty in this life, some much, much more than others. There is no easy escape from this and so fairy tales and religion have long been applied as a drug to medicate the psyche (one of the few things I will agree with Marx on). "The Shack" falls into this category: comforting but deluded.


One final thought. As I mentioned above, one flaw or one perfection does not extend to the whole of one's being. Just as Calvin can be right in one area and wrong in another, so it is with William P Young. Much of his book and theology are wrong, but he is no less a human for it, and though every man's heart goes astray at times, I am sure that his intentions have, at least in part, been good.


(Yeah, some would add a little quip here about a road to a certain somewhere and what it is paved with....but I am a bit leery of anyone who knows the route to and from hell so well...)

]]> Sat, 20 Sep 2008 05:41:00 CST http://www.beaubristow.com/
The first week of this tour was spent in IL. On day 8 I made the trek into Missouri and eventually Kansas City and now Iowa. This is another solo tour and it is always about day 10 on these tours when I realize how important my friends are back home. It's amazing how much of a difference it makes to have repeated contact and to experience life with the same great people day in and day out.

In previous tours I wasn't expecting the difficulty of being separated to be so significant and so when it hit, I was unprepared. I would find myself depressed and just didn't know why. As I have realized the source of the depression, I have become much more proactive at making phone calls and keeping up with my friends. iChat has been a great resource.

Yesterday morning I got to eat breakfast with all 4 of my roommates...though through a computer screen. I'll have to remember to thank Al Gore for creating this thing called the internet.

Yeah, all in all being on the road alone isn't easy, but it is worth it, and it is amazing how many great relationships come from it. I got to stay with my good friend Mike Davis last Sunday and Monday night, and I have made a couple of new friends in the past week as well. I saw a couple of friends from Eureka college that I had not seen since I played there over a year ago, and tomorrow I will get to stay with good friends in Dayton, OH.

I was talking to a friend from back home a few days ago and we were talking about this desire for adventure that most men have but don't apply very often. Well this is my adventure...At least until I get home on 10/1.

PS I have been doing a video journal on this tour and will post a recap when I get back at the end!
]]> Sat, 09 Aug 2008 01:35:00 CST http://www.beaubristow.com/ Back in the states and recovering from the past few days. I have done more than a few crazy things in my life, and here is one more for the list....

Between 6:30 PM CDT (Central Daylight Time) last Monday, and 12:30 AM CDT last Friday I slept 10 hours, and only 2 of them were in a bed...10 hours of sleep in 78 hours. Within this 78 hour period I spent 35 hours in airports or planes, and 12 more driving a car...all of this while sick (cold/laryngitis).

Let me explain.

Before I left for Malaysia I bought a car (the old White Lightning just wasn't road-worthy for another year of touring). It was in Columbia, South Carolina and after putting down a deposit, I promised to come get the car after I returned to the US.

The return flight was from Malaysia to Shanghai to Atlanta to Nashville. While in Malaysia I got the bright idea to reroute from Atlanta to Columbia, SC to get my car. Since the flight into Atlanta was late arriving, we missed our connecting flight to Nashville, and I was given the opportunity I needed.

After 4 hours running around the Atlanta airport, I finally worked it out where I could get a partial refund for my Nashville flight and rent a car to go to Columbia. (I couldn't afford the extra $ to reroute an actual flight to Columbia.)

I rented a car around 10:30 PM, drove part of the trip to Columbia and checked into a hotel. I got online and mapped out the course for the next day: to the bank, to the car dealer, to an independent mechanic to check out the car, back to the dealer, to the airport in Columbia to drop off the rental car, and then 8 hours back to Nashville. I went to sleep in the hotel but only got a little over two hours before I woke up. Malaysia is 13 hours ahead of Central Time and so my body clock was completely backwards. I laid in bed a couple of more hours before deciding it was useless and that I should just rise to meet the busy Thursday before me.

All went as planned and I got back into Nashville at midnight that night, took a sleeping pill to keep me from waking up at 3 AM again, and ended up sleeping until 3:30 Friday afternoon. I am still pretty sick, as expected after such a crazy trip, but it is nice to be home and it was worth it to not have to drive to Columbia this weekend. Oh, and I did "The Shack" on audiobook Thursday...might blog on that later...or not.

As for this blog, below is a little footage from Malaysia. I realized while editing it that I had been too busy in Malaysia to film anything other than when I was stuck in a car or the 2 times I did some sightseeing. Might be boring, but I threw it up anyway....gave me a chance to play with some video editing.

In the video you will see the Batu Caves (Hindu Temple) and the Petronas Towers (world's tallest buildings 1998-2004). It is a good representation of the contrast between the ancient and the modern in Malaysia. Oh, and that's David my traveling companion in the video.

Also below is a photo of my new tour bus. The guys here at the house are cooking up a name for it....feel free to leave suggestions.



]]> Wed, 06 Aug 2008 01:31:00 CST http://www.beaubristow.com/
Brief itinerary:
-Fly out early Wed 7/30
-- Thursday night - Get to Kuala Lumpur Malaysia at midnight (over 25 hours of travel)
--Friday - 2 concerts PM
--Saturday - 2 concerts (maybe 15 hours of sleep since I left Wednesday morning)
--Sunday - 1 concert and speaking engagement AM, Passion conference PM
--Monday - a little tourism AM and then a great concert PM
--Tuesday - a little tourism AM and then some music lessons and hang time PM
--Wed - fly out of Kuala Lumpur (KL) at 1:40 AM, 32 hours of travel to get home


Currently I have laryngitis. Just got it yesterday. Can't make a sound....this makes international travel REALLY entertaining.

They stopped me in customs as I was coming into China today because the lady monitoring the conveyor belt x-ray was pretty confused/freaked-out over my pedal board. They had me open it up and explain all it's 50 pounds of wires, knobs, and lights. The customs officer took a step back and looked at me incredulously as I made guitar-strumming motions and did a little tap dance. This must have been the equivalent of pleading insanity because they let me through.

This was my first time overseas, and it has been very eye opening. In fact, I am a little sheepish to admit that I have not had this experience earlier in life. It is a wonderful thing to find my own humanity reflected in individual people on the other side of the world with so many different customs, ideas, and cultural histories.

While in Malaysia, I managed to work in three morning runs. Each time I explored new routes through the tight network of streets in an almost exclusively Muslim neighborhood. (All their houses are attached like American town homes. They call them "link-houses.") From my starting and ending point I could see the dome of a Mosque just over the rooftops.

On my first run I was hesitant to make eye contact with many of the people I passed, and though almost no one ventured to make eye contact with me, I could definitely feel their glances as I passed. We all knew that I was the anomaly in the neighborhood.

On my second run I began to wave and make eye contact more often and almost always found a reciprocal response. In the few cases where there wasn't a quick return for my gesture, I could almost always see that it was not hostility, but being caught off-guard that was the culprit.

On my third run I ventured to run by a local elementary school just as students were arriving. Most walked, some were on motorcycles with a parent, and a few where in cars. As I circled the block that the school was on, I passed very close to 4 boys that could not have been more than 7 years old. When I got close they looked up at me with exuberant smiles and waved enthusiastically. I'll carry that image with me for a long time.

I am not so naive as to say that Islam is peaceful, and I am not willing to even discuss it here in this entry. What I will say is that I understand now more than ever that all people regardless of dress, skin, or creed are still people. This includes their brokenness and all the realities of the Fall, but it also includes love, creativity, a desire for connection with others, and all of the wonderful complexities to be found behind a smile.

Though the differences are real, and though they are in some cases very great, they do not erase the similarities. We are all truly reflections of the same image.

(My friend Wilson just sent me a couple of photos from Malaysia. You can see them in the "From You Guys!" album at www.beaubristow.com/photos.)




]]> Fri, 01 Aug 2008 12:29:00 CST http://www.beaubristow.com/
I hope to post a video blog in the next couple of days.

Will be playing a show tonight and helping with worship the next couple of days.

I really wish I had more time to discuss the culture here....look for it in the next blog...

Oh....and I just found out when I got here that the guy I am staying with was a student minister 20 minutes from my home growing up...one of my best friends was in his youth group....crazy small world!]]> Wed, 09 Jul 2008 05:05:00 CST http://www.beaubristow.com/
I just posted my new Bio. Go to www.beaubristow.com/bio.

Special thanks to Kami Rice for doing such an awesome job! Check her out at www.kamirice.com.
]]> Mon, 09 Jun 2008 10:19:00 CST http://www.beaubristow.com/ ______________________________________________________________________________________________
...Now, that being said, the next logical question is:
"How can I have a relationship where there is trust that is not broken by such a betrayal?"

The only answer I know to give is Christ. I am not ashamed of Christ, but I do feel a bit sheepish giving this answer because it is so cliché and so often misapplied, so let me unpack what I am saying here.

The essence of the gospel (and therefore Christianity) is that Christ, being God in a bodily form, truly lived a life of
perfection, suffered, bore our sin, died on a cross, and rose again in order to clear us of our true moral guilt before God and so to redeem and restore us to what we were originally created to be, eventually even glorifying us beyond this.

Therefore God is molding us who trust in Christ, mostly in ways mysterious to us, to be what we should have been all along. This is often called "redemption" or "sanctification," and is not just cloud talk. There truly is substantial change in the life of those who trust Christ. (Though this will not be completed until the return of Christ - Phil 1:6).

This has implications in all areas, but what it means for human relationships is that if they are Christ-centered then they will become more and more redeemed, though never perfect in this life.

Specifically, this means that at the very least they will be:

#1 More fulfilling.

#2 More committed.


Additionally, those who understand the reality and implications of the fall will be less easily deceived into thinking that some person will fulfill them completely. They will be able to more soberly look at the challenges and inadequacies in their relationship and work through them instead of trying to find a relationship that is perfect.


Now, let me engage a few challenges or questions that I foresee (if not when you read this, then later in life).


1. No relationship on this earth will ever be perfect. No person will ever fully satisfy you. Everyone will at some point let you down. So how do we live with this? Once again, this is where Christ is again central.

He is the ultimate expression of grace from one to another, and this sets the example (and even the standard) for those who trust him. Every relationship, if it is to last for any length of time, will require each person to extend grace to the other, and it is very difficult (I dare say impossible) to find a basis for this grace apart from Christ. In the best relationships I have witnessed, both parties are giving and receiving a lot of grace with Christ as the basis for this.


2. It is the truth that there are a lot of people who believe nothing of Christ, but have good and loving relationships. Additionally, the divorce rate among professing Christians is not much different than those who do not profess to be Christian. I am too sleepy to address it in length here, but what I will say is that there are also non-Christians who are healthier than Christians, more attractive than Christians, more intelligent than Christians, more affluent than Christians, etc.

The Fall effects everyone to varying degrees and in various ways, and further more Mt. 5:45 makes it clear that it is fully in line with the God of the Bible to bless even those who do not trust Christ (this what theologians call "common grace.")
As for divorce rates: 1) Those who are truly Christians still truly screw up. 2) How many of those who profess to be Christians are truly Christ centered?

3. What I am saying here is no pious mush about "letting Christ fulfill your every desire." I am a man. I desire a woman. Christ was a man. You quickly see how this will not work. The desire for the unity we seek in a man-woman relationship is a unique desire that can only be met in that context. Additionally, this desire is truly a good desire as it was God's gift and intention from the beginning.

Christ can bring this desire to its highest possible fulfillment in this life. He can also sustain us when this desire is not met at all. Additionally He can lessen this desire to such a degree that one can be substantially free of it (which some call the gift of singleness). What He will not do is fill this desire Himself.

You don't go gnawing on Jesus when you get hungry and then expect to be full. You go find some food (not grass, not trash, but real nourishing food) then thank Him for it and ask His blessing on it before you eat it. This is what I am aiming for in my next relationship. (Like I said, 27 year-old single male...after that last analogy, you know why.)

beau

_____________________________________________________________________________________________
This is a series of blogs where I answer your questions. At the end of each blog in this series there is a shout box where you can leave a question (don't leave it in the comment box). Feel free to ask anything about me, about my thoughts on a topic or event, about my music, my business or creative practices....basically whatever you want to know!



(Note: you may also email questions to QandA@beaubristow.com)




Free shoutbox @ ShoutMix



]]> Thu, 05 Jun 2008 11:10:00 CST http://www.beaubristow.com/
_______________________________________________________________________________________

Beau,
I just have this burning question because I'm tired of seeing my friends hurt...Why do people cheat on their significant others?



I've just spent the night with one of my best friends, trying to give her answers because she has just gone through this. We both just sat on my floor trying to wrap our fingers around this question and since I've been through the same, I thought I may have something to offer her, but I really don't. She has finally felt well enough to try and sleep and I'm just sitting here trying not to cry (sooo not working) because I'm supposed to be the strong one for her and all it's doing is bringing up horrible memories.


I know nobody has the answer to this...and I'm really not looking for one I guess, well I would love an answer actually, haha...(edit)... I am truly at a loss with this one. We're just at the point where we are losing faith in relationships and I'm trying so hard to help her, but I can't think of any justification for it and I'm incredibly sick over it. I just don't get it.


I'm sorry...(edit)...for some reason I thought of e-mailing you about it.



-Sarah



_______________________________________________________________________________________

Hey Sarah,


I apologize for my slow response.

I have been out of town all weekend and just read this a moment ago.

Why do people cheat on their significant others?

Before I even try to say anything about this, let me first say that I am sorry. I am sorry for your friend's hurt, for your hurt, and for the reality that life hurts; and this is one of the moments when it does so the most.

I know that ache, that loss. It is a deep loss indeed. It is the loss of the beloved, the loss of one's own footing and sense of personal value, and it is the loss of hope that we might love and be loved as we so deeply desire.

I've been there, and I hope I am never there again.

As for your question, I'll tell you why I think people cheat, but this immediately demands a follow up question: "How can I have a relationship where there is trust that is not broken by such a betrayal?"


(This should be good since it comes from a single 27 year old male....feel free to disregard anything I say).


Now, why do people cheat?

1. Because they want something more than the relationship is giving them. They are not fulfilled in the relationship and they find someone else who they think will bring this fulfillment.

2. Because their commitment to the relationship is not strong enough to keep them from betraying that commitment.

Now that I've said this, I must say that I know this really doesn't dig deep enough to be the answer you or I am looking for.
You are thinking: "Yes, I know all this business of #1 and #2, but why is it this way?!"


"Why is the love I desire to give and receive so elusive? Why no commitment? Why no fulfillment? Why are we not able to reach out and grasp this thing that lives in our hearts, in our stories, and in our dreams, but never enters our REALITY?!"

The reason we can imagine these good things is that we were created for them and they were once real, and the reason they are no longer so is revealed in Genesis 3:15. Our whole situation can only be understood when we really understand the implications of Gen 3 and the Fall of Man.

"I will put enmity between you and the woman." Gen 3:15

In Gen 2 they (Man and Woman) were "one." But now, from Gen 3 to the present, they are in a real sense broken. There is now a distance that was not there before. And this is not just between man and woman. It is between Man and God, Man and Man, Man and the created world, and Man and himself. All relationships are broken. How many times have we heard (and made) the cry for unity, or just wanted to be in some sense "one?" Yet we never fully find this unity, at least not as we feel in the depths of our being that it should be.

So first of all, all of our relationships are broken. This means that they always fall short of being perfectly fulfilling.


Secondly, since The Fall we have inherited an inclination towards that which is wrong, a sinful nature. This is why commitment is so quickly broken.


Put these two together and this is why people cheat: Lack of fulfillment, and lack of commitment, all given birth in Genesis 3.

Now, that being said, the next logical question is:
"How can I have a relationship where there is trust that is not broken by such a betrayal?"
______________________________________________________________________________________________
(Since my response is so long, I am cutting it off here and will post the rest of my emailed response in a few days. Like I said, it should be interesting coming from a 27 year-old single male...)







]]> Sun, 25 May 2008 08:23:00 CST http://www.beaubristow.com/
]]> Mon, 24 Mar 2008 09:30:00 CST http://www.beaubristow.com/
I just uploaded a few new photos from a show last week at Bowling Green State University in Ohio.

They were sent to me by Mary Nail, who was at the show and was very kind to email them to me.

In case you didn't know, you can send me any photos you may have of me (at a show or not) and I will post it on my photos page (if it's appropriate....and if it's not appropriate be sure to include the story of how in the world I ended up in such a photo because that will be news to me...)

Send the photos to photos@beaubristow.com!

Later!

beau


]]> Mon, 10 Mar 2008 11:23:00 CST http://www.beaubristow.com/
Beau!
Just wanted to let you know that our apartment has gone through a few breakups this week and today we blasted your music, and there were no tears! haha. Just some ridiculous dancing and terrible singing :-) So Bristow is great during breakups...pizza and cookies too, with the occassional teddybear of course.
...Oh yeah...my roommate and I also played your tunes while we scrubbed our toilet and sinks today and it worked just as well :-) haha.
Hope all is well!
-(name withheld for this post)



This makes me wonder....when do you listen to my music? I really want to know. What song for what situation. How it makes you feel. Stories are great here too. Just let me know!

(And who's gonna be the boldest and leave the first comment...)


NOTE: In the "YOU TELL ME" series of blogs, I want hear from you. Whether it is your thought or your story, let it be known. Please post your thoughts in a comment box below or email them to beau@beaubristow.com.
]]> Wed, 05 Mar 2008 08:58:00 CST http://www.beaubristow.com/
At the National Association of Campus Activities (NACA) convention a few weeks ago I held a drawing/giveaway for school representatives. The prize was a $200 Best Buy gift card for the winning representative and a free show for his/her school.

The drawing was held the final night of the convention, and as of yesterday the winning ticket holder had not come forward. So I took it upon myself to do a drawing of the ticket numbers that had been emailed to me and give the winner the gift card.

And so.......the winner of the gift card is.......Paul Wray from Maryville University with ticket number 6362328!

If you never sent me your ticket number, you can still send it in because I am still doing the free show if the original winner turns up! Send it to beau@beaubristow.com.


Congrats to Paul!

And it was nice to meet all of you at NACA!

Beau
]]> Wed, 20 Feb 2008 09:42:00 CST http://www.beaubristow.com/
I'll have more news soon!]]> Tue, 19 Feb 2008 08:41:00 CST http://www.beaubristow.com/


(Note: you may also email questions to QandA@beaubristow.com)




Free chat widget @ ShoutMix




]]> Wed, 13 Feb 2008 10:18:00 CST http://www.beaubristow.com/
Happy Valentines Day!


]]> Wed, 06 Feb 2008 11:34:00 CST http://www.beaubristow.com/
Yesterday I had the day off and was between a show in Pennsylvania and New Hampshire so I took my friend Kelli Myer (in New Jersey) up on her offer to show me around New York City the next time I had the chance. Kelli is the one responsible for all of these great photos. Thanks Kelli!

I met up with Kelli after she got out of class around noon and we took a train into the city and started off with lunch in the "Little Italy" district.

We snapped this shot on the walk from the subway to where we ate. The "Beau Label Corp" must be awesome...though I'm still not really sure what it is they do.




After lunch and another ride on the subway, we walked through central park and then down 5th Avenue.

And that's when I saw it.....the Apple Store.....




We only had a few minutes in Heaven before they made us leave...I'm still not sure why...

Oh and by the way, those Macbook Air's are really portable.



As we exited the Apple store we found ourselves outside of FAO Schwartz.

I had a brief encounter with a Lego Darth Vader....






And then I lived a bit of a childhood dream....this is ridiculous....




Tonight I am into New Hampshire and tomorrow it is Boston (humming "More Than a Feeling").

Hope you guys are liking the new tunes!

Beau
]]> Fri, 01 Feb 2008 21:33:00 CST http://www.beaubristow.com/
Also, I have been on tour for the last 8 days. Seven shows in 8 days! It's been pretty exhausting honestly and I am glad I had the day off today to catch my breath. You can see some of the photos from the shows on my Facebook page.

Funniest moment: Me putting chapstick on my nipple in the men's locker room at the YMCA and looking up to a funny and confused expression from an older gentlemen just entering the room. Hey, it was cold and chapstick was all I could think of at the moment.

I have more shows in the upcoming days so I hope to see some of you soon.

Be on the lookout this coming week for the new Beau Bristow website....I'll blog about it and let you know.

Have a great weekend!


beau]]> Mon, 28 Jan 2008 01:20:00 CST http://www.beaubristow.com/ (www.myspace.com/michaeldavisband) for his idea which led to the album title "Standing. Still."

I will post a couple of tracks later this week and will blog an update on how you can get the album.

Now, the reason I have been out of touch for a few weeks is that I have been remodeling my house! This was a major project: four solid weeks! I hired my roommate Dave to help me the first week but had to finish it on my own. One night I began laying hardwood flooring at 6:00 PM and didn't stop until 1:00 PM the next day....19 hours straight.

I stripped out the old paneling, put up drywall, added lighting, installed new windows, put in hardwood floors, and did some pretty extensive trim and painting. I remodeled 3 rooms and have photos here of 2 of them.

This is the dining room before:



This is after I stripped the paneling and leveled the concrete floor:



This is after I put up and finished the drywall:



This is the finished dining room (minus a chandelier that I put up a few days after the photo):



This is a shot of the corner of the living room that meets the dining room before I started:



This is a shot of the same area when I finished:




This is a shot after we put in some furniture:





That being said, I am out on the road again! I am writing this from Anderson, IN. I will be in OH all of this coming week.

Be sure to watch out for tracks from the new album here on myspace later this week!]]> Thu, 24 Jan 2008 12:24:00 CST http://www.beaubristow.com/
Here are a couple of shots taken by Steve from Kohl Photography. Check out Steve's site at www.kohlphoto.com. Great shots Steve!






















As for the album, Brian Roland, former roommate and current friend, played a sweet horn part yesterday (there's also a shot of me doing a bit of arranging for a part that we ended up scrapping). It was our final overdub! Now Stephen is mixing like crazy because we are scheduled for mastering a week from today! Then it is off to be pressed and will be released in January....

Adios!











]]> Thu, 13 Dec 2007 16:26:00 CST http://www.beaubristow.com/
We are mastering the album Tuesday and I need to have the ALBUM TITLE finalized. I have been wrestling with this and here is what I have thought of and why. My final options are below (in no particular order). Please tell me which one(s) you like and why you like them!



THE SONGS YOU SING
-From the last 2 lines of "Stand" which will close out the album.

"Let yourself go in the songs you sing;
Let 'em move you to love, or stop you to think."



BREATH OUT LOUD
-From the chorus of "Stand." I like this one because it implies action and intentionality; a unique phrase that taps into the meaning of the song it came from.



STAND
-Is the title of the closing and deepest track of the album. Because of the song it titles, this word has a lot of weight and multiple existential implications. Still it is simply the title of a track and might be a cliche or trite album title.



STILL STANDING
-This is not in the album anywhere, but it has a richness of meaning for me. This release marks the overcoming/enduring of a lot of questions and obstacles in the past year. This title also draws from some of the depth of the song "Stand." It reflects my conscious decision to live, to persevere, and to continue writing the story that these songs tell.



THERE WILL BE A TREE
-This is from the song "I can walk through the rain." It reflects a confidence that what is done and/or endured in this moment will in some way contribute to some good thing.

The chorus of the song says,

"I can walk through the rain, because somewhere there's a seed...."

and the bridge is,

"somewhere, there's a seed in need of streams that fall and drench us all,
and make us wish for sunny skies and streets more dry;
and someday there will be a tree,
and I'd like to think that I might need, a little bit of shade...."]]> Tue, 11 Dec 2007 20:58:00 CST http://www.beaubristow.com/

In October I played a show at a very cool new venue here in Nashville. It's on the rooftop of a building downtown and it is called "The Loft." Check out the MySpace page here!

Here are a couple of shots taken by Steve from Kohl Photography. Check out Steve's site at www.kohlphoto.com. Great shots Steve!



























As for the album, Brian Roland, former roommate and current friend, played a sweet horn part yesterday (there's also a shot of me doing a bit of arranging for a part that we ended up scrapping). It was our final overdub! Now Stephen is mixing like crazy because we are scheduled for mastering a week from today! Then it is off to be pressed and will be released in January....

Adios!










]]> Thu, 06 Dec 2007 21:13:00 CST http://www.beaubristow.com/
Earlier this week a couple of friends and I got together to do something that may haunt me the rest of my life...you've gotta see this....


I cannot tell you how much I have wrestled with the thought of posting the content of this blog. What I have come to realize is that I can deny reality, and I can to some degree ignore reality, but I cannot change the fact that it is there and that it is what it is.

This applies not only to reality as a whole, but also to the reality of who I have been and who I am. I don't owe you or anyone else the candidness of this blog. I am transparent here not by debt, but by choice. You will understand why as you read it...or maybe you won't. Either way, here it is:

(Everything below this is from the original entry written on Oct 2, 2007.)




...Now to tell you the truth, I don't trust God today. I didn't chose this. Trust, in the sense I am using it, is a feeling. You can no more fault me for this than you can fault me for not feeling energetic after a long day, or for not feeling hungry after watching a mammal eat it's own placenta after giving birth on the Discovery channel.

Or look at it this way. Do you trust Santa Clause? You say, "but he doesn't exist!" But that is irrelevant. The question is "do you trust him?" Of course your answer to this is "no," and I must now ask you "did you choose not to trust him?"

At this point be honest with yourself. Could you really be convinced to trust Santa Clause? What would it take?

Most likely at some point you did trust him. In fact at some point you may have written a letter to communicate to him your wishes, wishes you fully expected to be fulfilled in light of the knowledge that he is so good and powerful. Maybe you asked for a pony, and were quite confused when you awoke on the day you were to receive your treasure to find that you had gotten a doll house, or a GI Joe, or a pair of socks instead.

Surely after a while, without any intention to do so, you began to trust Santa Clause less and less until you concluded that he no longer existed and in fact never did. You never willfully decided to stop trusting him, just like you never decided to feel sick at the thought of chewing a placenta. You just did.

Now would it make any difference to you if I told you that Santa really did have a pony for you but that is was still at the North Pole and that one day he would fly you up there to retrieve it? Probably not. At this point we both know that there is essentially no way for you to regain trust in Santa, even were you to will that you should.

The allegory should be pretty obvious.

Now I am not accusing God of anything here. I have been accusing Him for the past 24 hours and have decided I have said enough as far as that goes.

What I am saying is that I didn't choose to be a people pleaser, I didn't choose to be a perfectionist, and it wasn't my choice to not trust God today. I never thought these things through and I never chose them to be the state of affairs on October 2, 2007.

What I am choosing to do is fight like a fucking madman to change all of this. I'm pretty sure it will ruin my rapport with some and I can already think of several that I will no doubt let down, people who have held me in high esteem and have been encouraged by a perception of me that will surely be shattered as they read this. Do not mistake my boldness for nonchalance. I am very sober when I say that it deeply grieves me even now.

But what can I do? Two options lay before me.

I can continue this life of impotence, a slave to the thoughts and opinions of others, a slave to the fear of all that is less than perfect, and a life in constant denial of that grotesque depravity which is truly me. This is surely a path that can bring no good.

Or I can be honest with others, with God, and with myself.

I've lived the former to no avail.
Do I dare the latter?
Oh, what the hell.



About the author:

Beau Bristow is either a Nihilist or a Christian depending on how long it has been since his last meal and how much sleep he has recently gotten.

When a Christian he resides in a universe that is the real product of the mind of a sovereign and personal God who has revealed himself extensively to a race of people known as "Jews" and through which He has further made Himself known to the rest of humanity, specifically through that one Jew by the name of Yeshua.

When a Nihilist Beau resides in Misery, which has yet to be mapped, but is really close to Everywhere, and not far from Anyone.]]> Tue, 27 Nov 2007 10:36:00 CST http://www.beaubristow.com/







The Monday after Thanksgiving we tracked keys at Matt's studio. Here are a few shots of Matt and his set-up. Matt can really work a Rhodes and a B-3 and it is really cool to get this far in the recording.








The songs are really taking shape and it is awesome to have the ideas and abilities of others blended into the sweet dish we are cooking up (sorry, still have food on the brain after Thanksgiving).

Later!

beau]]> Sun, 25 Nov 2007 01:08:00 CST http://www.beaubristow.com/
Last winter I resumed teaching lessons part time in order to invest all of my touring income back into the music.

This semester I have had a wealth of students and experiences. Here is the first of them....

Let me introduce you to a 3rd grade boy that I will call "Student S." (Not to be confused with Student X from way earlier blogs....if you haven't read them, you owe it to yourself to check them out.)

Student S owns an electric guitar that is full size....needless to say it is too large for him and he is constantly wrestling with it as if at any moment his struggle might actually burst though to victory and will find him larger or his guitar smaller. He puckers his lips, grimaces, and snorts as he shifts the guitar further to the left, then the right, lifting it to keep it from sliding off his lap, and then immediately pushing it back down to get his arm over the top. It is the plight of Sisyphus, and thus the name Student S.

S's guitar is broken. It apparently happened shortly after he got it. The connection where the guitar would normally be plugged into an amplifier is broken and pushed back into the guitar. This is not uncommon, but I still can't elude the sense that this case is the result of an intentional act...an annoyed parent or older sister....it's just a thought, but I honestly wonder....

S is all-boy. On his first lesson he came in late with red cheeks, grass stains on his Catholic school uniform, and breathing like Seabiscuit with emphysema. He explained that he had been playing football since school let out. He was practically dragging his guitar behind him (which might explain the broken guitar...but I am not convinced). He had obviously spilled something on his navy blue pants that day in school, and his grey polo shirt was partially un-tucked, damp with sweat, unbuttoned, and stretched loose around his neck.

In the first couple of weeks I taught him a simplified version of "Smoke on the Water" which he has played for me first thing in every lesson since then. He plays with his head turned towards the left, tilted slightly down, his mouth half open, and strums like he is recklessly fighting to flick a bug from the top of his guitar. Every 8 - 10 notes he stops to readjust his guitar before it slides into the floor.

This is entertaining enough in itself, but as fortune would have it, Halloween fell on a lesson day. He came bouncing proudly into lessons that day wearing the kind of renegade smile that finds its way to one's face when they are desperately fighting to wear anything but a smile, the kind of smile that leaks when someone desperately desires and expects to be recognized for something but doesn't want to broadcast such feelings.

In this case the smile was doubly betraying (and even more inevitable) for it revealed an oversized set of plastic fangs that S had clearly been showing off all day to every teacher, student, and unsuspecting nun at the school he attends. I couldn't help but meet his smile with my own. I allowed S to keep the fangs in his mouth as he fumbled to get his guitar on his lap and begin playing the Batman theme which he had learned the previous week.

Within seconds I was beyond a smile and was now fighting laughter and on the verge of loosing it all together. I was spared from being seen only by the fact that he always looks to his left while playing and therefore couldn't see my struggle just to stay in my chair.

My struggle was mild compared to his. If he wasn't shifting his guitar, he was reaching up to press the oversized fangs back into his mouth, and if he wasn't snorting through his blushing nose, he was sucking in the spit that kept pooling in his mouth with no hope for being swallowed because he couldn't even begin to close his mouth over the fangs. The fact that he was looking slightly down made this even worse and he kept looking up so as not to pour drool over his constantly escaping guitar.

Despite all of this he managed to perform a most musical arrangement of Batman complete with rhythmic snorts and slurps and enough guitar and head motion to imply a quite elaborate choreography.

He finally gave up and took the fangs out for the rest of the lesson, laying them in a puddle of saliva on my desk. I settled back to a simple smiled....and then thanked God for other people's children.

Next time I will tell you about how he invented "Halo Kitty" and might even introduce you to student C.

Until then...

Beau]]> Tue, 20 Nov 2007 16:49:00 CST http://www.beaubristow.com/
This is why I am captivated by honesty. It is why I am passionately disinterested in the scripted speeches of politicians and "interviews" with the kings and queens of pop culture.

If my single goal was to sell you music, to sell you myself, to profit by presenting an image of myself to you that is so detached from reality that you can't figure out a better response than to worship it, then I might never give you what I am about to give you.

The fact that I am posting what I am posting should speak for itself in regards to my intentions.

The following is a rant that I wrote a few weeks ago in a very emotional state. I deliberated whether or not to post it, but decided that for the sake of honesty I should show you this side of me. Today I am only giving you the first part because it is somewhat lengthy:




"WHAT THE HELL"


I've been rolling a lot of thoughts over in my head for the past few hours/years, and in the past few minutes the context for these thoughts has been as if I was writing them in a blog. So I figured, "What the hell, I'll write some of them down." I might not ever post it. If I did, it could really hurt what people think of me.

I should also note before I continue that I live my life with this curse of feeling that I always have to please others. This is the surest path to misery. I know. I have walked this path and I arrived at Misery about 7 years ago. Most people who don't walk this path are still a few years away from Misery at my age.

But maybe I shouldn't complain. Maybe this is really an opportunity. Surely I now have some experience of Misery with which to minister to those who are just now arriving here; or maybe I can give alternate, longer, more scenic directions to those who would inevitably be here tomorrow if they continue their current route. Surely such ministry would be a good way to please someone. But I digress.

Currently I am sitting at my computer, naked. I think I think more clearly this way, but I'm not sure because I don't think clearly enough to judge how I think when I'm not thinking clearly.

I just got back from a run, which came immediately after paying over $400 for car repair, which came immediately after 2 cups of coffee while I was having car repair done, which came immediately after a short-changed night of sleep, which came immediately after discovering that I am still in love with someone I broke up with 8 months ago (and 3 more times since then, though we never got back together...don't even try to figure that one out).

This lingering love has kept me from being able to move forward in any relationship since then. What this essentially means is that two times since the breakup last February I have begun a relationship with a great girl only to find that I am completely incapable of giving my heart to the relationship because my heart is still somewhere else.

It happens pretty predictably: 3 dates, a lot of shared self on both sides, my realization of where my heart really is, a confession to her of where my heart is, pain on her side for investing in something that never had a chance, pain and guilt on my side for being the source of her pain, and honest confusion on my part as to where the knee-deep shit I am standing in came from.

Now the logical question at this point is, "Beau, if you love this girl so much, why are you dating other girls?!!"

At this point I should probably fill you in on another bit of information about myself. I am a perfectionist. I want and expect everything to be perfect. I want everything to work properly, to run smoothly, to be morally and metaphysically right (whatever that is), and to please everybody perfectly.

This causes untold anxiety and ridiculous amounts of deliberation in even petty decision-making. I am often frozen in thought, stranded in fear between two alternatives, certain that the wrong choice will leave me short of perfection and therefore miserable but uncertain as to which choice is right.

The whole process makes me miserable. In fact, come to think of it, I arrived at Misery earlier than I thought. It may have really been 10 years ago. But that's a further testament to the importance of thoroughly deliberated decision-making. If I had thought about it more I might have realized that choosing to think so much would make me miserable, and I could have avoided the whole thing altogether.

That being said, the reason I am not in that other relationship is that I wasn't certain it was the right (or perfect) choice. If it wasn't right then it must not be pleasing to God, and if it wasn't pleasing to God then it couldn't be right. So I began to question the relationship. The more I questioned the relationship the more strained it became, and the more strained it became the more I questioned it. Eventually we were both miserable and decided that we should just break things off. We had come to an impasse, and the only way to get around it was to not go any further.

So I traded the misery of questioning if I should be in that relationship for the misery of questioning if I should have stayed in that relationship. I promptly realized the real truth of the saying "misery loves company" and so I began to wish I was back in that relationship, but I couldn't be sure this wouldn't just make me more miserable, and so I decided to look for a new relationship that might make me less miserable, or at least a little more certain that it wouldn't get more miserable.

Now to tell you the truth, I don't trust God today....


(I'm stopping here and will post the rest in a few days)]]> Sun, 18 Nov 2007 22:21:00 CST http://www.beaubristow.com/
Last Monday and Tuesday we tracked Bass and Drums (yes, they warrant capitalization...they were that good).

Here's a few shots of Ben (Drums) and James (Bass).










We tracked Bass and Drums at Ben's studio and then spent Thursday through Saturday at Stephen's studio tracking acoustic guitar (you can see Stephen in the last photo with James above).

Here's a couple of shots Stephen took Saturday night before we finished up.







Monday we will be tracking electric guitars and then taking a break for thanksgiving. I'll fill you in more the week after thanksgiving. I'll also fill you in on Stephen, who is producing the album and just happens to be my neighbor.

If you are interested in hearing the songs we will be doing on the album, you can go to www.beaubristow.com to hear scratch guitar and vocal tracks.

Later.

beau]]> Fri, 09 Nov 2007 21:28:00 CST http://www.beaubristow.com/
The first was thrown together by my friend Kevin Sparkman for a show that I played last month at a new venue here in Nashville called The Loft. Kevin manages this venue, which is located on a 5th floor rooftop in downtown Nashville....it's awesome!

The video is just a bunch of clips he got from me and from a couple of videos online...it's pretty funny and got a good laugh from the crowd that night.





The other video is the only recorded version of my song "Crazy." It was recorded last Spring for a friend of mine as part of his Senior thesis. It was during the time in my life when I wasn't sure I would be continuing music and had just lost love in my life....which explains the disheveled appearance and facial hair....I promise to take better care of myself in the future :)

]]> Sat, 03 Nov 2007 19:16:00 CST http://www.beaubristow.com/

(It should be noted before you read this that I am only posing thoughts/concerns and am not presenting solutions. In all honestly I have not even fully presented all that is entailed in the Free Will Defense, nor have I listed all of my corresponding concerns. This being said, I welcome antagonistic comments, just don't be disappointed if I already agree with your statements.)

As mentioned in my last installment of "We Are Living it Right Now" I mentioned that I am reading and working through the problem of evil.

To review, the problem of evil is as follows:

1) God is all powerful
2) God is all knowing
3) God is good
4) Evil exists

Statements 1-4 seem to be logically incompatible, for if 1-3 are true then my first expectation would be that 4 is false. Life testifies to the truth of 4, and strongly so. Thus, it seems that at least 1, 2, or 3 must be false, for if 1 is false God just couldn't have prevented evil; if 2 is false God just couldn't have foreseen evil to avoid it or didn't know how to do so; if 3 is false then there is no reason for God to avoid evil since he is not necessarily opposed to it.


The most frequently espoused response that I have encountered to this problem is what is known as the "Free Will Defense." This defense essentially states that for God to give us true freedom of choice, there must be the possibility that we will choose to do that which is evil. For God to mettle in our decision-making in any way, even so as to avoid evil, would compromise our free will.

Today I just want to mention three critical thoughts that concern me and make me hesitant to embrace this as a theodicy (a theodicy is defined by Webster as a "defense of God's goodness and omnipotence in view of the existence of evil.")

First of all I do not think the Free Will Defense is Biblical1 (and I should probably state here that it is my conviction that God has truly revealed Himself in the 66 books of the Protestant Christian Cannon2).

My second concern is that the Free Will Defense limits God's power by affirming that it is impossible for Him to create creatures with free will and guarantee that there will be no evil. Is this really "all-powerful?" (proposition 1)

My third concern is that the Free Will Defense (and various other defenses) come down to an assertion that it is better to have freedom of will than freedom from evil (including pain and suffering). God is a still a good God (proposition 3) because He created us with free will, and this outweighs the evil (proposition 4) that results from it.

Or let me pose my third concern this way:

Is it better to be "robbed" of free will or to go to Hell? The free will defender must affirm that it is the later, and this I cannot do.


(Since drafting this blog I have decided to post further thoughts on the Free Will Defense in my next blog. I would love to hear your comments on this blog so that I can keep them in mind or speak to them next time.)





Notes:
1. This is because the Free Will Defense assumes incompatibilism, which means that God's Sovereignty and free will cannot coexist. Though the terms "Sovereignty of God" and "Free Will" need more definition than I chose to give here, it will suffice to say that I believe that they can coexist and that indeed this is what Scripture teaches, a view known as compatibilism.

2. I know that many of my readers may take issue with me on this, and I only ask that if you are one of them that you suspend judgment and do not write me off until some time in the future when I am able to explain my view of Scripture more thoroughly. I trust that if you truly take interest in the content of this blog then you are intelligent enough, open-minded enough, and tolerant enough to grant me this]]> Wed, 31 Oct 2007 22:17:00 CST http://www.beaubristow.com/
We are now shipping the new Beau Bristow T-shirts!

Like I promised, those who order shirts get a free copy of "I Can Walk Through The Rain." This is the first released recording of it. I left it really raw and natural...two guitar passes and one vocal take; a bit of compression and verb...and....well....you can hear it at www.musicnuvo.com/beaubristow.

Just an update: I start preproduction for my album this coming week! I'll be keeping you posted throughout the process.

Hope you are having a great week!

beau]]> Sat, 27 Oct 2007 07:20:00 CST http://www.beaubristow.com/
1) God is all powerful
2) God is all knowing
3) God is good
4) Evil exists


Statements 1-4 seem to be logically incompatible, for if 1-3 are true then my first expectation would be that 4 is false. Life testifies to the truth of 4, and strongly so. Thus, it seems that at least 1, 2, or 3 must be false, for if 1 is false God just couldn't have prevented evil; if 2 is false God just couldn't have foreseen evil to avoid it or didn't know how to do so; if 3 is false then there is no reason for God to avoid evil since he is not necessarily opposed to it.

In all honesty, it is quite simple to fix the apparent logical inconsistency presented in 1-4. One way is to simply re-define the terms. The simplest example of this is to define "good" as whatever God wills, allows, and does, and "evil" as whatever we happen to dislike. This way God can ordain what we may call "evil" but can still be good. This fixes the logical inconsistency or propositions 1-4.

Still, it does not resolve the question of whether or not this "solution" aligns to what is in fact reality, and something inside me screams that it does not. I hate evil, not because I define it as "that which I hate" but because it is something much more severe than this and therefore worthy of my hatred.

In fact, the solution proposed above renders the terms "good" and "evil" meaningless, and this is not livable. I cannot stop myself or any other human from acting as if some things are truly evil and some things are truly good.

Another way to solve the apparent logical inconsistency of propositions 1-4 is to simply remove God from the equation (propositions 1-3). You are then left only with the proposition "evil exists" which now has nothing to contradict. This has been the response of many to this issue, and the problem of evil has traditionally been held as a major support for Atheism (though more recent debate has made this not so much the case).

The problem here is that if you remove God from reality, then you have no standard for ethics or morality and once again "good" and "evil" lose their meaning. (CS Lewis, in his book Mere Christianity, explains why this is so in a very concise and understandable way.) As mentioned before, this is not livable.

I go in cycles with this and other great questions of life. I wrestle with mystery until I come to the point where I realize there are some things I will never understand and I let it go. I lay it down and walk away.

However, this cannot last long. I am inescapably human, and as such I am compelled, or rather forced, to make choices as time pushes me through life. These choices have consequences based on the reality that surrounds me, and I am pressed to contemplate that reality to deeper degrees depending on the gravity and complexity of any decision. I may not question the nature of God when I am buying a cup of coffee, but I sure as hell do when those in my family die of cancer, or when I have loved and lost, or when I must choose between seeking my own peace and prosperity or sacrificing it to serve God or others.

Whatever reality is, this is part of it.




Note: This blog is the first in what will be on ongoing series titled "We Are Living It Right Now." This series will address deeper topics and issues in life in as honest a way as I know how. The title of the series comes from my song "Stand" which is a call to contemplate and live life with both eyes open and at times with both fist clenched.]]> Fri, 26 Oct 2007 10:19:00 CST http://www.beaubristow.com/
I just wanted to take a moment to introduce my intern to you. Jessi has been helping me with all kinds of things as I am restructuring my operations and gearing up for a new album. She is currently working on a Music Business degree at Belmont University and I am already dreading when she leaves me at the end of this semester!

All that being said, I'll let Jessi take it from here....but you can't say anything about how messy my office is Jessi!!!





Where to begin? I am from the north side of Chicago and I am a hard-core Bears fan. Don't hate! Even when they're losing I love them. I am a senior at Belmont University and I'm itching to graduate! I am torn between Chicago and Nashville; they are both amazing cities to live in. I am in love with music. I can honestly say that I cannot imagine a world without it. Music is my passion and my sanity. I love anything that makes me feel. I am really interested in artist management and artist development. My biggest career aspiration is to own and run my own small venue/bar. My goal is to have the ball rolling and in the first main stages of operating and developing by the time I am 28. Wish me luck!


I am loving my internship with the fabulous Mr. Beau Bristow. He is a talented, great man to work for and I cannot thank him enough for all of the opportunities he has given me. I am so blessed to have been able to have this experience. I can't believe it is already more than half over and I have no idea where the time has gone. I guess time really does fly when you are having fun! Thanks Beau! Goooo team!





]]> Tue, 16 Oct 2007 20:21:00 CST http://www.beaubristow.com/
You may have noticed that I haven't had many shows on my tour schedule lately. That's because I was traveling to trade shows the 2 weekends before last and will be doing so again for the next 3 weekends. It is part of my involvement with an organization called the National Association For Campus Activities (NACA). This is how I have been booking college shows.

In addition to this I am focusing on writing and preparing for my upcoming album, which I begin recording in November. I have really been missing the opportunity to perform lately so it was nice to get back out in the old tour bus (well, white station wagon) and make some music.

Last Friday I played in Louisville, KY with Brooks Ritter, an old friend, and Jamie Barnes, a new friend. There is a coffeehouse / wine bar downtown and close to the river in Louisville that you must check out if you are ever close. It's called Blue Mountain Coffee House, and was a really cool place to play. There was an aquarium built right into the bar directly in front of where I was playing...that in itself is enough to make me go back.

Also, you probably haven't heard of Brooks Ritter yet because he is a Kentucky secret right now, but I am hoping to have him on more shows with me in the future. Great guy, great voice. Sorry ladies, he just got married.

On Saturday night I played for a sorority fundraiser in Bloomington, IN. Alpha Gamma Delta of Indiana University was hosting their annual Teeter-totter-a-thon to raise money for Juvenile Diabetes Research. They had 2 teeter-totters set up and someone was teeter-tottering constantly from noon to midnight.

My friend Sarah set things up to have me come in with some music later in the day. It was one of my most memorable shows thus far! I was set up on the lawn in front of the sorority house with 2 construction lights for lighting. It had a very laid back, indie feel and I had a great group just hanging out on blankets right there in front of me. The night was cool but not cold and there was this really huge tree that ended up making a sweet backdrop.

I have a couple of photos so you can get a feel for things (thanks to Sarah). If you want to see me teeter-tottering then there are more photos tagged on my facebook profile.


(If any of you girls know how much money you raised, please leave it in a comment so I will know!)

Beau


















]]> Sun, 07 Oct 2007 13:24:00 CST http://www.beaubristow.com/
On the third or fourth strip of flooring for day two, I made an error I will not soon forget. I set the strip in place with my left hand instead of my foot as I had been doing previously. When I swung to hit the flooring with the mallet and make sure it was snug with the previous piece I landed a direct blow to my finger where it lay across the corner of the flooring.

The newly opened space under my fingernail was already glowing with read and blue blood when I finished wincing at the blow and opened my eyes. It throbbed with pain, but went a bit numb and stiff, and eventually I just ignored it and kept working. When I got home that night I drilled two small holes in the top of the nail with a razor blade to drain the blood and puss (wow that is grotesque).

That was Friday. As I played guitar at a church on Sunday, I could look down to see small drops of puss running out of the holes I drilled in the nail (even more grotesque).

Eventually the dead nail began to pull free from the skin that once held it and supplied it with life, to whatever degree one can say that a fingernail has life. I finally cut most of it off and here is a picture of what remains.










You can send get well cards and iTunes gift certificates to beau@beaubristow.com......]]> Thu, 27 Sep 2007 09:34:00 CST http://www.beaubristow.com/
I just received a copy of the video and figured I'd share a clip with you...it's a Beau Bristow Trio version of "Sign Me Up."




Speaking of bass (with a long A), I got to go fishing a couple of weeks ago and have this lovely picture of the first bass (with a short 'a') that I have caught in ages. Used to fish a lot as a kid...not so much these days.



Now the main purpose of this blog was to give you the video clip, but I figured that I might as well throw the fish photo in as well. However the fishing photo reminds me of a story....

I used to fish a lot with my friend Matt (he'll no doubt respond to this I'm sure you can see him in the comments below). Now Matt is the most touch sensitive person I have ever met. He needs personal space of at least 3 feet in all directions. He bows up in a "fight or flight" manner even if you go to pat him on the back. I can't even imagine what he would do if someone broke the 3 feet personal space perimeter anywhere below the belt (aside from that one time when he was the first to fall asleep at a sleep-over at a friend's house and we poked blue dots all over his shorts with a pool cue and chalk....wow that sounds immature).

Anyway, one time Matt and I were fishing and I got my lure hung in a tree. If you have ever done this you know the first response it to start trying to jerk it loose with ridiculously aggressive sweeps of the fishing rod. If you have ever gotten that far you know what comes next: a chunk of wood with large sharp metal hooks zipping towards you at Mach 3.

For some reason I felt all of this was better than going to retrieve the lure or cutting the line, but Matt was not of such a mind. As soon as I started trying to yank the lure free he turned his head away and nervously yelled, "Watch it n--!" But that was as far as he got. On this one particular day Matt was sitting to my right in the boat, and I am right handed. This means that at just that moment when the lure came free it came screaming toward him like a patriot missile.

When the proverbial dust cleared and I opened my eyes again, I slowly traced the fishing line from the end of my rod, down into the boat, over into the water, back up out of the water, up Matt's leg, and all the way to the fishing lure, now dangling from where it had hooked itself in the crotch of Matt's jeans (which was well exposed from the way he was sitting). From there I abruptly lifted my eyes to catch the look of horror on Matt's face.

I really can't remember if he got mad or not. He probably said some unkind things and questioned the legitimacy of my birth. All I remember is laughing at the whole situation... I'm still laughing about it. Sorry Matt.]]> Tue, 18 Sep 2007 20:38:00 CST http://www.beaubristow.com/
As some of these projects are coming together I will be asking you for your honest input, advice, and feedback. This is the first of these instances where I need to hear from you.

Below are 2 different t-shirt designs. We want to print one of them very soon. Basically I want to know which one you like the best. The style of shirt may change, so it is the actual layout, design, and color that you should focus on.

Simply comment on this blog and tell me whether you like A or B. (You are welcome to give the reason for your choice as well.)


T-shirt A



T-shirt B




Also, now that you have seen her work, I want to give a special thanks to my excellent graphic designer Gwynne Gardner! I asked her to describe herself and here is what she said:

"I'm a designer that's not afraid to get my hands dirty - creating collages with everything from pencil shavings to bottle caps to cut up pieces of old photos, and I have a unique style of creating that always begins with a sharpie, pencil, or paintbrush in my hand. I love color. If I had to choose a favorite color it would be blue, all shades, but I like to use every hue equally.
Nashville is the 10th city I have lived in. I love to travel and by seeing the world and what God has created it has inspired me to be a creator myself. Above all my wish is to glorify God with my art and if I can do that my soul sings."

If you are in need of some sweet graphic artistry, you should definitely check with Gwynne. Go to: www.gwynnegardner.com/gwynnegardner.

Thanks!

BB]]> Thu, 06 Sep 2007 19:54:00 CST http://www.beaubristow.com/ www.myspace.com/rachelcarrozziere). We arrived around 8:30 the following morning at her parent's house, where we would spend the next few days as we played occasional shows and ate wonderful meals provided by various Carrozziere family members. (Seriously, it was amazing....I love this family.)

The first show was at Roberts Wesleyan College, followed by a chapel service, a radio show, and a coffeehouse over the next few days. We left Tuesday morning around 9:30 (EDT) for Cabrini College in Radnor, PA (shout out to Mary Kate and Ashley...not the ones from full house) for a show that afternoon around 4:30. We left there and drove all night to arrive in Nashville at 8:30 (CDT). That is 24 hours of continuous driving and shows....not as exciting as 24, but I would argue that it might be more intense (minus the explosions, guns, and terrorists).

The sad part of this whole trip was that I only took one picture the whole time. Recently I bought a digital camera so that I could give you a better picture of what my world is like....lot's of good it does when I don't use it!

On our route back to Nashville we did encounter a photo opportunity, disturbing as it may be, and since I had no other photos I felt it necessary to subject myself to the humiliation you see below....



I didn't notice it when we took the shot, but I just realized that "wendy" has a pretty broad set of shoulders and I'm pretty sure that is a man's chest...almost as disturbing as the man's face under that red hair....definitely motivation to get better pictures next time.





(Oh, and if you get a chance, click here to see Rachel in a recent commercial....the commercial was filmed by having Rachel ad lib for 30 minutes. The production company then selected the parts they wanted for the commercial. Rachel had no idea what parts they used until it was on air regionally....you can't fully appreciate the humor in this unless you see the commercial and are aware of the fact that she really has an Aunt Linda! I met her this weekend and I can't see how anyone could say anything negative about her....gosh Rachel....)]]> Sat, 18 Aug 2007 01:41:00 CST http://www.beaubristow.com/
This is a shot of me leading, with Ross on the right playing bass and you can see part of Dave playing drums behind me.





And best of all, here's a shot of all the youth there at the church....




We did try to play one game of dodge-ball with them after the service...we lasted maybe 45 seconds...]]> Thu, 16 Aug 2007 01:43:00 CST http://www.beaubristow.com/
So my last blog listed a prank that a roommate pulled in my house....something simple and a bit funny. I was curious if you had any prank stories to share....

Well oddly enough, over the weekend I was the unfortunate victim of 2 more pranks...

First, you will notice that my profile picture is different....and certainly not me...

This was the dirty work of my roommates once again...

We were on tour together this weekend and at one point I left my laptop out where they could use it. When they opened to the log-in page of MySpace, my web browser "remembered" and "auto-filled" my password ...they logged on and uploaded the picture you see below as my profile picture....







Now this is funny but benign...

However, when we all arrived home from tour, we found that we had been pranked by the girl's ministry house (a group of girls that live together with the same goals that we have....see my last blog for more info). They had broken into our house while we were out of town. Honestly, it is more of a humiliation than an inconvenience to have a someone break into your house like this. They hid our TV remote (though not well), stole our silverware, tied our shoelaces together (in our closets), set all of our clocks an hour forward, short-sheeted our beds, and taped the spray nozzle "on" by the sink so that when I turned on the sink I got sprayed.

It is odd that this comes right after my blog about pranks, but now that you are thinking about it, I want to hear any ideas you may have about how we can get them back.

There are 5 girls, and they live in a 2-story house a half-mile from us.

Remember, the best pranks are not the ones that are cruel or inconvenient, but the ones that humiliate those being pranked....the girls are really proud of their break-in, and the best way to get them back is to show them they are not as smart as they think they are...

So there you go, you tell me....what could we or should we do?]]> Wed, 08 Aug 2007 01:49:00 CST http://www.beaubristow.com/ www.fellowshipofthebink.blogspot.com).

It recently ended up in our refrigerator....and by "recently" I mean it has been there for a week. I'm not sure who's it is, but I think his initials are D