Agabus (mark adams)

In my youth I recognized the rainbow as a symbol of learning (my preschool’s logo included a brilliant rainbow, surrounded by many happy children). I also became acquainted with the story of Noah. “When the bow is in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth” (Gen. 9:16, ESV). The rainbow is certainly a “universal” symbol, employed by activist groups, civil rights organizations, and political movements, but when I see the rainbow, I want to remember what God remembers: his lasting covenant with humanity.

I now offer the “Genesis 9:16″ bumpersticker at Gen916.com. I make no political statement, but a statement of faith. The rainbow is a sign of God’s promise to humanity, a symbol of grace. That is all.

© 2010, Mark Adams. All rights reserved. For inquiries press here.

RE: Soldier: You support the troops? Really?

Let’s bring them home.

One mornin’ at breakfast I said to my wife
We’ve been everywhere once and some places twice
As I had another helpin’ of country ham
she said “We haven’t never been to Vietnam
there’s a bunch of our boys over there”
So we went

Well we got a big welcome when we drove in
Through the gates of a placed named Long Ben
We checked in and everything got kinda quite
But a soldier boy said “Just wait til’ tonight
Things get noisy things start happening’
Big bad firecrackers”

Well that night we did about four shows for the boys
And they were livin’ it up with a whole lot of noise
We did our last song for the night
Then we crawled into bed for some peace and quite
But things weren’t peaceful things weren’t quite
Things were scary

Well for a few minutes June hadn’t spoken a word
Then I thought at first she hadn’t heard
Then a shell exploded not two miles away
She sat up in bed and I heard her say
“What was that” I said “That was a shell or a bomb”
She said “John I’m scared” I said “Me too”

Well all night long that noise kept on
And the noise would chill you right to the bone
The bullets and the shells and the atomic bombs
shook our bed and finally fell and it never let up
It was gonna get worse before it got any better

Well, the sun came up the noise died down
We got a few minutes sleep and we were sleepin’ sound
Then a soldier knocked on the door and said
“Last night we brought in seven dead and fourteen wounded!”
We were goin’ down to the base hospital
To see the boys Yeah

So we to the hospital day by day
And of the night we were singin’ away
Then the shells and the bombs again til’ dawn
And the helicopter brought in a wounded man
night after night day after day
comin’ and a goin’

So we sadly sang for them our last song
And reluctantly we said so long
We did our best to let them know that we cared
for every last one of them over there
Whether we belonged over there or not Ê
somebody loves them and needs them

Well now that’s about all there is to tell
about our little trip and the livin’ hell
and if I ever go back over there again
I hope there’s none of our boys to sing for
I hope this ol’ war’s over with and they’re all back home
To stay in peace

Cash’s Viet Nam reference: “I wear the black in mournin’ for the lives that could have been, Each week we lose a hundred fine young men.”

© 2010, Mark Adams. All rights reserved. For inquiries press here.

I was a teen when this song was released. It was followed by the legendary concert Live Aid, in support of Africa.

© 2010, Mark Adams. All rights reserved. For inquiries press here.

Originally posted 2008-12-10 03:47:08.

The horrific destruction and human suffering in Haiti exert an almost irresistible pull on U.S. Christian missionaries eager to help. But as the jailing last week of 10 missionaries from a small Baptist church in Idaho illustrates, best intentions don’t always translate into good deeds in the chaotic aftermath of the monster earthquake.

Many mission groups provide essential services for Haitians — indeed some have evolved into key service providers, working alongside nonprofit groups and the U.N. to fill gaps that the Haitian government can’t fill.

But other missions, even when well-meaning, risk running afoul of Haiti’s culture and laws.

via Haiti awash in Christian aid, evangelism

Reading about the Haitian earthquake, I yearned to go and help. This yearning came mostly from my own need of fulfillment, and I found it necessary to remind myself that I did have a work to do, one given to me by Christ. I could not abandon that work for a flight of fancy.

(For those unacquainted with my work, I am a youth pastor, Christian musician and summer volunteer at Bible camps. Learn about my latest endeavor at RockontheMount.com.)

Each Christian must find his or her calling, and commit to it. That is how we will reach Haiti and the rest of the world, by building God’s church, one brick at a time, so to speak. We can change the world, but not on the spur of the moment.

© 2010, Mark Adams. All rights reserved. For inquiries press here.

Originally posted 2010-02-08 15:26:53.

Professor Thomas Pratt, formerly of Bethany College, once asked in chapel: “Is God in everything or is everything in God?” He noted that the question was not original to him, but that he felt it was appropriate for the devotions that day.

I am reminded of St. Augustine’s quest for the knowledge of God: “Do heaven and earth, then, contain the whole of you, since you fill them? Or, when once you have filled them, is some part of you left over because they are too small to hold you?” (Confessions).

The answer is somewhere between Pratt’s two propositions.

© 2010, Mark Adams. All rights reserved. For inquiries press here.

Originally posted 2008-09-11 01:16:07.

Great unsigned band, looking to get signed. Visit their website: http://johannesmusic.com. They’ve played twice at Rock on the Mount, a music festival my church hosts. Nick, the bass player, writes on their YouTube page:

We Need your help! Please write letters to:
Bec Records
Po box 12698
Seattle, Wa 98111
-telling them that you think we’re awesome.

© 2010, admin. All rights reserved. For inquiries press here.

From the movie:

“How can a light that burned so brightly, suddenly burn so pale?”

Art Garfunkel’s recording can be found on the album Garfunkel (there’s a live version too, on Garfunkel: Across America). Declan, a much younger artist, offers the song on Thank You — quite exceptional.

Read the rest of this entry »

© 2010, Mark Adams. All rights reserved. For inquiries press here.

Originally posted 2009-02-14 22:20:40.