Kurtis Johnson’s Blog

i did the coolest thing i have ever done yesterday. i set my laptop on a music stand at band practice to let everyone hear a song we were learning. as soon as i set it up there, it fell to the ground and ruined the screen. its terrible, but now i have a good excuse to try and get a macbook pro! ha. heres what it looks like….

also this week, ive gotten 2 parking tickets from my school and im not even really sure why i got them. and today i got stung twice by a yellow jacket on my foot and my foot still hurts. (this happened over 12 hours ago.) i guess this isnt my best week ever, even though i did play at an awesome camp this week. other than that, it hasnt been too good. ha.

ive been listening to the newest August Burns Red cd called “Messengers” lately. even if you dont dig heavy stuff, check that album out and RESPECT that! its brutal. haha. i sound like im in 8th grade again.

heres another awesome song…

The earth was shaking in the dark
All creation felt the Fathers Broken Heart
Tears were filling Heaven’s Eyes
The day that True Love died, the day that True Love died
When blood and water hit the ground
Walls we couldn’t move came crashing down
We were free and made alive
The day that True Love died, The day that True Love died

True Love by Phil Wickam. check that too. its a little different than the August Burns Red……….

im out.

this is the most boring class ever. just to gove you an idea, its a 3 hour class all in one day. its from 1:00-4:00 every thursday.  the professor is a good guy, but the subject doesnt interest me that much.

get me outta here!

school is back in session. its not too bad, other than music history.

i like my new apartment though, and i live with 3 awesome dudes. i live across the hall from more awesome dudes. i think its going to be a crunk semester.

i have really enjoyed the longs talks with great friends recently. last night, me, robert, michael, and zach stayed up literally all night long just talking about every issue imaginable. mostly faith and religious things. these are also some of my smartest friends. (no offense to anyone else. i know alot of you are smart as well.) these people educate themselves on what they believe, and have encouraged me to do the same. these talks dont always seem to happen with many of my other friends. i dont know if its because im not as close to them or what. sometimes i try to have a decent discussion with someone, but that person is so convinced that they are already right, its annoying and it goes no where. this isnt anyone in particular, it just happens sometimes. but not with these 3 fellas. 

as i read the book “Jim and Casper go to Church,” i noticed that the atheist (Casper) didnt like it when a preacher would talk about God as if there was proof he existed. there isnt by the way. he found it annoying and much harder to appreciate or respect that person when they were just telling him what was right and what was wrong. i think Christians need to learn to ask more questions. if you ever come to a point where you stop asking questions, as if you have everything figured out, there’s probably a problem. i feel like i have mentioned this before but it doesnt seem to sink in. the more questions you ask, the closer you get to the truth. (although you still might not ever get there.)

we talked a lot about leading worship. did Jesus tell us to put on concerts every sunday? it seems that the church is always trying to be as relevant as they can, and i feel like we have crossed a line. we are blinding people with lights, and deafening them with sound systems and rock n roll songs, and sometimes its easy to miss what its all really about. we need to ditch bands and get out a hymnal every now and then for cryin out loud. the best lyrics ever are in hymms!!! lets start house churches that meet everyday and actually get to know each other. i dunno. something different.

i was reading this guy’s blog a while back and that post caught my attention. its really a repulsive blog topic, but i dont think he meant for it to turn out as bad as it did. i just noticed how many people complained about stupid things in there. if you read the comments, you will see several that mention how they hate when the worship leader asks them to greet people in the church they didnt come with. what???? why are you there!?!?!?!? because its cool? then i realized (and correct me if im wrong. i know plenty will disagree) that the church just does a great job at making us comfortable and catering to our wants with the light shows and familar worship songs. we are so comfortable when we go to church that we hate when we have to take one foot out of our comfort zone, turn around and say hello to someone behind us. God forbid we actually meet someone and possibly build a relationship. Heaven forbid we make a visitor feel welcome and want to come back. we dont talk anymore. we communicate through facebook/twitter statuses. (sorry guys… had to say it.) this same guy later posted a follow up blog here about when people are happy with their worship leader. there are about half as many posts on this one. seems kinda weird. its much easier to be negative and complain i guess, then point out the good in something. maybe theres a bigger issue here at stake. i dont know what it is… but id like to figure it out.

we also seem to associate leading worship with only music. music is such a small part of it. everything you do in life should be worship. you should live and breathe worship. i dont say this as if i have mastered it, but im trying. i think we confuse good worship leaders with people who sing good. a worship leader should not only be an example on stage, but in every aspect of life. a worship leader should be able to help others make their entire life about worship. ive said it before, but a worship leader is such a serious job. thats part of the reason i backed down from it. im a terrible person. i had no reason being on stage sunday and living a life being uneducated and stupid, and doing stupid things. i have to get my junk together before im even worthy to be on stage. its more than a paycheck and its certainly not like any other job. its actually tough.

i know this blog kinda goes all over the place. sorry.

-kurtis

i cant even begin to write what i want on here. mostly because im clueless. i cant even explain what im feeling. maybe im just tired. (it is like 2:15.) i hope this isnt some short lived “spiritual high” that im on. you know, the one you get after camp, passion, or some other conference. i hope its real.

i need to listen more. 

i need to go help people who need my help. without expecting anything in return.

i need to go find a homeless guy downtown, by him dinner, and just listen to his story.

i need to learn more

i need to read more

i need to build better relationships.

i need to be a nicer and better person.

i need to be more like Christ. its very hard. 

i need to get out and DO.

i dont even know if i know what im talking about.

so last night, me and my friend robert decided to go on a random bike ride. we rode to my old high school (not the one i graduated from), henry county high school. they are remodeling the whole place and we saw that there was a door open. all the lights were on from the construction, but no one was there. (it was almost midnight.) we rode around inside the school which was fun. it was fun to see everything again i guess. if you asked me 6 years ago when i went there if i thought i would ever ride a bike through my library, i definitely would have said no. but i did it last night. haha. heres a picture.

thats all i guess. if you ever get a chance to go bike riding through your old high school, i would recommend it for sure!

-kurtis

so i made of couple of good purchases today. i only spent like $2.38 cents too.

first thing….

this is Tom Glavine’s auto-biography. im a nerd. i get it, but this was only a dollar at the thrift store. this guy was the “winningest” pitcher of the 90’s. its great so far.

speaking of the braves… its a sad day. Skip Caray who has been the broadcaster, and the very familiar voice of the braves for years past away yesterday. even though you probably dont know him or his family, say a prayer for them.

the second thing….

thats a 52 ounce smoothie from quiktrip. im not sure why i got that much. i guess because it was only $1.29. i felt kinda like an idiot for even buying a drink that big. i didnt even finish half of it. haha.

oh yea….. everyone ask Jonathan about the star wars gear hes trying to get rid of. haha. just do it!

-kurtis

so im reading a pretty cool book right now. its called “Jim and Casper go to Church.” Its basically about a guy named Jim, who is a “veteran Christian” and retired preacher, and a guy named Casper who is an atheist. These 2 travel around the country to different churches, mostly mega churches including Saddleback, Willowcreek and even Joel Osteens church.  They basically just write a book about their experience. You get a lot of what Casper, the atheist, actually thinks of each church and how they impact him. although i hate when “Christians” make fun of things, or are critical of things at different churches (the speaker, the band), as if there is only ONE good church or ONE right way to play songs or speak, its kinda cool to see what the type of people we need to reach actually think of our churches. just a warning to some of my friends, it seems kinda anit-mega church. im not anti mega church, but i cant help what this guy thinks. however, i do kinda agree with some stuff he says. i recommend it to everyone. its easy to read and its very interesting.

PEACE OUT