Monday Morning Confessional

I confess that the blurbs are all in, and the foreword came through for Shrink last week, which means that everything I’m responsible to help with in terms of content for the book is crossed off the list. I have been overjoyed at the response from the early readers. Scot McKnight wrote the foreword, and blurbs have come in from Stanley Hauerwas, Walter Brueggemann, David Fitch, Christopher Smith, and fellow Patheos blogger Erin Wathen.

I confess that I always chuckle a little bit when someone mispronounces Frederick Buechner’s last name. It’s often pronounced Byook-nur, and sometimes Byooshnur. The correct pronunciation is Beek-ner. I chuckle because I called him Byook-nur for years. Luckily his writing is so good that, however you pronounce his name, it’s sure to leave a mark.

I confess that I love watching the Yankees lose, especially to the Royals. I confess that the Royals are a crazy Jekyll & Hyde show right now. I really don’t get it.

I confess that I love the song “Killed Myself When I Was Young,” by A.A. Bondy. I listen to American Hearts a lot. What a great album. I confess that part of what I love about listening to that record is that in my iTunes, when it’s over “Dancing Queen” by ABBA comes on… it’s perfect. I confess that he has made 2 albums since that time & I haven’t purchased either one of them. I have also neglected to buy the latest Wilco album. I have their others and love them each and all. Why haven’t I bought this one? They are my favorite band.

I confess that the very first national release in which I had a part was when the self-titled debut album for my band Satellite Soul came out. The first song on that album was called “Either Way.” When Wilco released the album Sky Blue Sky, I was amazed when the first track was a song called “Either Way.” I am convinced this is because Jeff Tweedy is a secret fan of Satellite Soul and always really loved the harmonica and slide guitar on “Either Way” by Satellite Soul. You think?

I confess that a friend bought me a used copy of The Hauerwas Reader last week & gave it to me on Sunday. I confess that while I should have been working on my Monday morning confessional I was reading in the Hauerwas Reader. I confess that one of my standards to judge whether or not the prolific has been married to the profound is whether or not someone has culled the author’s best into a “reader.” I confess that one of the standards I use to see if people “get” me is if they start handing me books. The way to a man’s heart might be through his stomach, but this man likes printed material.

I confess that blog traffic is a mystery to me. Some of the best stuff I’ve written ends up getting little or no traffic, while some off the cuff post gets a ton. I confess that I have an inexplicable soft spot for all things overlooked. This often manifests in a strange affection for posts nobody read. I hope you’ll go read what I posted last Saturday, & listen to that song.

I confess that there are some days when I sit down to write–sermons & blog posts often, sometimes articles, less rarely on book projects–and I just don’t have it. Today is one of those days. There’s just not any blood going to it, so I’m keeping this confession short. Happy Monday everyone.

Okay, I’ve made my confession. Time for you to make yours.