Truth Vs. Loyalty

The title of this blog says it all. There are times in most of our lives when we have to accept rejection, take the hurts that come our way due to siding with either truth or being loyal.

Let me be very clear- I’ve spent and plan to spend what’s left of it on this earth as being as honest and committed to truth as possible while at the same time seeking to be genuinely loyal to family, friends and co-workers, band mates, etc..

It has been incredibly rare when I’ve had to face a scenario where it seemed that I couldn’t be brutally honest as well as loyal to people because my friends have been loving servants who were/are “the real deal”.

Gossip, slander, avarice and nonsense fly like vultures both within and without this or that group be it “sacred”, “secular” or you-name-the-family.

The issue that I raise here is simple but I think profound. Either you and I believe and face up to Paul’s amazing phrase in 2 Corinthians 13.8 or you don’t:

“For we can do nothing against the truth, but only for the truth.”

With all the talk of “false news” -and when have lies, exaggeration and phony claims not been made throughout human history?- it becomes ever more important that we choose loyalty to truth vs. loyalty to people when in fact confirmed/confirmable truth is what we can best discern in both our own life and that of those around us.

In part, this is why I’m an independent voter. Loyalty which ignores or disconnects from blatant truth is  historically what helped place the most extreme right-wing facists in power right around this world. Propaganda and loyalty to those spewing it sans verifiable facts is always wrong, never in sync with the Word and will of God.

Something to think about when Jesus says things like:

Matthew Chapter 10
37 Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.
38 And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me.
39 Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.

Truly surrendering yourself to Jesus is dangerous, especially when loyalty to Him can raise the worst response from others. He IS the way, The Truth and the life, there is no other more important, not now and certainly not in eternity.

These are things to consider along the path. I’m convinced after counting the cost I cannot afford to not be first loyal to the One Who -is- Truth.

As always, thanks for stopping by! -Glenn

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GK Last 1/2 OCT/NOV 2018 Tour Details

Hope to see some of you at these events!

Near PEORIA, IL FRI OCT 12

One Accord – A Christian Songwriting Community

GLENN KAISER

The One Accord Christian Songwriting Community is excited to host international recording artist, two time Dove Award nominee, and pioneer of Christian Rock, Glenn Kaiser. Glenn is a Chicago-based Christian blues musician, singer, songwriter and pastor. Glenn was the leader of Resurrection Band and is currently the leader of The Glenn Kaiser Band. His extensive discography – 35 recordings to date – includes projects of rock ‘n’ roll, R&B, worship, American roots and blues.

RSVP ESSENTIAL via this LINK TO EVENT: https://www.facebook.com/events/666591057053011/?event_time_id=667064313672352

When: October 12th, 6:30pm
Location: Rock Solid Studio
Address: 309 N. 2nd St. Dunlap, IL

***************

Glenn Kaiser Band in Chicago:

CHICAGO, IL SUN OCT 14 10am Grand Opening Celebration
Uptown Church -and immediately after outside at
Uplift High School 12pm (indoors at Uplift if poor weather!)
Fall Festival -FREE- lunch, pony rides, bouncy house
games and more… aaaaannnnnddddd
Glenn Kaiser Band blues/rock cranks up @2pm 🙂
https://uptowncov.org/

***************

PHOENIX, AZ AREA-

FRI OCT 19 @ 7 p.m. Blues Concert at Calvary Chapel Surprise 15610 W. Greenway Rd. Surprise, AZ 85374

SAT OCT 20 @ 6:30 p.m. Blues/Worship Recovery Step 3 at Mesquite Jr. High Auditorium 130 W. Mesquite Gilbert, AZ 85233

SUN OCT 21 @ 8:30 a.m. Teaching Bible Study at Calvary Chapel North Phoenix, AZ 85032

14201 North 32nd Phoenix AZ 85032

***************

CHICAGO AREA- SAT NOV 3 (GK Solo Blues set time tba):

https://www.facebook.com/ChicagoCBGfestival

As always, thanks for stopping by! -Glenn

Perseverance?

Associated terms like “endurance”, “patience”, “faith” and such come to mind when I think of the term in the header of this post.

Walk with the Lord for any length of time, heck, do anything in any group for any length of time and you’ll see people shift commitment from X to Y or Z and so on. Typical. Lots of reasons for this, not all wrong, bad or soul-destroying.

Yet as I flew in from an Alaskan tour I thought about Native Alaskan people and the temptations and struggle to survive in difficult, sometimes hostile environment/s as well as people I met in prisons on the trip who might… “might” I say… survive and even flourish.

Persevering in doing the laundry today (:) I took a break in our side yard garden here in Chicago’s inner city. It’s not only homeless and other folks who work at this, it’s even seen in delicate little creatures like you see here.

In a world and even churches that bring us into harsh and seemingly impossible-to-deal-with situations perseverance in seeking Jesus, in following Him when others go another direction, in the crucible of sacrifices you thought you’d never be faced with… simply “keeping on keeping on” in the grace and power of relationship with God the Holy Spirit is the foundation, the Rock that keeps our heads “above the water”. Of course there are other options.

We can “curse God and die”, we can turn back “like a dog to it’s vomit”, or simply self-medicate with this or that.

Trust me, in my own life there have been many such (likely more before I’m home) crossroads.

And then when you may least expect it, a bit of encouragement shows up.

Sure, anyone can isolate. It’s one of the anchors of addiction. If you think about it, being in the service of your addiction means the only non-isolation that’s dependable are others who share the same death-wish. Well the opposite is also true.

By grace and surrender I found people who are serious about flourishing spiritually, not merely surviving. Of course one must do the latter or the former isn’t possible.

Like these little creatures of God, I learned where to find sustenance and therefore by His grace, His hand, alongside others of His people, I am determined to persevere.

“And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.” -Galatians 6.9

So now I gotta go finish the laundry 🙂

As always, thanks for stopping by! -Glenn

Love and love

It’s been raining out here in the Alaskan bush as I’ve been waiting to get weather decent enough to fly out from a little town on the Yukon River called Mountain Village.

To say this tour has been amazing is a major understatement!

The pleasure right through Anchorage and on the road system towns, a couple Bible colleges and beyond has been mine, truly.

So in staying with longtime friend Pastor Marc and his wife, on the wall across from my bed is the following (1 Corinthians 13) which I’ve noticed often for the past several days I’ve been here:

Ok, for plenty professing Christians no biggie, we’ve read it, heard it preached and etc., so what’s the big deal?

I’ve pondered this text for most of my life and yet this week what literally jumped out at me (I often say “He knows how to write on our wall”!) were the simple words “Love Never Fails”.

Now, some will beg to differ. You, I, they, have “failed in love”. Things started great but eventually went “south” regardless of circumstances. So did love actually fail?

Then comes an incredibly important question- “Whose love”? Theirs? Mine? Ours? God’s?

First a few bits of Greek and English to help stir the pot, because I think there is a massive and absolutely essential matter at core here.

The term “fails” sheds light on this simple phrase:

In use throughout scripture this word means to

[fall out of, to fall down from, to fall off, to fall from a thing, to lose it, to perish, to fall; to fall from a place from which one cannot keep, fall from a position, to fall powerless, to fall to the ground, be without effect of the divine promise of salvation.

Further, from Strongs: ἐκπίπτω ekpíptō, ek-pip’-to; from G1537 and G4098; to drop away; specially, be driven out of one’s course; figuratively, to lose, become inefficient:—be cast, fail, fall (away, off), take none effect.] (Bracketed quotes via blueletterbible.com)

If you live as a Christ-follower for any length of time you will know people who made commitments to Him who now fulfill the very term we are considering. It was not God’s love for them that grew cold, hard, distant, failed, but rather their love for Him.

I’m convinced Paul is talking about God’s love -and I’m saying His love versus what I’ll call human love (sans the love that only comes from God Himself) is at the heart of the issue and often, our problems.

GOD’S genuine love, that in His mind, heart and attitude toward us is perfect, unchanging and UNFAILING. Our “love” for Him, for one another? That my friends, is often flawed, flighty, at times sorely lacking, and plain insufficient in terms of eternity. God’s eternal Person (Father, Son, Spirit) is utterly flawless and without what scripture calls “sin” or even garden-variety selfishness. It is sacrificial (look no further than to Jesus on the cross for proof) and self-giving through and through. Our “love”? Not so much.

Fickle, Changing with the seasons, our emotions, whether or not our desires or deepest needs are met by another or (and sometimes rightly of course) our sense of respect or boundaries are honored and on all of this basis we will begin to maintain anything but love towards another person or group of them.

Human love at it’s best is a far cry from God’s love, plain and simple.

Our love fails.

God’s love? NEVER.

This does not mean He agrees with any of our sinful thoughts, words, behaviors nor our treatment of others. It does mean that unless and until we know Him, walk with Him in faith and surrender, until we see people with His eyes and love them with His love we are often kicking one another, kicking the ball into the stands rather than the goal.

My nickel on this is that God’s love really and truly never fails. Which is why without it no matter what we think we’ve accomplished in this life, we’re sunk.

Brutal inventory of our (in my case, my) lack, slack and sin, repentance (turning around… facing Him in faith in daily relationship) is the cure for a love that often truly fails.

Seeking Him, trusting Him, recognizing that His love is THE Love without which we’re merely “animals dressed-up” as my amazing mother-in-law used to say… I think this is the major answer to what ails us.

God is eternal and calls us to His eternal life and love in the risen Jesus Christ. My wish for you is what I wish for myself, my family and friends, even enemies:

God’s love and grace for the journey.

As always, thanks for stopping by! -Glenn

Brief Alaska Update

Well, I have a short bit of writ nearly ready but soooo many pictures… and still not able to fly to Anchorage due to the weather yet, so may be here another couple days. When I get back home to Wendi, family and Chicago I’ll post details of the tour and a -lot- of pictures. It has been such an amazing tour for me, I’ll tell you that!

Such sweet people, receptive, continually thanking me for coming up and both old and new friends right through the journey. 

Ok, so today I had moose ribs for lunch, Yukon River salmon and ptarmigan (a dark meat game bird) for supper! You can tell life is difficult waiting for the weather to clear so the little plane can get me to a 2nd airport, then from there to Anchorage, then to Chicago. Man, can Marc Murchison cook!!

So here’s a few pics, a ton more on this trip later -oh, and I’ll also post all my October tour details, hopefully tomorrow unless I’m able to fly home. If that happens I’ll post the Oct. dates very soon after.

As always, thanks for stopping by! -Glenn

GK October Dates, Alaskan Tour Update

Wow. Just yahoo… what an amazing time up North! I’m writing this from Bethel, AK on the way to Mountain Village just to say my time in Anchorage at colleges, prisons, churches and in radio interviews were all amazing. Such sweet people and super great receptions in each place I brought music and/or spoke. More on this with pics added when I get back to Chicago on Tuesday.

Also more re. details of my October Tour schedule to-be-announced as I just don’t have time now and need to take a nap prior to my last two little flights to M. Village -but…

Firm dates for me in October include Berlin, Waupaca and Appleton, Wisconsin, very close to Peoria, Illinois and do a weekend in Phoenix, Arizona too. Details coming next week, please stay tuned:)

As always, thanks for stopping by! -Glenn

Statement, Question…

Off to Alaska tour in the morning. Looking forward. You can find the itinerary here in my site, posted earlier.

There’s the statement 🙂

“Clothe yourselves”? I ask myself this question every so often:

“So whatcha wearin’?”

“Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with a heart of mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience…”

As always, thanks for stopping by! -Glenn

Modesto, CA Weekend Report

Wow.

Another rippin’ sweet weekend, this time including visits from old friends, and I think making some new ones in Californias’ Central Valley area of Modesto.

BIG Thanks to Gary (aka Joker) and Richard for the hard work and warm hospitality!

Both sets of musicians who backed me and jammed with me on the Friday and Saturday were truly good and that was a joy for me and I suspect for the audience in both spots.

Dave and crew at Cal. Chap. Modesto were super kind, I was frankly a bit amazed at the turnout which was quite good imho. The response was encouraging indeed.

On the Sun. a.m. service at Freewill Baptist (w. a cool visiting guest speaker) I was blessed to lead worship and the pastor, staff, congregation and guests were so sweet!

Sun. afternoon on their property included a great turnout of bikers and others, pulled pork, the Sonhouse Blues Band (YES!!) and… wait for it… Elvis! Now this happens to be the 2nd time in my life he opened for me (2 diff. Elvis impersonators) but hey! 🙂

 

For both sets Richard loaned me his amazing Gretsch guitar and I of course also used my badminton racket diddley bow w. pickup 🙂 Fun!

My set w. Sonhouse went very well as did theirs to open up the afternoon, and as the band jammed w. me I can say it was real-deal.

BFC MM Modesto and a lot of other clubs supported very well and raised a good load of money for Shower Shuttle (please see http://www.showershuttle.com), a truly great and needed service for homeless and poor folks, some living in their cars and needing a sanitary place to clean up. They also provide fresh undies and socks, and a bit of dignity and love from those on staff doing the serving. SO good to be able to help raise funds for their several shower busses and a washer/dryer bus to help the friends without an address in the area!

Now for a few days home w. my Wendi and family, then 11 day tour in Alaska. Quite a kickoff to autumn for me!

Hope to see some of you on tour, and as always, thanks for stopping by. -Glenn

9/11 Thoughts in 2018

GKB had just flown home to Chicago the day before after doing shows in Colorado. I figured I’d sleep in and did until Wendi woke me up to see the live tv reports.

I was watching and realized immediately what I was seeing as the second plane flew into the Trade Towers in NYC. For me and many of us this was a day of deep sadness, shock, horror and realizing something that many Americans still just do not or will not understand: we are hated for reasons both demonic/wrong/sick/jealous and such, but also for our power and often control as well as perceived (sometimes correctly) injustices done in the name of “American interest$” around the world.

If you cannot or will not read further due to what I’ve just written here, I of course cannot persuade you to consider that a great much of the world has long been both recipients of the kind-hearted, good and even sacrificial sharing of Americans (both Christian and not) right through our history -but also has been directly and adversely affected by our power, military might and either spending (selfish stewardship) or cutting off such re. “the least of these” (see Mt. 25).

Indeed, Islamic extremists and other religious extremists, despots, dictators and yeah (“they’re WORSE than we are Glenn”) corruption, horrible leaders, cells and otherwise demonized monsters are on the loose world-wide. The often ignorant and flat wrong overlooking of our own largely corporate and political leaders who themselves are involved in deploying our power and the push to demand all tribes, nations and at-risk peoples simply accept our way as THE way they must think, act and do biz with “or else” is in my and plenty of others’ views, at very least a part of why insane and violent people do insane and violent deeds. None of this means they are not guilty. None of this means we are not guilty.

“Judgment begins in the house of the Lord.” A matter of fact according to The Word of God.

“Love your enemies.” One of Jesus’ commands to his followers.

I fully applaud and deeply thank all U.S. first responders, fire and EMT personnel, yes, our law enforcement officers and indeed military who gave their all prior to, during and since the sick, demonic 9/11 attacks! Too many of them died, too many of their families remember this day with sick, empty hearts due to their losses! Like many of you I pray for comfort and grace for all who lost loved ones in each of those disgusting moments in each location that day.

I equally pray that those calling ourselves Christ followers learn to forgive, learn to face up to the sins in our own lives, churches and indeed nation… and to understand faith, hope, love, the fruit of the Holy Spirit (see Galatians 5) the very love of God (see 1 Corinthians 13) and at core John 3.16 and 17 are THE issues now and always. What about our own heart attitude and actual treatment of “our enemies” whom Jesus Christ commands us to love because we “all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God”?

Today I remembered one of my all-time favorite songs with regard to a festival we curated many years ago. It all starts with me, you, us as individuals. Then the next issue after surrendering to God is how we think of and treat “the least of these”, yes, our enemies -in the process of seeking to live lives that reflect Jesus as opposed to vengeance and hatred which were in the very guts of those who sought to destroy us on that day of evil.

When we finally follow Jesus and learn to love others, when we rightly and truly surrender to Him it’s anything but a surrendering to our worst enemy: us.

As always, thanks for stopping by. -Glenn

Sept. 5, 2018 Update

So tomorrow I fly to Sacramento, Cali. and then off to Modesto for a couple dates, home to Chicago for 3 days (one a very special date for Wendi and I if the weather holds and she’s feeling up to it) and then to Alaska to tour for 11 days.

More work done and will be done over these tours toward my book- an extremely tiny portion of my life but truly the most important time in my life.

Today I did a live radio interview (English w. Spanish translation) for a Honduras radio station including questions listeners sent in from all over the world about REZ Band, GKB and my solo blues work. I’ll post the web address when I get it and they’re ready to put the interview up for the planet.

Wendi’s been battling leg cramps again, super painful. We have a Dr. appointment to discuss scheduling her final knee replacement surgery. Hopefully that can happen in November or so. Prayers please and thank you!

There has been some discussion at Grrr Records about a new T shirt design, and perhaps GKB recording in autumn/winter including some REZ material being re-done as we do several of those songs in most GKB shows.

As I’ve mentioned along and along, I’ll be working to finish up my new solo blues project this winter hopefully to be released sometime in the Spring.

Oh, and I got the garbage and recyclables out, the laundry done, and our plants watered today 🙂 Yep. One day at a time.

As always, thanks for stopping by! -Glenn