Okay, I admit it. That last post was maybe a little bit negative. Hopefully this one will bring me some redemption.

I remember several years ago my bible study leader / mentor / friend’s dad / friend Steve Larson had us think back through our life and write down the landmark people, places and events that had shaped our life and our journey of faith. It’s a pretty powerful thing when you see the people who changed you (for the good or for the bad) and God’s providence in all aspects of your life.

The last ten years have been the most important years of my life in terms of shaping my beliefs and philosophies about life. And I know I wouldn’t be where I am today if it were not for some key people. Certainly, everyone in my life is influential in some way, and plenty of people have ebbed and flowed in the amount of influence throughout my life. My family, of course, has been incredibly influential, though in the last few years less so. Same with friends.

These are some of the people that shaped the person I am today.

Tiffany Baird
Tiffany was the first person to really start talking to me about Jesus. I had my experiences with “religious” people in the past, but there was something very different about her. And, she actually cared about me rather than spouting something at me and walking away. Six years later she introduced me to the woman who would become my wife. Tiffany is the reason for the two happiest days of my life thus far.

Josh Goodman
I grew up catholic, so I spent a lot of time in mass. When I heard Josh Goodman talk about the bible for the first time at Franks House of Rock in Des Moines, I couldn’t believe the passion and depth with which he talked. The dude clearly believed what he was talking about, and cared whether or not you believed it. Josh’s messages where the meat of the conversations Tiffany and I had. Were it not for Josh talking about the reality of heaven and hell, I might not have thought twice.

Greg Teselle
Greg was the pastor in charge of Franks House, where I first hard that Jesus can change your life. Through my freshman year of college, Greg was the one who poured into my life, challenged me to be a youth leader (even though I still didn’t really understand what Christianity was about) and helped me get my legs as a new believer.

Aaron Nordyke
Aaron has been a dear friend for most of these last ten years. He has influenced my daily relationship with God, shown me the value of the New American Standard and English Standard Version bibles, challenged me to quit smoking, got me back into long-distance running, showed me the value of generosity and is an all-around awesome guy. My life would be drastically different without his friendship.

Steve Larson
About seven years ago, Steve took a group of young guys under his wing and taught them the value of reading, interpreting, and applying all of the bible from Genesis to Revelation. The lessons I have learned from him are immeasurable. My relationship with Steve is the kind that is hard to define: he’s my friend’s dad, a bible study leader, a mentor, a role model and above all, a friend. Complicated relationships can be good.

The Monday Night Study
Since Steve started the Monday night study group, members have come and gone. I realized the other night that I’m the only remaining original member, but I would have it no other way. There is something powerful about sharing meals together then discussing our ideas and insights into what the bible means. In the early days, we would study for three hours, then go to someone’s place and drink, smoke and discuss for another three. Life circumstances have caused a change in that model, but those first couple years were by far the most impactful. There’s something oh-so-right about discussing theology at midnight with a beer in hand.

Paul Sabino
Paul was the college pastor at The Salt Company, so I spent most of my college career listening to him speak. Again, he was a man who spoke with an all-too-rare passion and understanding of the bible. To date, he’s still the best boss I have ever had and consider it a privilege to work along side him for two years. It’s pretty amazing when your boss prays for you, I certainly miss that.

The Salt Company / Cornerstone Staff
My first year on staff with The Salt Company gave me an invaluable inside look at the staff dynamic at Cornerstone. If you ever doubt the intentions of a pastor, just spend a week with him and you’ll know pretty quickly the state of his heart. I was humbled by the honesty, integrity and authenticity of everyone on staff, and it challenged me every day to live out what I believed. That first year with The Salt Company really felt like family, and now that we’re spread throughout the country it makes you long for reunion.

Todd Wallace
Todd is one of my favorite people to talk with. Any time we get together it seems like what we’re supposed to be talking about gets put on the back-burner and we usually meet way longer than planned. Everything from theology to technology, life to leadership, music to marriage, and now how to raise girls. I blame Todd for making me step up in leadership, but it has been a healthy struggle.

Katie Saldanha
I have never been challenged more in my life than in the last two years of marriage. Katie is not only my joy and my crown, but my mirror and magnifying glass that brings to light every blemish and flaw in my life. What I love about our relationship was that the precedent to challenge and grow one another was set in our dating relationship. As cheesy as it sounds, she makes me want to be a better man. Not only a better man, but the man God is calling me to be. She will accept nothing less, and I’m thankful it’s that way.

Looking back on the influence these people have had in my life, and how drastically different I am today than ten years ago makes me excited for the change that will come in the next ten years. Hopefully, I can manage to influence a person or two along the way.

Even though I work in the world of mass media, sometimes it bothers me how much the media penetrates our lives. There seems to be some sort of brainwashing power the media holds over us, as we remember and parrot the most annoying things revealed to us in television, movies and music.

These are ten phrases from the last ten years that I never want to hear again. In fact, if I hear you say it I just might slap you. There, I said it. Consider yourself warned.

In no particular order:
“Wazzup?!?”, or “Wassup?!?”
Like many super bowl commercials, this was the gift that kept on giving. Even when I asked it to stop.

“Git ‘r done!”
In the spirit of full disclosure, I’ve never liked rednecks. Or poor grammar.

“I’m kind of a big deal.”
Chances are, you’re not. Please stop telling me you are.

“In these (tough) economic times…”
I can’t count how many times I’ve heard this phrase in the last two years. Yes, we get it. Move on.

“Oh, snap!”
Oh, shut it.

“Debrief”
If you’re in the military, you can go to debriefings. But this term has become so commonplace. I particularly dislike hearing it in the context of Christian activities. It seems like every missions trip, retreat, and bake sale needs a debriefing.

“Emo”
For the first part of the last ten years, the term “emo” was used to describe anything that didn’t fit a specific category. Music was emo. Haircuts were emo (specifically, mine. It got old fast.). Deserts were emo.

“I’m Rick James, b—-!”
I love Dave Chappelle as much as the next guy, but that doesn’t mean that every frat bro in the world needs to quote it. It’s funny when Dave says it, not you.

“Holla back”
I’m sorry, you want me to holler back? I don’t holler anything.

“OMG”, “LOL” and smiley faces
Technically, this may have started in the mid-to-late 90s, but it exploded in the last ten years. I would say something snarky like, “You teenage girls need to learn to write correctly,” but considering my peers and elders invented and adopted this language I can’t help but feel partly responsible.

I’m sure the next decade will give light to many more phrases that bother me, but I’m hoping we can at least leave a few of these in the past.

First off, I need to make it abundantly clear that I refuse to call 2010 the start of the new decade. Technically, 2011 is the start of the new decade. You see, we start counting at one, not zero. So it’s day one, month one, year one. So if the first year is 1, the last year of the decade would be 10. The start of the next decade would be 11 and ending at 20. I had the same issue with the supposed “New Millennium” in 2000, but no one listened. Such is the life of a prophet.

But no matter, because this isn’t a list of the last decade, it’s the last 10 years. Even though I refuse to recognize 2010 as the dawn of a new decade, it does have me feeling nostalgic. So I decided I would do some Top 10’s this week, starting with something that is near and dear to my heart: music.

This list is not the top ten most influential albums in terms of music as a whole, but these are ten of the albums that have had a great impact on me. Sure, there are more than ten, but these are the heavy hitters that brought me to my musical palate today.

Radiohead – Kid A (2000)
Radiohead ruled the brit-rock scene of the mid-to-late 90s, but they broke the doors open with Kid A. They won me over with The Bends, but this delightful album helped me take the bold step into electronic music.

Jurassic 5 – Quality Control (2000)
J5 put intelligent hip-hop on the map, and thus helped mature my taste in hip-hop and black culture in general. Cutting through the clutter of crap that was the MTV-served “hip-hop” (very loosely termed) they made a big move in bringing intelligent hip-hop to the masses.

Pedro The Lion – Control (2002)
My indie-roots grew deeper when I first head Pedro on the way home from a trip to Omaha. This is how music should be written – each song holds it’s own, but together the songs write a tragically beautiful story.

Thrice – The Illusion of Safety (2002)
Finger-melting riffs, gut-quaking chugs, and the most amazing harmonies this side of the Mississippi. I had the pleasure of seeing Thrice at the M-Shop at Iowa State the year they released this album and it changed my view of how beautiful and technical metal could be. Every album since has been a welcomed evolution in their songwriting abilities. To date, still probably my favorite band.

mewithoutYou – [A->B] Life (2002)
I never knew that shouting could be so worshipful, then I saw mewithoutYou in concert, and then their album won my heart over. The poetic lyrics mixed with amazing instrumentals is a surefire way to win me over.

Beloved – Failure On (2003)
Beloved is what I had been looking for in the post-hardcore era: great vocals, catchy riffs, and clean tones. As an added bonus, their Christan-themed lyrics brought some good indictment to my life.

Sigur Ros – Taak… (2005)
One word to describe this album: beautiful. I can’t understand a single, made-up word, but I think that’s the point. Each song is perfectly layered and orchestrated. It’s probably my favorite album to fall asleep to.

Sufjan Stevens – Illinois (2005)
Sufjan opened my eyes to a new realm of songwriting. Not only are the lyrics and melodies fantastic, but each song takes you on an orchestral journey. After recording the guitar, be sure to pick up the banjo, recorder, flute, trumpet . . . well, anything you can find in a junior high band room.

Leeland – Sound Of Melodies (2006)
Leeland did the unthinkable, they wrote Christian worship songs that didn’t sound like adult contemporary songs on Lite 104.1. I couldn’t believe my ears, I actually wanted to sing these songs, and listen to them repeatedly. “Tears For The Saints” and “Carried To The Table” still bring tears to my eyes. This is an incredibly beautiful album.

Bon Iver – For Emma, Forever Ago (2008)
Ten years earlier, Elliot Smith opened my eyes to the modern singer/songwriter. His music was honest, and I loved it. In 2008, Bon Iver did the same thing. I can tell this album with be a favorite for years to come.

There’s the ten. The last ten years brought forth a lot of fantastic music. I’m sure there are albums that influenced me more, but I can’t think of them right now. Eh, who cares, really?