Rick Lee James, a recording artist and ordained minister, records from his car between classes and church duties. He grieves four church members lost to COVID-19 and calls for compassion amid public denial of the virus's toll.
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Welcome to Voices in My Head, the official podcast of me, Rick Lee James. I'm a recording artist, a singer, a songwriter, an author, a worship leader, and an ordained minister in the Church of the Nazarene. The Voices in My Head podcast is where I discuss music, movies, books, pop culture, theology, and more with friends, colleagues, and sometimes just by myself. Now make sure to let me know what you think of today's episode by leaving me a review on iTunes or by tweeting at me @RickLeeJames on Twitter. And please join my mailing list at RickLeeJames.com where you can receive an email every time a new episode is released. By the way, in case you're interested in a daily dose of kindness and encouragement beyond this podcast, I also run the Twitter account @MrRogersSay where I post daily quotes from Fred Rogers, one of the voices in my head. Well, I guess that's it for the intro, so sit back, relax, and listen to the latest episode of Voices in My Head.
Hey friends, I hope that you are doing well. Hope you can hear me okay. I am Coming to you today from none other than my vehicle. This is what I've been driven to, literally. I'm driving in my car. I don't have any time to do a podcast right now. Life is so busy. I am in two classes at Loyola University Chicago at the Institute of Pastoral Studies, and I am in One class in particular I am easily giving 10 hours a day to, and I still feel like I'm falling behind. And I am just between, uh, work at church, between being a dad, husband, classwork. The podcast is just falling through the cracks, um, and in the midst of every other thing in life right now, life is just busy. So I literally am on a run back from the library to get more books for research for my class right now for a paper I have to write. So yeah, this is it for this week. Last week I had to do a re-airing of an episode, which was great. It fell on Groundhog Day, so Stephen Tobolowsky, the actor, was on the podcast, and that was wonderful. Was able to have a great show, one of my favorites that I've ever recorded. I always tell people it's one of the best shows I ever recorded, and it was. Was, and it just so happened it fell on Groundhog Day. And so since Stephen was one of the prominent actors in the movie Groundhog Day, and he had a great book to talk about, it was great to be able to re-air that episode. But it's been a few weeks since I was able to put a podcast out. I just have not had time, and I was hoping to continue doing podcasts every week and not miss a beat and keep everything up in my schedule. And keep recording music and do all the things that I was hoping I would be able to do. But man, this semester has been a bear and it's just been super hard. So this is a quick update today. It's not going to be a long podcast. It's not even going to be an inspiring podcast, I don't think. I so wish I could just be sitting down like the old days with a guest and sharing with you. Hopefully that's going to happen soon. Hopefully Hopefully next week I actually do have a guest scheduled that we're going to be able to do a show, and barring anything happening, I'm going to be able to squeeze that in there. But yeah, keep me in your prayers if you would, because life is hard right now. And in addition to that, you know, the world is just a heavy place right now. COVID— we've experienced either in our church or connected to our church 4 deaths due to COVID in the last 2 weeks. And it's just hard when you have half the world saying it's not a serious disease, can't harm you, and then you literally have loved ones around you dying at the same time. It's a— the cognitive dissonance is so strange. And it's just, you know, some people don't hardly get sick at all. Some people literally lose their life. And yeah, it's just— it's such a strange time to live in. It's such a heavy time. And so bearing the burden of all that So I know you're going through a lot too, those of you who listen. So I'm not trying to minimize anything that any of you are going through. I know there's a lot going on in your world too, and I thank you for taking the time when you have a chance to listen to Voices in My Head. Unfortunately, right now I just don't have time to put out too many podcasts. I thought once a week I would still be able to do it. Today is a poor excuse for a podcast. It's, uh, it's just me literally taking the time, um, the few miles it takes to get from the library to get back home to do a quick explanation of why I'm not putting out podcasts, and that is this week's episode. So maybe what I can do in the meantime is just do a quick prayer with us together for these times that we are in, and maybe you can pray along with me. There's always time for prayer. It is the, it is the essential thing in our life, and especially when times are are busy. We're, we're too busy not to be spending time in the quiet and in the place where we can be formed and shaped so we don't become crazy savages, right? So let me do that for us right now in this moment. So Father God, maker of heaven and earth, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, God of Israel, God and Father of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, true and living God, who is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Have mercy on us, Lord. Hear our prayer. Lord, open our lips so our mouths can proclaim your praise. Glory to the Father, to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen. Hallelujah. Most merciful God, we confess We have sinned against you. We have not loved you with our whole heart. We have not loved our neighbor as ourself. For this we are truly sorry and we humbly repent. And for the sake of your Son Jesus, have mercy on us, we pray. Forgive us that we may delight in doing your will. And that we may walk in your ways to the glory of your name. Amen. And that is my prayer for us today. Love each other well, please, my friends. Love each other well. That's all I can think to say. I know I've said it many times before, but my goodness, We are such a selfish society. It's not about your rights. It's not about what you personally want. It's about looking out for the needs of your neighbor and for what they need. How can I best serve them? Because when I serve my neighbor, I am serving my Lord. And if we aren't interested in serving our Lord, then we might as well stop calling ourselves Christians. Right? If there's any selfishness, then that has to go to the wayside. That's a hard, hard thing to remember, isn't it? It's a hard thing to love our enemies, to pray for those who persecute us, and yet that is the essential part of discipleship. Jesus has passed along his mission to us, that we could go into all the world and become his disciples and to make disciples, that we would live in such a way that it would inspire others to live in that exact same way, to be like Jesus. So go out and be like Jesus, people. Love each other well. Thanks so much for listening to Voices in My Head. I hope to be back with some more episodes soon. God willing, I'll have a guest next week. Take care, and thank you for listening.
Thank you for joining me here this week on Voices in my head. I hope you'll visit me on my website at rickleejames.com where you can find out more about me, get my music on vinyl and CD, follow my blog, and even schedule me for a concert or a speaking engagement. Better yet, even a book signing in your neighborhood. You can find all that and more at rickleejames.com. Also, it would mean a great deal to me if you could write a review of this podcast on iTunes. The more positive reviews that we receive, the more visible this podcast will be online. And now for the benediction: May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope. God bless you, and thank you for listening to Voices in My Head.
