This is what I’ve been thinking about. The song talks about a problem. The problem is that Venice is sinking due to the fact that they have no way of handling their sewer and refuge. They simply feed it into the waterways of the city. The water rises, so do the sidewalks. You eventually get to the point where the sidewalks are higher than the door ways and you have to walk down into your house, but eventually the water is going to rise to high.

How true is this of our own lives? Our families? The churches we attend? The places we work?

We just would rather shove off the problems and just dump them to the side and move on. To often we don’t deal with the things that are eventually going to come back and cause problems. I’ve been in and have seen churches where they’d rather bag up a problem, skirt around it, and dump it off and hope it goes away. They don’t deal with the fact that people are human, we’re a corrupt being, marked by sin. We think if people are in a church, they should be super human or something like that. They shouldn’t have any problems. And often were to afraid to admit they’re are ones. We pretend and hide.  I’m not saying this is the case for every church. This is what I know. This is what I have seen. My concern is that as a body of believers we’d rather save face, rather than “damage or hurt” our reputation when there is failure, when there is struggle, when things aren’t going quite like they should be.  Saving face ends up kicking you in the teeth anyway.

Personally – I’m sick of building my sidewalks up time after time. I’m sick of shoving my trash and garbage under the carpet. I’m tired of trying to do this on my own anymore. I’m hungry and want others to have the same passion. I think were called to be the body of Christ. My problems should be others problems (not in a burden-some way). We shouldn’t shy away, we shouldn’t turn our back, or sit there and talk about people when there not present because they’re not reaching your standard. There not perfect and neither are you. I want to live a life that is as open and authentic as possible. Its been a long road and will continue to be one till the day I die. I just pray I don’t become apathetic and cold to what I believe is to be true.

Here is the song lyrics and a short explanation…

Inspired by my trip to Italy in summer ’99. After spending time in Venice, some dark and obvious symbolisms were revealed. To better understand, you’d have to know more about Venice. It’s scary how much their problems are symbolic of our culture. Just think about it: they don’t have a proper sewer system, so they dump all their garbage and refuse into the water surrounding them. And now they’re sinking into it. When the water gets to high, they simply raise the sidewalks. Sound familiar? I could write a book on this, but it probably wouldn’t be any good.

Papa got the business back in 1953
He took it on when my grandfather drowned
35 years later it was passed along to me
Now I make the rounds
Wealthy and American is mostly who I take
Smile and tell the story for a price
You might be surprised how much a gondolier can make
Giving tourist rides
They float the waters, hear the history
They never have to fear what lies beneath
But as for me, I’m wondering quietly…

If Venice is sinking, how can we believe we’ll all be fine
If Venice is sinking, how can we believe we all stay dry
‘Cause I have been thinking, this water’s not worth drinking
so if Venice is sinking, then trouble’s on the rise

Centuries of living like the kings we should have been
And never having slaves to clean our mess
And still the water rises, so we raise the ground again

In our ignorance
Sometime they will ask about the garbage and the smell
‘Cause they don’t understand the way it works
To tell the truth it’s been so long that I can never tell
If it’s getting worse
We’re rich in romance and in poetry
But we have a sewer running in our streets
I wonder which will be our greater legacy

A city built on dreams, and a million giant beams
But reality, it seems is getting closer, and rising higher
And I still wonder

©2002 Ross King

Venice is Sinking
Words by Ross King
Music by Ross King and Kevin Smith

Honesty and sometimes awkwardness in church is better than cozy, comfort and being tidy

Thats my unofficial official Ross King quote. Man that hit me hard. From my experience and current observations of the church, how true the second half is. I am guilty of this big time.

And Ross, if you ever read this…”Venice is sinking…there only fixing it with temporary solutions to a permanent problem.” Here’s a couple photo’s I snapped off my phone. I had the chance to hang out after the concert and hear him play a few more songs after everyone was gone. Later.