Perhaps a public update is in order.

Pants.

So I went shopping for the first time in like 7 months this past week. I felt distinctly wrong buying anything. The reasons for this feeling were three-fold, I think: One, I've always felt like buying clothing for myself is selfish, especially when stores want $40 for a shirt. Two, I don't much like drawing attention from others, which nice clothes tends to promote. Three, I haven't shopped in a really long time, and I don't enjoy the atmosphere. So, after 4 trips to the store, a week or so of dilly-dallying, and some severe and self-inflicted peer pressure, I bought some pants. There we have it. I now own $30 khakis. I have sold my soul.

Fat.

Once in a while, circumstances demand a strange and significant life changes. I now eat 5 small meals per day instead of 3 big ones. It's kindof enjoyable. With meals being more evenly spread out, buying food doesn't seem to cost as much. It's also keeping my blood sugar steady, which is cool to feel. And I get more chances to eat, which is way awesome. Officially, I do declare that I am a fat kid in training. Look out, world.

8th.

This past weekend, I played in Grace's main service. I really enjoyed playing with the musicians there, and while the music was fun, the humor and laughter that went on backstage was by far the highlight. From 1pm on Saturday to 1pm on Sunday, there was not a serious off-stage moment. So good for the soul. It felt like having a day off. Also, I played a ton of my guitar work with dotted 8th note delay. At some point, the senior pastor commented that the band sounded like U2. Somehow I have vicariously copied The Edge through Daniel Carson. All I need now is a mic to shout "yeah! yeah! yeah! yeah!" during services, and the transformation will be complete.

That's more than you'll actually read for one post. More soon, I promise.

Love

Trey

It's late at night: 2 or 3am. My feet hurt from walking, and my mind is beginning to fog over. I am walking with two friends through the rougher part of the homosexual district of Toronto. The streets are fairly clear of people, until our constant footsteps bring us to the main road that we turn onto. We intuitively stop talking, closing our mouths so that we can open our eyes, ears and hearts. Two ladies, well dressed, talk casually to each other on the street corner under the lamppost, exchanging the normal friendly banter. Transvestites. Selling their bodies on the street for a few dollars. A "lady" in a red dress curses at her feet while she messes with white high heels that are obviously too high and far too small for her feet. She calls her all-white-dressed, blonde friend over to her, and asks for help getting her shoes back on. From the conversation that follows, it's obvious that this is not the first time she has asked for help. The lady in the white dress is happy to oblige. Community; friendship; personhood; dignity.

It's the next day: the afternoon. I've just finished praying through the penitential rite at a large and very ornate Anglican church. Gothic architecture and the history of the Canadian church adorns the walls - it feels like a Catholic church in its grandness and splendor. I have prayed for forgiveness of my sins. I am judgmental. One foot in front of the other, out into the gardens that separate the church from the St. Lawrence market. As I walk alone, I see three ladies who seem oddly out of place strolling through the garden laughing together and talking to someone on the phone. More transvestites. Looking closely at them, their faces become familiar. I am in the presence of the same transvestites that had been selling their bodies only the night before. They are still together and still cross-dressed, though less seductive in their outfit choice. They laugh and banter together as as friends do, speaking of shopping and of visits to mutual friends. I am witnessing a community. I am witnessing persons who are not defined by their career choice. I am witnessing, in a small and broken way, the love that marks the King, and His Kingdom. I am witnessing the image of God.

Welcome back into my life, blog readers.

On the worship arts side of things, I played guitar and led a couple songs in Sojourn (Grace's second venue) this weekend, and tonight I get ear molds made for the Shure in-ears they use at Grace. I've been practicing drums a lot in my free time, and I'm getting to be ok. Also, I've been studying the glories of compression and EQ, two things that I always used but never really understood until now. What joy. Oh, and I kinda "snuck" part of the Anglican penitential rite (from the book of common prayer) into a forthcoming Sojourn service. Win. I'm leading worship in Sojourn on 25/26, and a couple times in August.

On the spiritual / philosophical side of my life, I've been strongly considering how loving others and social justice affects my ministry as a worship leader. Am I leading people in music, or am I leading them in worship? It's a question that has been affecting me for a long time, and I'm sure will shape my ministry for the rest of my life. Now I'm trying to figure out what such leadership looks like. This week, I'm going up to Toronto to learn what it looks like to be Jesus to people on the street there. Hopefully it will muddle me up, but also clarify how God wants me to lead worship.

Also within that, I've been learning to notice and appreciate brokenness in myself and in others. It all seems kinda backward, but I've been seeing Christ in the hurting and sufferings around us and within us. Perhaps this is a bit mystical, and I don't mean to over-spiritualize everything, but after reading Greg Paul, I feel like my eyes have been opened to Jesus working in the world in a new way - not as a "fixer," but as a lover.

In social news, I've been hanging out with a graduate group that's taken the Grace interns under their "wing." We've been having a Harry Potter marathon, preparing for the midnight showing of the 6th movie. It's been a totally unexpected pleasure to be with that group. Thank God. Last night, my housemates and I lit and threw bottle rockets into the Indiana night. Tonight, perhaps some roman candles are in order.

That's all for now, friends. Soon, I promise, I'll post some thought-provoking and slightly offensive blog material (with a touch of intellectual humility, like a good post-modern). That's what blogs are for, right?

Love
Trey

Oh Hi. So, once per week the interns at Grace meet for a round-table discussion. For the last two weeks, we've been discussing postmodernity and the emerging "conversation" in the Church. We've discussed a lot of topics, and I feel like I'm finally getting a tiny grip around what it means to be a postmodern person in a postmodern culture. And while I sincerely don't buy it all, I've been trying to reorganize my thinking in order to harmonize the modern and postmodern cultures that I've been brought up in. Many of you will know that I try to be "veterrimus" rather that modern or postmodern. If we haven't talked about that before, I hope that we can.

But I'm not blogging to share my thoughts, opinions or observations. At least not this time. But I will give one observation, and then ask you what you think. I have realized that schooling never taught me about postmodernity. In my time at Huntington University, I have never had an academic class discussion about postmodernity as a whole. A lot of teachers have brought in specific aspects of the pomo mindset or beliefs, but never laid out how postmodernity came about or what challenges it brought to the status quo. I'm specifically interested that we never discussed this in my ministry classes; this new worldview holds huge ramifications about how we minister in our culture.

So let me ask you, have you received any teaching about Postmodernity at HU? Any teaching that was specifically about Pomo, and not just critiques of specific aspects of it?

Love
Trey

This past week was a good one. I finally feel like I'm getting my feet underneath me; it seems like I'm finally contributing to the ministry at Grace rather than just learning about it. I've been doing some cool stuff at Grace, like making loops and doing new song research. No copying or coffee making as of yet. At the end of July, I lead worship in Sojourn, the church's second venue. Now allow me tell you a tale of excitement from this past weekend:

Two weeks ago, during my first day actually "on the job," Eric (the head musical worship leader) calls me into his office and asks if I play drums. I say no. He asks if I play percussion. I say that I have on occasion, but I'm no drummer. Long story short, I ended up playing percussion for GraceMAIN, the church's larger service, this past weekend. It was neat to be able to spend several hours during the week previous getting accquainted with the congas, shakers, a djembe, and a glockenspiel - I refrained from using the 'turn the page/Holy Spirit' chimes. I was a bit intimidated at first; I was completely new to percussion and was playing onstage with professional-grade musicians. In the end, it turned out to be a lot of fun, and I now understand why drummers enjoy drumming so much. For three days after Sunday, my hands were swollen and hurt like the dickens.

In other news, I'm doing book studies on The Dangerous Act of Worship by Mark Labberton and on God in the Alley by Greg Paul with different groups at Grace. I've also found a crew to hang out with that includes the summer interns at Grace. I've eaten Chipotle 5 times since I've been here; twice it was free. Life isn't so bad.

I've been a bit behind on the recordings for my June music project because of my schedule, but the songs are getting written. I also had an upload problem with Purevolume that set me back for a few days, but it's all resolved now. In addition to these setbacks, I've discovered that Purevolume will only allow 4 songs at a time, so that's all that y'all get at any given time. At the end, I'll bundle all the songs into a zip file and you can have them all. Again, thanks for listening to my incomplete song ideas.

More updates soon.

Love
Trey

In my time as a musician, I have written or co-written more than a few songs. But because I am a perfectionist, very little of my music gets out to anyone else. Usually, I'll give up on songs and never see them released because I don't think that they're as good as they should be. To combat this, I have decided to write, record, and release one song every day for the entire month of June. This 30-day challenge is undoubtedly inspired by the everyday photograph releases Lydia Bullock and Kelly Lacy, which I enjoy and admire so much.

The music can be found here:
http://www.purevolume.com/treysullivan

Love
Trey

So, I have arrived. Well, like five days ago. It took a bit over six hours, but I drove all the way from Beaver Falls to Noblesville. I'm a bit self-impressed. But, I must thank Coldplay, mewithoutYou, Death Cab for Cutie, and Muse for getting me safely across Ohio and mid-Indiana.

Once I arrived on Monday, I settled in with my host family (The McDaniels) and got to know them. They're great talkers, and incredibly easy to converse with and get to know. They're also really welcoming and easygoing, which makes my transition so much easier. Their son, Sean, is also a musician.

Noblesville is rich. It's really rich. While the average income in Indiana is $47,000 or so per year, the average income in Noblesville is nearly $71,000. You see, when I came to Huntington, I felt.... perhaps a bit proudly.... like I was a high-class citizen. I arrive in Noblesville to find that there is a social gap between my glorious '90 Accord and the neighbor's Lamborghini. I'm exaddurating a bit, but nonetheless, I have come to feel a sense of prestige in being the "common man." My flannel is worn with dignity.

Love
Trey