Jesus, upon whose teachings the church is founded, teaches unconditional love for all who sin. (Everybody is a sinner -- no exceptions other than Jesus.) His teachings do not condone homosexuality, nor do they condone adultery, theft, murder, prostitution, drunkenness, tax evasion or many other behaviors which permeate society today.
The intent of the church is not to convert homosexuals nor lay guilt upon them for their lifestyle. It is to share the message of the gospel with them and allow each individual to examine their lifestyle decisions in light of God's word. The bottom line is that it concerns me to know that there are many out there who perceive the church largely as a body of individuals who find favor with God (and one another) by condemning/persecuting others. Though there are individuals within the church family who behave as such, there too are nonchurchgoers who are equally bent on persecuting those who choose lifestyles other than their own. (Think about that one.)
Chris Spies
Belton
After we get through the myriad of problems within and without -- including various wanna-bes who are not at all impressive with their blather, both public and private -- the main culprit in all of this is the city. The most telling paragraph, in my not totally unaware opinion, is on page 21, column one, graf four, wherein Greg Patterson discusses city funding and/or the lack thereof.
Miller has served us all well. Hopefully, something good will come of it all. I am not optimistic.
John Leisenring
President, KC Jazz Ambassadors
Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City has always been a great town for a musician to be from. Maybe someday it will once again be a great place for a musician to be.
Name Withheld Upon Request
KC always, always, always finds a way to alienate its own. I mean, this town really sucks. You know why the crow flies upside down over KC? Because it's not worth shitting on. Thanks for Andrew Miller's concern, however. I know it's not all bad.
Name Withheld Upon Request
There are several points I'd like to make: Why three days? Saturday and Sunday would have been perfect.
I don't buy the weather excuse.
Local acts are great, but it's the big-name acts that draw people.
The festival had the atmosphere of the Spirit Festival -- dogs and kids running around, too much noise and excessive distractions. For jazz lovers, those distractions and others made it extremely difficult to listen and experience the music. For the blues lover, those factors help create the atmosphere, not dampen it.
I'm saddened on several levels by what Miller wrote. Once again, this damages Kansas City's already fading reputation as a jazz mecca. This is another blow to some Kansas Citians' desire for this city to be a major, world-class city.
Overall, I believe the blues fans showed up and supported their music. But I was always disappointed with the jazz fans' support of the festival. Al Green, Ike Turner, whoever was on the blues stage -- people supported them. The Bob James Trio, Ramsey Lewis, David Sanborn performing on the jazz stage -- sparse attendance. Shameful. Maybe Kansas City is just simply a blues town now.
We need progressive leaders in government. I'd support some type of tax to fund this festival.
Tony Jones
Overland Park
Come on, guys. Get with the program, or don't publish rubbish.
Robert Mehlbaum
Oxford, Pennsylvania
Guest vocals don't mean you're a band member. And if that's wrong, make Mark Hoppus a member of Simple Plan, another good band on the Atticus CD, too.
Amanda Klinkenberg
Bonner Springs
Comments (0)