Paul Vieira

My kids and I made an amateur video for my song “Back Where I Began.” I really think you will enjoy it. Check it out at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=razhePV0IZw
If you like it, please spread the word and share it!

I put music away for so many years and now I’ve finally got this record out. I’ve worked hard at this record and I’m hoping that others enjoy it. I’m not trying to make a living on music, I just want to be able to keep putting it out there if does become meaningful to others.

I had someone contact me the other day and write “Hey Paul, thanks for the tunes. Love them. Enough with the teasers. When can I get the final product?” If you would like to download the songs from my debut EP “building my taj mahal,” you can do so by visiting www.paulvieiramusic.com You can name your own price starting at 75 cents per song. Payments are done through Paypal.

If you use ITunes, you can download the songs from there as well. Just visit http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/building-my-taj-mahal-ep/id347842309:http

Peace,
Paul

God started speaking to me through a billboard over 4 years ago. I see this sign practically every day. It is an advertisement for a Panasonic TV called Viera. The electronics company that put up the ad is called Advance Electronics. The main image on the sign is a beautiful nature scene with a lake, trees, and flying doves. The captions read ‘ideas for life’ and ‘a whole new visual era.’ When I first saw the sign, I believed God was speaking to me this basic message, “Viera!(different spelling) Advance in your ideas for life!” Shortly after this, I left organized religion and started living in a whole new way. However, I never understood what “a whole new visual era” meant for me until today. I have had this sense that the billboard wouldn’t change until I get the whole message. It has been there for over 4 years. But today, I think I’ve got it.

(Some of you might think I am a little flaky for thinking God is speaking to me through a billboard, but it’s not everyday that your name shows up on a sign. I’m just going to run wit this.)

My previous life in the church was completely focused on the things you can’t see. I was obsessed over reaching some spiritual state of intimacy with God and living for the future. As I have said before, I didn’t know how to live fully in this present world. Now I understand what this “whole new visual era” means for me. I’m learning how to enjoy and engage in the world that I see. I’m leaning how to appreciate nature, stay physically fit and healthy, and enjoy activities that make me a participant of life. I’m finding God in skating with my kids on a cold winter day, listening to beautiful Canadian folk music, eating more vegetables, and recycling more than we throw away. It is a whole new visual era for me and I am happy to finally see it.

Maybe the ad on the billboard will change now.

“One sip from the cup she was drinking, went straight to my head with her think. She had me believe I kept needing to come back for more.”

This is a line from a song I wrote about leaving organized religion. I’ve just posted the song at www.paulvieira.ca . It’s called Come my Way.

I’ve been completely out of the church for a few years now and have detoxed from that dependency on religion to dictate how I should think. My thinking has changed quite a bit. I’d like to blog about some of the mental shifts that have taken place for me. I think one of the biggest changes is that I no longer view the world in terms of secular vs. sacred. The Gnostics injected Christianity with this kind of dualism just years after the early church started on it’s way. The believed flesh was evil and spirit was good. This is why they denied the incarnation of Christ. The Gnostics couldn’t accept the idea that God (spirit) could inhabit a human body (flesh).

This way of measuring the activities of life completely devalues anything that is not perceived to be “spiritual” in some way. If you write a song about a horse, Jesus better be riding that horse or you song is considered “secular.” My evangelical background caused me to completely devalue anything that wasn’t linked to church activity, like praying, reading the Bible, or evangelizing.

In my previous life, I gave little to no thought about things like staying fit because my body didn’t matter as much as my spirit. I didn’t care about the environment because this world was going to perish anyway and the world to come is more important. For years, I didn’t listen to any other kind of music than worship and praise music, because writing songs about every day natural life was inferior to making music that openly spoke of God.

So, how have I changed? I’ve learned to see God in the secular. I’ve grown to appreciate the sacredness of nature and the value of living a healthy lifestyle. I now find meaning in the natural world. My head is no longer in the clouds. We even read the Bible with our little bent. Before, I gravitated only to verses that emphasized the eternity and spirit. Now, I see the Bible as a book about people who saw God in every day life. People who were physically fit and strong, artists, poets, politicians, doctors, neighbors, fathers, daughters, and people from all walks of life. Very few were holy men, living in seclusion, disconnected from the real world.

It feels good to join this world. I see God differently in this light. He has become more “secular” to me.

It has been 3 years since the release of my book Jesus Has Left the Building. An old contact from my former life as a travelling Bible teacher sent me a message through Facebook asking “Where are you?” It seems like I’ve dropped off the face of the earth (at least of the church world). People who don’t know me as well are wondering if I’m still a believer. I actually had a couple of people email me through my website, telling me that I have fallen from God and am going to hell. These people are complete strangers. They have no idea who I am or how I live my life. I imagine they are basing their judgment on the fact that the music I’m writing and featuring at www.paulvieira.ca has no mention of God in the lyrics. I guess my twitter and Facebook posts don’t usually talk about God either. (Many of the friends reading these do not have any Biblical background. Plus, I just don’t use church lingo anymore.)

So, where am I? Am I still a Christian?

I’m doing what God told me to do over 3 years ago. I’m in a season of learning how to live everyday as a good husband and father. I’m spending time with my kids. I’m working hard at a regular job. My supervisors are taking note. I’m being promoted. I’m trying to be a faithful steward of the responsibility that has been given to me. I’m also writing music. I released a CD. I’m enjoying the journey for once in my life. I used to be obsessed over the destination and it made me miserable. The journey is about the moment..the here and now. This is where contentment lies. This is the space my head is in. I do still believe in Jesus. I have a lot of questions about how that plays out in my everyday life. But I’m seeking to answer those questions.

For anyone who cares to know, I am alive and well.

Some of you might be wondering where I am. It seems I’ve fallen out of the blogging world. My web presence is weak these days. There is a reason for this. My book came out 2 years ago this month and for the last 2 years I’ve been on a journey to find my place in Babylon. I feel like Daniel who was taken from the religious world of his homeland and tossed into the turbulent waters of a foreign culture. Babylon became his home and God used it to train and position him for his destiny. I’ve been in a two year shift that has not only changed how I express my spirituality but also a shift in how I make a living. After years in professional Christian ministry, I’ve spent the last 2 years teaching English to newcomers from all over the world. Recently, I accepted a job coordinating an English program at the University of Winnipeg. I have a strong sense that God is directing my path and I’m excited to see where it leads.

The organized church is far behind me now that I’ve spent this time in “Babylon.” Life is good and I’ve never been so content as I am now. I hope to write about it more in the days ahead. For now, I leave you with a passage at the end of my book. It is my farewell to the church:

Well this is it. We’ve come to the end. Although, I have spent the last several years mostly outside the walls of the church, I have never formally said, “Goodbye.” In some ways I have had one foot in and one foot out, as I have continued to speak in churches on Sunday mornings in my travels. However, I must go now. I must find my way out into the world that so desperately needs to see Jesus and hear Jesus through me. I have a house to build and garden to plant. I have to raise my kids and see them find their own place in this world. I am compelled to follow this path to its end.

I imagine for awhile, if you’re interested, you may hear or see me talk about the themes contained in the pages of this book. I am willing to further discuss it. I expect a flurry of activity for a season, as readers wrestle through the issues that this book raises. I am open to hearing from you and talking through what needs to be said. However, honestly, it has always been my intention for this book to be a farewell message to the institutional church. I am leaving for “Babylon” and I don’t imagine I’m ever coming back. I don’t know how much longer we will have to talk. Perhaps it will be longer than I think. Inevitably, and probably sooner than later, I will be gone. This is what I leave with you.

Hey everybody,
I haven’t blogged in such a long time. I’m sorry about that. I’m lost in Babylon this summer. I’m really busy, but life is good. Please be patient with me. Things will slow down in September and I’ll be back online.

peace
Paul