#this was a gigantic undertaking and labor of love my god

[thekidsarentalright]

Fob Survey Results

Hi! So, a few days ago I made a post asking u all to take a survey i made so i could, basically, just see the different opinions in the fandom and nearly 400 people responded, which is crazy! I didn’t know that many ppl still were in fob bandom 😳 Anyways, without further adieu, the results are enclosed below under the cut!

First, I wanna start with some disclaimers or lil housekeeping things. The first thing I wanna mention is that, obviously, this sampling of people is small compared to every single fan of them ever but regardless of that i’m still gonna be referring to it all very generally just bc that’s easier for me lol. Next, I made a pie chart for every single question just so there was a visual of it but a few of them are a bit stuffed, just because the sheer amount of variety in peoples answers, which is great! But I just wanted to warn, and assure that i’ll be breaking down the charts a bit below the pictures so it’s more comprehensible. Also everything is color coded to try and make it a little easier! Lastly, more info and like discussion about any of this is totally welcome! if u have q’s, ask me! 

Question 1: When Did You Become A Fan?

This chart is one of the more comprehensible ones, thankfully. It shows that the era most fans became a fan was srar era, with 104 people answering that. The era with the least being tttyg era with only 5 people (technically pre-tttyg era/folie era since no one answered those). It’s so cool, to me, to see such a variety of answers! Fob rly are timeless 😌

Question 2: What’s Your Favorite Album?

I feel, for me, this one wasn’t a big surprise. Folie is clearly the fan favorite with 37%, while take this your grave is in last with only 9 people saying it was their fav. Again, lots of variety in this which is pretty cool to see! (also sorry that ab/aps name got cut off lol)(Also also justice for abap and mania)

Question 3: What’s Your Favorite EP/Non-Album?

Here, Lake Effect Kid Ep dominated the results with 126 people saying it was their favorite. B-Side was sort of close behind, with Pax Am Days in third. Here, what surprised me, was that anybody answered with eowyg or llamania, tbh. And, though I didn’t include it in the chart, 7 people answered saying they didn’t have a fav or hadn’t ever listened to one of them!

Question 4: Who’s Your Favorite Member?

This was one of the most biased questions with nearly 50% of u saying Patrick is your fav. I expected that, though I thought it’d be more of a battle between him and Pete. The only thing rly worth saying, ig, is that Andy and Joe deserve more love :(

Question 5: Favorite Fob Related Artist?

When I made this question and put mcr as an option I knew they’d be number one, so that’s not a shocker, to me. Here are your guys’ top 3 fob adjacent artists: 1. My chemical romance 2. Paramore 3. Panic! at the disco And, honestly, rest didn’t stand a chance against those 3 which I kinda expected but it is nice to see Some people appreciating cobra and gch! (Misc. answers included bands like idkhow, waterparks, as well as green day and elton john! Lots of variety!)

Question 6: What’s Your Favorite Song?

This question is where it starts to get a bit messier. I did my best to make it as clean as possible, but it still def looks a little wacky (sorry). According to you all, however, your top 3 favorite fob songs are as follows: 1. Disloyal order 2. (Coffee’s for closers) 3. Hum hallelujah Now, I am not at all surprised that disloyal order is that high up there, nor does hum hallelujah surprise me but coffee’s for closers kinda does! I’m also shocked that ginasfs isn’t higher. (where’s tkaa tho)

Question 7: Most Underrated Song?

Luckily, I managed to get this one a bit more organized looking (in my eyes) but, again, sorry if it’s messy! Regardless, according to you all, the top 3 most underrated fob songs are: 1. You’re crashing, but you’re no wave 2. From now on we are enemies = Headfirst slide 3. Twin Skeleton’s (Hotel in NYC) = Coffee’s for closers What is the funniest, and most interesting to me here, is that there are so many ties and also that 2 of these songs (Headfirst slide and coffee’s for closers) were in your top 5 favorite songs... making them clearly not underrated. I was delighted to see you’re crashing at 1, though. It hits hard.

Question 8: Most Overrated Song?

Now, with this one, I fully expected the results I got. It was very predictable: The singles are the most overrated. Something about them playing nonstop on the radio 6+ years ago rly bugged y’all (/j). Here are your top 3 most overrated songs: 1. Centuries  2. Uma Thurman = Immortals 3. My Songs  I’m very very stunned to see what a catch on there. And to all the people that said mania and the kids aren’t alright: ow :(

Question 9: This Or That 1

All the this or that’s are pretty self-explanitory, I believe. By a very thing margin, you all prefer sugar over thnks fr the mmrs!

Question 10: This Or That 2

By another very thing margin, wams beat out just one yesterday.

Question 11: This Or That 3

A pattern you’ll notice is that all of these are super close... once again, by a thing margin, Immortals (famously disliked) beat out champion (even more disliked apparently)

Question 12: This Or That 4

This one was ridiculously close the entire survey, for a majority of it pavlove was winning, actually. But, at the very end, from now on we are enemies won it 183 to 146.

Question 13: This Or That 5

Lastly for the this or that series, we have the most biased one. I thought this would be closer, but clearly you all have a Lot of love for disloyal order, picking it over the kids aren’t alright 240 to 105. That’s fuckin crazy.

Question 14: What’s Your Favorite Lyric?

For this one, so many people answered so many different lyrics all presented in a different way that I physically could not bring myself to organize them like i did the previous song questions. So, I present to you the songs that were quoted/referenced the most and therefore are precieved to have the best lyricism, according to you all. The top 3 most mentioned songs are: 1. Disloyal order (shocker) 2. Hum Hallelujah 3. Wams = Miss Missing You What surprised me the most here was that apparently overrated songs appeared, with a few people mentioning centuries, my songs, what a catch among others. And that disloyal order once again came out on top. 

Conclusion: What I learned from this is follows; the fob fandom (on here) is made up of people with somehow both very varied and yet congruent opinions. We might not all have the same favorite album or ep but we do all lose our minds to disloyal order and think that patrick is the best which i think is just beautiful.  (Feel free to come into my inbox and talk to me about this!! Naturally, I have all the data- the stuff that’s hard to see or wasn’t shown on the charts is interesting too. I’d love to talk about any of it!)

[johnhardinsawyer]

Giving Your Life

John Sawyer

Bedford Presbyterian Church

11 / 22 / 20 – Christ the King Sunday

Mark 12:41-44

Psalm 116

“Giving Your Life”

(Pathways to Generosity – Part 4)

“A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.”[1]  I don’t always quote from the Tao Te Ching, but, when I do, this is the only quote I know from this ancient Chinese book of philosophy and religion.  A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.  Basically, you’ll never get where you need to go if you don’t take that first step.

Now, these words could be applied to a literal journey.  Let’s say you’re going to hike the Appalachian Trail, or run a marathon, or a 5k, or even just try to get your steps in for the day.  You’ll never make it if you never leave your house.  This idea can also be applied to other things.  You’ll never write a book unless you actually start writing it.  You’ll never win a game if you don’t start playing it.  You’ll never cook a meal – a Thanksgiving meal, or just dinner on some random Tuesday – if you don’t start cooking it.  Once you start, though, at least you’ve started.  And you have more of a chance of finishing than if you had never started at all.

A journey of a thousand miles – or whatever task you undertake in life – begins with a single step.  And, by the end of that journey, there are always multiple single steps – steps that add up over time and end up making the journey what it is.

Over the course of the past four weeks, we have been reflecting, as a church, on what it means to be on a faith journey and the journey on a path of generosity.  And, through mailings and stories and sermons and messages, we have been encouraging all of you to take the next step along what we’ve called “The Giving Path.”  Now, some of you have been on this path for quite a long time – decades, perhaps.  And, some of you are just starting out – taking a first step.  All along the way, we have encouraged you to pray the prayer, “God, where do you want me to be in my giving?”

If we’re honest, we probably know that God always wants us to be farther along the path – closer to God, closer to our true selves as God intends us to be, more loving, more holy, more faithful, more generous.  We might not be where we need to be or where God is calling us to be, but our life-long journey with God along the pathway of faith and the giving path begins with just a single step and continues – throughout your life, and mine – with the next step and the next step. . .  These steps add up over time – day by day, moment by moment, prayer by prayer, song by song, gift by gift.

I don’t know where the journey began for the woman in today’s story from the Gospel of Mark – where it was that she took her first step – but I do know that her steps lead her to a place where Jesus sees her.

By the time today’s reading comes along, Jesus has entered the city of Jerusalem on a donkey with people cheering and waving palm branches.  And every day, he and his disciples arrive at the Temple – a grand place with porticoes and columns, a gigantic altar, and a large building where the people believe God lives.  The festival of the Passover is drawing near, so the city and the Temple are particularly crowded with people from all over the place.

The Temple, in Jesus’ day, had certain places where only men were allowed and places where women were allowed, and places where men and women could walk along next to one another or pass one another on their way to somewhere else.  One of these places was a room called the treasury.  At one point in the history of the Temple, the treasury was the place where all of the silver and gold vessels used for worship were kept.  Later, it was used to store grain for the priests.  In today’s story, the treasury is a place where people come to give money – to make offerings to God, to support the Temple, and its priests.

Jesus is sitting there – across from the treasury – watching the people come and go as they offer their gifts.  Some of them are bringing a lot of money.  This isn’t a bad thing, just so you know.  Jesus does not say anything bad about their generosity.  But then Jesus sees a woman arrive at the treasury.  The text describes her as a “poor widow.”  In the original language, she is described as being “extremely poor,”[2] basically a beggar.  There are likely multiple reasons why she is so poor – a dead husband who left her nothing to live on, no living relatives to take care of her, no social structure in place for her.  It should be noted, that right before today’s passage, Jesus condemns the professional religious ruling authorities who “devour widows houses” (Mark 12:40) – exploiting the weak and the helpless.  Alas, the lack of a social safety net is not a new thing.

And yet, this extremely poor woman, seen as weak and helpless by the standards of the world, takes out “two small copper coins, which are worth a penny” (12:42) – one sixty-fourth of a laborer’s daily wage – and she puts the coins into the treasury.

If the story were to stop right here, this tiny act might escape notice.  But Jesus sees the woman’s gift and elevates it – elevates her – right along with it.  Eugene Peterson translates what happens next in this way:

“The truth is,” Jesus tells his disciples – tells us – “that this poor widow gave more to the collection than all the others put together. All the others gave what they’ll never miss; [but] she gave extravagantly what she couldn’t afford—she gave her all.”[3]

In the original language, this last part reads, “She gave her way of life” or, put more simply, “She gave her life.”[4]

When John Calvin wrote about this passage, he said,

This widow must have been a person of no ordinary piety, who, rather than come empty into the presence of God, chose to part with her own living.  And our Lord applauds this sincerity, because forgetting herself she wished to testify that she and all that she possessed belonged to God.[5]

Most of us have met someone who will forget their own needs in order to give of themselves to others.  Sometimes, people like this have a lot of money.  Oftentimes, though, they don’t.  They will give all of what they have – time, energy, money. . .  These people are not ordinary, even though they might view their own generosity as ordinary to them.  It’s just the way they live.  It’s just who they are.  And, if you ask them, they’ll always say something like, “It’s good to give.  I love to give.  But I’m worried that I’m still not giving enough.”

What does it take to have a mindset like this?  Actually, the question should rather be, what does it take to have a heart like this – a heart that is generous to a fault, generous to the point of gaining the admiration of Jesus?  I guess I could lay out some impossible standards for you this morning – standards that you and I could never live up to.  But I think it would be more helpful to suggest that there are some simple practices, steps for us to adopt – some are spiritual steps, some are practical steps.  After all, you don’t go on a thousand-mile journey in a one-time giant leap.  A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. . .  Giving your life begins with a single step.

Here is a spiritual step:  it all starts with gratitude and putting that gratitude into practice.  These pandemic days can be so hard, so wearing and tearing on us.  But there are still moments of life and light and love that we can celebrate with a spirit of thanksgiving.  So, in this week of a Thanksgiving unlike any other we have ever celebrated, what if you were to start a spiritual practice of giving thanks every day – beginning or ending your day by saying what you are grateful for. . . writing it down, telling a loved-one?  By the time next Thanksgiving rolls around – which it surely will, Lord willing – you will be even more grateful.  You might even have a long list of blessings that are signs of God’s loving presence in your life.

So, that is a spiritual step.  Here is a practical step:  when you think about your giving to the church, we are encouraging you this year to move toward becoming a percentage giver – offering a percentage of your livelihood.  The widow in today’s story offers the impossible example of giving 100%.  But, what if a thousand-mile journey begins with 1%, or 3%, or 5%, or 10%?  Taking the steps to move toward greater generosity could just mean moving, little by little, more and more down the Giving Path each year.

Real stewardship – real generosity – is a way of life that comes from our internal relationship with God that is lived out in the world – combining the gratitude in our hearts with the concrete act of offering our gifts, whatever they may be.  It all adds up – step by step, gift by gift.

I’ll close with this –

Many of you who live in the Bedford and Manchester area may have been aware of an encampment of people who are experiencing homelessness that was dismantled this past week on the lawn of the state courthouse in Manchester.  At the start of the week, when I visited the camp, there were close to 200 people living in tents, huddled together against the cold.  Over the course of the week, temporary housing was found for some of these people, but on Friday, trucks came and removed the remaining tents.  While some of the residents of the camp were away for the day at work, their meager belongings were thrown away in bags marked “Hazardous Materials.”

For our part at BPC, our Mission Committee is reaching out to local organizations and individuals who are actively involved in helping those who are experiencing homelessness.  But, for my own part, when I visited the camp, the complex problems of no affordable housing, few social services, addiction, mental illness, ongoing medical conditions, and the cold New Hampshire weather were all just too much to bear.

What could I do?  What could you do?  In the interest of caring for the least of these, would I give my life?  Would you?

O God, where do you want us to be in our giving?

There is hope – even for us – my friends:  a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.  Will you take that step?

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

-------- 

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_journey_of_a_thousand_miles_begins_with_a_single_step.

[2] Walter Bauer, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature (Chicago:  University of Chicago Press, 1979.) 728.

[3] Eugene Peterson, The Message (Colorado Springs:  NAV Press, 2002) Mark 12:43-44.

[4] Walter Bauer, 141.

[5] John Calvin, Calvin’s Commentaries – Vol. XVII – Harmony of Matthew, Mark, and Luke (Grand Rapids:  Baker Books, 2009) 114.