Memphis-style miracle on Marion St. ...

I've been there twice in the past 6 days ... and I'll be back.

I'm talking about Lovey's BBQ, the kind of place I never thought I'd see in Winnipeg. Real southern BBQ. Cooked low and slow. Makes me think I'm back in Memphis, Nashville, and Clarksdale, Mississippi.

Roger LeBleu is the pit master at Lovey's. Roger spent a lot of years on the road as a salesman, stopping at dozens of bona-fide BBQ restaurants scattered throughout the American mid-south. He caught the BBQ bug, started BBQ'ing in his back yard, and this past year decided to open up Winnipeg's first and only real southern BBQ restaurant.

I'm sure glad he did. I head south every year for two reasons: the food and the music. You can get the music up here in Winnipeg, but you can't get the food. At least you couldn't until Roger opened up his restaurant. I owe him a debt of gratitude. Long winters in Winnipeg just got a whole lot easier.

I shared the Lovey's Mixer ($29.95, feeds 2-3) on both of my visits. Ribs, chicken, your choice of beef brisket or pulled pork, and sides of beans, slaw, cornbread, and fries. Everything is fantastic, including the sides. And to wash it all down, Roger's got my favorite Honey Brown on tap along with Hog Spit, a Sleeman's special brew for Lovey's customers. Could anyone ask for more?!?!

If you've never had southern BBQ, head on down to Lovey's at 208 Marion Street. Southern BBQ is a fine art. Very different from the burn and turn BBQ we have up north. Pulled pork is cooked for 15 hours, brisket is cooked for 20 hours, and ribs for 7 hours. The meat is moist and tender, it falls off the bone, and the flavor is incredible.

You'll love it ... or I ain't no rock 'n' preacher.

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BTW: it looks like Lovey's is a good news story on a number of different levels. Roger and his co-owner and daughter, Jocelyne LeBleu, recently received an economic development grant from Indian and Northern Affairs Canada.

Indian and Northern Affairs is no stranger to controversy. Both aboriginals and non-aboriginals regularly complain to me about how IANA money is allocated. In 2006/2007, for example, IANA handed out $5.6 billion in grants and contributions. $3.75 billion (67%) of that money went straight into the hands of band councils. Another $1.3 billion (23%) went to organizations created or mandated by band councils (e.g., tribal councils and social service agencies). All this band council bureaucracy doesn't necessarily translate into benefits for reserve residents (just ask them).

In a beautiful example of government spending gone right, Roger and Jocelyn used their IANA economic development grant just as intended ... for economic development. Three months after they got their cheque, they were open on Marion St. making the best BBQ north of St. Louis and spurring the local economy ... and all of Winnipeg is reaping the benefits.

Might just make me glad I pay taxes.

Iconoclasts ... blase?

A quick note from the road ....

I've been making my way through Iconoclast by Gregory Berns. I've always been fascinated by the idea of iconoclasm, ever since Professor John Wortley taught me about the infamous Byzantine controversy in his medieval history class. Iconoclasts are image-breakers, a reference in the middle ages to smashing or removing the supposedly blasphemous images of Christ on paintings, coins, etc. Today, Gregory Berns describes iconoclasts in more appealing terms as "a person who does something that others say can't be done".

The driving concept of my doctoral work is iconoclash. Iconoclash is the idea of taking two opposing images/ideas and bringing them together in ways everyone else thinks is impossible. Rock 'n' Roll Preacher is my take on iconoclash, and the unique contrast generated by bringing rock 'n' roll and religion together gives new meaning and dimension to both terms. Music fans love discussing religion. Religious people need to talk about music. You can't really understand rock 'n' roll or religion unless you understand both.

I've been reading Andy Crouch's Culture Making, which is a call for Christians to stop trashing and bashing culture and start cultivating it instead. Right-wing (and left-wing) Christians are notorious iconoclasts - they're infamous for complaining about cultural trends. Maybe they should give up the iconoclast role and embrace iconoclash. Iconclash is the challenge to create something different -- to be constructive instead of destructive. It's Crouch's idea of cultivating culture. Shouldn't be hard for people who believe they're made in the image of a creator.

Culture making ... or culture faking?

One of the best books I've read in a long, long time is Andy Crouch's Culture Making: Recovering Our Creative Calling. I'm going to talk about some of Crouch's insights at our MissionFest Manitoba workshop today.

The workshop is called" Leave boring and bigot behind: be a Christian in a multi-faith world". Dave Balzer, the show's host for 10+ years, and Melissa McEachern, the show's producer, are bookending my comments. We'll give our audience a behind-the-scenes look at the creative energy that brings the GodTalk Radio Show to Winnipeg's largest news/talk audience every Sunday night.

MissionFest Manitoba 2009
Grant Memorial Church
877 Wilkes Avenue
11:30 a.m. Rm. 249

Would love to see you there!