'If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear

Richie Furay is a founding member of legendary rock bands, Buffalo Springfield, Poco, SHF (Souther, Hillman Furay,) and currently The Richie Furay Band. He was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame in 1997. He has been the senior pastor of Calvary Chapel (Broomfield/Boulder) for the past two and a half decades. CALVARY CHAPEL BROOMFIELD CELEBRATES 25 YEARS

The Genesis Story of 25 Years (So Far) Of The Ministry Of Richie Furay.

"If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?"

The origin of the question is unknown, but the current phrasing appears to have

originated in the twentieth century. A 1910 physics book asks: "When a tree falls in a lonely forest, and no animal is near by to hear it, does it mak e a sound?”

Some of the debates surrounding this philosophical query center around mental gymnastics such as the following deep thoughts by some obviously very “enlightened” people, resulting in some fairly quantum theories:

What is the difference between what something is, and how it appears? - e.g., "…sound is the variation of pressure that propagates through matter as a wave…“ "Perhaps the most important topic the riddle offers is the division between perception of an object and how an object really is. If the tree exists outside of perception (as common sense would dictate), then it will produce sound waves. However, these sound waves will not actually sound like anything. Sound as it is mechanically understood will occur, but sound as it is understood by sensation will not occur.”

This riddle illustrates John Locke's famous distinction between primary and secondary qualities. This distinction outlines which qualities are actually in an object, and which qualities are not. That is, a red thing is not really red, a sweet thing is not really sweet, a sound does not actually sound like anything, but a round object is actually round.

AND

Can something exist without being perceived? - e.g. “Sound is only sound if a person hears it." The most immediate philosophical topic that the riddle introduces involves the existence of the tree (and its sound) outside of human perception. If no one is around to see, hear, touch or smell the tree, how could its existence occur? What is it to say that it exists when such an existence avoids all knowing? George Berkeley in the 18th century developed subjective idealism, a metaphysical theory to respond to these questions, coined famously as "to be is to be perceived". Today metaphysicians are split. According to substance theory, a substance is distinct from its properties. According to bundle theory ,

an object is merely its sense data.

Well, I?m no metaphysician but the answer to the question, "If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?" is easy, it?s “yes.”

What follows is a true story with witnesses, giving proof of the afirmative answer, and also demonstrating that the Supernatural is Master of the metaphysical.

(Tree-huggers may need parental discretion…)

Somewhere years ago, a tree grew. Actually two trees grew. Maybe in the same forest. Maybe not. Wherever their origin or location when they reached maturity isn?t important. They grew where they were planted. As trees, it was their job to do so. Each eventually “fell” or ?was” felled” by Larry the Lumberjack for what would appear to be simply for the retail purposes of man. In reality, they were grown and harvested for a Divine purpose in the free economy of God.

OK, so, a couple of trees were cut down by Larry the Lumberjack, probably causing a higher demand on Arbor Day and damaging the environment irreparably… …

They found their way into the bed of a semi, where Trucker Tom who, as was his job, transported the logs to a dude at the sawmill named Sam. Sam?s job was to hone the logs into slabs of lumber suitable for some type of architecture and to destine them for a project yet unrevealed.

Distributor Dan inventories into his warehouse the lumber which had been delivered by Tom the Trucker to Sam at the sawmill, who had refined the raw trunks that had been hewn by Lumberjack Larry.

Of all the trees cut and manufactured in the world that day, these two sources of building materials were shipped from Distributor Dan to Broker Bob, who was the middle-man between Distributor Dan and Wayne?s Wood Shop, where each month Jake the guitar maker would come looking for choice cuts of wood to be used in his craft. Jake?s job is to turn trees into guitars. He chose the byproducts of these two trees. One had produced timber whose wood was blonde and smooth, the other was darker and rich with a hint of auburn, probably rosewood.

According to those theories from the metaphysicians, one was not blonde and the other was not dark and rich with a hint of auburn at all. Those properties are qualities of the wood, not the wood itself- the …substance? simply reflects all other color so that the eye sees o nly those colors which light does not reflect. If it weren?t being observed, it would perhaps not even exist at all anyhow, much less be wood… …

OR

“ the limited hues in the color spectrums which are available to translation by the

human optical lens receptors which dictate and define perception, are then relayed through the stored databases in the cerebral cortex which controls object

identification …these impulses are then recognized by the available vocabulary

associations stored in the language center of the brain to be used as both information

and output….the objects appear to resonate colors varying in degree as to cause the perceived object to appear to vacillate in shade from dark to light and the organic properties indicate a botanic origin…“

Or in the language of the simple-minded, what was produced was a single wood body formed by two different wood sources from two unique tree types, giving the end product a distinct vertical striping of blond and brown.

looking two-toned B-B ender Telecaster!

Only forty stock bodies would come from the belly

of these two forever-married tree trunks,

joined together by Jake the Guitar Maker.

One of the forty guitars would find itself caressed by the gifted hands of Mr. Al Perkins. Al is one of the best and well known session guys in the business and has played with everybody.

No, really- everybody. Al grew where he was planted.

He?s played with, recorded for, or toured with Gram Parsons, The Flying Burrit o Brothers, Manassas, Chris Hillman, Steve Stills, Michael Nesmith, Roger McGuinn, The Eagles, The Desert Rose Band, The Nash Ramblers, Dolly Parton, TJ Klay, The Rolling Stones, Emmylou Harris…

He?s played and toured with artists as diverse as Bob Dylan, Cher, Rita Coolidge, Dan Fogelberg and Dwight Yoakam.

He plays pedal steel, lap steel, dobro, banjo, electric and acoustic guitars.

He?s one of those rare artists who don?t just play really well, but who actually speak through the instrument. It?s Al?s in visible self you hear, not an instrument.

His musical gifting seems to have no boundaries. Al is a Christian man.

He speaks in tongues through his music, and the Holy Spirit translates it into the listener?s heart.

But he had a greater gifting than any of that, even.

Al was playing with Manassas in the early …70?s and then they disbanded like a lot of

bands did, and do.

Chris Hillman started gigging with Richie Furay (founding member of Buffalo Springfield and Poco.) Richie got together Chris and JD Souther (co-writer of Eagles hits, “New Kid In Town,” and “Best of My Love,” among others) to form The Souther Hillman Furay Band, or SHF to their fans.

When the guys wanted to add a steel pedal player, Chris brought Al Perkins along to a rehearsal. Al came to the audition, bringing along his beautiful two-toned electric. Being a Christian man, he had consecrated it with a silver “fish” emblem, which bore the testimonial words, “Jesus Is LORD”.

Now let?s recap: Maybe 25 years or so before, God had forme d those trees in the ground and they grew and were harvested for timber by Lumberjack Larry and carried in transit by Tom Trucker to Sam at the sawmill, who processed and planed them and sent them out on an order placed by Distributor Dan, who then "net-thirtied" them to Broker Bob at the request of Woodshop Wayne, where Jake the Guitar Maker would write a check and lovingly bring the pieces to the workbench of his carpentry, and create forty custom axes from his purchase. One of the forty came into the possession of Mr. Al Perkins, who was a friend of God. And Al gave glory to Jesus by branding the guitar with his conviction of faith, “Jesus Is LORD.”

Then Al took Chris up on his invitation to exhibit his skills, bringing along his beautiful, two-toned custom guitar with the fish on it, and played for Richie and the other guys in SHF, and all the cavemen agreed, “Al GOOD. Al VERY good!”

As with the legendary bands Buffalo Springfield and Poco, Richie Furay was at the center of the inception of this band called Souther, Hillman, Furay and he loved what he heard in Al?s playing.

But… he didn?t love what he heard from the little fish.

Richie proceeded to step the other “founding” band personnel aside and privately agreed with them that Al?s prowess on the fret board was undeniable.

It was just too darned bad about that little fish thing standing in the way and marking and marring an otherwise remarkable instrument. If only Al weren?t a Christian, he?d have been a great fit for SHF…

Richie knew the band members would understand and agree with him that they would keep looking for another guy, a guy just like Al, but one without a fish.

That day Mr. Furay had his first lesson in “God Always Gets His Way 101”. God troubled the waters and the net was cast. Al became a member of the band, despite Richie?s objections.

Over time, an abiding friendship began to grow where it was planted, and Al began to find a way into Richie?s heart. Patiently and with long suffering, (smile) he quietly and steadfastly ministered to and witnessed to this man whose confidence was in himself alone. Al cared for this newfound brother with the compassion of someone who

already knew in some prophetic way that can only be God, the calamity that was about to take place in Richie?s he art.

And he made sure that Richie would know who to turn to when himself and everything else failed him.

Richie finally took Al?s 70th (or 7x70th…) invitation to confess Jesus as his Salvation, to testify the Jesus IS Lord.

Saint Al Perkins and the little fish on a two-toned Telecaster guitar made from a couple of trees that fell in the forest, led Richie Furay straight to the waiting hand of the Savior.

The kid who was afraid of a fish emblem celebrated the 25th year of his ministry as a pastor and a servant of Christ on May 10th , 2008.

The Lord?s objective with those two trees became clear. LOUD and clear.

Therefore, the answer to the question “if a tree falls in the forest and nobody is around to hear, does it make a sound,” is clearly “YES”!

And the echo can be heard by a multitude.

And, the Supernatural will always be Master over the metaphysical.

________________________________________________________________ Riche, along with his wife of 41 years, Nancy, have served the Lord

through their ministry at Calvary Chapel Boulder/Broomfield. May 10th ,

the church celebrated 25 years of fellowship and of Richie?s service

therein. Al Perkins was there with …the guitar?, along with TJ Klay and fourteen Calvary Chapel pastors from around the country.

Visit https://www.360docs.net/doc/2610591987.html, for more information about

Calvary Chapel, its history, leadership, worship times and activities and to view a musical retrospective.

Visit Richie?s personal website and find info on his books “For What It?s Worth” and “Pickin? Up The Pieces” as well as CD?s, live shows and more. https://www.360docs.net/doc/2610591987.html,