Rumors I intended to mow down worshippers or believers or worship leaders, or [insert a target you perceived I went after in the last post] have been greatly exaggerated.
To the scowling, all things are scowl-worthy.
To be certain, there are few songs that I have had a chance to despise. Also, unlike a lot of the criticism that may or may not gather around me, I am not looking to slash and burn others.
I can point to about a handful of songs that just do not do it for me, for any number of reasons.
And I can point to about 12,000 cuts that move me in a positive direction and in the direction of worship. And yes, Newsboys “Breakfast” does that for me.
Moreover, I have attempted to be very careful in calling out this or that teacher or leader or whatever-the-case as an example of a false teacher.
I realize this may shock some, but the text reads:
“have nothing to do with the unfruitful works of darkeness.”
not
“have nothing to do with the unfruitful workers of darkness.”
My aim is to deal with the actions, rather than the people behind the actions.
Be also advised that my personal opinion is something I am probably going to share. What you do with that opinion is your business.
When actions get confused with people is what happens when homosexuals assume that, because I am talking about homosex or homosexuality, I must be talking about them.
I am with the people who say that those of us who criticize should take a hand at writing and composition. This is true, and we absolutely should have a hand in providing the church some of what we hope to see, otherwise our words are mere blah blah without legs or fruit.
So, in the interest of time, I will say what I appreciate when I find a good cut.
- Substance. What is going on lyrically and musically? What is being said.
- Originality. What is being expressed (and there is a whole heap of truth that has gone unexpressed)? Chris Pfohl once said it accurately: “For all of the powerful, poetic and faithful sayings available to us in scripture, that’s all you’ve got? Blows my mind.” Precisely. For all we have, and we are utilizing so little. The Givers among us would blush at the lack of diversity present in the breadth of expression.
- The dance between the subtle and skillful on the one hand and the obvious and the crude on the other. I have witnessed a whole set of followers of Christ get taken up with “making it plain” and “what you see is what you get”. They have become truth-tellers and are completely innocent as doves. However, they have lost the art of expressing as skillfully and subtly and as wisely as a serpent.
- The truths and, more specifically, the proverbs and poetry of Scripture, written in a Giver language, need to be unpacked delicately, the way a peony, or a cherry blossom, or a rosebud is unpacked. It is teased out. There are fires for refining and hammering, but there are also garden plants that will open for a sunray that will be damaged by things that are heavier than a feeding butterfly. The picture of a bumblebee feeding in clover, as it moves from bud to bud, tells the story well. And we have lost that art of seeing the skillfully-honed craft of a song dealt with in that fashion. For many, what is adequate is the TRUMPET, ELEPHANT, BLAM BLAM, FANFARE, BANG AND A FLOURISH. And there is very little that feels like it is being teased and unpacked and woven together. But we need the picking through, gently, and a lot of it.
For music that fits this sort of rough list, see the links below.
I am going to preface this set of videos by starting with the original cut for “Our G-d Reigns” by Deliriou5?, precisely because we have divorced the chorus from the lyrics and we repeat that chorus as filler, when it is meant to be its own complex, well-penned cut.
Kiss Your Feet was originally a Deliriou5? cut. But this cover by Jeremy Riddle was well-done.
This is just a small sampling of what I do enjoy.
My issue when I have an issue is that something has been overplayed, or does not go deeply enough or far enough in its intended direction. Every one of the above does.
Oh, yeah, and disclaimer. These are just my opinions. They are not the gospel, and you are not required to agree. It really is okay. I just happen to be an expert on my opinion. Take a breath and enjoy, or don’t. Agree, or don’t.
And as per the usual, be blessed, gang.
Slight geek out moment: amazing to find another fan of The Waiting out in the wild. I was fairly, well, wild about them for a long time and still have what’s closest to nostalgia for me when hearing that track again, or anything from that album. Or the one before or the one after.
I’ve also recognized myself squarely in the Mercy tribe, after growing up in a stream of the faith that was long on the Word (or at least most of it) and short on anything unimperical or without 700 scholarly sources (that all came from the schools we agreed with of course), so there’s always been a section of my experience that’s been incomprehensible to the broader community, and worship music was the primary feild for a long time. I played in the church band (after that war with the organ and the hymnal), sang in the choir (when there still was one), went to school to study “sacred music”, and yet Newsboys “Breakfast” and such esoteric but deep Christian rock was always more of a worshipful connection for my spirit and soul than anything I’ve regularly heard in an official worship service. With certain exceptions I still recall with greatfulness.
Many layers there of course, but all that to say: I’ve enjoyed your perspective, found it challenging and occasionally perspective-shifting, and even sometimes mirroring my own. As much as I’ve sought to protect my uniqueness over my lifetime, it’s wonderful once in a while not to be quite so much the only one brought to full attention and even tears at an obscure 90s Christian rock number, when six months of sincere worship services haven’t touched that place. Thank you.