Voice Box

friday listening party: The Abolitionist Hymnal

I love this idea and I'm anxious to hear the music.  Carl Gladstone has launched an effort called The Abolitionist Hymnal to raise resources and awareness for the 27 million people caught in slavery even today through putting songs in the mouths of anti-slavery activists and communities.

friday listening party: Brett Dennen and Jon Foreman sings emancipation songs

I had coffee this week with a friend I haven't seen for awhile, JR Woodward.  He introduced me to Brett Dennen and his new album, 'Hope for the Hopeless'.  This whole month many people are thinking about Human Trafficking.  Verse 2 of 'Make You Crazy' says this:

Isn't it a shame the way we cheat each other, treat each other,
beat each other?
It's a shame the way we use one other, abuse one another,
and screw one another, it's true.

They will lock you up in prison but they won't call it slavery
There are stolen children raised and trained in armies

When I hear these kinds of lyrics, I can't help but think of the message of the ancient Hebrew prophets.  Rather than share that with you here in (digital) print, I'll let Jon Foreman, frontman for Switchfoot, show you in melody and lyric.  This is his song, 'Instead of a Show.'

friday listening party: guys with beards

Glen Hansard

David Bazan (formerly of Pedro the Lion)

William Fitzsimmons

Iron & Wine

Ray LaMontagne

John Mark McMillan

friday listening party: How He Loves by John Mark McMillan and David Crowder Band

What happens when heaven and earth meet?  What happens when we sing about it?  What happens when raw, desperate, and indie song-writing meets the Christian mass market?

John Mark McMillan wrote a moving song called 'How He Loves.'  It shows up on his 2005 album, The Songs Inside the Sound of Breaking Down.  It was picked up by David Crowder Band and rerecorded (and rewritten) for their 2009 album, Church Music.  I like both versions for different reasons.  But a lyric change has some people talking - and gives us the opportunity for a little discussion.

In the original version, verse 2 says this...

We are His portion and He is our prize,
Drawn to redemption by the grace in His eyes,
If grace is an ocean, we’re all sinking.
So Heaven meets earth like a sloppy wet kiss,
And my heart turns violently inside of my chest,
I don’t have time to maintain these regrets,
When I think about, the way… he loves us...

But here's what Crowder did with verse 2...

We are His portion and He is our prize,
Drawn to redemption by the grace in His eyes,
If grace is an ocean, we’re all sinking.
So Heaven meets earth like an unforeseen kiss,
And my heart turns violently inside of my chest,
I don’t have time to maintain these regrets,
When I think about, the way… he loves us...

Read what McMillan has to say about that change here.  So, what do you think?  How do heaven and earth meet?  Do they meet at all?  If so, is it like a kiss or like something else?  If it's like a kiss, is it a sloppy wet one or an unforeseen one?  Does it matter?  Discuss...

Switchfoot sings Hallelujah for the world and Craig Ferguson

Switchfoot performed on Craig Ferguson on Monday night.  They sang a new song from Hello Hurricane, Always.  Check it out and join the Hallelujah chorus...

kidsafe and uplifting, positive and encouraging

Do you listen to Christian music?  I'm a radio scanner.  I listen to ESPN radio, NPR, classical music, the alternative rock station CD101, the pop and hip-hop stations, and the pop and rock stations.  I (usually) enjoy it all.  I even sometimes listen to the Christian station, here in Columbus, that is 104.9 The River.  I've lived also in Colorado Springs and Hampton, VA and listened to Q102 and K-Love.

These Christian stations claim to be kidsafe and uplifting, positive and encouraging.  I appreciate that.  Sure, driving to or from work, sitting in traffic, the last thing we want is negative and discouraging music, right?  And with three children in the car with me, ages 3 1/2, 2, and 6 months, kidsafe is helpful - Judah, my 3 1/2 year old son, hears everything.

But is my faith kidsafe?  Is it always only and ever uplifting, positive, and encouraging?  Is the book of my faith, the Bible, kidsafe? 

There are some disturbing and confusing passages in there - many who do not claim to be Christians cite the God of vengeance smiting the pagan people who happened to be in the way of the chosen people as one reason not to follow this violent God.  And it's not only in the Old Testament, the New Testament has it's share of the scary and the shocking.  Even this Sunday, the first Sunday of Epiphany, the day every year when we celebrate the Baptism of our Lord, has us reading Luke's account where John the Baptist talks about Jesus coming to baptize with fire, and using his winnowing fork to separate wheat from chaff and burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.  Is this kidsafe and uplifting, positive and encouraging?

One of the things about art and beauty, creativity and expression, is that there needs to be tension and balance, sorrow and joy.  I'll keep listing to The River - great songs by great men and women of God will keep filling my ears - I'll even buy some of them and lead my community in singing them on Sundays.  But I'll also keep listening for those who are writing and performing God-honoring songs that aren't always kidsafe and uplifting, positive and encouraging.  Check out these artists and let me know what you think...

John Mark McMillan

Jason Morant

Derek Webb