I’ve set out on a sad but true venture. I am excited and reluctant, but I think more the latter. It still feels good though, so I’m going for it. I’ve written a worship song, and I’m going to send it to this ’song seeker’ thing. Who knows. I really doubt anyone will like it, let alone ever sing it, but I feel like this one needs more ears than just mine and Rhonda’s. I just finished tracking some entirely drum machine sounding drums and I am planning on doing rhythm and lead guitar stuff tonight. We’ll see how far I actually get.

Anyway, played in G, like all good worship songs, but capo 4, so it’s really in B, lyrics like this:

verses
make a sound as we fall into place
be it right now, definer of grace
i’m emptied, all heart beats and tears
you are the reliever of fears

this is my face tasting dirt
my brittle bones, embracing earth
a starting point, an honest view
my newday soul is addicted to you

chorus
spirit of God
find the depths of my heart
and take hold
just take hold
from the death in my soul
to the life i now know
like winter to spring
a new song to sing

bridge
you tasted death
so i could taste life
like winter to spring
a new song to sing
sing, sing, sing

looking forward to a great, great night.

i just got my tickets. san francisco. the fillmore. david crowder band.

it will be a good, good one.

I reached the halfway point of the book.  After reading the first paragraph of each new chapter, I think to myself, “Crap.  This is going to be good and it’s going to hurt all at the same time.  These are my thoughts and passages I liked so far in paraphrase:

•  missional: ‘Remember, in a pluralistic world, a religion is valued based on the benefits it brings to its non-adherents,’ claiming the first half of God’s promise to Abraham without the second is ludicrous, blessed in this life to be a blessing to everyone on earth.
• evangelical: better with the small e, the good things are not oft remembered about Evangelicals, if anyone can bring passion, it is the evangelicals.
• post/protestant: so much history in this chapter, more protesting than i could handle, love the idea of pro-testifying, we realize that (a) we aren’t superior to one another, and (b) we ave a lot to learn from the very people we’ve been protesting and defending against.  He goes even further to say that we can come together searching for what we are for, something nearly everyone forgets.  This is life giving.  It’s good stuff.
• liberal/conservative: i’ve considered God as associated with no political party since college, where i realized that republicans were far from the ‘chosen’ people in general.  he says both liberals and conservatives are stymied, but in different places and in different ways.  i couldn’t agree more.  i really wish there was a place between current polarization.  plus, questioning the biblical interpretations offered by one or the other side is too critical to let go.
• mystic/poet: pascal is music. imagination does not breed insanity, but reason does.  knowing truth in ways that are heard, felt, and sung.  i crave it.  best line thus far: What is needed… is a new kind of preaching, preaching that opens out the good news of the gospel with alternative modes of speech, that is dramatic, artistic, capable of inviting persons to join in another conversation, free of the reason of technique, unencumbered by ontologies that grow abstract, unembarrassed about concreteness.  (the kicker) reduced speech leads to reduced lives.  (credit Walter Brueggemann, Finally Comes The Poet for most of this)
• biblical: old testament as narrative is the best possible way to see into God’s heart for people.  it’s brilliant.

Probably the toughest thing for me to wrestle with was in the chapter “Jesus: Savior of What?” It deals with the self- and hell-centered approach to salvation, which does a lot for what happened at one point, and what will happen when I die, but has nothing to do with Jesus as Lord.  It really doesn’t.  If there were just one chapter I could read over and over from this book, this would be it.  I highly recommend it.  I’ll leave you with this: “Jesus needs to be saved from Christians who have slimmed him down or fattened him up or otherwise converted him into our own image.  Can we trust Jesus to save himself from the mess we’ve made of his name, and in so doing, save Christianity?  If not, there is no orthodoxy to be generous about.”

I just finished my last book, the last in a series of parallel novels to Ender’s Game.  I am returning from my non-fiction hiatus, and I have picked A Generous Orthodoxy out of my stack.  My wife bought it for me for Christmas.  The subtitle alone makes me wish I had gone to some sort of a religious institution of education at some point: Why I Am a Missional, Evangelical, Post/Protestant, Liberal/Conservative, Mystical/Poetic, Biblical, Charismatic/Contemplative, Fundamentalist/Calvinist, Anabaptist/Anglican, Methodist, Catholic, Green, Incarnational, Depressed-yet-Hopeful, Emergent, Unfinished CHRISTIAN.  I have finished the intro and Chapter 0, which was devoted entirely to talking me out of reading the book and into returning it for cash, but I fought through.  I have already learned the difference between Orthodoxy and Orthopraxy, which still isn’t clear, but as I gain clarity, I will share my thoughts.

I have to admit my skepticism. Before hearing this album, I thought Aaron Gillespie was craving the attention that Spencer Chamberlain has been getting since the rampant success of They’re Only Chasing Safety. I was wrong.

The Almost, the side project headed by Aaron of Underøath, is acutely triumphant in their musicianship as well as their Christianity. Aaron played every instrument in recording Southern Weather, except for some bass that was recorded by Kenny Vasoli from The Starting Line. It’s very Dave Grohl, only Spencer isn’t about to kill himself. Hopefully.

I am enjoying my socks off as I listen through the tracks. Amazing Because It Is is honest and puts a backbeat to the lyrics from Amazing Grace. Everyone Here Smells Like A Rat has the power to transform into the song that will never go away (in the good way). And Dirty and Left Out borrows some lyrics from Gaither. It’s monstrous rock with lucid acoustic and synth overlays. It pleases my ears and makes me smile, even when I’m thinking about it but I can’t listen to it. It’s infectious. I love it.

Courtesy of Erwin McManus, I like rhinos. He describes all of the different names for groups of animals, like a school of fish, a murder of crows, or a committee of vultures (too true). The one he describes in the most detail is the crash of rhinos. A rhino can sprint at thirty miles per hour, but has bad eyesight. The rhino can back it up. To me, it’s like this: I don’t know what is coming, but I will run at full speed. Because God has my back. Thus, I like rhinos.

My favorite thing right now is seeing random webcam shots of David Crowder * Band recording their new album, Remedy Is Coming. It has been great fun. They also put up a clip of the day on YouTube. Day 15 was a medley of the sound tech (I think) laughing. I read Mike and Dave’s book Everybody Wants To Go To Heaven, But Nobody Wants To Die: The Eschatology of Bluegrass, which I thought poignant and misdirected. I fear the day when I lose a loved one, but all those that are close to me have thus far dodged the bullet. I will revisit upon entering the grief state, especially the column stories. If you have not read this, it is a good idea to read it. It stirs me up to think of the creativity that will pour forth on this upcoming album. Until then: remedy

I’ve got to hand it to him. My brother is a lyrical genius. If you have not yet, and have a stomach for unadulterated honesty, check out his stuff. Who knew? It’s in my Link list under Brother LIB. And I’ll leave you with a memory of making music.

spring break. defying the odds of procrastination. i’ve got a weblog. i know, the trees and hills are far from clapping their hands, but rejoice and be glad.