Passion: Awakening? It Will Take More Than This.

Earlier today I tweeted:

“Listening to a relatively new album that is apparently popular and wondering why I don't like even one song on it.”

I left it open-ended so people would try to guess what I was listening to. Many people jokingly guessed I was listening to Miley or Justin Beiber. Well, I’ve heard Miley’s album many times in this home with a 10-yr-old girl and, honestly, I enjoy Miley’s latest album more than this one.

The mystery album? Passion: Awakening.

In February, I was given a copy of the new Passion:Awakening CD. I love free music. I listen to most of the free music I get. I’m curious if nothing else.

I tried to like this one. I really did. I wanted to like it. Especially since I’m always on the lookout for good worship tunes to do at Westwinds.

I read the tweets. I heard the hype.

But, I don’t get it.

Some of my friends love it. I’m not a fan.

I asked my wife to listen to it with me just in case I am missing something. In case I wasn’t tapping in to my inner soccer mom and looking past my own musical taste and missing a jewel that would speak to our church.

She’s not a fan either. Nothing grabbed her (although she is more gracious than I am and said things like, “I can see how someone would enjoy this one”). Although, still, nothing got the thumbs up from her to try on the set list.

Passion has turned out some decent worship tunes over the years. Some of our favorite church tunes over the last few years have come out of the movement. Some of my favorite worship music artists have been and are still associated with Passion.

But, this one . . . falls flat in my opinion. It’s not horrible. It’s just not interesting.

I might be getting old but, I don’t think that’s the problem—I can still rock with the best of them and I have a diverse palette when it comes to music. (although I don’t really enjoy listening to any “artists” with acronyms for names, lame monikers, hyphens and dashes in their name if the dash or hyphen follows one letter, or most music made in the Disney laboratories).

Maybe it’s that . . . and I KNOW this sounds like I’m getting old . . . but . . . it all sounds the same. Or, at least it sounds like every other major label worship album with a marketing budget out there with the exception of very few.

Maybe it’s that I’m tired of worship music mimicking U2. And falling short.

Maybe it’s that I wish someone would tell the powers that be that songs don’t need to be four on the floor (ummm, a kick drum every quarter note) to be cool and energetic.

Maybe it’s the mix. Lots of vocals. Lots.

Maybe it's no variety in the instrumentation.

Maybe it’s that the majority of the lyrics are cliché. Overused. Same rhyme schemes. Not a lot of thought. I can get past a lot of cliché lyrics when there is a compelling melody that makes it hard not to sing but I was barely tempted to sing along.

Maybe it’s all the above.

I don’t want to take apart any specific artist or song. I wasn’t grabbed by any of them. Don’t get me wrong, I like many of the artists on the album, I just don’t like the album. Many of these artists are heroes of mine. Great people.

One exception on the album is David Crowder’s version of John Mark McMillan’s, “How He Loves Us” but that barely counts because it is 5-years old. The song has already been done by McMillan, Crowder, Kim Walker, Todd Agnew, Flyleaf, and The Glorious Unseen (am I forgetting anyone?).

A lyrical exception is Crowder’s, “Like a Lion” but, alas, Crowder didn’t write it. It was written by Daniel Bashta who should have done it on the album. The original is better.

There are a couple I might like if I didn’t like them better when they went by another title and were done in 1998. Or 2000. Or 2002. Or 2005.

Maybe the songs will work for your church. Maybe I’ll listen again and something will grow on me. Maybe a ton of people will request we do a song at Westwinds and we decide it’s worth a try. But, after 4 listens, I’m done.

Khiller Video

The following is:

A) This weekend's feature music at The Winds
B) Ben, our youth pastor in a recent discussion with our youth on the dangers of promiscuity
C) What stands at the bottom of my bed in my worst nightmares
D) Why you should never try crack, even once

Nicolae: An Allegory

This weekend, we are looking at Colossians 2:6-15. It’s a rich passage full of vivid imagery. We will unpack it on Sunday but I wrote an allegory to process what I was reflecting on in the passage during my study. This is not typology or exact metaphor. Allegories leave room for artistic license so don’t read too much into the narrative (for this same reason, know that you won’t get all your L O S T questions answered but you’ve had fun taking apart the episodes piece by piece—it makes you think). On the other hand, play around with the story. Ask what kinds of parallels you see between this allegory/parable and the biblical narrative.

NICOLAE

Nicolae was raised parentless. His mom was young and frightened, naïve and fragile the night she dropped him off on the steps of the church. He was found, hungry, cold, emaciated, weak, and barely moving let alone crying when the priest hurried him to the hospital.

The hospital then became the orphanage; the orphanage brought him abusive parents. He was taken from their home for his protection and began rotating through a series of Foster homes. Nicolae wasn’t particularly “unlovable.” Quite the contrary.

However, as he grew in years it became more apparent there were implications and consequences of his abuse and neglect. There were challenges attaching to any caregiver of any kind.

Nicolae had come out of a horrific situation in Romania where the government, in this case the communist rule of Ceausescu, had ignored the orphanages for over a decade and even had the audacity to tell the people orphanages didn’t exist. It was one of the many lies they told to paint a picture that things were far better than they actually were.

In later years, Nicolae would curse his namesake and say it was a cruel joke he was named after a man who eventually met his end on a Christmas morning when he was ousted by a kangaroo court. Nicolae Ceausescu, along with his wife, was shot in the stomach for the crimes of genocide and amassing illegal wealth beyond measure. “He had death coming, I live with his curse” Nicolae would sometimes say.

Through a series of convoluted events no one can quite remember all the details to, Nicolae’s life had a turnaround that is the stuff of fairy tales. While reading a history novel alone one winter’s night, there was a knock on the door of Nicolae’s one bedroom apartment. At the door stood a man with a telegram.

“Telegrams are so out of fashion,” he thought (it was the early 1990’s and he had no idea how “out of fashion” they would soon be). “There must be a mistake,” he thought as he read the words, “Nicolae, I am your father.” The rest of the words didn’t matter. This claim that a man named Salvatore was somehow the man that brought him into the world made Nicolae confused, hopeful, angry, expectant, and sad all at once.

Nicolae sent a return telegram for the sake of expediency (and because he somehow thought it might be his “father’s” preferred method of communication). He was willing to meet. No matter how ridiculous the claim. After all, this man did seek him out and he seemed to know how to find him.

He had his eyes. His bold chin. And, though he wasn’t accustomed to taking close notice of people’s facial expressions, he believed Salvatore smiled in the same way as he. Their conversation went on for hours though it seemed like they had just pulled up a chair at the bar only moments before. “This man is my father. There is no doubt.”

Salvatore carefully explained the details of his relationship with Nicolae’s mother, their secret wedding, and his stand against the injustices of the government that earned him a reputation as an enemy of Romania, and the distinction of having a price on his head. He told him of his grandparents (his Romanian grandmother and Italian grandfather who had been a rebel in his own right).

Wanted, dead or alive when he was only 20, Salvatore fled Romania with the help of a couple of Roman Orthodox doctors who eventually started a seminary after the fall of communism in 1989. Salvatore stayed in various places over the 19 years of Nicolae’s life and the 3 months before he was born. He fled the year Ceausescu took office—it was 1974. It wasn’t abandonment; he fled in hope of being gone shortly and providing safe haven. It was then that Nicolae also learned of his mother’s kidney failure and premature death. She was sick when she dropped him off at the church that night. She died shortly thereafter. Nicolae became a statistic.

Nicolae was overwhelmed. He now had a story. A story much more intentional, meaningful, lovely story than he could have ever imagined. And, he had a name. An identity.

Two years passed. It wasn’t until shortly after Nicolae’s 21st birthday that he learned he had the same disease that claimed his mother’s life. His rare kidney disease was congenital and hereditary. The search for a donor did not last long. There was a perfect match.

Salvatore, Nicolae’s father was more than happy to give his kidney. What father wouldn’t give his life for his son if given the opportunity?

The surgery was a success.

For Nicolae.

Sadly, the transplant was successful, but Salvatore died of abdominal bleeding about 11 hours after his surgery. The man Nicolae barely knew had introduced him to a world he never knew and gave him life anew.

Nicolae was saddened and devastated. Yet, he would describe it in later years as poetic and even . . . prophetic. This was his lineage. Rebels. Fighters. And sacrificial love. This was now his mantle.

Nicolae was married in the spring of 1999. 1 year later, almost to the day, he held his new baby girl in his arms.

As he gazed into her eyes for the first time, he thought of Salvatore. He whispered to his baby girl and told her the things he wanted for her. Happiness? Sure, but happiness was fleeting and unreliable. Make good choices? Of course.

But, more than anything, he wanted her to know why she was here. Why she was made. Who made her life possible. It wasn’t just Nicolae who gave her life—there was a much bigger story to tell. She had a history. A lineage. A grand narrative. No one could take that away from her. Nicolae would make sure of it. Death gave way to life. She would need to know the story.

And he reached down and touched his scar.

Fat Context in a Little Coat

Today, I received a comment on my blog regarding my thoughts on an earlier post about an initiative we are starting at Westwinds. The post title is, “Does Jesus Want Me to be Physically Fit?” I’d encourage you to read it before this post.

An "Andy" posted in the comment section. I almost deleted it because of the tone and I didn't think it was helpful. Then, I thought it is a good teachable moment for us all and a good discussion if we approach it wearing our big boy and girl pants.

I started posting my reply to “Andy” but, it got a little bloated (pun intended) for the comment section. It deserves its own post for anyone interested. Here is Andy’s comment and my reply.

(p.s. if you are going to post or comment about something on the "world wide web" be ready for conflict)

ANDY SAID . . . (and I quote with a cut and paste)

I Cor 6 It's all about Context. Not about eating, smoking, drugs. It's about sex-check it. Never, ever good to twist scripture.

Also..extra-biblical is never biblical-try not to equate trite sayings with the awesome God-inspired miracle of Scripture.

It's better to stick to the script and not improvise in this situation :-)

Also, in context, there are actually a couple of places in the new testament where it does actually address what we eat-mostly don't worry about it so much 'cause it goes in and then goes out, worry about what comes OUT of the mouth. (that's in the gospels) And then Paul's advice not to judge our brothers and sisters by what they eat (hmmmmm.......)

So it would seem that there isn't an obvious biblical connection between what you eat and your spirtitual life.

And since you like the extra - biblical stuff, how about Spurgeon and Moody--now there were two spiritual giants who were also pretty rotund cigar smokin' guys....so maybe we should follow their proven, legacy leaving example, eh?



HERE IS MY REPLY, ANDY

I am not interested in arguing but since you have taken a prodding/mocking approach with me (and I don't even know you . . . do I?), I will at least try to answer you without sounding like a jerk. Even after you accused me of twisting scripture.

Extra biblical is never biblical? Who told you that? All truth belongs to God. Who else would truth belong to? We make (including you) extra-biblical decisions all the time. Does your church have a youth pastor? A worship pastor? A senior pastor? All of these are extra-biblical roles. It doesn't make them unbiblical, unwise, false, or even suspect. We check ourselves against scripture. We check with Jesus. Extra-biblical is not the same as anti-biblical.

By the way, since we are talking about Paul, Paul used extra-biblical literature. In Acts 17:28 he said, “28'For in him we live and move and have our being.' As some of your own poets have said, 'We are his offspring.'” Paul used a popular saying and held it against a truth of scripture. It didn’t conflict. It was extra-biblical. But, it was still true. That’s all I was doing. I was taking a popular saying, “you are what you eat” and going to the scripture to hold it up to the light. I am not making it scripture. It’s proverbial wisdom. That’s all.

I am a musician. I could talk musical truth with you all day long. For example, Concert A 440 Hz is the correct standard for pitch in the west. I hate math but I know that 1 +1 =2 all day long. I know if I breathe in water into my lungs I will drown—short of a miracle. I know I need oxygen to survive. I know drugs like cocaine will alter my reality. All true. All extra-biblical. I can check all these truths against scripture and they do not conflict.

I also know it is a bad idea to have more than one wife. Not just for me, for anyone. Not just for elders and pastors but for my neighbor. How do I know this? Is there a context in scripture? There is no scripture that tells us all to only have one wife. Sure, Adam had Eve but using your line of reasoning that only applies to the garden. David had many and that went bad. But then again, using your line of argument that only applies to Kings of the United Kingdom of Israel. How do I know it’s bad? I have to be able to apply universal biblical truth to the situation. I will not find it strictly prohibited in scripture. Or, will I?

Just because a specific scripture (I Corinthians 6 in this case) is about a specific instance (sex in this case) does not negate the biblical wisdom for other applications (health in this case). If your body is the temple, it is the temple. Heart, soul, mind, spirit, flesh . . . divide it however you want. It is ridiculous to say the body is the temple of the Holy Spirit and say that only applies to sex. There is a difference between taking things out of context and applying biblical truth to multiple situations.

Context is vitally important. Agreed. In this case, the body is the temple. 19"Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; 20you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body." To say, "well, yeah, but he was talking about sex he didn't say not to . . . cut myself with knives, eat poison, take drugs, etc.” is short sighted.

What about the guy who doesn't have sex? Is he off the hook on the honor God with his body thing? Or, do we only honor God through sexual union with our wives? Yes, sex is what caused Paul to surface the timeless and awesome truth that we were bought with a price and not our own. We should honor God with our bodies. Period.

P.S. I never made this about fat people. People are overweight for all sorts of reasons. Some uncontrollable. Although, if you want to talk about gluttony, we can talk about that in context all day long.

I love Spurgeon and Moody. Great guys. Spurgeon's Morning and Evening devotional was a staple for me in my early years. Large men. Yep. I'd have a cigar with them for sure. We'd talk about great things. And, I have no idea why they were large. Maybe they had gland problems. I don't judge them. We shouldn't. If I were friends with them, I might know what made them tick. Maybe everything was okay in the gluttony department. Maybe food was an escape for them and it was their porn. I have no idea. The point is, I would never judge them and only address it if I were in relationship with them and holding them accountable. And them with me.

This thing we're doing is not about being fat. It's about health. Building relationships. Following Jesus together.

Disagreeing is fine. Sharpening each other is fine. I would caution you on your tone and accusations. I'm not always that great at it either. But, these conversations go a lot better if we are in relationship and approach things teachable and conversational.

Shalom.

Len Sweet is coming to Westwinds

In all honesty, Len Sweet has made a serious life-changing impact on both of our lives--David and I. In this video that we used Sunday, to once again promo his coming to visit with our people, we had a little fun with just how much he has impacted the world and changed history.