The conversation in this podcast is like no other I’ve heard, read, or contemplated regarding race in America in some time. There are at least fifty blogs worth of fortified, deep conversation embedded within.
Here’s one thing to chew on…..
Perhaps this conversation is so refreshingly unique, because the perspectives and experiences of those sharing their viewpoints are so disparate. They vary greatly – featuring a musical artist with a Southern Baptist fundamentalist background, who found that God and the “gospel” are far bigger than he thought. A Christian rapper from L.A. who grew up in hispanic culture, but finds much in common with a Neo-Reformed crowd. A young man who grew up in the black church, but comfortably performs charismatic-type spontaneous worship music before predominately white audiences. Yes, waving praise banners and the whole nine. LOL. What?! As I’ve heard Tim Keller allude to before, (taking creative license to paraphrase here)……..
God was infinitely wise enough to hide a bit of his glory, revelation, and character within each culture. In the messy process of fellowship, we discover the real definition of loving our neighbor as we love ourselves.
“Once darkness was our guide
without hope and only night (Isaiah 42:16)
We heard the call and turned to you
Now the veil and been removed (Hebrews 10:20)
Jesus we will throw away our lives to follow you (Matthew 4:20)
Struggling in your strength, resting in your truth (Psalm 73:26)
Jesus, you’re so beautiful, you give vision to the blind (John 9:25)
You in us, the hope of glory, in you we will abide (Colossians 1:27)
Though the body waste away
Inside we’re renewed, as you remain (2 Corinthians 4:16)
The hope of glory far outweighs
The light affliction of our days (Romans 8:18)
Jesus we will throw away our lives to follow you
Struggling in your strength, resting in your truth
Jesus, you’re so beautiful, you give vision to the blind
You in us, the hope of glory, in You we will abide
With hope for tomorrow
We fight through today
With energy and happy word (?)
We lift our hands and say
The mystery is known
Jesus you’re on the throne
Darkness is overthrown
Help us to make you known
To make you known”
The above lyrics indeed read like a prayer (see the interview below). You’ll rarely hear rich lyrics like these on Christian radio. They simply don’t fit the mold of typical radio play. In some sense, Christian radio often parrots secular pop music, communicating to the lowest common denominator. Not necessarily in a demeaning fashion, but with lyrics and melodies that are easy to understand at first take. In the same way, simple lyrics often permeate pop music airways, telling the most basic of stories, leaving listeners with a keen ear wanting for something beyond the mundane, wanting more. Perhaps it plays into the spirit of anti-intellectualism that tends to permeate modern culture and some sectors of American Christianity.
Enter Liz Vice, who turns typical gospel music on it’s head. Her new album, “There’s a Light”, breaks through cultural barriers and shines new light on what gospel music could be without the preconceived ideas of what it’s supposed to be. Vice’s indirect entry into gospel music may very well be the reason for her unique sound. It’s out-of-bounds for most gospel music in a number of ways: One Song Interview. Almost “beyond the pale”.
Not only is the production as strong as typical secular music, but the tunes are catchy and melodic. It’s good from beginning to end. No need to skip tracks.
Whereas most secular music was born out of gospel, blues, and jazz, Vice enters from the opposite direction. Using gospel music as the base (lyrically), she re-infuses smoky, gritty, blues and soul music back in. As odd as Christian blues may sound, it works. Incredibly well.
Her lyrics are thoughtful, wise, and challenging. Her voice is retro-soulful. Each song is jam-packed with uplifting and scriptural-driven themes with very little filler. Her sound is a breath of fresh air.
Why can’t we have it all? Great music, and great lyrics that challenge the listener to think and engage beyond surface level themes. Liz Vice offers a solution.
I posted this not only because I feel that it’s great advice for singles, but because it’s such a great demonstration of not going beyond what is written, especially as it relates to non-essentials (1 Corinthians 4:6). It’s this type of delicate, but mature balance that will open the door for many young people to feel welcome again in the church. We’ve erected far too many non-essential obstacles, and so many of them need to be torn down.
“In Essentials Unity, In Non-Essentials Liberty, In All Things Charity”
I get the feeling that David Pawson would love this idea (watch the HD video for an explanation):
A bible with no verse numbers, no commentary, no cross-references. Just pure unadulterated scripture. Just the reader and the Holy Spirit.
As I’ve heard David Pawson say before, removing verse numbers from the scripture, although less convenient, would force us all to read books of the bible as they were intended. Straight through like a good novel 😉
Perhaps one of the best results would be that the whole counsel of God would be more readily apparent and eliminate many doctrines and theological viewpoints that tend to be based on a set(s) of scripture separated from their native surroundings.
And get this, the measurements of the book are scaled to the size of the Ark of the Covenant (Exodus). I dig it.
If you haven’t yet seen the documentary about Sixto Rodriguez, you’re missing out on something special. I won’t spoil the movie, but it’s about a musician who never knew just how famous he was. Here’s the trailer:
Again, I don’t want to give it away, but the most fascinating part that unfolds in the retelling of this true story is when Sixto is rediscovered by his biggest fans. The person that they discover in Sixto, to me, is far more fascinating than his music. Although, his music is amazing. Warning Christians – this is secular music and so is the movie. LOL. Travel per your own set of scruples (Romans 14):
The person that the fans “rediscover” (trying my best not to spoil it for you) is worthy of studying as a social experiment. He’s the opposite of everything fame would likely transform/disfigure most of us into. He’s fame without the money, he’s fame minus the id(ego). The epitome of humility. One of my favorite characters in the film is Rodriguez’ old boss. Unaware of his fame overseas, Rodriguez worked as a construction and demolition worker to make ends meet. His undiscovered fame led him to manual labor to support his passion to play music. It was work that his daughters described in the documentary as “the jobs nobody would want to do”. Even still, he knew he was someone special. As his boss described, he would often show up in a tuxedo ready to work a demolition job.
Here’s one particular takeaway that made me want to blog about the documentary……
God’s providence (timely preparation for future eventualities) is unmatched:
There’s an art, a virtue, that I believe has been all but lost in modern Christianity. The art of waiting on God. Sure, there are a minority who probably still walk in it, preach it, believe in it. But, I rarely here it discussed or encouraged. Want to have your own ministry? Wait until the Lord presents the opportunity that he tailor-designed before creation just for you. Want to pursue a business venture, write a book, or host a cooking show? Wait until God reveals to you just what he intended for that venture to look like. Don’t cheat. Don’t push it to give it that extra momentum you think it needs, don’t coddle it with the intention of directing it’s path. Wait until He literally rolls it out before you, where the evidence is undeniable. Just wait. Sound crazy? Yep. Reformed teaching tells you that God is Sovereign – with a capital “S”. So much so, and to such immaculate detail that he predetermined where every dust particle sits at this very moment in the universe. I believe that myself, with a few caveats, perhaps relative to the way that some would explain it. Yet, my perception looking in from the outside is that few really live this out with the same admiration they assign God’s Sovereignty to by their words. Most Pursue. While the Sovereignty and Providence of God sound good, and well-rehearsed, it’s tough task to really just let “it” happen. The more common version we often see lived better aligns with it’s Charismatic version. See my reference below explaining what I mean by Charismatic version. It often looks more like this: Remember this scene?”:
I love that scene! Always have. However, my views have morphed from the way I used to see it. Pursuit of our calling(s), based on our gifts, goals, dreams, is much less commonly lived and taught than I think we ever want to admit personally or collectively. If we have a heart for this, we just go jump into it. If we have a desire to see this happen in our lives we just go after it. If we have a zeal for “that”, we just go join an organization doing just “that”. The commonly held, but maybe less than scriptural summary of this idea can be summarized by this statement which you’ve probably heard before: “Just go after it, and if it’s not for you then God will close the door on it (Charismatic version). Hmmmmmm……. I’ve always wondered, why can’t the opposite be equally as true. “Just wait, and if it’s for you then God will open the door. Speaking from personal experience (sometimes but not often enough), observing history, and from studying the bible I feel that there’s another way. Albeit, far less popular, Christian and secular alike.
Little known historical fact – Martin Luther King never really pursued civil rights in the way most presume. He prepared himself by studying in seminary and in pursuing higher education. Upon graduating from Boston University with his doctorate, he took on the role of lead pastor at Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama (http://www.bet.com/news/national/2013/01/15/commentary-for-martin-luther-king-it-all-started-with-reluctant-leadership.html). He didn’t pursue civil rights, per se. Civil rights pursued him. Huh? – you say. Yes, the short of the story is that after the incident involving Rosa Parks, King, to his surprise, was asked to lead the Montgomery Improvement Association. Later asked about his nomination he replied: “It happened so quickly that I did not have time to think it through,” King recalled. “It is probable that if I had, I would have declined the nomination.”[3] To be fair, he developed a passion for civil rights well before he was ever asked to lead the organization. Although, he wasn’t networking or breaking down doors in pursuit of a leadership role either.
Neither was Moses actively pursuing a ministry calling to lead his people out of Egypt. God chose him, and he reluctantly took on the role. “What if they do not believe me or listen to me and say, ‘The Lord did not appear to you?” – Exodus 4:1; “Pardon your servant, Lord. I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since you have spoken to your servant. I am slow of speech and tongue.” – Exodus 4:10; “Pardon your servant, Lord. Please send someone else.” – Exodus 4:13. What he did prepare himself for (or the Lord prepared him for) was shepharding his father-in-law Jethro’s flock. There was no plotting, scheming or angling for the “number one spot”. I doubt he had any clue that his shepharding skills were training for leading a whole nation.
I feel like I could go on and on with more examples biblical and non-biblical. Still, there are many worldly examples of the exact opposite. What makes Sixto’s character (speaking of moral strength) so incredible in this movie is how he unknowingly shuns the fame and praise of men and instead pursues his calling with such strong personal conviction. The story is secular, but it contains a lesson for us all. Instead of pursuing positions, pursue your God-given passion, and leave the promotion to God and his perfect timing. Unfortunately, many would say they believe this, but few really walk it out to it’s intended end. Me included. Thus, it becomes more or less a pithy Christian life quote, and less of a reality. If “waiting on the Lord” looks anything like Sixto’s waiting, and I have a sneaking hunch that it often does, then we have much to learn. He pursued his dreams for decades, only to find out that he was beloved for his music half-way-round the world, thirty to forty years later.
If correctly pursuing our calling (direct ministry related or not) was taught and modeled as such we would probably have less of a problem with celebrity pastor culture, less clamoring to play “pastor’s right hand man”, less maneuvering for positions that are visible. And more stories like Saul’s unexpected (only from his view) conversion as he neared Damascus, the apostles seemingly chosen out of thin air (not from God’s perspective, but from our’s), or Levi (Matthew), converted from a corrupt tax collector into a disciple in a day (one he never anticipated).
God’s timing is perfect and this movie (in a secular sense) proves just that 😉
Check out the new video from Hawk House. The EP is tentatively scheduled to drop on June 23rd – “A Handshake To The Brain”. The title alone has me on the edge of my seat. Until, then enjoy this melodic bliss………..
“We are Human.
Possessing a conscience which bucks against animal instinct and call us to be Human.
And love our enemies, bless those who curse us, do good to those who hate us,
pray for those who persecute us.
Yes!
These are things only humans can do, because only we are fashioned after divinity.
A God who became that which he made and died naked while praying for the forgiveness of those killing him.
That my friends is a revolutionary concept!” – Micah Bournes