• Archive of "music" Category

    Let Me Try Again

    April 12, 2006 // 1 Comment »

    A few days ago I posted something about, among other things, the false dichotomy of sacred and secular. After my friend Josh made some helpful observations, I thought it might be beneficial to try and clarify what I was after.

    The point I was trying to make is that there is nothing in this world (nor the world itself as many believe) which is entirely secular. Nor is there anything in this world which is entirely sacred. Simultaneously, everything that we can discuss is both tainted by sin, but redeemable by God. Thus, I find it more beneficial to think of things in terms of whether or not they are God-honoring and life-giving. Granted these are subjective categories, but I would maintain that this is precisely where the Holy Spirit and the Church as the community of the Spirit come into the picture. If we can clearly label things as sacred and secular, then there seems to be little need for any redemption or discernment on the part of God or His people. Instead, I would suggest that as the Church seeks to confess the Lordship of Christ over all the world, it bears the responsibility of discerning together how it will address everything from abortion to automobiles, politics to poetry.

    Allow me to try and let one of my favorite musical artists express this for me.

    “don’t teach me about politics and government – just tell me who to vote for”
    “don’t teach me about truth and beauty – just label my music”
    “don’t teach me how to live like a free man – just give me a new law”
    “I don’t wanna know if the answers aren’t easy – so just bring it down from the mountain to me”
    “don’t teach me about moderation and liberty – I prefer a shot of grap juice”
    “don’t teach me how to listen to the Spirit – just give me a new law”

    These are lyrics from the song, “A New Law,” by Derek Webb. Derek is one of the only musicians I know of currently who, whether he means to or not, is being prophetic with his art. Ironically, given the point of this post, I could point to numerous artists, musical and otherwise, who would never identify themselves as Christians, but who nevertheless ought to be recognized as prophets as well.

    listen to the song here
    At ay rate, what I aim to convey is that neither Church nor world is served by our labeling of things as sacred and secular. In fact, it is just this practice which has gotten the people of God into trouble with their Lord on more than one ocassion. Rather, both Church and world (please don’t equate my distinction between Church and world with labeling of things as sacred and secular – the distinction here is sadly often no less clear than anywhere else!) are better served by Christians embodying the freedom of Christ and seeking to help people see and understand how any and all spheres of life can be transfigured for the sake of the Kingdom of God.

    Posted in blogging, church, culture, decisions, music

    Just Cause I Love Ya

    October 4, 2005 // No Comments »

    Click here for a free sampling off of David Crowder’s new cd!

    ** This link is now dead as I realized that ultimately this free distribution of music is illegal. I highly reccommend this cd to you on account of its fresh approach to music and eclectic stlye, not to mention the beautiful lyrics. You can check it out further at Crowder’s site.

    Posted in music

    Concert

    October 2, 2005 // 5 Comments »



    So most people know that I’m not all that keen on the concert scene. But tonight was pretty great! A couple friends (Laura, David, and Zoey – great name!) and I went to to see Robbie Seay Band, Shane & Shane, and David Crowder Band at the LA ocnvention center. Erwin McManus was also a speaker for the evening. All this for 20 bucks. Plus, everyone got a copy of Crowder’s new cd on the way out which means at the end of the day, the concert was only like 5-10 bucks.

    However, I must say that the highight of the evening was the drive home. We had just finished listening to Free Fallin on the radio when the DJ came on and said something about the song, 867-5309. Immediately, Laura exclaimed, “I love the that song,” and preceeded to sing it, but in the tune of Free Fallin, which she apparently had a hard time getting out of her head. We were rollin!

    If this concert is coming near you, I highly reccommend attending!

    Posted in friends, Fuller Seminary, music

    Quite the Day

    September 27, 2005 // No Comments »

    Saturday was quite the day. I had the chance to escort my sister Nicole and her three friends (Brittany, Alicia, and Ashley) to that All American Rejects Concert that was held at Dodgers Stadium after the Dodgers vs. Pirates game. The day started off unfortunate for the girls as they were subjected to the cd playerless, A/C deficient Rozko mobile. However, things took a turn for the better when they ran into two of the personnel from America’s Next Top Model. They had the chance to meet these guys while we were shopping Old Towne and Paseo in Pasadena. Next everyone was excited (as they should be!) for dinner at In N Out Burger – a CA favorite. We made to the game right around the beginning and, though it was slow, we had fun with good seats at the left field foul pole. Nicole didn’t think too much of the glasses I was borrowing from one of her friends, but I found them quite fashionable. The concert was held in center field and all the screaming teenagers got to crowd in around the stage.Nicole managed to get her fingers crushed in the car door before we left the parking lot, but she ended up alright. FYI – there is no small worse than sweaty teenage girls cooped up in a car for an hour who attempt to mask the funk with massive amounts of perfume, lotion, and body spray – and I say this after having been through 2 and 3-a-days of football and soccer through summer heat! All in all it really was a great day. I had fun and so did the girls. It was a thrill just to get to spend a whole day with my sister!

    Posted in family, funny, music

    New York Tirade (Part 4) – My Least Favorite Song

    July 11, 2005 // 2 Comments »

    While at the Yankees game this past week I was “asked” by 50,000 others to participate in the singing of “God Bless America” – that’s a lot of peer pressure and it raises a few questions.

    1. Whose God are we talking about?

    In the context of 50,000 people, whose God are we calling upon to bless America – the Jewish God, the Christian God, the Muslim God, the New Age God…” The fact of the matter is, we are not really talking about any God in a real sense of the word. What we really want to do is superimpose divine blessing on our rampant nationalism.

    2. What is our concept of blessing?

    If we submit that the song is calling upon the God of the Bible we better be quick to note how that God “blesses” people.

    blessed are the meek
    blessed are the poor
    blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness
    blessed are you when you are persecuted

    I wonder how ready those 50,000 people, let alone the rest of the United States, would be to accept this kind of blessing from God – the kind of blessing that Jesus both exemplified and called for?

    3. What makes us think God is uniquely concerned with America?

    Some might argue that that song itself does not lead to this question and I would be willing to grant that. However, this is certainly the prevailing attitude in which the song is sung – as if America were God’s chosen instrument in the world (a la Mr. Bush). God’s mission in the world pertains to all people in all places and his chosen instrument is the Church. It is those who follow Christ, not any country, who are to be the salt of the earth and a light on a hill.

    Many live under the delusion that America is a Christian nation and therefore can lay claim on God’s blessing. It is not. No nation ever can be. There was another nation long ago which shared this mentality. They collectively believed that they held a place of honor in God’s sight. The result? God raised up other nations to utterly desimate them. Those who weren’t obliterated were led into captivity and forced labor. The were all but wiped from teh face of the earth. The nation was Israel and on a cosmic scale, God was teaching them a profound lesson. When God calls a people he calles them to responsibility and not priviledge. He calls them to bear a huble and sacrificial witness. When is the last time anyone characterized the USA as either humble or sacrificial?

    The degree to which nationalism and patriotism has been assimilated into the church is western culture is distressing to say the least. Once one pledges his or her allegiance to a country or an ideology other than Christ and the Church, authentic christian witness begins to be seriously comprimised. I am hoping that more and more of us take this into consideration the next time we are asked to take any kind of stand for our country in the name of the one Lord of the Universe.

    Posted in christendom, God, music, travles

    Over the Rhine in Hollywood

    May 7, 2005 // No Comments »


    Recognize them? Ex-maloney’s, Over the Rhine stopped by Hollywood last week and I got to enjoy the show. No Malone shoutouts, but they are still an awesome band.

    Posted in music

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