No, this is not a T-Mobile commercial. A couple of weeks ago I picked out a CD from my collection that I have not listened to in quite a while. Inevitably, I started thinking about all of the music I own and which albums I enjoy the most. But why confine this exercise to myself and my thoughts. Why not get others involved as well. So I thought it might be fun for all of us to play a little game. Let’s call it My Fave 5 Albums. I want you to submit 5 albums that you absolutely cannot stop pumping through your headphones. It doesn’t necessarily mean that these are the 5 best albums in the history of music. It also doesn’t mean that this list won’t change. If you are a music lover like myself, you know it will very soon. I’m already eyeing several new purchases as we speak. This list is simply 5 albums that you find yourself going back to and enjoying through and through. It can be any style or genre. It can be major label or local indie. Heck, it can even be your mom on tape singing Michael Bolton if you are into that sort of thing (confession…my mom loves Michael Bolton).
There is a small catch or stipulation. It’s not enough that you just give us a list of your favorite albums. You need to briefly share with us why they are your favorite 5 and thus why they should not be missing from anyone’s collection. If I get enough submissions, I will compile it into the ultimate Fave 5 based on the most listed albums. So…let me get this party started.
Blackbird – Alter Bridge The reemergence of Creed with a new lead singer. This band is much better than its predecessor. I was a Creed fan (laugh if you want to) mostly because of Mark Tremonti and his amazing guitar work. This album is his best work yet. It has the screaming solos, catchy riffs, and beefy tone while exploring some more artistic elements. It has a more dramatic feel while still retaining the in-your-face rock sound. This is the type of music I always envisioned making during my band days.
Silence - Blindside They have a style all their own. No one sounds like Blinside from the guitars to the melodies. Though it is one of their older albums, it is my favorite. It has a unique screamo, rock, alternative sound. It also has the perfect mix of singing and screaming. It is aggressive yet melodic.
The Open Door – Evanescence I love dramatic music. So this band is a natural fit for me. This album might be best described as beautifully nasty. Crunchy metal guitars meet angelic vocals. It is the type of music that moves you in many ways (reflective mood and heavy head banging are both appropriate).
Fiends – Chasing Victory A very creative album. It is the second and last album for this band (they recently called it quits) which is sad. The biggest attractions for me were the driving guitars, dirty riffs, and surprising falsetto. Chemicals is a fantastic song. The whole album is excellent. I have been listening to it non-stop for months.
End of Silence – Red At first listen it might be easy to compare these guys to Linkin Park (prior to Minutes to Midnight). However, this album is not the Christian alternative to Linkin Park. The string section really gives this album not only a epic feel but a big sound. The production is top notch, very creative. Driving guitars and great use of the acoustic on occasion. A great freshman release.
Of course I left out a few bands and albums that I love and listen to regularly. So let me mention them quickly: Ghosts by Sleeping at Last, Vices by Dead Poetic (great thematic album), The Everglow by Mae (great concept album), A Beautiful Lie by 30 Seconds to Mars, and Coldplay Live 2003.
So go out and get these albums. Buy them as Christmas gifts. They make great stocking stuffers (if you have a big stocking). Now it’s your turn. What albums should I be listening to? “Hit me with your best shot, fire away.”
Come on…this is just too good to pass up. I have to give props to Denny Burk for making this wonderful invention known to me. The interview is as priceless as the underwear. They even give a demonstration. Classic. The inventers are 8-year-old twin boys Jared and Justin Serovich. All I have to say is take that all you playground bullies. It’s your move. (Note: Growing up, I was neither a victim nor a perpetrator of wedgies on the playground or in school. However, within my friend group…well…that’s another story.)
This invention couldn’t come at a better time. Just in time for the holidays. Show someone you care. Buy them a pair of wedgie-proof underwear.
College basketball is in full swing and that means one thing for this guy: Indiana Hoosier basketball. Oh yes, my blood runs red and white for my beloved IU. Indiana folks may not know exactly what a hoosier is but one thing they do know is basketball. If you have never seen the movie Hoosiers, shame on you! It is a classic. Everytime I watch it I feel like I am back home in my one stoplight-sized town. It instantly transports me to the asphalt of the Jonesboro park where I spent hours shooting jumpers and playing ball with the big boys. It’s a beautiful thing.
So I just want to take a moment within the blogosphere to say that the Hoosiers are back. They kicked the season off with a 99-79 victory over Tennessee Chattanooga. And who led the way? Our prized freshman Eric Gordon, that’s who. Yes, he may only be here for one year but he started his IU career off with a bang by pouring in 33 points. And so the 8th ranked Indiana Hoosiers began their reemergence as an elite program with a convincing win against an admittedly weaker opponent. However, the Atlantic Sun has proven that the mid-majors are not to be taken lightly. In any case…Go Hoosiers!
Continuing our dialogue on engaging the culture, Baptist Press recently discussed the issue of relevance with Mark Dever. Dever shared several concerns regarding an overemphasis on relevancy in ministry and the church. As he says, “I would like to suggest that the most fundamental problem in the church is not that we are not relevant enough in relation to the world, but that the church is not distinct enough from the world. Our churches must reflect the character of God.”
Dever goes on to challenge church leaders to “channel their energy toward maintaining purity in the church instead of spending great amounts of time and ministry on relating to the culture.” Yes we need to meet people in their context. However, that concept should not require a program within the church. In the midst of normal, everyday life we should find ourselves dealing with the same things as others within our community and sphere. So relevance should be very natural. This natural relevance should also lead to a shifting of priorities within the church. Instead of being driven by numbers or results, we should be driven by faithfulness to the Word of God and the Christian life. We need to be more concerned with pursuing God and less concerned with how many people fills the pews or walk the aisle (which brings on a whole other discussion).
I recommend this article to anyone like myself who is consistently pondering these issues. I think Dever hits the mark dead on.
How do we engage the culture while remaining salty in a world that needs seasoning? How do we weave our lives into the world we know and yet remain distinct from it? These are the types of questions that are being asked today within the church as a whole. It seems that much of the emergent movement has been a reaction against hermit or isolationist Christianity. The challenge they are posing to the traditional church is to wake up and get involved with the changing world. I wholeheartedly agree. It is important to know what is going on in our world today including cultural norms. What are specific things that people are dealing with on a daily basis? What are the influences within culture? Who are the influencers within culture? What makes our particular culture tick? What challenges are people facing within culture? What role does our culture play globally? I believe these are important questions that we should be investigating. I believe the answers to these questions will help us know how to better minister to the people we are trying to love, serve, and reach. I believe it will lead us to a place where we will need to roll up our sleeves and get our hands dirty in the lives of others. It will be messy. We are messy. And Jesus came to love and save the messy. If we are to be like Jesus, we will love the messy. If we are to look like Jesus, we will learn to reach out to those who don’t have it all together. And the reality is that we all fall into this category so we can all relate. This fact has not changed over the course of human history. Since the core of human nature is unchanging and indifferent to cultures and periods of history, we can be confident that the gospel is always relevant. The good news is good news to everyone because we all have the same need. We all need redemption, forgiveness of sins, justification, and transformation. We all need Jesus.
But how far is too far? How deep do we immerse ourselves in the culture before we begin to compromise the very thing that makes us distinct? Where is the balance between immersion in culture and distinctiveness as a Christian? As I was preparing a survey sermon on the book of Daniel a few weeks ago, I realized that Daniel is a great example of what it means to be completely immersed and yet uncompromisingly distinct. Daniel 1 talks about the training that Daniel and others were given to prepare them to serve in King Nebuchadnezzar’s palace. It would be easy to dismiss this example based on the fact that Daniel was essentially a slave. There is no doubt that Daniel had limited options. However, Daniel did have options. He could have refused to be educated in the pagan ways. He could have formed a picket line outside of the King’s court to show his disapproval for the King’s unholy kingdom and actions. Of course, there would have been consequences for such an action or choice. It is highly possible that he would have been put to death. What impact would Daniel have then if he was dead? Instead, Daniel learned “the language and literature of the Babylonians.” He studied the culture and learned how things work in the Babylonian society. In fact, he excelled in his Babylonian studies and distinguished himself as a man of great wisdom and understanding. In Daniel and his friends Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, King Nebuchadnezzar found men who were “ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters in his whole kingdom.” There were no equals to these men and the king recognized it.
Since Daniel and his friends distinguished themselves by being diligent to learn the culture of the Babylonians, they were given positions of prominence within the kingdom. The king often looked to these men for guidance and answers. What greater opportunity for influence can there be than having the respect and ear of the king? I’ve heard Mark Driscoll say several times that the greatest opportunity for influence is found within the cities. Why? It seems that change begins in cities and later spreads to the rest of society. It seems that cities are the heartbeat of culture. In this case, the king’s royal court is the heartbeat of his kingdom. Many important decisions, decisions that alter a culture or society, are made with the counsel of the king’s court. And here are Daniel and his friends being highly praised and regarded by the king himself. The king seeks the counsel of Daniel on multiple occassions and Daniel reveals a word from God in each case. You only have to read further to understand the type of influence and impact Daniel had on the king and his kingdom. Daniel was immersed in the Babylonian culture.
At the same time, Daniel would not contradict God’s law by eating meat sacrificed to idols. Nor would he stop praying to Yahweh when a royal edict was made outlawing all prayers except to the king himself. He could not deny his convictions. He could not deny his faith. He could not deny his God who gives him life. God used Daniel in multiple ways. One of the most obvious ways is as an instrument of revelation. God revealed himself to Nebuchadnezzar and others through Daniel. He made it known that there is no other god outside of Yahweh. Daniel was immersed and distinct.
This is where we need to be. We need to follow Daniel’s example by immersing ourselves in the culture. We need to know what makes our society tick. We need to engage the culture in love and service. At the same time, we need to be distinct in humility, godly character, and work ethic. We must honor the Lord first in the midst of engaging the culture and world around us. We must remain salty, otherwise we are useless and no different than those without Christ. Our task is to be immersed and yet distinct. As we do so, we shall see the Lord open doors to influence those around us.
Carl Trueman has written a humorous and insightful article addressing the trend of “extended adolescence of the Western male.” He takes issue particularly with the emergence of the “Rev. Dave Trendy.”
“This brings me to my serious point: what is it with ministers and Christian leaders who seem to feel a compulsive need to talk about youth culture all the time and to adopt the styles of self-obsessed teenagers in order to demonstrate how `relevant’ their ministries are and how hidebound everybody else’s are? Above all, the arrival among the forty-somethings of the soul patch, that absurdly redundant tuft of hair just below the bottom lip, says it all. That middle-aged ministers think that they are somehow culturally more attuned or useful because they lecture their peers about what kids do or do not believe, and because they adopt the aesthetics and style of the modern metrosexual is a bizarre and sad turn of events.”
Trueman goes on to give a word of encouragement to those of us who are becoming more and more follicly challenged. He says that “baldness is nonetheless a great gift from the Lord, in that it imposes a certain dignity on the ageing process by cutting off the various less dignified options (e.g., ponytails, which shouldn’t be sported by anyone over 30; and mullets which, frankly, should not be sported by anyone, anywhere, anytime. Period.).”
It is a great article. I think it has the potential to produce good discussion on the issue of relevancy in ministry and what that even means. Are there too many pastors trying to be hip and cool in order to achieve relevancy? I believe so. Pastors are bypassing the needs and dynamics of their congregations and communities in order to look like the big trendy churches who seem to attract all the people. It’s ministry in a box. Pastors who subscribe to such a philosophy become nothing more than cultural puppets. Their ministries are dictated by the cultural norms and trends. The saddest aspect of this issue is the fact that there is constant pressure on pastors to adopt these ministry fads. However, people do not need 10 steps to better thinking. They need the gospel. People do not need trendy. They need the Word of God faithfully proclaimed and consistently lived out.
Read Trueman’s article and tell me what you think. And to my fellow balding brethren, “parade your baldness with pride and accept the dignity which your divinely-imposed hair loss brings with it.”
College basketball is in full swing and that means one thing for this guy: Indiana Hoosier basketball. Oh yes, my blood runs red and white for my beloved IU. Indiana folks may not know exactly what a hoosier is but one thing they do know is basketball. If you have never seen the movie Hoosiers, shame on you! It is a classic. Everytime I watch it I feel like I am back home in my one stoplight-sized town. It instantly transports me to the asphalt of the Jonesboro park where I spent hours shooting jumpers and playing ball with the big boys. It’s a beautiful thing.
