Listen to this: Borderland

I'm slow to take to new music -- especially new Christian music. I've heard the name John Mark McMillan floating around for the last couple of years, but I never bothered to listen. This March, McMillan released Borderland, and I started to see and hear his name even more. After two friends with trusted musical taste both insisted, on the same day, that I give this work a listen, I succumbed and watched this video of Borderland's first single, "First/Last."

I instantly liked it. As a worship leader, I'm always on the look out for songs that work corporately (that is, they are singable, memorable, and true), but that approach old concepts in a unique way. "First/Last" accomplished this goal nicely, so I looked up the rest of the album, expecting to hear more similar worship songs.

What I heard instead was a sonically surprising fusion of rock, pop, folk, and gospel, grounded in McMillan's enjoyably gritty baritone, and lyrics that would more likely appear in a literature class than in Sunday school. All McMillan's songs passed the musical side of my "corporate worship test" with their instant hummability, but the instrumentation -- which starts with contemporary worship's acoustic-guitar-fronted-rock band, but is deepened by lush strings and successful experiments with 80s synth and electronic elements -- would be unlikely in most church worship services. Most unlikely, however, are the beautiful lyrics, that seem to exult in ambiguity, thought-provoking figurative language, and evocative imagery. Take the album's opening invocation, "Holy Ghost:"

Dead in the water
Like lamb to the slaughter
If the wind doesn’t sing her song
And I’m speaking in tongues
Cause I need a Holy Ghost

It's not exactly what you'd hear at church on Pentecost Sunday. Even the album's perfectly singable single, "Future/Past," broadens the Christian vocabulary for speaking about the mysteries of God with lines like, "The constellations are swimming inside The breadth of your desire," before launching into the song's catchy chorus: "You are my first/you are my last/ You are my future and my past..." Here, cliches ordinarily applied to romantic love take on more resonance when sung to a lilting triple meter that, in the chorus's last line, seems to fluctuate and expand, demonstrating musically the mystery of a powerful, benevolent creator who exists beyond the confines of time.

And getting beyond confines is really what this entire album is about. Borderland is an album about the space between spaces, the "already-but-not-yet" of life lived between the fall and the fullness of restoration, when Christ's kingdom has come, but is not yet complete. McMillan luxuriates in the tension of this space, the place "on this side of the thunder" ("Holy Ghost"), "on the brink" ("Love at the End"), where we "see the light of heaven's porch" though we're stuck "outside [the] chain-link fence" ("Borderlands"). McMillan underscores the tension inherent in his theme by dwelling in musical borderlands -- between CCM and Indie-pop; between corporate and individual; between stadium rock and coffeehouse folk; between the strange and the familiar. And while you may never hear more from this album than "Future/Past" in a worship service, Christians and non-Christians alike will enjoy and benefit from spending some time in the musical and spiritual limbo of Borderland. 

(Note: After looking into Borderland, I realized that I already loved John Mark McMillan for penning the worship song "How He Loves."  See more lyrics here: http://johnmarkmcmillan.com/lyrics)

'Eat, Pray, Love' - A Film that Acutally Has Something to Say

Most marriages are strong enough to survive the problems that couples face, but not all of them can withstand the battle over the TV remote control.  Will the man keep a tight reign on the remote and use it to check SportsCenter every ten minutes?  Or will he become a meek prisoner of Glee and Dancing with the Stars?  My wife and I are quite proud of our egalitarian TV watching conduct, and if one of us is sick then that person always gets to choose the program.  When she was ill last week I assumed that we would be checking out a Colin Firth film or a British period piece, but this time it was Eat, Pray, Love starring Julia Roberts.

Since I'm a Christian, you probably would expect me to nitpick the theology and complain that it's not compatible with my faith, but I'm not going to do that because I'd rather focus on what we can learn from the story.  (However, as I expected, the film tries to respect Eastern and Western religions in order to be Universal, but ends up trying to force the mutually exclusive concepts of pantheism and panentheism into the same worldview in order to meet this goal.  I expect no better from Hollywood screenwriters - par for the course, really - but there is still plenty to learn from the movie.)

The main character, Liz, is burned out.  She isn't happy with her life, and she tells everyone that she needs a radical change of some sort.  Her friends are skeptical and tell her that she just needs a vacation or a new outfit or something to occupy her mind until her depression passes.  But Liz knows better - she knows that she is not suffering an affliction of the mind, but one of the soul.  It is spiritual renewal that she seeks, and in the first part of the story she learns that she can't find this through a new home and a new boyfriend.

And this is where the film speaks to us.  I applaud the movie for admitting that there is more to a human being than just the body; we have a spiritual component that must be seen to, and when that part of us is needy we cannot remedy it through physical things.  It is human nature to seek fulfillment in Higher Things, and that is the purpose of Liz's journey.

We don't deny ourselves food when we are hungry - likewise, let us not neglect our souls.  That is the lesson to be learned from Eat, Pray, Love.  It's also filled with eating montages and a scene where two skinny girls pretend to understand what it's like to gain weight and not fit into their (size zero) jeans.  But it also reminds us to look after our spiritual side, and I can respect that.

Book Review: 'Kinda Christianity' by Zachary Bartels

This week, I received a copy of Zach Bartel's book, Kinda Christianity.  It's a cynically humerus discussion of the Emergent Church movement that is sure to offend some and to make many others laugh.  But, that's not to say it doesn't bring up some really good points.

Zach's style is rather biting.  The book is modeled as a satirical "guide" explaining how to be the leader of an emergent style church.  It includes useful tips such as shopping at Urban Outfitters and the requirement to buy all electronics at the Mac store - or else.  Starbucks is to be your new home - as long as you aren't seen there with a Bible - and no discussions of theology are allowed.

Concerning the layout of an emergent church he gives the following advice:

It's important that your church not look anything like a church, and in fact should not even be called a church (see also: names of things). It should look more like an abandoned meat-packing plant, complete with lots of exposed brick and ductwork. Big steel doors are nice.

He constantly advocates devotion to Bono as well as "Anyone Else Who Makes You Feel Bad About Being White and Affluent."

The cover of the book is a clever parody of A New Kind of Christianity by Brian D. McLaren.

The weakness of this book is also its strength; not everyone will appreciate the biting humor with which Bartels exposes the problems the Emergent movement.  Some might even feel insulted.  (Of course, that might be because they never learned to laugh at themselves.)  I liked this book more and more as I read through the chapters, and I think his description of Emergent church leaders as young white hipsters maintaining a post-modern image to be a spot on.  (Likewise, your welcome to laugh at me for sitting in the same pew in my Southern Baptist church ever since I joined.)

So, this approach is debatable, and the highly cynical style takes some getting used to at first.  But I really think that Bartels has written a good discussion of the problems of the Emergent church movement in an entertaining format.  It might get under your skin if you are an Emergent type yourself, but the discussion points are worth consideration.  You can purchase it here for a very low price.

The 2010 DBU Paideia Conference - Part 1 Tom Kimmell & James K. A. Smith

Every Paideia Conference begins with a concert, and every year I wonder if I feel like traveling across the metroplex in rush hour to get there - but I always do. This year's musician was Tom Kimmell and he made it well worth my time. (I hate traffic, so that's not a compliment to be taken lightly.)

From the moment his show began I felt like I was really in the presence of a great American songwriter. (Which is appropriate, since he has written songs for famous musicians like Waylon Jennings and Johnny Cash.) His music tells stories in the beautiful songwriting craft that is so hard to find in musicians today. (I don't think it's too cynical to say that the craft mastered by people like Paul Simon and Bob Dylan seems to be lost.) Tom told stories, read poems (I liked the one about the cat), and charmed all of us with his humor and his excellent musicianship. I really felt like I had seen the last of a certain type of musician. It's very difficult to find people like Tom Kimmell anymore, and seeing him in concert was a real privilege.

Our speaker for the entire weekend was James K. A. Smith, who is a proponent of something called 'Radical Orthodoxy.' (I haven't studied radical orthodoxy much, but I hope that it turns out to be something I like, because it's a much cooler name than "fundamentalism" or "supralapsarianism." It's about time someone gave one of these things a good name.)

That light behind him didn't come on until he raised his hand like that. True story.

Smith told us about a lot things. He's the kind of guy who can show you scenes from indie films in between discussions of Heidegger and Derrida in order to make sense out of modern theology. Very cool stuff. He was very approachable and loved answering questions from the audience on a variety of subjects with each lecture. Also, according to this discussion of Augustine (written by Smith and Dr. David Naugle - the guy who organizes these conferences) it appears that Smith and I read some of the same books.

Pictured: Radical Orthodoxy.

Smith's views are very relevant. They address issues that Christians are asking today and Smith himself is a person people enjoy knowing. But most importantly, I didn't throw anything at him when he insulted my Dallas Cowboys. That means a lot. (Although, I didn't promise not to pick on him through the photo captions on my blog. No one is safe...)

Very few people can open their cupboard and find the honorary coffee mug we give our keynote speakers; we'd better not see those things on Ebay.

(Click here to read part 2!)

Album Review: 'Hello Hurricane' by Switchfoot

(Yeah, this is late. My copy got lost in the mail, so I only recently got to listen to this entire album.)

Hello Hurricane is Switchfoot's latest release, and it does not disappoint for a single moment. The new album contains everything a Switchfoot fan has come to expect from the band: great melodies, driving guitars, and lyrics that make you think while simultaneously rocking out. Personally, I think it's their best work in many years, and I love that they released it on vinyl.

The music is excellent. Each song strikes me with its clever guitar work as the three guitar players confront the listener with a well written wall of melodies that really speak for themselves. It's also incredibly well recorded; the guitars have the exciting sound you would expect from a My Morning Jacket album or an old Smashing Pumpkins tune. I don't know how, but since their sophomore album, New Way to Be Human, Switchfoot has managed to maintain the highest production values in the industry.

Now, I can listen to Switchfoot the same way I listen to Let it Be. Sweet.

Two years ago, I met Jon Foreman (Switchfoot's frontman) during his solo tour at a conference. His acoustic music (discussed here) tackled deep issues and fit right in with the heavy handed philosophical discussions we had been having all day. This is expected in a Bob Dylan-esque acoustic gig, but Hello Hurricane somehow manages to accomplish the same thing in a driving rock album; rarely can a band accomplish such lyricism without sounding corny.

The music is exciting, the lyrics are thought-provoking, and the production quality is through the roof. I can't recommend the album highly enough.

Derek Webb and the Ethics of Cussing (A Follow Up)

In my previous blog entry about Derek Webb's foul mouthed music, many commenters (here and in other places where the story was posted) thought that I was upset at Mr. Webb for using bad language and was pushing him away for acting "unChristianlike" with no regard for his content.

This is not true.

First, I want to say that I'm not interested in discussing the morality of bad words. I've been told that cuss words are not bad and that Christians should use them more often. Also, I've been told that Paul used curse words in the Bible (which isn't true). I'll let you read Colossians 3:8 and that will be enough for me - it's really not an interesting discussion. Since people associate bad language with bad habits, I personally avoid it.

I'm disappointed with Derek Webb because of his approach. Rather than lovingly encouraging his fellow believers he distances himself from them and talks down to them - there are other ways to get a message across.

If you haven't heard it, I recommend Jon Foreman's song, "Instead of a Show," which criticizes anyone who would put on a show at church by acting spiritual and then spend the rest of the week ignoring the poor and unloved. It sounds a lot like Derek Webb's platform, but Foreman's tone is loving and humble. (He was able to accomplish this by mostly quoting scripture.) His tone is also encouraging - rather than attacking the church he is giving believers direction and does not act superior or haughty.

Webb's language, by contrast, is very rude. But what you need to understand is that Derek Webb's approach would be rude even without the cursing. I'm not protesting the use of a swear word - I don't have that much time on my hands - but I am protesting the hypocritical dogma of a man who accuses his brothers of not showing love through a most unloving method. It's like kicking someone in the shin and saying, "That's for not being nice!"

It is not effective to stand outside of the church and yell and those who are inside no matter what they are doing wrong. Just as Jesus loved us when we were unlovable, we must love our church when it is not perfect.

Book Review: "North, or Be Eaten!" by Andrew Peterson

Andrew Peterson's North! Or Be Eaten is the kind of book I always wanted to read as a kid but could never find. This sequel to his previous book in the Wingfeather Saga, On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness, is full of adventure and daring in a magnificent fantasy world.

But there's more. Amidst sword fights and evil villains the family members strive to get along with each other - something everyone can understand. The story is huge but, at the same time, it is a very small story about a family. The immediate threat to our characters at any given time may be monsters or evil henchmen, but the real story here is the way the characters struggle within their own family. Peterson is very wise to craft his story in such a way.

While reading this book I was impressed at the immensity of Peterson's imagination. I knew he was a gifted story teller from his song lyrics, but I wasn't prepared for the amount of originality in his story. At every turn of the tale, the reader is introduced to new and interesting ideas; strange creatures and interesting cities all have their own history and reputation within the story that the characters interact with. As the story progresses, Peterson craftily shows us more of his magical world.

I don't know anything about Peterson's literary training or his education, but his book is very mythopoetically sound; which means, his book successfully creates a world with its own myths and history without depending on our own world for these things. This is a difficult challenge for most fantasy writers and few can pull it off as well as Peterson has done in this book for children. (J.R.R. Tolkien famously criticized C.S. Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia for certain lapses in mythopoetic integrity.) There is even an appendix in the back to help us learn more about this world - which is fun.

I was initially surprised at the length of the book - 330 pages seems like a lot for a book marketed to children. However, the book is broken up into many short chapters so that a younger reader can pace themselves while an older one can read a few chapters in a sitting. (I've noticed, in the wake of Harry Potter, that books for young people have gotten much larger - so I'm probably just out of touch. Wait, I'm a historian. Of course I'm out touch.)

In conclusion, North! Or be Eaten! should be on your child's bookshelf. If I were young I would want nothing more than to read this books again and again to relive the adventure and to escape into a world of fantasy and excitement. Pedagogically speaking, it is not too difficult to read but will send a child to the dictionary now and then to learn new words- which is excellent.

You can purchase this book at amazon.com here (surprisingly affordable, I might add) and you can visit Andrew Peterson's website at www.Andrew-Peterson.com.

(Also, if you're interested in this type of literature, you may want to read my blog entry about Phantom Island:Wind - a young adult novel that will appeal to many of the same readers, perhaps just a bit older.)

Highly Recommended - The Music of John Denmon

I make no secret of it - I think the Christian music industry is in a pitiful state. Eight years ago, bands like AllTogetherSeparate and Jennifer Knapp were "wowing" us with original musical ideas and strong lyrical content. Today, the industry is dominated by pop bands and very mediocre worship groups. (At one time, worship leaders were as musically innovative as any one else in the entire music industry.)

In such a setting, John Denmon is a rare exception. His acoustic guitar driven music is engaging and his lyrics discuss Christianity in a touching way that is not corny. His songs are a mixture of style in between that of Bebo Norman and David Crowder - exciting and intimate at the same time.

You can hear some of his music here for free, and if you like it I recommend you click on the "become a fan" link - it's the least we can do for those rare individuals in the Christian industry who are doing good things. His songs stay on a steady rotation in my music player and I think many of you will enjoy them as well.

(John Denmon has a website and a YouTube page.)

What IS the Deal with Derek Webb's New Song? [Post Includes Profanity]

Since leaving the Caedmon's Call, Derek Webb's solo career has been followed with much interest and scrutiny by his fans. Gone are the happy-go-lucky songs in the key of G and, in their place, we have a more serious set of songs that dictate a very strong message. It was no small ruckus that was raised when his lyrics entered the realm of politics, but what really raised eyebrows was this statement:

"It seems I've finally found the line beyond which my label can support me, and apparently I've crossed it," Webb writes. "[A]t this point we're not sure when the record will come out and in what form. The majority of the controversy is surrounding one song, which I consider to be among the most important songs on the record …. [B]ecause of various legal/publishing issues we're having to be rather careful with how we do what we're going to do next."

Has Derek Webb finally crossed the line? Oh, yeah.

Webb's latest album, Stockholm Syndrome, contains a tune called "What Matters More" which includes some foul language. Here are the juicy parts.

‘Cause if you really believe what you say you believe you wouldn’t be so damn reckless with the words you speak...
...Meanwhile we sit just like we don’t give a shit about 50,000 people who are dyin’ today. Tell me, brother, what matters more to you?

Derek Webb is trying to make a point. Are you more concerned with his bad language than you are with the hurting and dying in the world? I don't know anyone who is so shallow but, apparently, Derek Webb does.

However, there are a thousand ways to make this point that don't involve making other Christians upset. Personally, I find the whole thing unnecessary. If the point can be made without creating division within Christianity then I think it should be done that way. Angering people is not going to encourage them to get out and take care of the poor and needy - it's just going to start an argument.

Caedmon's Call released an album a few years ago called "Share the Well" that kindly reminded us to help those in need. It's really not my favorite album, musically speaking, but it is possible to get this message out without insulting your fan base.

Movie Review - Easy Virtue

Easy Virtue is one of the best I will see this year. It is an adaptation of a Noel Coward play that Alfred Hitchcock adapted for the screen in 1928. The recent film is directed by Stephan Elliot.

Wikipedia sums up the plot as follows:

Easy Virtue is a social comedy in which a glamorous American widow, Larita, impetuously marries a young Englishman, John Whittaker, in the South of France. When they return to England to meet his parents, his mother takes a strong dislike to their new daughter-in-law, while his father, Jim, finds a kindred spirit. Family tensions escalate.

This movie is non-stop fun and intrigue from the start. Filming a box office blockbuster with special effects might sound hard but making a parlor conversation interesting is much more difficult. If you've ever tried to make your own film you know that finding a way to make a simple conversation engaging for the audience is a real challenge. This film is mostly dialog but it never gets boring; also the lively jazz music and interesting camera work keeps you involved without being a distraction.

Many interesting talking points are brought up. For example, a married couple is caught having sex in a barn by the groom's mother and a group of men who looking to purchase the land. Some of the characters in the film think this is a terribly scandalous moment while others think it is simply funny. (Impressively, the director captures this scene tastefully - a talking point in itself.)

The ending is unorthodox and will cause a lot of discussion - but it works. The entire film impressed me and never provided a dull moment. I can't recommend it enough.

Praise for Phantom Island

I don't review a lot of books on this site because most of the books I read have boring titles like The Crisis of Church and State from 1050 to 1300 (which is actually pretty good). Fortunately, my friend Renea does a good job of reading/watching things and discussing them in well written blog posts. Her latest entry concerns a book written by a mutual friend titled Phantom Island: Wind:

Krissi Dallas has hit the road running with her debut novel, Phantom Island: Wind. It instantly found its way to the number one selling spot at Authorhouse.com as the word-of-mouth buzz about this page-turner spread like wild fire surrounding the novel's release. The novel is Young Adult fiction; it's full of drama, adventure, suspense, and romance.

Read the whole thing - it's a good review. (And, you'll notice that Renea's blog is now one of the links on the right side of this page so you can check it out more often.)

There are quite a few positive reader reviews for this work such as this one from Amazon.com:

Since I teach 7th grade, I love to read YAF. Sometimes this gets very stale, but Phantom Island: Wind was definitely a breath of fresh air. The writing was well-thought out, the plot was full of twist & turns and the main character was complicated without being annoying.

And this one from a Barnes & Noble customer:

Although I am not the "target-audience", I really enjoyed Phantom Island. It was a really interesting story (with all the right elements - magic, humor, good character development, etc). I was actually up until 2am finishing it. It's one of those epic series that clearly has a sequel coming.

Most of the praise for this book centers around the story which is something I appreciate. Krissi keeps a website and a blog and you can purchase her book here.