Memorial Day Weekend

Our small town of Milford loves to celebrate Memorial Day in a BIG way. From numerous garage sales, Carnival Rides, a Classic Car Show, Talent Showcases, and all kinds of food, it's a big deal locally. And of course it all culminates in a parade on Monday honoring those who have fallen in military service to our country as well as those who have served.

Our church is located smack dab in the middle of town making this a great opportunity to connect with people. So what we've done for the past several years is cook hotdogs on our 'front porch' and pass out free food and drink to those walking by visiting the attractions. 

It's a neat way to tangibly be a blessing to our town. We've also partnered the Gideon's to pass out their New Testaments - and this year we had some folks from Nappanee First Brethren come and do outreach as well. 

Our goal and supply level was 650 hotdogs, 700 drinks, and over 400 individual bags of chips. 
We ended up grilling around 800 hotdogs, while passing out close to 800 drinks and 500 bags of chips.

We'd been worried about the weather forecast, but our prayers were answered as it turned out to be a perfect day. We were so thankful for the opportunity to show love to our neighbors and plant seeds of the gospel in people's hearts. 

 
And as a pastor, I have to brag on my people who came out to help man the tables and be the hands and feet of Jesus. 

Music Mondays - Faith in Tension (Part II)

Last week we began a countdown of the best modern Christian songs that express the tension of our faith.  Ok, they're really just my favorites but whatever.

The rationale and scoring system were detailed last week so I won't go over them again. Instead, let's jump right into the top 5 songs that honestly communicate the paradoxes and tensions of following Christ.

5. "Something Beautiful" - Needtobreathe

 (Total - 23. CT: 7, TD: 9, SQ: 5, Bonus: 2)

I remember liking this song upon hearing it for the first couple times. But I often don't always "catch" all the lyrics. When I figured out the part of the chorus that says, "I know that I'm in reach, 'cause I am down on my knees", it instantly became a favorite of mine and I realized this was a band that I needed to become more familiar with. The rest of the song explores the riskiness of faith with the metaphor of drowning, but that singular line gets me every time. Bonus points for the vocals and also sneaking in the band's own name into the song. 

4. "What If I Stumble?" - dc Talk

(Total - 23.25. CT: 10, TD: 7, SQ: 4.25, Bonus: 2)

The opening verse is the most startlingly-honest lyric written since Robert Robinson penned verse 3 of "Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing". I know people who've toured the CCM circuit. My parents had a modest music/evangelistic ministry, traveling a lot when I was younger to different churches. The tension of performing versus ministering is a very real one. Even for a pastor that struggle is real...and then to consider what would happen if we faltered - heavy stuff. And this is at the band's peak of fame and popularity too! This live performance may be my favorite of all time - any genre any song any band. Great harmonies and tremendous use of modest vocal talent (with the exception of Michael Tait) to create a stellar performance.

Music Mondays - Faith In Tension

One of the most valuable things I learned in seminary was that we must hold some seemingly opposite spiritual truths in tension. 
God is a God of love but also justice. 
God is fully sovereign but allows his creatures the freedom of choice.

Our modern, Western minds can't always handle that. But to the Middle Eastern perspective, it is totally normal that two things that do not really fit together can both be true.

This reality combined with some CCM radio listening inspired me to compile a list of Christian songs that reflect this 'faith in tension'.

A couple notes (feel free to skip if you just want to get to the songs):

• I decided to to stick to recent music only. To fish in a pool that considers all of Christian hymnody would be too much of an undertaking for the purposes of this author and his blog.
• I also decided to stick to Christian music.  There are some worthy options from those who don't identify as followers of Christ, but I wanted to keep the focus on Christians who are dealing with the tensions in their/our faith.
• I used my own rating system to rank the songs. I had three categories: Clarity of Tension, Theological Depth, and Overall Song Quality. I rated each song on Clarity of Tension (CT) on a scale of 1-10 based on how well the song communicated the tension or paradox it described. Theological Depth (TD) was also scaled 1-10 based on how significantly it grappled with heavy theological issues. Overall Song Quality (SQ) was only rated between 1-5 because I didn't want my musical preferences to get in the way too much. I also added a Bonus rating (0-2) as a sort of miscellaneous category to help break ties and account for additional aspects of each song.

We'll break down my top ten over the next two weeks. 
Here's #10-#6:

10. "Trust in You" - Lauren Daigle

 (Total Score - 20. CT: 8, TD: 8, SQ: 4, Bonus: 0)

Her voice carries this song, but don't underestimate the lyrics. A commitment to faith even if God doesn't work things out how we desire or hope? That's textbook Faith in Tension.

9. "Even If" - MercyMe

(Total - 20.5. CT: 9, TD: 7, SQ: 3.5, Bonus: 1)

This is a new song that got me thinking about this whole idea. It's like if "Blessed Be Your Name" and "What if I Stumble" - both songs on this list - had a baby song. Honest and real. It would probably have a higher score if it wasn't being overplayed on Christian radio right now. Bonus for a direct allusion to Daniel 3. 

Music Mondays

Last week during Exponential Conference I experienced a flashback to college as I spent a few late nights hanging out with friends and discussing some very random subjects. 

One such rabbit trail was old-school Christian music. I was chatting with two other guys who are a little older than me and our convo quickly turned to the obscure artists and acts we remembered.

At one point I was reminded of AVB or Acapella Vocal Band. 

In the 80's and early 90's, before Glee and Pitch Perfect made a capella performing a culturally cool thing, there were some Christian acts pioneering the art.

If you can get past the outstanding period haircuts (mullets!) and fashion, you'll recognize the talent.

Ok, I can't really get past the mullets and clothes...but still.

This second song was the one that really made me a fan though. I was in my early teens when I heard it and it was probably the first time I ever truly "got" the substitutionary atonement of Jesus. 

That song has always stuck with me because of it's clear Gospel message, atonement definition, and our call as disciples to "stop doing those things". Proper salvation theology includes the admonition to turn from our sin and towards our true purpose (Col. 3, Eph. 2:8-10). 

Mad props to AVB for instilling those lessons into this future pastor when he was still an impressionable youth.