OMG (?) - Music Mondays

We like our pop music simple. Give us a snappy chorus, a memorable beat, fun lyrics and we're good to go. Most of the time, we like our music to give us an escape.

The above is true of both secular and Christian music. CCM can venture into serious subjects and tackle hard questions, but it is still more peppy than profound.

Therefore, it is not surprising then that one of the deepest songs of the new millennium never got popular traction even within CCM circles.

When Jars of Clay released their final big-label album "Good Monsters" over 11 years ago, it was met with critical praise and had decent commercial success. Re-listening to it recently, it's a solid album beginning to end. The fanfare it received was deserved, but the best song, "Oh My God", was overlooked. 

Here's a non-official music video:

It is a song that has stops and starts with emotions varying from melancholy to desperation. It observes how "oh my God!" is found on the lips of many people in many different situations - both in sincere pleas and in crassness. It agonizes over the really discouraging aspects of life and crescendos to urgent cries of "oh my God!"

This interview captures the artist's story behind the song. It confirms what we would suspect, that this song is about wrestling with tough questions of faith and life. 

In the interest of space, I'm giving a link to the lyrics, rather than copy them all here. They are abundant but startling in their depth.

One more thought though. In the 11 years since this was written, I find it interesting how much more prevalent "Oh my God" has become in our cultural vocabulary. It's abbreviation - OMG! - is everywhere now that texting and messaging are the main methods of communication for our younger generations. 

I do find it gratifying to return to this song because it takes a flippant, second-commandment-breaking phrase and turns it back on us. I rediscover the heart of this song all over the Bible, like in passages such as James 5:7-12. Maybe I'm giving to much weight to one song, but maybe this one song has prophetic value. I can say that seeing and/or hearing OMG (or one of the variations) just won't sit right with me anymore, thanks in large part to this song. 

And I think that's good. I'll listen to the peppy, snappy songs that give me some escape. But give me more of this - deep theology and deep questions.

Music Mondays

Last week, I spent an unusual amount of time in a car with two other pastors, traveling to the annual national meeting for the Evangelical Theological Society (ETS). A good recap is here, but the TL;DR version is that we drove 14+ hours to Providence, Rhode Island to expand our theological horizons, eat a lot of food, and pick up some valuable ministry resources.

There was nothing that inspired me to do a Music Monday per se, but I did run into a Grace prof who I consider a friend. He has recently been touting an up-and-coming artist(s) on his Twitter. And as it turns out, he's doing so for good reason. 

This is Caroline Cobb (with Songbird & Strings) with a song that packs every single line with beautiful theological truth. Be sure to watch to the end for 'behind the song' insight by the artist.

Honestly, after a busy week filled with deep conversations and deep theological topics, this earnest, simple, Jesus-focused song hits the spot.