Happy Anniversary to me!

Twelve years ago, January 1, 2013, I officially started as pastor at Milford First Brethren Church. 

If my memory serves me correctly, I did go into the office that New Year's Day. A few days later, I started this blog. As you can see from that link, I was much more active back then with my blog posts.

Many things have changed with me, my family, and our church for sure. Through it all, God has been faithful and good. We have seen him at work in some special ways here in Milford. 

Today, I thought I'd share some reflections that have been sitting in the back of my mind for quite awhile but have only probably recently thought about connecting all the dots.

And they truly are reflections - looking back at God's hand in guiding and preparing me for these last 12 years. See, if you've ever read this blog before, you know the influence Christian music has had on my life. It's a favorite subject of mine - and while I am no longer someone who is on top of every new act or group, it is still an interest of mine.

And as I've reflected on God's guidance on my life to this point, I've realized that there were some particular songs that prepared me, almost subconsciously, for serving here in Milford. I was thinking about this awhile ago and realized there were 3-4 songs (plus one honorable mention) that were not big hits, but caught my attention in my college and seminary years where I was studying for pastoral ministry. Several months ago I wrote out my list and subsequently lost it but I rewrote it and will share it below. I feel compelled to say that I think my original list included another song that I just can recall.

But here are some Christian pop/rock songs that honor small-town ministry and being faithful in relative obscurity. These have always encouraged me lest I get envious or coveting greener pastures.

Music Mondays

Halloween is right around the corner. Growing up, we never celebrated it for all the standard conservative Christian reasons. 

I definitely respect that decision my parents made. But my own opinion has softened on the subject. At our church, we've begun a tradition of hosting a Halloween Fun Fair in our gym. Milford's a small community but there are a lot of kids and families who go trick-or-treating. We use the 'pagan' holiday for kingdom purposes, offering a inside option full of games with subtle Gospel tie-ins, a ton of candy, and even passing out Bibles as part of our Grand Prize table.

While it is not too much of a stretch to redeem Halloween for ministry purposes, it felt like a stretch to do a Music Monday around it. I did a half-hearted search for Christian Halloween songs, expecting little to no results. To my surprise, I found something I could use. 

Thanks to this video breakdown, I realized there are some cringe-worthy old-school options along with some more current ones. I also realized I had been forgetting one of my favorite songs from one of my favorite albums of my late high school/early college years. 

Audio Adrenaline's "Some Kind of Zombie" isn't overly campy and by-and-large still holds up. Notice the good and bad imagery in the video and how the song itself goes back and forth between the harsh and light tones, fitting pretty well with the overall themes of the lyrics.

The Walking Dead has brought Zombie Apocolyptic-ism to mainstream culture. This song reminds us that we can actually see spiritual truth in the horror trope. One could of course embrace the idea that we are born to new life in Christ (1 John 5:1-5). But this takes the opposite approach, that we are the zombies, dead to sin (Colossians 3:1-9). It's presence is still there, but it holds no power over us if we walk by the Spirit. In that sense, we are some kind of zombies.

 

Personal Opinion Side Note: For my money - when it comes to back-to-back albums - "Some Kind of Zombie" and "Underdog" are as good as any CCM artists ever not named dc Talk.

Music Mondays

We are in the middle of March Madness. 

 

The NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament is must-see tv for basketball junkies like me, to say nothing of the fans and alumni of college teams.

The basketball is not always pretty, but every year it provides great drama. So great, that you get this kind of reaction when teams are trading baskets at the end of a tie game:

To me, I find that whole thing amusing, concerning, and understandable. I would absolutely react the same way had it been my favorite team. It’s one thing to go crazy in the moment as a game is decided. It’s an entirely different issue when sports lead to this kind of thing:

Yesterday I preached (sermon upload coming soon) on how our society has made sports an idol and how that can lead to harmful results. But I also wanted to emphasize how Christians can properly view athletics. 

Sports aren’t inherently evil – don’t hear me saying that. They can be played and viewed with a balanced perspective. I believe God has given us things like sports to find joy in this life and to teach us spiritual lessons.  You can listen to my sermon for my biblical rationale, but I also thought this could lead into a Music Monday.

Admittedly, there aren’t a lot of sports-themed songs that really stand out (though feel free to comment if one does), but this song kind of fits the bill in a fun, silly way.

This is a classic “Youth Group” song of the 1990’s about heaven. And the unique thing about it is the line about how we’ll be playing football in eternity. Some more serious theologians may object to it’s biblical inaccuracy.  But really, who knows? 

We’re not given a ton of specifics about what heaven will be like beyond the glorious presence of God. But one can make the legitimate case that if God has given us elements in this life for our fun and enjoyment, what’s to say that there won’t be opportunities to play catch, shoot hoops, or something along those lines in heaven?

The bottom line is, we can play sports to the glory of God (1 Cor. 10:31, 9:24-27,  James 1:17), and when we do that well in the here and now, we’re really just practicing for eternity.

Music Mondays

On Sunday, we looked at Scripture's most extended description of heaven. 

So on this Music Monday, I had no better ideas but to feature some classic heaven-themed music. They represent what's true and good about Christian music. But they also represent what makes you cringe about Christian music. So try to ignore the hair, fashion, and over-dramatic acting and focus on the glory, wonder, encouragement, and joy of heaven that these songs communicate.

First a song I previously featured on one of my first posts, "Another Time, Another Place". An incredible and inspiring duet:

Next, an understated but poignant song by Steven Curtis Chapman that lifts our vision past the-here-and-now and towards eternity:

Finally, a fun, borderline silly song that captures the joy and frivolity that will undoubtedly characterize the New Heaven and the New Earth:

Music Mondays - Songs for the New Year

It's been a few weeks, but Music Monday is back!

I was flipping through our church's hymnal thinking of New Year's songs. After all, we just got through a Christmas season that has plenty of songs associated with it. 'What about New Years?' I thought.

There were a grand total of 7 listed. And I only had heard of 3 of them.

That's too bad, because the New Year holiday is a perfect time to celebrate what God's done for us. While not expressly a biblical holiday like Christmas or Easter, the themes of the New Year of new beginnings, starting over, resolutions, and looking towards the future perfectly fit with biblical principles.

So why not scour my iPod and come up with my own list of New Year's-related songs?

And that's what I did.

I will present them in ascending order starting with numbers 6-10 today and present #1-5 next week. Along with corresponding videos, I will also offer a short commentary on why it makes my list.

With no further ado, here we go:

10.  "Always" by Kristian Stanfill

Why is it on the list?
This song evokes many of the Psalms where David declares his absolute trust and dependance in God to vindicate and save him. Those aren't exclusively 'New Year's' ideas, but they are important perspectives to have as we look to what may lie ahead. No matter the good or bad 2014 brings, we can be confident in our great God.

9. "Valley of Tomorrow" by Needtobreathe

Why is it on the list?
This band just knows how to write great songs. And this one is a song of re-commitment to God no matter what:

Chorus:
Oh, this is the way I wanna go down
(This is the last time) I'm starting over with you
This is the way I wanna go out
(This is the last time)

Read more: Needtobreathe - Valley Of Tomorrow Lyrics | MetroLyrics

I also personally love it because it talks about seeing "the daylight breaks through the buildings of Chicago" and I've seen that very thing during my days recruiting for Grace Seminary. It's just a great, soulful song of re-dedication and listening to the Spirit's guiding whisper - totally relevant to us as we make our New Year's resolutions.

8. "In the Light" - dc Talk (nod to Charlie Peacock)

Why is it on the list?
It's an oldie, but a goodie. And to say that means I must be really old. Much like the previous song, this classic from the Jesus Freak album is a declaration of commitment to God and desire to pursue Him. If you're still reading at this point, you are probably sensing a theme. But along with the fitting lyrics, the music is fun, upbeat, and invites us to sing a long.

Songs #7 and #6 after the jump...

Music Mondays

This video brings a smile to my face for a couple of different reasons.

Kevin Max is the new lead singer of Audio Adrenaline. Audio A was a favorite band of mine in high school, while KMax was the quirky member of dc Talk. I'm a little cynical when it comes to a lot of bands trying to keep going with new personnel, but this pairing was different. It just fit.

The foremost reason this brings a smile to my face is the message of the song and the connection they have to an orphanage in Haiti founded by the original lead singer of the group. It reminds me of an orphanage a good friend of mine started in the Philippines. I've had the privilege to visit it and it is special work they do, rescuing children and babies from certain death. It's truly fulfilling the call to love the least of these.