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

As this blog indicates, I serve as a pastor in Milford, Indiana. Wikipedia will tell you that Milford is a town of about 1,500 people and not much else. Our local news will tell you that, like so many other communities in our area, it is dealing with a significant meth problem. 

Of course, Wikipedia and arrest reports don't tell the whole story. There are good jobs, pleasant people, and - for me and my church - great ministry opportunities. 

I appreciate the Lord leading us here. Even though I grew up close to it, I didn't give it much thought, other than it being a place on the way north to bigger and better things.

I wonder though if the seeds weren't planted in my late high school/early college years for me to end up here. And it all began with a band called Bleach. 

Bleach was one of those niche Christian bands whose fans were loyal and adamant that they were underrated. Their second album Static had some fun hits but it was their overlooked third track that stuck with me.

"Rundown Town" tells the story of a aging minister who never finds any limelight but leaves a legacy of faithfulness to where God called him. Something in my soul was immediately drawn to this idea from the first time I heard it. 

Since I was a kid, I always had this belief that I was destined for greatness. As I grew older and my athletic abilities fell short of "pro-level", I started coming around to the idea that how I defined "greatness" could use re-evaluation. I realized that God's definition was way different than mine or the world's. 

So when a pastoral opening at a small-ish, but healthy church came across my path. I saw the opportunities as much as anything else. And it hasn't been disappointing. Sure we want to see our church's influence grow and I'd like to make an impact on many lives. But those are the right goals, those are fringe benefits to properly serving the Kingdom. Fruit/results/growth - those are all by products of faithfulness, plus they are out of my control and in God's hands anyway. 

And that's how I've discovered fulfillment in the midst of a 'rundown town'.

Music Mondays - Classic Comps Part 1

Twenty years ago, during the era when CD's were popular, Disc-man's were prevalent, and large stereo systems were the norm for any young adult's bedroom, the Christian music industry sought to capitalize on the Christian culture's desire to grow by mirroring the larger culture's trends.

This took many forms, including 'CD Clubs' with names like 'Power + Glory' which promoted various Christian artists  by often comparing them to their more popular secular counterparts. 

"If you like ___________, then check out ______________" the marketing stated.

Offering alternatives certainly had it's benefits, but when those alternatives were little more than poor imitations, it gave the CCM industry a reputation for mediocrity that it had a hard time shaking. 

In memory of that strange and unusual time, I offer this Music Monday of some randomly selected Christian bands and their secular comparison. I decided to avoid individuals for the sake of length. 

And next week, we'll look at the flip side - some CCM trailblazers who proved to be ahead of their time and larger cultural trailblazers as far as musical styles are concerned. So here is a list of Christian bands and the secular groups they owed a large part of their popularity too. 

Let me just mention that these particular songs are only meant to reflect the style of each band and not be a straight one-to-one comparison to the other song.

Bleach - Weezer

This one was obvious even at the time. Bleach was putting out really good music in their own right and like Weezer, they were only a niche band even at their peak. 

Plus One - NSync, Backstreet Boys

Of all the ways CCM tried to mirror pop music, this may be the most cringe-worthy. Did we really try to make a go of the whole Boy Band thing? Yes we did, and I'm sure someone made some money...but man...smh.

Polarboy -  Red Hot Chili Peppers, Counting Crows

I fell in love with Polarboy at apparently the end of their run which happened to coincide with the   release of Californication by the Chili Peppers. So while I was listening to the Back from Nowhere album, my hallmates my freshman year of college were blasting RHCP and at one point, I couldn't tell them apart very well.

The Waiting - REM

Two bands, both acoustically driven and both led by baldish-roundheaded-kind-of-short singers with memorable but unspectacular voices - one a gigantic Hall-of-Fame cultural icon while the other was a band that struggled to get even a couple hits on Christian radio. The Waiting still stands up though.

OC Supertones - Mighty Mighty Bosstones

The late 90's and early 2000's featured some interesting fads. One of the most remarkable was the popularity of Ska music. Instruments typically showcased in marching bands were suddenly adopted into rock bands that often featured a raspy-voiced lead vocalist. 

I grew to personally loathe this whole movement as my best friend and freshman year of college roommate used this as his alarm clock song that played through his stereo. Given I'm not a morning person and he commonly got up before I did, it wasn't long before I couldn't stand to hear even a note of any of it.

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This is no way is meant to demean theses artists as if they were all frauds. While it would be easy to be cynical about these artists, really that would be misplaced criticism. First of all, some of those Christian options were legitimately good and presented Christian truth in a relevant package. 

But looking back at that period overall, it is easy to cringe at much of it. But isn't it our own fault as a Christian culture that we accepted this 'milk' when we should have been clamoring for more 'solid food'? Shouldn't we have been more demanding of original styles and voices and creativity from the CCM industry?

Music Mondays

If I were to create a Wikipedia page on "Underrated Christian Rock Bands", I'm pretty sure I would put Bleach's picture front and center.
I always found them similar to Weezer, a somewhat underrated secular band of comparable sound and style. Their greatest hits CD is one of my favorite albums, but to further confirm their status as underrated, you'll have a hard time doing a Google search for them without running into pages for an anime show, a laundry ingredient, and a Nirvana album.

But I hope you enjoy this video for a song I'd rank as my favorite of theirs: