I had a couple songs I considered featuring today. Both from favorite artists, both getting radio play, and both actually feature guest vocalists on the track. The tie-breaker essentially came down to the mood I was in. This song fits my emotional space a little more, just given the last couple weeks at our church.
So here's Lecrae, with Tori Kelly:
Just fight a little longer my friend It's all worth it in the end But when you got nobody to turn to Just hold on and I'll find you
I love this song, I love this artist. I love how this song by this artist perfectly captures what Paul wrote in Ephesians 4:17-24 - shameless plug to audio of my sermon.
It's crucial for all Christians to realize that we've been changed and we should put off the old self, be renewed, and put on the new self. It's a great upbeat song that spurs us on to the right perspective as we start off the week.
While our society is very individualistic, we still embrace corporate labels like "American", "Hoosier", and/or "Cowboys fan". For much of history, there were only two labels that mattered, spiritually speaking. They were "Jew" and "Gentile". Any one not born into the people of Israel were outsiders, excluded from God's redemptive plan. Gentiles could partake through converting and conforming to the Law, but they were not on equal footing. That all changed with Christ and Paul lays it all out in Ephesians 2:11-22. In Christ, God has taken those two groups and made a new community by destroying what had divided them.
No longer, misfits, we are members of God's people, the Church. So this week's Music Monday features a theologically-rich rap by Lecrae that spells out who we are and what God has made us.
This week I'm featuring a couple things that popped up in my Twitter timeline over the weekend. The first features the greatest shooter of all time (with apologies to Larry Legend) getting some stage time at a Lecrae concert.
On the other end of the music genre scale is this SiriusXM video that featured NeedtoBreathe covering a couple songs seamlessly - almost like they wrote the selections themselves.
How good is that? A Jackson 5 classic along with a Otis Redding/Black Crowes song (I had to look it up).
I recently taught our Sunday School class about Old Testament prophets and how to read and interpret those books of the Bible.
One of they key principles we considered was how the prophets were less about predicting the future and more about prosecuting and persuading God's people in the present. Prophets went to great lengths to wake people out of their spiritual slumber and/or encourage them with the future glory that was in store for God's faithful followers. Those things came to mind as I thought about how today is Martin Luther King Jr. Day. He was very much a modern-day prophet who passionately pointed out the injustices in our nation. The rapper/hip-hop artist Lecrae, an outspoken Christian, echos MLK's message in his song "Welcome to America", which he recently performed on "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon". The rap/hip-hop nature of the song may not connect with everyone, but the lyrics are pointed and provoking:
(Last half of the last verse)
And y’all don’t know a thing about that
You was made in America
I’m trying to find me a ticket
Where the sky is the limit catch a plane to America
It should be plain to America
Y’all blessed and you got it made
Heard y’all don’t pray no more
Y’all ain’t saved no more
Y’all looking for another way
Well, I hope it ain’t true
But I’m packing my suit
Farewell to my motherland
Said bye to my loved ones
Fate here I come, I’m going to another land
I done made it to America
I’m amazed at America
But I couldn’t get approval to stay so they sent me away from America
I've featured Christian hip-hop artist Lecrae here before. And he is beginning to get wider cultural attention as he emerges as a top musical talent who won't budge on his convictions. His latest album "Anomaly" is an ode to how his life is in current tension as he lives 'in-but-not-of the world' (both the secular and Christian worlds). His latest video is transparent, entertaining, and - in the end - amusing. Seriously, the last 20 seconds made me laugh out loud because it perfectly captures married life. Milford and Warsaw and our area are all fairly suburban/rural/non-urban. So hip-hop may seem out of place to post on this blog, but it is beneficial to be exposed to the diversity of other cultures. Plus this is good music. Enjoy.
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)
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.
Two weeks ago, I compiled a list of "The Worst Christian Music Videos of All-Time". If you really want to subject yourself to that unintentional comedy, click on that link and check out the videos. But don't say I didn't warn you.
Well, last week I decided to compile a list of "The Best Christian Music Videos of All-Time", but it turned out to be a larger project than I anticipated so I had to postpone the release of my list until today. It turns out there were more quality options than I anticipated.
But similar to"The Worst..." list, I graded these videos according to four categories:
Fashion & Design (F & D) - Will this video age well or has it aged well? What is the 'look' they are going for and is it attention-getting?
Song Quality (SQ) - Instead of how 'annoying' the song is, I've rated how catchy and listen-able the song is. This is a subjective rating, but it's my list.
Video Concept (VC) - Similar but distinct from F & D, this category rates the video on the story that's being told visually (and musically). Does it draw you in and execute an interesting presentation of the song?
Artist Relevance (Art. Rel.) - This is the only category not ranked on a scale of 1-10, but rather 1-5. If an artist is relevant (or still relevant) they get bonus points for using their platform to produce a quality video. I'm not convinced this is a great category to have, since a little-known artist could still make a good video. But I'd rather watch a great movie with great, well-known actors than a great movie with great, but little-known actors. That's just me I guess.
So let's get started on our countdown with an honorable mention from waaayyyy back:
Honorable Mention - DeGarmo & Key - 666
This video was the first Christian video to be played on MTV, and also the first to be pulled from regular airplay due to its content. According to their Wikipedia page, it was pulled originally because it was mistakenly believed to be anti-Christian. Also, having a man catch fire was deemed objectionable and D&K had to re-edit the video before it was put back on.
10. Flyleaf - All Around Me
This is a worship song. It's a worship song unlike any most churches sing on Sundays, but it's still a worship song. The video itself is pretty straightforward but the visuals of paint streaming down the walls along with the cut-backs to the all-white room is eye-catching. And the video also catches the energy of the song perfectly, putting you in a front row seat at one of their concerts.
This song was dc Talk's only single to make it on the Billboard Hot 100 charts and the video likewise made it into regular rotation on MTV and VH1. The chase scenes pull you in to the video and by the end, you really want to know what's in that box. Entertaining video and entertaining song.
This music video came out last week. It's off of Lecrae's latest album "Gravity".
Lecrae's been featured here before and he continues to bring it. Love the video and this album, though I gotta confess I've only listened through it twice on my iPod.
And just cause I'm feeling generous (cause you can't just find these on youtube or anything), he's another of his video's of one of my favorite songs.
