Music Monday

The missions trip really threw off my blogging routine. But we're back with a Music Monday this evening.
Quick note, on the last part of my missions trip - we did win our last game on Friday, went sight-seeing and shopping at a mall in Manila, then took off early Sunday AM for home...eventually arriving back in the States in the early afternoon on Sunday. Gotta love the long flight over the date line.

This week's musical selection is based on a confession I made in my sermon yesterday. But to give it some context, I was preaching on Philippians 4, and in vs.8-9, Paul gives them some values and qualities we ought to be upholding and applying to the things we think about. Using these verses as a guide for our TV/Movie/Music consumption is an easy application for "whatever is excellent or praiseworthy" and the rest of the list. 

I mentioned I'd be fine with anyone looking through my iPod at my music library because I feel it conforms to the moral parameters Paul lists, even if some of my albums are "secular". I did confess though that there's probably one song on my list I'd be 'embarrassed' by - though not because it's a shady song. Miley Cyrus' "Party in the U.S.A." was our theme song for the basketball missions trip I took back in 2011 with my LCA basketball team I was coaching at the time. So I uploaded it and added it to my library. It's sort of embarrassing but it has a sentimental place in my heart.

So here's a little fun for everyone - of course I can't completely endorse the artist or her lifestyle - but it's a fun song. The larger point of all of this is - does our TV watching or music library conform to the biblical definition of "good". It's a challenging calling that convicts me in many ways because I know I compromise all too often. But let's keep evaluating ourselves and what we are allowing our minds to dwell on.

Music Monday - Songs I'm Embarrassed to Like

This week I'm going in a new direction with Music Mondays.  I'm going to pick a few songs over the next few weeks that I own on iTunes that might surprise those that know me. They may not all be songs I'm super-embarrassed to like, but they are selections I probably won't be shouting from the rooftops anytime soon.

Having said that, I am certainly embarrassed about this first song. I never really liked it when it came out on the radio. It's not a Christian song (which is something that may raise eyebrows since I'm a pastor). It is a song for a generation of youth much younger than I. It's sung by an artist whose reputation grows worse and worse the more she remains in the public spotlight. 

Then why is it in my iTunes library? 

Because in 2011, I led a basketball missions trip with 9 high school-ers from the basketball team I coached. We would go from town to town, game to game and play various teams. We would bring our own basketballs, nets, and sound system to each location to give the event a 'big-time' feel.

Since we had a sound system, we of course would play warm-up music as we got ready and someway, somehow this song found its way into the rotation and quickly became our group's favorite since it represented us as Americans visiting this foreign country. Even thousands of miles away, the crowds in each town recognized the song and often would sing along to it when it played.

So much of me wants to dislike this song. And yet with all the memories from trip that I associate with it now, I can't help but smile and sing along myself. 

Without further adieu, Miley Cyrus' Party in the USA: