Music Mondays: DOWN WITH SECULAR CHRISTMAS SONGS...EXCEPT THESE ONES

I was listening to one of my favorite podcasts - the Various and Sundry Pod from Dec. 1 to be specific - and Doc Harmon said something towards the end that really resonated with me, two things actually.

First, he described how he insisted on not allowing Christmas music to be played in his home until after Thanksgiving. I am all for this rule! We don't play much music in our house to be honest. But if I'm in the car and a station starts playing Christmas music before I've eaten my turkey and stuffing, the channel is getting changed for sure.

Second, he expressed his overall disdain for secular Christmas songs that have no connection to the birth of Jesus. I can get behind this too. Most of the time. It got me thinking how there are a few exceptions to this rule in my mind. 

So here's a Music Monday feature on three songs I can't help but like despite having no spiritual Christmas message.

3. "Rockin Around the Christmas Tree" - Brenda Lee

This Oldie Classic was recorded when Lee was only 13 years old (!) and didn't become a hit until she later became a pop star later on. Why do I like this particular song? Maybe it's the lyrical focus on the family and friends time we spend during the holiday. I think it's always stuck with me though because of it's inclusion in the original Home Alone movie. 

2. Underneath the Tree - Kelly Clarkson

My wife owns this album and a few years ago I stumbled upon this song - probably on a trip to her parents for Christmas. This peppy tune reminds me of my number one song (below). Between her vocals and the catchy beat, it just sticks in your head in a sort of happy, good way.

1. "All I Want For Christmas Is You" - Mariah Carey

Try as you might, I don't think you can hate this song. It's just too good. Too catchy, too sappy, too fun, too happy. Did you know last year, it hit #1 on Billboard, 25 years after it's release? Widely recognized as the best selling Christmas single of modern times, I for one can't not like it. 

Music Mondays : The three songs you're guaranteed to hear at Martin's Deli

Of course I realize this is a Tuesday, but who really can keep track of time during this pandemic. Anyway, I'm committing to the "Music Mondays" bit even though it's been months since I did one of these entries.

Martin's Deli has been my back-up office pretty much since I became a pastor. The supermarket opened maybe 9 years ago and it's deli food was instantly a hit with me and my peer group at the time. When the Lord called me to Milford in 2013 - but didn't call us to move out of Winona Lake - Martin's proved to be a good alternative if weather or lunch meetings or other things made it inconvenient to drive 25 minutes to the office. Between the salad bar, grill, donuts, coffee, and ample seating Martin's is perfect for someone like me. I'm definitely not the only one of course, as more often than not I'll run into other pastors or friends who use this place to study or meet with people.

So all that said, I feel like I have built up enough experience in the deli to write this post. Unless you have your own earbuds to cue up your own music, you will eventually notice that the store plays satellite radio tuned to pop music hits.

Here are the three songs you're bound to hear if you stay for any extended amount of time.

Taylor Swift "Blank Space" 

There's a bunch of Ms. Swift's hits that get played. For some reason, this one feels like it's on the very-regular rotation. It's distinctive beat always seems to break my concentration and grab my attention too.

OneRepublic - "Counting Stars"

This group also has several hits that get featured on whatever channel Martin's is playing. I'm not complaining, I have a couple of their singles on my iPod (yes those still exist). This is not one of them. And it always makes me want to finish what I'm doing quickly. Maybe Martin's should reconsider letting this play to keep their customers in their facility for longer...ok I'm way overanalyzing this.

Katy Perry -"Unconditionally"

Can I tell you a secret? I look forward to hearing this one. It is a banger as they say (or used to say). Great vocals and lyrical content that I can actually line up with Scriptural principles about love. And I'm not too proud to admit I've looked up the song on YouTube after hearing it as I worked in my booth or at my table.

And irony of ironies, as I began to write this, I realized this exact song was playing. That's just too weird.

There would be some honorable mentions like Maroon 5, Christina Perri, and Ed Sheeran. But these three for sure will get some play if you ever spend a couple hours reading, hanging out with friends, or eating lunch at our fine Martin's Deli establishment.

Making Golden Calves out of Bronze Serpents

In my sermon prep last week in 2 Kings 17-20, a detail popped out to me as I was working through the text. 

In describing the spiritual reforms King Hezekiah implemented, the author makes this note in 18:4

"He removed the high places, smashed the sacred stones and cut down the Asherah poles. He broke into pieces the bronze snake Moses had made, for up to that time the Israelites had been burning incense to it. (It was called Nehushtan."

If that reference doesn't ring a bell, there's a short little story in Numbers 21:4-8 of the Israelites growing impatient on their Exodus journey to the Promised Land. God sends snakes in their camp as punishment - and then provides a solution, having Moses craft a snake made of bronze. Anyone who was bitten could look at the serpent and live. Jesus even references it to predict his own sacrificial death in John 3:13-15.

So here in the time of Hezekiah, we learn a) Israel had kept this item b) they had begun to worship it and 3) the King ordered it's destruction. 

What are we to infer from these things?

Well, with a), it was not inappropriate for them to have kept this "icon" that reminded them of God's grace. We know that the Ark of the Covenant was a physical item meant to portray (and seat) God's divine presence. And the Ark itself held other items of special notoriety, namely Moses' staff, manna, and the 10 Commandment tablets. 

Point b) and c) naturally go together as one causes the other. Technically, the passage stops short of stating that out-and-out worship was being observed in the presence of the bronze artifact. Yet the context is clear that Hezekiah was not going to stand for anything that went beyond Yahweh-prescribed worship. 

I find it fascinating how b) follows a) though. Maybe convicting is the better word. Doesn't this feel totally normal for the human experience? Human beings were given a visible sign as part of God's gracious assistance and they start to ascribe special value to the statue itself? Of course we did. 

Early on in church history, the Eastern Orthodox and Western portions of Christianity split over issues including the use of images and iconography. Roman Catholic cathedrals around the world feature exhibits (for lack of a better term) of various alleged items of significant objects of historical Christian events. Evangelical churches aren't often that direct. But we like to put a cross prominently on everything and often take great pride in our architecture and building environment. We often glorify experiences - camps, missions trips, the eucharist - making them the main thing rather than the actual experience of knowing God. 

I'm not equating these examples nor am I outright condemning them. To be honest, this is a half-baked idea. I'm not fully sure of what big application I want to make here other than, we better take care not to make idols out of symbols or memorials. Don't hedge your bets with other rituals or let good tokens of grace turn into superstitious lucky charms. Bronze serpents can easily turn into golden calves if we don't keep the main thing the main thing.

P.S. If I really wanted to stir up some stuff, I might question whether or not we Americans do this with our flag, i.e., do we worry about "disrespecting the flag" as an object instead of focusing on what the flag represents - freedom, independence etc?

Some things we've learned with Baby #2

So "EJ" our second son was born back on New Year's Eve 2019. For our first, Tate, I posted a Music Monday for him and later shared about the drama of his birth. It was my most read post ever.

Oldest kids notoriously get more attention, pictures, and celebration than the siblings that come later. I've wondered in my own mind if having blog posts about Tate but not EJ is an example of that. Thinking it through however, I think it is a little simpler. While Tate had some unusual aspects to his early life, EJ has been pretty normal by comparison. And normal hasn't felt "blog-worthy". 

EJ has been a joy and welcome addition to our family. He certainly adds to the dynamic of our family. Going from a family of three to a family of four has not been a little thing though. So as I've considered it, I've come up with a few blog-worthy things I appreciate because God gave us little guy #2.

1. I appreciate the busyness. "Appreciate" is a relative term here. Going from 1 to 2 kids doubles the work. We thought we had our hands full with Tate. Adding EJ to the mix has certainly stretched us. But it is rewarding work and a beautiful responsibility. We don't take our kids for granted. In the day-to-day grind of our parental routine, we try to survive the busyness. Then every so often, moments come along that make you appreciate the craziness.
   
   
2. 
   I appreciate the differences. Tate's story had drama.  And as he grew, he ended up a little behind developmentally when it came to crawling, his core, and walking. We got him on the right track thanks to a local facility. EJ had a pretty simple birth. He seems to be right on track with his physical development, figuring out crawling and using it to his advantage. Also along these lines - Tate was born pretty bald, with only peach fuzz on his dome. EJ has had a full head of hair at birth and will no doubt need a haircut way earlier than his brother.
   
   
   
3.  I appreciate the bonds of family. Before, it was two parents caring for, working with, and loving on one child. Now, there is more of a peer-to-peer element with these brother siblings. Even at this early stage, it has been cool watching them as they interact as brothers.

I should add that my wife has been a rock-star as we've had to figure out this new world of two kids. There's been plenty of stress, especially with this pandemic. She's worked hard to cover so much and God has given us enough grace to manage. And that's all we've really needed.

Christians and Leaders and Christian Leaders

Having devoted much of my life to studying God's Word, I will occasionally stumble upon a randomly interesting observation. One such observation came up in my prep for yesterday's sermon and since it's been an entire month since I posted, I figured I would try fleshing it out some more here.

My randomly "profound" idea? 

Christians have often had a weird relationship with their leaders.

It is as if we are on a constant search for the person God is raising up "for such a time as this". Whether it be a political candidate or a new pastor/spiritual leader, we are often all-too eager to fall head-over-heels for someone. And the higher the stakes, the higher the pedestal we put them on. 

This then leads to leader-worship, where some start to believe that since God's hand is on that individual, since he sovereignly put them in that position, that makes them untouchable. They are infallible, impervious to mistakes, you can't really criticize them because God's favor has rested on them.

Maybe we don't theologically believe those things are absolutely true but practically we treat them as such. We will jump all over the smallest misstep of an opponent while turning a blind eye to exceptionally problematic issues with our leader(s). 

This is not a new phenomena. Israel's history is littered with kings who operated according to such beliefs. In the middle ages, there was the doctrine of "the divine right of kings". The American concept of "Manifest Destiny" can probably linked to this concept too. 

When we buy into this perspective that venerates our leaders, we fail to understand that God's favor is not some sort of force-field that makes them invulnerable and perfect. 

Even if God's divine appointment could be proven, it is not cover for anything and everything they might do or say. Read about David's life, especially the last part of his reign. Or Joash in 2 Kings 11-12. It is all too easy for imperfect human beings to lose their way. 

Only one leader in all of human history has a spotless record. And he was God-in-human-flesh. And he was crucified.

Let me just wrap this up by encouraging us all to do two things:

1. Pray for our leaders. Christians are commanded to (1 Tim. 2) of course. Yet we should do so because we realize they are put on a pedestal that comes with a heavy weight. We should pray because we realize how easy it is to trip up. 
   
   
2. Don't be blindly loyal to anyone but Jesus. If my favorite pastor or my preferred political candidate messes up, I should be wise enough to recognize it and give voice to my disapproval. Jesus alone is worthy of our complete allegiance because he has not and will not let us down.

We have often had a weird relationship with our leaders. Doing these two things will allow us to live within the tension of supporting those God has put over us but not blindly following them into whatever folly they may be chasing.

Music Mondays: Arresting Lyrics - Miscellaneous Edition

So while the previous posts in this series have been categorized by groups, early on I knew there were a bunch of singular songs that were all powerful. This is a mix of Christian and secular music that I find emotionally profound.

7. "How can I stand here with you, and not be moved by you?" - Everything, Lifehouse.

This is a line that is repeated several times as part of the chorus of this apparently slow ballad. It turns on a dime into a rock anthem at the four minute mark. It is at that point with the bridge "You're all I want, you're all I need. You're everything. Everything" that this charming lyric you'd heard over and over hits another level.

6. "If his grace is an ocean, we're all sinking." - How He Loves, David Crowder Band

Much attention was given to the mini-controversy regarding the changing of the original lyrics from "sloppy wet kiss" to "unforseen kiss". That unfortunately takes away from a genius metaphor that the original writer, John Mark McMillan, penned in this line. I'm hard pressed to think of a better description of God's matchless, infinite, amazing grace.

5.  "I am brave, I am bruised. I am who I'm meant to be. This is me." - This is me, The Greatest Showman

There are other parts of this song I could include. But after watching the vocalist "get arrested" herself by this line. I have to go with that. This song lends itself to being adopted by a whole host of people groups. I personally find it a worthy expression of how we all are made in the image of God and have inherent worth, value, and beauty.

4. "No one else in history is like you. And history itself belongs to you" - Jesus, Lover of My Soul, Passion

One of the great overlooked worship songs of this century, it has always resonated with me because of it's simple approach and honest expression of surrender. And this line is a reminder that our Savior is the Alpha and Omega, Lord of all history.

3. "Prone to wander, Lord I feel it. Prone to leave the God I love. Here's my heart, oh take and seal it. Seal it for thy courts above." - Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing

I'm pretty sure this is the first song and first line to ever "catch me" emotionally. I think that line has convicted thousands of Christians over the years because it forces us to recognize our battle with our flesh. Unless your church tradition is liturgical, confession like this is probably unusual for you to express within musical worship.

2. "There's a grace too powerful to name...Forgiveness. Can you imagine?" - "It's Quiet Uptown" - Hamilton

Ok, I'm cheating a little on this one. Early on in the song they mention "there's suffering too terrible to name", as the song (and story) progresses, there is "grace too powerful to name". And then as the Hamilton's reconcile, the Chorus singers remark - "Forgiveness. Can you imagine". Maybe I'm out in left field but ever since the first time I heard the song, I've been convinced that the grace too powerful to name actually is named - Forgiveness.

I was fully aware of the legendary status of the Hamilton play since it hit Broadway. I'm not a musical guy really so I didn't make a point to purchase super-expensive tickets 6 months in advance to go see a show in a distant city. I was aware of the basic subject matter and story. But when I finally watched it this summer, it was this narrative turn that hit me right in the feels. I won't fully spoil all the details, needless to say that there is something gloriously Christlike in the conclusion of the play. And much of it embodied by this song.  I also have to agree with the Youtube video that described this song as compelling it's audience to "ugly cry". That pretty much was my experience.

1. "And we will come back home, home again!" - From Now On - The Greatest Showman

I love this song for two reasons really. It's a rousing conclusion to a musical movie that I was surprisingly entertained by. P.T. Barnum has come to the end of his rope and realizes what is truly important.  I also like how easy it is to co-opt into a spiritual song about our hope of eternity. In a generic way, Barnum's character arc reflects the redemptive arc all Christ-followers experience both with their salvation and their daily walks. And we can all look expectantly ahead when we will be Home. I did find a few "Christianized" videos of this song literally being co-opted by youth groups and the like, which sort of makes me roll my eyes. That fact notwithstanding, I still appreciate the spiritual notes lying beneath the surface. 

Music Mondays: Arresting Lyrics

Last week, I introduced this series and kicked it off with a number of Rich Mullins' lyrics that I find startlingly profound and emotionally powerful.

There are several other artists and categories I plan to feature but as I got into organizing and arranging them all, I realized it will take a bit more thought and time than I anticipated.

So for this week, I thought I'd go with an easier one, Hillsong. I am certainly not familiar with their entire catalog and am certainly aware that they have been criticized for a number of different things. For better, or worse, this Australian-founded outfit took commercialized modern worship. They are significantly different than Mullins if you wanted to compare these back to back. But boy have they written some great songs with lyrics that really stand out.

4. "On a hill you created, Light of the world abandoned in darkness to die" - So Will I (100 Billion X)

This song is unique both for it's lack of chorus and how it seamlessly blends biblical themes from Genesis to the Gospels.

I could easily include the lines that follow "and as you speak 100 billion failures disappear. Where you lost your life so I could find it here, if you left the grave behind you so will I". Really the entire stanza always resonates with me. And the particular point it makes about Christ dying on the ground he helped create (Col. 1:15-16) - it is a perspective I hadn't considered before this song and one I will not soon forget.

3. Now this gospel truth of old, shall not kneel, shall not faint. By His blood and in His name, in His freedom I am free. For the love of Jesus Christ, who has resurrected me." - King of Kings

I originally thought of just the first line and then realized that it keeps building and building and crests with the joyous truth that all in Christ have been raised with him in glory (Rom. 6:4). This is a song about the victorious gospel and the praise of the one who has given that victory to us.

2. "Mountains bow down and the seas will roar at the sound of your name" - Shout to the Lord

The "original" Hillsong hit that felt like it drew you in to worship from the first time you heard it. Mountains bowing, seas roaring - what a way to convey the power of our God.

Admittedly, this song is repetitive. One verse and one chorus repeated several times. For me, it's like watching a great movie and then re-watching it a bunch more times to pick up on all the nuances and things you missed the first time. Repetition can be a weakness of modern worship music, but in this case I think it helps us better appreciate the truths contained within.

1. "You have no rival, you have no equal. Now and forever God you reign. Yours is the Kingdom, yours is the glory. Yours is the name above all names" - What a Beautiful Name

This entire verse deserves the top spot really. I especially like how they come back to this last half of the verse in the live renditions.

This may come off weird, but I think I have probably cherished this song and this verse in particular in the last couple years because of the many funerals I have had to officiate over the past 18-24 months. For me it has become a protest anthem. Death is our enemy, but it cannot hold a candle to our Lord and Savior.  What a powerful name it is!