Emerging Church Article
Here is a link to an interesting article on the emerging church by Scott McKnight. Whether you like the Emerging Church or not, this article is a good discussion piece.
Jesus Christ Superstar vs. Passion of the Christ
This weekend musicians from 12 local bands here in Lawrence put on a production of Jesus Christ Superstar. They didn’t do all the acting and costumes, they just rocked out the sound track. It wasn’t bad.
It’s interesting that it finishes without the resurrection. Back when JCSS came out there was a big up roar in the evangelical community because it didn’t tell the story accurately. Well, neither did the Passion of the Christ, but we took people to see that by the buss loads. I think we were just excited that we had a celebrity “on our side” other than Kirk Camaron. Remember the scene with Satan and that creepy baby? Yikes!
I think on something like this we have to realize that whether it’s Jesus Christ Superstar, or the Passion of the Christ, that these things are not the gospel. They are however great opportunities to talk about our faith. So when the an opportunity arises to address these things be sure you’re not uniformed.
Ok, that’s all.
P.S. The Divinci Code might be a good place to start.
Tips for Evaluting Music
I was listening to a sermon on the radio a couple of weeks ago by a teacher named Alistair Begg. If you haven’t heard him you should check it out. He has a Scottish accent and that always makes for fun listening. Anyway, he made the statement that Christians aren’t only to think about Christian things, or listen to Christian music or look at Christian art, but we are to think about everything, but from a Christian point of view. Since I’m a musician this got me thinking about how Christians should think about music. It seems to me that many Christians are completely undiscerning in how they evaluate music. Some Christians are undiscerning when it comes to the musical aspects of their music while others are undiscerning with the lyrics they chose to fill their minds with. This lack of critical evaluation isn’t limited to just Christians however, most people have no frame work for evaluating the music they listen to. Now, I realize that much of this will be subjective. It isn’t my intention to lay out any Absolute Truth here. There are however some objective guidelines for evaluation and my goal here is to equip you with some of these.
First let’s break this down in to two parts, musical and lyrical. There is more to evaluating music than just whether or not the Lyrics say “Jesus, or God” in them or not. In light of that, let’s tackle the musical part. Here are some questions you could ask. If you want to, choose a random song and answer these on a scale of 1-10.
1. Are the melodies original, or are they simply rehashed or even ripped off?
2. Does the melody line tell a story, or does it seem disjointed?
3. Does the melody evoke emotion or is it dry and stale?
4. Is it musical, does it have dynamic contrast, or does it stay at one level the whole time? (this is not a volume issue, as recordings are designed to maintain consistent volume)
5. Does the music match the lyrics? Say it’s a song about God’s holiness, but it’s set to a polka beat, that would be a disconnect.
6. What about the performances? Do the instruments sound good? Are they in tune? What about intonation?
7. Is it rhythmically tight or does it feel sloppy?
8. Is there anything the musicians are doing instrumentally that makes people stop and take notice? This doesn’t just mean fancy drum licks or guitar solos. It could be that the drummer is laying down a simple beat but he’s really in the pocket.
What about the vocal performance?
9. Is the persons voice unique? Is it pleasing to listen to? How’s the pitch and tone of their voice? Are their vocals in rhythm or do they feel sloppy?
10. How’s the recording of the song? Does it sound clear? Does it sound professional? Is it well produced? Is it over produced? If it’s a simpler recording does it sound raw or just unprofessional?
Now, you may be thinking, “what does this have to do with looking at music from a Christian perspective?” We’ll the bible says in Psalm that we are to play skillfully. Many people think that the most “Christian” thing you can do is be uncritical. I would submit to you however that it is more “Christian” to listen with a discerning ear, and to be able to distinguish between those things that are done “skillfully,” and those which are not. If we can’t do this, then how can we obey the command to play in such a way?
Before we talk about evaluating lyrics let me first say that there is much debate about what makes music, “Christian” or not. Personally I don’t know of any song that has placed its faith in Jesus alone for it’s salvation, so asking whether a song is Christian or not might just be a silly question. A better question might be, does this song promote a Christian worldview? You see, the bible doesn’t just touch on certain areas of our lives. It’s holistic. It is concerned with everything that occurs under the sun. We are to do all things to the glory of God, even things as mundane as eating and sleeping. So, can we in this age of relativism say with certainty that certain lyrics are good and others are not? Yes, I believe we can, and Paul gives us the criteria. Is it true? Is it good? is it lovely? is it commendable? is it worthy of praise? So here are some questions to ask when evaluating lyrics.
1. Are the themes universal, can they relate to human experience?
2. Is the rhyme scheme varied and creative, or does it only use direct rhymes like “bring” and “thing?” (it’s not bad, but there’s more to rhyme schemes than direct rhyming correlations).
3. Do the lyrics tell a story, even if it’s abstract, or is full of non-sense?
4. Do the lyrics convey ideas in new ways, or are they rehashed and ripped off?
5. Are the lyrics true? Do they square with what the scripture says to be true not only about God, but about man, and life, and morals, and friendship, and love, and faith?
6. Is it clich and trite or is it profound and honest?
In an earlier blog I talked about the song “Imagine” by John Lennon. I judged the lyrics to this song to be untrue, but judged the musical aspects of the song to be beautiful and good. Now, with two conflicting judgments how should I view this song as a Christian? We’ll I believe that the beauty of the music and melody line make the untruth of the lyrics even more potent. It’s like a time bomb wrapped in beautiful Christmas wrappings.
Now does this mean this song should be avoided at all costs? No, it just means don’t fill your mind with this kind of stuff. What goes in is what goes out. Do not think that you are not affected by the things you listen to. What will you do on your day of trouble if all you’ve filled your mind with is untruth? What will be the rock underneath your feet? Think about it.
Well, I hope this gives you some tools to use in evaluating your music. I know Ill be thinking about these issues as I prepare for my next album. Some of this is subjective, but I think it’s ok to say that some music (and musicians) are just bad. When you are evaluating however, always remember that you can speak in the tongues of men and angels but if you don’t have love, you are nothing. Speak the truth (even about music), but speak it in love. Feel free to add any other criteria you may think of by responding to this blog. Thanks.
Matt
Appendix A: Questions for evaluating praise and worship songs
Lyrics
Are they theologically sound? Are they Christ centered? Do they paint an accurate picture of who God is and how he operates? Do they express God’s attributes in creative ways?
Music
Is it singable? If you close your eyes and listen can you hear people singing along in your head? Is the melody simple enough to be followed but creative enough not to be boring?
Olympics and the IMB
Ok, so did anyone watch the opening ceremonies at the Olympics? It had some amazing moments, but it was so random. Not to mention that all the countries walked in to a random mix of American 70’s and 80’s tunes. Why? Italy has so much history. The Renaissance, the Roman Empire, why not show of your goods. Why resort to the YMCA? Well, the best moment for me was Pavarotti closing the ceremony with Nessun Dorma to a live orchestra. Yes, his eyebrows appeared to be painted on, but that dude can sing. If you don’t know Nessun Dorma, go to itunes right now and download it. It’s what you might call “essential classical music.” The most disturbing moment was Yoko Ono reading a poem by John Lennon followed by Peter Gabriel singing, “Imagine.” First of all, most die hard Beatles fans blame her for the downfall of the band. Secondly, have you ever listened to the words of “Imagine?”
“Imagine there’s no heaven, it’s easy if you try, no hell below us, above us only sky, imagine all the people living for today…”
The point is supposed to be that if there were no God or heaven or afterlife and all we had was today then we’d all live better lives and share our possessions and feed the hungry, because we’d realize today is all we have. This is bull. If there’s no God, no heaven or hell, and all I have is today, then I’m going to Cancun for spring break. As my theology professor says, “If there’s no resurrection from the dead, then line up the cocaine.” Why waste our time with morals, you’ve got one chance to get as much pleasure as you can get. Think I sound crazy? This is exactly what the apostle Paul said. He said, “if there’s no resurrection from the dead, then eat, drink and be merry for tomorrow we die.” He would tell you that John Lennon song is a bunch of bull. The reason it’s so powerful is because it has that catchy little piano part that gets in your head as well as a beautiful melody. It’s really not that easy to imagine there is no God or heaven. 80 percent the world believes in something like a God. Anyway, it’s a pretty song; no doubt a classic, but way off.
Finally, I’d like to bring to your attention a new policy at the International Mission Board of the SBC. The board of trustees has decided that if you were baptized in a church that wasn’t SBC, even if it was an evangelical church and you were accepted into a SBC church without being required to be baptized again, then you cannot go out on the mission field through the IMB without being rebaptized in an SBC church. Yes, I know, this is the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard.
Look people, the validity of your baptism, which is a symbol and an act of obedience, doesn’t rest on the merits of the person performing it. It rests on the merits of Christ and what the baptism represents; that is, his death, burial and resurrection. Baptism doesn’t wash away sin, it is a public proclamation that your old life is dead and gone and that you are now alive in Christ. This is a one-time proclamation. If you received gospel of Christ by faith and followed him in believers baptism then you have no reason to be baptized again, no matter what kind of church it was in.
If you are familiar with church history there was a group of people around the 5th century called the Donatists. The Donatists believed that if you were baptized by a priest who gave into pressure and gave up his copy of the bible to the authorities then your baptism was no longer valid. St. Augustine fought hard against this teaching. He argued that the merits of the sacraments rested on Christ not the priest.
In our church start here in Lawrence, I commit here and now that I will not rebaptize some one so they will be “acceptable” to the IMB. If someone feels called to go overseas and they have been baptized in another denomination we will send them ourselves as a church through another group. I would encourage all of you to be aware of this issue b/c good people with hearts for God’s glory and missions are being denied the chance to go and serve, and they are being denied by a policy that borders on heretical. Finally, let me just point out that anyone can baptize someone. You do not have to be a pastor, or minister or priest. All you have to be is a believer. When Jesus gave the great commission he didnt put stipulations on it. It was for all of us, and it included baptism.
Go ye therefore into all the world preaching the gospel, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you, and I will be with you always, even to the end of the age. Matthew 28:18 Case closed.
Sorry that’s a heavy closing, but that last topic really ticks me off.
New Website
The new website is up and running. Go to www.mattchristenot.com, or for those of you who are old school go to www.trueworship.com, it’s all the same place. There will be a couple more improvements over the next few days. Many thanks to Justin Garcia for all his hard work. If you have any suggestions for things that should be added to the site let us know. We work for the people. And remember myspace.com/mattchristenotband is the one stop sight for all your exclusive Matt Christenot Band needs.
Wes King Tribute Album
I wanted to encourage all of you to buy the new Wes King tribute album, “Life is Precious.” I don’t know if you know this or not but Wes King was diagnosed with Lymphoma (a cancer). The proceeds from this album are being donated to help with his medical expenses. I recommend picking it up at www.independentbands.com.
“Concerned artists have recorded their favorite Wes King tracks for this double-disc tribute project. All of the artists, producers, engineers, musicians and studios have graciously donated their time and talents to the creation of this tribute to Wes King and his music. The album features music from many artists including Derek Webb, Downhere, Jacob’s Well and more!” (from independentbands.com)
Go buy the album today.
itunes, updates, and Saint Frank
There are a lot of new things going on here in the world of Matt Christenot. First, I just celebrated my one year wedding aniversary. No, she hasn’t left me yet. To Look on You will be hitting itunes some time in the next week. A new official web page is almost completed and should be posted shortly. This will be a surprise to those who know that the old one hasn’t been updated since it said my CD was coming out May of 2004, Yikes! I know it’s bad to leave it up like that, but look people web sites cost money and I’m poor. Anyway, this one looks incredible and will be up soon. My songs are now registered with CCLI, so if you’re a worship leader with a CCLI license and you report using a song of mine in worship I get royalties. Show me the money!
Last weekend we played a college conference with Voddie Baucham. If you’ve never heard him speak, he is incredible. Well, it was our first gig to play with a new bass player. His name was Allen and he is pretty incredible (I think that’s the second time I’ve used “incredible”, ok, no more uses of that word in this blog.) I don’t know if the Allen thing will turn out to be permanent but we are going to be booking him to play with the band through the end of the summer. Good bass players are hard to find.
Well, we are officially scheduled to hit the studio in Atlanta on August 14th. I think this album could be a real watershed moment for us. Or maybe nothing positive will come of it, who knows, but I chose to be an optimist (today at least).
Now on to my deep thought. I’m sure most of you have heard the quote from St. Francis of Assisi that goes something like, “Go out into all the world and preach the gospel at all times, when necessary, use words.” Most of us understand the heart of what Saint Francis was trying to say. He’s trying to communicate to us to live out the gospel by our lives. Ok, so it’s widely quoted, but is it true? Before I say what I think about it, let me first say that just because a quote is from a dead monk and it is widely quoted doesn’t make it true. It’s only true if it squares up with what the bible says. Now, having said that, here’s my take. The fundamental problem with this statement, or at least modern interpretations of it is this: You can’t preach the gospel without words. It is always necessary. Why? Because the gospel is a message. The message is this: that Jesus Christ was God, that he came to this earth lived a perfect life, was crucified on the cross for our sins and rose on the third day forever defeating sin and death. That’s the gospel, and if you don’t’ believe me go read 1 Corinthians 15. This message requires words because that’s how God chose to give it to us through the bible.
Now what St. Frank was saying is that our actions should also preach the gospel. I think a more accurate way of describing the relationship of our actions to the preaching of the gospel is to say that they evidence the truth of the gospel. They prove that Christ has accomplished something in the lives of those who believe. Now is it always necessary to share the gospel every time you do a good deed? No, I don’t think that’s what the bible teaches. The ultimate point of doing any good deed is what? To glorify our Father in heaven. That’s not to say loving our neighbor as our self isn’t huge, Jesus gave that a huge place of prominence in his teaching. In fact it was right up there with the commandment to love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, and soul. God is glorified when we help someone in his name even if there is no chance to share a gospel message. I do think however, he is more glorified when we help someone, and the gospel is shared and accepted. It’s a case of good, better, best. Or glory, more glory, the most glory. Ok, my point in all this is that to “preach the gospel,” words are always necessary, because the gospel is a story and a message and that requires words to communicate.
A recent Derek Webb statement in CCM about the gospel including the coming of the kingdom has stirred some thought so I’ll respond to that after I have some time to research the issue. Basically he says that what I talked about today is one side of the gospel coin and the coming of the kingdom is the other. By the coming of the Kingdom he is talking about instituting the values of heaven (no more hunger, thirst, wipe away every tear) here on earth by feeding the hungry, ministering to the poor etc. So is this what Jesus meant by “your will be done on earth as it is in heaven?” We’ll see.
Ok, well that’s all for now, be on the look out for the album on itunes as well as the new www.mattchristenot.com. Sorry this is long. Later.
Matt
