Some Thoughts on Suffering. . . .

It's an interesting day here in Boulder County. . . .The fires seem to be getting under control, folks are remembering 9/11, and my buddy just had his car backed into by a stranger (who took the time to ring the doorbell and let them know what happened, exchange numbers. . .etc).

What do all of these have in common? In America. . . . . these are all ways folks have "suffered" recently, in various degrees, of course.

I remember 9/11 well. I was living in New Jersey. . I remember watching the Today show, (which I rarely do) that morning for some reason. Providence was crawling around as a 14-month-old, and Jody was sleeping. Matt Lauer got cut off during an interview about drapes/food or something, they went to commercial, and when they returned they showed the first tower on fire. While we were watching, the 2nd tower was hit. It was a chilling day to be alive and watching t.v.

I remember the bombers flying around overhead that day, as they secured the airspace over the tri-state area. I remember the smell some 3 weeks later, as I was up in North Jersey. I remember the terribly sad stories of folks who lost their loved ones.

This, to me, was one of the true "suffering" moments in our nation recently. See, we spend so much money on insurance and failsafe backups, etc. . . That when we "lose" most things these days, they get replaced.

In the Boulder fires, many folks lost precious things that can't be replaced, of course. That's tough to handle. But, from our fire last year, and others I've spoken to. . . in some ways it's a freeing thing to be able to "start over", get to re-decorate, get to stay in a nice hotel for a while, get to eat out. You miss home, of course. But, the "suffering" is not devastating.

That brings me to my buddy. We were discussing his car last night, and he had a good quote, he said that "suffering" like this is annoying, but not devastating.

That's a pretty good description, I would say. We spend so much money insuring ourselves that tragedies won't be devastating. This is such a huge privilege in our country. In Ethiopia, if the Boulder fires happen, a bunch of people are homeless, without food, and without any recourse to reclaim the stuff of their lives.

On 9/11 none of that mattered. We saw that true loss is losing those closest to us, . . and losing our sense of security that we spend so much money to ensure. I'm grateful to live in a country where we can maintain a certain level of security, but it was a helpful correction on that terrible day to remember that nothing is guaranteed, and not everything can be bought.

To those who are in the midst of putting their lives back together in Boulder, I pray God's peace for you, and logistical ease in navigating the "annoying" process of dealing with adjusters, and various entities. I pray you find peace dealing with the things that you cannot replace. I also hope we find a level of gratitude that we live in a place like this where we can replace alot of stuff.

As we remember 9/11, let's be grateful for where we live, but remember that there are no guarantees, and live courageously and adventurously as we remember:

Psalm 118:6-7 (New International Version)

⁶ The LORD is with me; I will not be afraid.
What can man do to me?

⁷ The LORD is with me; he is my helper.
I will look in triumph on my enemies.

And to my buddy who got his car dinged. . . I'm glad insurance is doing what they were paid to do. Enjoy the new body job on your car.

The Hymn of the Legalist

HT: Bob Kauflin

Don't sing this song this weekend. . . or ever.

The Hymn of the Legalist

Written by Stephen Altrogge

Topics: The Gospel

Jesus Paid It Some

I hear the Savior say,
“You’re not doing enough;
Work your fingers to the bone,
I will save those who are tough.”

Jesus paid it some
I will do the rest
Sin had left a crimson stain
Now I will give my best

For now indeed I’ll try
To earn your love and grace
I’ll add the works I have
To complete the price you paid.

REFRAIN

And when before the throne
I’ll give my deeds to you,
I’ll hope I’ve done enough
To make you let me through.

REFRAIN (3x just to be sure)

Anatomy of a Great Road Song

Disclaimer: This post will be long. . .and will broach upon a level of musical geekery that I don't often show. I went to school for music, took voice from an evil genius, and took 4 years of ear training, which turned me into a musical analysis robot. Thus, when I listen to songs, I'm hearing these kinds of things. . . . Thanks to the UNO music staff and mom and dad for money well spent! Careful, don't let me ruin any of your favorite songs:

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The windows are down, the breeze is blowing, and the radios get turned up. There's nothing like a good road song. This summer, in my travels, I noticed a few common themes that are (maybe) part of what makes a road song "great". Most of these had heavy rotation for the Brittons in the summer of '10. Buckle up:

What makes a good road song?

1) Good use of ascending bass lines and the "IV major 7 (add 9)" chord.

Both of these characteristics give the sense of motion and journey to a song (not journey as in "don't stop believin", journey as in "trip"). A few examples:

"Red Dirt Road" Brooks and Dunn

Do you hear the chord on "tore it all to pieces" in the chorus? How about "just for high achievers"? That's the IV major 7 (add 9) chord. The vocal melody and harmony is dancing around the 7 and the 9 as well. I just hear "journey" and "nostalgia" when I hear that chord.

When the song hits the post chorus: "I've learned, I've come to know", that's a bass walk up starting at the ii(2) chord. Good times.

Other things that make this song a great road song: Some awesome Hammond Organ work. It's there throughout, very tastefully. . . but especially after the last chorus. . .nice.

Other great road songs that use these techniques: "Wasted" Carrie Underwood; "End of the Innocence" Don Henley/Bruce Hornsby; "Absolute" The Fray (great IV chord here)

2) Lyrical Painting

Rich Mullins, "Land of my Sojourn"

(nice political commentary from Rich at the beginning)

And this road she is a woman

She was made from a rib
Cut from the sides of these mountains

Umm, yeah, I don't even know what to say about that except no one writes like Rich, and that is an unbelievable lyric.

(I couldn't find the album cut of this song on youtube. . . .you really must get "Liturgy/Legacy". . .unreal)

You gotta have a lyric that takes you somewhere; takes you right into a place or a moment. Also lyrics that evoke nostalgia are crucial to the "Epic Road Moment" where time stands still and you forget about whatever is going on.

Other great road songs that use this technique: "So Small" Carrie Underwood; "The Color Green" Rich Mullins; "Miracle Drug" U2, "Cielo" Phil Whickam; "Running to Stand Still" U2

3) Chord Progressions that evoke travel, or space.

#41 Dave Matthews Band

The chord progression that is used throughout this song is: ii, iii, vi, V. That's a very unique progression. In fact, I've never heard it before. I'm sure other songs use it, but I don't know them. Something about this song makes you feel like you're going somewhere, or perhaps that you've been somewhere. Also, any song that has 6-7 minutes of violin/sax/guitar solo should be a great road song.

Other great road songs that use this technique: "Clocks" Coldplay, "Your Love" Tommy Walker, "In Your City" Phil Whickam, "End of the Innocence" Don Henley/Bruce Hornsby

5) Good use of dance-y piano, organ, and instrumental virtuosity

"End of the Innocence" Don Henley/Bruce Hornsby

Hard to argue with this song (it's in, like, all the categories). Most people associate guitars with road songs. . .but I think pianos might be more effective at times.

Other great road songs that use this technique: "Your Love" Tommy Walker, "Red Dirt Road" Brooks and Dunn, "Cause We've Ended as Lovers" Jeff Beck, "That's Just the Way it is" Bruce Hornsby, "Why I am" Dave Matthews Band

Also, if you want your face contorted, check out Tommy Walker's guitar solo on "Your Love". . . unreal.

Ok, I"ll stop for now. I may do more musical analysis posts in the future. . .we'll see.

Free Worship Leader Advice

A few things from the summer and recently while observing other worship leaders. . . . . .

If you don't know the song you are trying to lead, . . cut it, . . .and do a different song. By "know", I mean:

a) Do you know the chord changes and how to play the chords? (capos are encouraged and helpful)

b) Do you have a good enough knowledge of the words to lead the song? (more to come on this)

c) Can you sing the song? (i.e. is it in your range) if not, you could transpose perhaps? Can't transpose? cut the song. . .do a different song.

d) There is an artful way to lead songs with words that you don't have memorized. Have you thought about how to do that? Takes practice, young grasshopper.

e) If the words, or concept of "karaoke" have been uttered. . . cut the song. Pick a different song.

We all make mistakes. . I've made more than most. But, these are some good "before we even get started" questions. Better to have less impressive, or easier congregational singing, than trying to "pull something off" that won't help folks sing together.

Two good pieces on the Koran burning

Again, my maturity would want to post a sophomoric, 4 letter word filled, immature blog about this stupidity (as one blogger commented. . . assininity. . . I like that word).

But, instead, I will point you to two more mature pieces.

here

here

A quick side note: Terrorists flew planes into the towers. Yes, they were Muslims, but the great majority of Muslims are not terrorists. As Christians we have to be in favor of religious freedom for all. If we want to restrict the religious freedom of those with whom we disagree or of whom we are afraid, then who's freedom will be next? Fear leads to hatred, and as Yoda tells us, hatred leads to the dark side. I would ask anyone who claims to be a Christian to think about these things as we interact with the Mosque in Downtown NYC, and all manner of Muslim issues in the USA. We should not allow anyone to threaten anyone else, or be combative/violent in their practice. We should not skirt the laws of our land. . . . BUT. . . We should be for their right to practice their religion. We would like the same freedom, no?

(Abraham Piper has a very interesting take over at 22words. It's a little "un-sensative" so I"m not going to link to it. But, if you'd like another take. . google Abraham Piper. . . )

A Theology of Poverty

Wow.

Sorry to be the Web-links guy today. . . but this is a fantastic piece from Andrew Peterson. I'm the world's biggest Rich Mullins fan, and I, like many, had to come to grips with the fact that we're not all called to live like good ol' Rich.

Andrew rightly exposes the false gospel of poverty (and capitalism by the way) and has a better way forward on these issues.

After all, someone has to buy the burgers. :)

Worship Rant

This is gold, pure gold from Jeremy Pierce. Don't miss the subtle irony. You'll probably need to click on a couple of the links to do so.

loved it!

HT: JT