The Rebel Jesus

The streets are filled with laughter and light
And the music of the season
And the merchants' windows are all bright
With the faces of the children
And the families hurrying into their homes
As the sky darkens and freezes
Will be gathering around the hearths and tales
Giving thanks for God's graces
And the birth of the rebel Jesus

Well they call him by 'the Prince of Peace'
And they call him by 'the Savior'
And they pray to him upon the seas
And in every bold endeavor
And they fill his churches with their pride and gold
As their faith in him increases
But they've turned the nature that I worship in
From a temple to a robber's den
In the words of the rebel Jesus

We guard our world with locks and guns
And we guard our fine possessions
And once a year when Christmas comes
We give to our relations
And perhaps we give a little to the poor
If the generosity should seize us
But if any one of us should interfere
In the business of why they are poor
They get the same as the rebel Jesus

But pardon me if I have seem
To take the tone of judgement
For I've no wish to come between
This day and your enjoyment
In the life of hardship and of earthly toil
There’s a need for anything that frees us
So I bid you pleasure
And I bid you cheer
From a heathen and a pagan
On the side of the rebel Jesus

Lyrics by Jackson Browne

If We Lived Like We Sang...

H. Richard Niebuhr described liberal Christianity thus: 'A God without wrath brought men without sin into a kingdom without judgment through the ministrations of a Christ without a cross.' For some time, I've wondered if the heart of liberal theology is the belief that man is actually not all that sinful, but is fundamentally fairly good. It is the message of Hollywood, of self-help writers, of humanism. It's the kind of position that tells us "Believe in yourself! You can do it!", "Do something for you", "It's ok if it feels good", "You might be a bit naughty but you're nowhere near as bad as your friend who...".

It's not a new lie that we are fundamentally ok. Around AD 383-410, there was a teacher in Rome by the name of Pelagius who taught against the doctrine of original sin, but suggested that sin only occurred in individual acts. He upheld that God does not hold men responsible for sins that they have no control over. He said that man's nature is still capable of choosing good and God without the help of God. He was clutching at straws.

Is Pelagian-style error creeping into our church music today? I think it may be. It's close to what is called semi-Pelagianism; following Pelagius to some degree- a position that says that humans can independently make the first move towards God, and that God completes the salvation process.

If it is, it comes subtly in the kind of songs that teach us we can relate to God casually, that encourage irreverence, that play-down sin, that make us people into something far more than we are. Songs that assume we inherrently have within ourselves the capacity to appraoch God without the need for his grace first. How many songs do you know that teach you that you're able to come to God of your own accord (i.e. without encouraging you to think about the gospel)? How many times have you sung lines like "I surrender all to You", "You're the only one that I could live for", "I'm desperate for you", "You are my one desire", "I will never stop loving You" and known for sure that you have meant it with all your heart?

A difficult question. I have sung "I surrender all to You" plenty of times, but I know full well that to this day, that still isn't entirely true of me. I pray that I can increasingly surrender my will, possessions and heart to God, but can I sing that I do until I actually do? By singing these things, am I not taking very lightly my relationship with God? The Bible is clear on all of these variations on the same theme that God draws us to Himself (John 6:44)- we do not choose Him. We have nothing of ourselves to boast in, and our songs ought to aid us in fearing and reverencing God, not relating to him as our "mate" or our "girlfriend". How we need less of "Hey Lord, O Lord, You know what we need" and "You took the fall and thought of me"; but so much more of "Indescribable, uncontainable, You set the stars in the sky and You know them by name" and "You give and take away, my heart will choose to say "Lord, blessed be Your Name".

Galatians 3

Father of lies, coming to steal kill and destroy
All my hopes of being good enough.
I hear him saying, "cursed are the ones who can't abide."
He's right, halleluia, he's right!
The devil is preaching the song of the redeemed
That I am cursed and gone astray.
I cannot gain salvation embracing accusation.
Could the father of lies be telling the truth of God to me tonight?
That if the penalty of sin is death, then death is mine.
I hear him saying, "cursed are the ones who can't abide."
He's right, halleluia, he's right!
The devil is preaching the song of the redeemed
That I am cursed and gone astray.
I cannot gain salvation.
The devil's singing over me an age old song
That I am cursed and gone astray.
Singing the first verse so conveniently over me
He's forgotten the refrain.
JESUS S A V E S!!!

--Shane and Shane

Mohawks on the Scaffold

by Andrew Peterson

Everybody’s gotta have a building program
Stacking that money up, brick on brick.
Oh, we’ve got to have praise team worship
14 services take your pick.

Everybody’s gotta have special music.
We don’t want dead air when the plate goes by.
Oh, it’s got to be a 3 point sermon
With a poem and a pun to break the ice.

Oh, the organ hit the D chord,
Its time to sing the doxology.
Stand up, praise the good Lord,
Please define “doxology”.

So now we take communion,
But first a word to prepare our heads.
Joe gets up and talks politics,
He says a prayer and we break the bread.

We take the cup and we quench our thirst,
Dismiss the children for children’s church,
Stand and greet your neighbor first,
Well every aspect is well rehearsed.

Like Mohawks on the scaffold, heedless of the danger,
Don't look down at the city, brother it's a long way to fall.
Like Mohawks on the scaffold, strolling on the I-beams,
Hallelujah, praise the Lord, He's our buddy after all.

Oh, brother don’t get upset,
You see I’ve got my perfect attendance badge,
Sunday school and VBS,
I even pledged allegiance to the Christian flag.
(Which I have not to this day found anywhere in the Bible)

Oh, 4 years of Bible college.
Well I tucked my shirt and cut my hair,
No sister don’t get me wrong,
I learned a lot about Jesus there.

I went to class and I wore a tie.
I learned about who’s wrong and why.
Point the finger at the other guy
With the clearly flawed theologi.

Like Mohawks on the scaffold, heedless of the danger,
Don't look down at the city, brother it's a long way to fall.
Like Mohawks on the scaffold, strolling on the I-beams,
Hallelujah, Praise the Lord, He's a puzzle that I've solved.

Yeah well I hope you’re pickin up my sarcasm
Cuz I’m layin’ it on pretty thick.
It’s a useful tool of communication
Even God himself as employed that trick.
So, if you’ll turn with me in your Bibles
To the book of Job, chapter 38,
It’ll remind us who we’re dealing with.
I hope you don’t mind if I paraphrase.

Sometimes it’s like we’re sleeping on an airbus,
Like we’re taking home a little bear cub,
Like hiking mount Vesuvius,
It’s like we’re cooking s’mores in the burning bush.

Like Mohawks on the scaffold, heedless of the danger,
Don't look down at the city, brother it's a long way to fall.
Like Mohawks on the scaffold, strolling on the I-beams,
Hallelujah, Praise the Lord, He's so patient,
He’s so patient with us all.

The Real Christmas Music

Music . . . It’s so much like the birth of Jesus. The Word became flesh, the eternal was thrust upon the temporal and submitted itself to the forward march of history. Music is only music when it’s moving forward, changing, when the melody whooshes from season to season. The idea of the song was formed, but it was only a real song when it was bound to meter and rhythm and melody—in its submission it expressed the greater truth of its nature. It changed from being a dream to being a story. It is something that is actually happening. The Word became flesh.

cc: AP

Slugs and Bugs and Lullabyes

"God Made Me" and "Bears" are two of the songs available on Andrew Peterson and Randall Goodgame's new children's CD titled: Slugs and Bugs and Lullabyes.

"Slugs and Bugs and Lullabies" will captivate your little ones with delightful melodies and bombastic charm, and then quiet them down into dreams with tender lullabies. With 18 original compositions, Randall and Andrew have changed the landscape for kids music.

"Parents won't want to stick a fork in their eye when they've heard it for the 10th time in a row." -- Randall Goodgame

"It's the first time I've been glad that my music can put people to sleep." -- Andrew Peterson

Buy "Slugs & Bugs & Lullabyes" here.

God Made Me.

Andrew Peterson is the only bloke out there who can sing a song about Jesus Christ that includes the line, "If you were a baby seal you'd make a tasty meal for orcas."

Listen to it here.

Bears.

Listen to this children's song by Andrew Peterson and Randall Goodgame.

Andy Mckee - Drifting

This guy is totally Trace Bundy in a sweet hillbilly costume.