Rupert Murdoch and the Bible...

The Bible Industry. From Geez magazine, Fall 2009. Credit: Darryl Brown and Aiden Enns.

Seems some Christibods are in a bit of a panic as this article by Canadian author Will Braun first published in Geez Magazine receives greater coverage having been re-run in Sojo.net. Not only are Zondervan the biggest publishers of the Holy Bible they also carry books by leading authors like Rob Bell and Shane Claiborne, who will both speak at the Greenbelt Festival this year. It is Shane Claiborne's wisdom that puts things in candid perspective in these couple of paragraphs:

The Zondervan advantage
'I want to have the broadest readership possible,' Claiborne says by phone, 'I don’t want to be someone who just speaks to the choir.' He says smaller publishers have their advantages but the books he has written for them cost 'two or three times' more than what they would if Zondervan published them.

To judge, or not to judge
The ongoing News Corp scandal concerns him. 'The current issues ... in England raise all kinds of ethical questions,' he tells me, 'and I would hope that a company whose mission is explicitly Christian, as Zondervan’s is, would take the opportunity to bear witness and to speak into the culture which is so terribly fallen.'

Claiborne is not sure if he will write for Zondervan again. He doesn’t rule it out.
There’s good and bad in each of us, he says, 'we are called to work on the log in our own eye, and I’m sure as heck trying to work on the compromises that I make so that those are minimal when it comes to integrity.'

Whilst this must be a dilemma for Claiborne, he is a great voice in the very media everyone is apoplectic about, for example, I blogged about his article in lads mag Esquire here. To conclude buying from Zondervan is contributing directly to the devil incarnate, we'd should also stop using the Interweb, oh yes, and stop going to church!

P

Rob Bell in his own words...

Am grateful that George Luke, writer and radio presenter, recently chose to post this mini-interview he recorded when Rob Bell spoke at the Greenbelt Festival in 2009. It struck me both how prophetic it was back then to have predicted some of the grief Rob is getting now over his new book Love Wins and also what grounded perspective he has...

There have been some excellent blog posts in defense of Rob from both sides of the Atlantic:

Maggi Dawn's blog
Julie Clawson's blog
Sojourners' Blog
and one that made me smile:
Is Rob Bell a Universalist?

PB

And the greatest of these...

LOVE WINS. from Rob Bell on Vimeo.

Seems the fundies are already up in arms... I thought we were supposed to WANT hell to be empty?! Oh well, seems I must be a post-modern, semi-evangelical, universalist something or other...

PB

If music be the food of love...

[ Click for Rob's download page ] [ Click for lyrics & chord chart ]

[ Click for After The Fire's live version of You recorded in 2008 ]

Here we go again! A MEME request has arrived from Graham Peacock, author of one of my regular blog reads, diggingalot, which means it would be rude not to respond! Although, I have to say, I was going to leave this particular debate alone for a while, despite having lots to say on the matter and much more than I will be able to here!

However, this does give me an opportunity, as I have been so warmly invited, to spell out a handful of things that seriously bug me! Graham's MEME asks for 'Your best contemporary worship song ever' but let's get some things straight first:

1. There is NO SUCH THING as Christian Music, CCM or whatever...
2. There is NO SUCH THING as Worship Music...
3. There is NO SUCH THING as Sacred Music...
4. There is NO SUCH THING as Secular Music...
5. Music itself is NOT Worship - although music can be worshipful...
6. Music IS often Spiritual - more on this in a future post...
7. There IS such a thing as a priority to care for the sick, the oppressed, the poor, the downtrodden and the immigrant...

Let's emphasise this with is an important quote in Rob Bell's book Velvet Elvis:

Something can be labeled 'Christian' and not be true or good. It is possible for music to be labeled Christian and be terrible music. Just because it is a Christian book by a Christian author and it was purchased in a Christian bookstore doesn't mean it is all true or good or beautiful. A Christian political group puts me in an awkward position: What if I disagree with them? Am I less of a Christian? What if I am convinced the 'Christian' thing to do is to vote the exact opposite?

'Christian' (the word) is a great noun but a poor adjective.

Another issue with using 'Christian' and 'Worship' as adjectives coupled with the word music has meant that both new commercial opportunities and new genres have arisen over the years. These have led to sub-standard product being peddled to churches and Christians in preference to most mainstream music on the grounds the former is more sanctified. It is not! It is simply not as good as the mainstream equivalent, often a poor quality sound-alike!

I recall Francis Schaeffer said something along the lines of 'you can have good art with good message, bad art with a good message, good art with a bad message and finally bad art with a bad message'. My opinion (yes, opinion!) is the stuff described as 'Christian Music' and 'Worship Music' falls into the latter category. Why don't we see the image of the Creator in so much of the mainstream music / art that is there ready made to utilise in church?

In a service of divine worship music needs to enhance, encourage and engage the congregation. It should not be an opportunity to proselytise, pander to personal preferences or perform for performance's sake. Music must be an integrated element of the liturgy, whatever style the latter follows. Even worse, this type of music is all too often delivered in such an inappropriate, mind numbing, ear bleeding and indecipherable form that still doesn't hide its naffness! Of course, worship does not necessarily take place within a church anyway, it can and, perhaps, should, happen everywhere... that's a debate.

Although I do not think such a thing as 'contemporary worship music' exists I will just mention contemporary hymns. I do concede that songwriter Stuart Townend has created some moving hymnody, (good art, good message), for example, 'How Deep The Father's Love', which is distinctly different from the usual modern churchy fare.

Having said all that, I have made a suggestion above, simply entitled 'You', which is a song that readily engages me in worship. It is by my buddy Rob Halligan, singer / songwriter extrordinaire and also the lead singist in After The Fire. It spells out grandness, it quotes the good book, it employs poetic imagery, it evokes discipleship and even a personal response but not as a simpering request to cuddle up to Jesus. It is just at home in the set list when we play a full on mainstream concert or in a liturgical church service, thereby breaking any divide between the sacred and secular.

I know this only just scratches the surface, my plea is to leave the veil of the Temple riven.

PB

Spinal Tap meets Chequebook Worship

Yeah, right, on one level this makes me crack up... on another it is a really sad indictment of all that is bad in this style of 'popular' church... and it is not just my 'opinion' or even my 'taste' (although I have both in abundance). The irony that dated music is 'Contemporary' and that technology makes the message of the Gospel 'Relevant' is cleverly captured. However, the 'Medium' changes the 'Message'...

Rob Bell summed this up so succinctly when answering a question on Mega Churches at Greenbelt 09:

The problem is that a large massive group of people who have gathered for an hour a week can easily deceive themselves into thinking that's 'Church'. But Church is a sort of revolutionary movement of people who have the body and blood at their centre who see themselves as we are here to break OUR bodies and to pour out OUR blood for the healing of the world. And what can easily happen is the 'show', the hour on Sunday, the big exciting thing, can easily become a surrogate for actual community...

Listen to the full version on Greenbelt website.

P

Blowin' in the wind

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Maybe I am becoming more tolerant as I get older? I know I do tend to resist becoming institutionalised and, hopefully, as my roots grow a bit deeper, I can sway more readily as Rob Bell so beautifully described at this years Greenbelt Festival.

In stark contrast I am concerned there is an undercurrent developing amongst some Christians who prefer their Worship to be that which they perceive as only happening when singing so called Worship songs. Evidence of this is clear in the hurtful responses on the Greenbelt website to a request for feedback on this year's (2009) Communion Service. The majority of the complainants stating that Tim Hughes should have ‘led’ the Worship are the very ones with the most unforgiving and consumerist views!

So, is this the future, I wonder? A new breed of Christian who only wants to Worship exclusively their way and with their preferred style of music who don’t get the idea of a ‘community’ of fellow travellers?

I was deeply saddened to read some of these comments on the Greenbelt website, I thought the service was fantastic. It was obvious there were some issues with the music, but, frankly, the music has been grim at around 225 of the last 250 communions I have been to in the last 5 years or so and Greenbelt has only run 36 since 1974. The vision of the service was so much larger than who led worship and whether the music was inspiring.

And why do I sway more? Well, regardless of what I think of so called modern worship music (not a lot!) I do stand up and play it when needed, I don’t walk away from services because ‘the worship is doing nothing for me’ and I try to be sympathetic to other points of view even when I don’t necessarily agree. I am no saint and I often think my preferences are best for everyone but I accept there are times to just let things happen around you for the greater good.

Ok, ok, I have to confess I would really struggle if Greenbelt sold out and did get Tim Hughes, or one of his ilk, to lead the music at communion ;-)

P

The two kinds of new...

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Here is a collection of assets to support the audio of Rob Bell's second talk at Greenbelt 2009. Viewing the youtube.com videos will fill in music missing from the audio for copyright reasons.

The first picture he showed was a photograph taken on his cellphone (bet it's an iPhone!) of Desmond Tutu and the Dalai Lama embracing when Rob was up close and personal at a special event. Have Twittered Rob to see if we can add his pic, meanwhile:


Then Rob talked about round the globe sailor Joshua Slocomb, 1st pic from GB official photographer Jonathon Watkins:


This was supported by a picture of the vessel, 'Spray', which Joshua had rebuilt over a 3 year period and then set sail in (my view from afar!):

After Rob showed a lady of 73, he also showed a photo of legendary composer and producer Brian Eno at 60:


Having already introduced some of Johnny Cash's work in his Saturday talk, Rob showed the sensational video of Johnny's cover of Nine Inch Nails' 'Hurt':

It would be impossible to capture the interaction Rob had with the lady signing for the deaf, you had to be there! The picture he put up was of Flo-Rida and the 'hit' was played, here's the song with a pic:

If you haven't already bought the audio, available here from the Greenbelt Webshop I thoroughly recommend listening, it was hugely inspiring, uplifting and challenging.