The appalling CCM songs meme...

 

This is via Rev Sam originally from Doug aka Clayboy: 'Please try to name ONE (I know, there are so many to choose from) CCM praise song that you find unbearable and at least 2-3 reasons why, pointing to specific lyrics if you must.'

Like Sam I don't know any CCM (Contemporary Christian Music) stuff because I simply don't listen to it. However, anyone that goes to church often has to put up with 'praise' songs usually grouped under the 'Worship Music' category. So my example, written by 'leading worship leader Matt Redman' (and his missus) is this complete and utter drivel:

Let my words be few

You are God in heaven
And here am I on earth,
So I'll let my words be few-
Jesus I am so in love with You.

And I'll stand in awe of You,
Yes I'll stand in awe of You,
And I'll let my words be few-
Jesus I am so in love with You.

The simplest of all love songs
I want to bring to You,
So I'll let my words be few-
Jesus I am so in love with You.

The Meme requests that 2 - 3 reasons are given why it is unbearable:

1. It's total crap
2. It's unbelievably banal
3. Whenever I have heard it sung/performed the irony of a relatively short song being 'repeated ad infinitum until blessed' never seems to occur to the band!

One day I will really say what I think on the whole genre, both from a musical perspective and, particularly from the marketing side; the fleecing of Christians, temple trading... I could go on and on (until blessed!).

When these guys not only spout their 'songs' but also intersperse them with indecipherable Christianese there is a sense that actually God's name is being taken in vain. Furthermore the whole scene is so self perpetuating in that worship music propagators now organise training seminars and conferences where they train fledgling church musicians/songwriters to simply carry on producing more of the same 'spot the difference' rubbish. They could do much better by suffering (in the best sense of the word) the mentorship of genuine mainstream musicians, writers and producers but that challenges 'safeness'.

We have such a vast resource of more deeply creative and spiritual songs from the panoply of inspirational mainstream artists. Let's play them both in our pubs and churches rejoicing in the clarity of the image of the Creator in their art.

P

Also see contributions by:
Jon Evens
Phil Ritchie

I tag Tim, Sally, R J, Mike, Graham, Archdruid Eileen

Icons that rock...

It's taking me a while to understand how religious icons could enhance the mystical experience of worship... the question is does this help or hinder any progress in my thinking?!

h/t Father Simon

Sometimes it makes you wonder...

The latest campaign by the infamous anti-gay Westboro Baptist Church is to picket singer Ronnie James Dio's funeral with another potentially offensive protest. This has come to light in the NME, MOG and on the AV Club news pages. Looking at one of the most distasteful Westboro Baptist Church websites, godhatesfags, they list the funerals and locations they will be 'protesting' at...

Let there be love shared among us?

P

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

Thou shalt reduce thy Sins of consumption...

George Monbiot concludes his blog post on the guardian.co.uk website today with this paragraph:

Only the Green party has approached this issue honestly, by accepting upfront that economic growth is the problem and that current levels of consumption cannot be sustained. It's time we called out the other parties on their failure to acknowledge, let alone tackle, this contradiction. And it's time we all recognised that consumption is the big issue.

The title of the piece is: 'Carbon calculator reveals Labour and Tory policy as science fiction' and condemns the two 'old' parties unsurprising refusal to run the Guardian's National Carbon Calculator. Simon Hughes of the Lib Dems both ran the calculator and shared the results online. Sadly whilst addressing climate issues are in all the manifestos it is not as hip and newsworthy as the deficit (understandably) and immigration (inflammatory!). It is clear the main parties see economic growth as the solution to all ills whilst ignoring other burgeoning issues. One of the late Sir John Harvey-Jones' mantras was to 'always define the problem before suggesting a solution' and that is why the Greens are so very right.

So will I vote Green in a totally safe Tory constituency? Probably! Will I be wasting my vote? Some may consider so, however, my view could become part of a tangible statistic, the increase in vote for the Green Party in this election. Perhaps I should practice what I believe and vote with my conscience against the spiritual evil of rampant consumption?

P

Every breath you take...

Another one of those weeks... and still going on in Rome between Archbish and Mr Pope. Time will tell on this one, funny how it has caught the 'imagination' of the mainstream news?

Few of us can failed to have been enchanted by this story this week, hats off to Tobias and his family:

Tobias Jones: why I am setting up a woodland commune

and, of course, the quote Tobias makes which made everyone think was by William Vanstone:

The Church is like a swimming pool: all the noise is at the shallow end. We felt called to the deep end, to the place where it's more quiet, more dangerous
maybe, more radical.

And Finally...

It seems the inspirational thoughts on 'Traditional Cockney Spirituality' from The Beaker Folk of Husborne Crawley this week didn't really get the attention they deserved. So here is part of the dictionary, which I adored:

Annoying bleeder = Worship Leader (this one works either way round)

Awful Catarrh = Acoustic Guitar

Chicken Coop = Music Group

Hampstead Heath = Nothing worn beneath (of traditionalist parishes where not only the thuribles are swinging)

Lizzie Borden = Church Warden

Total Wassock = Bloke in a cassock

5 Deeply De-Christian Doctrines meme...

Thanks to Joe H for tagging me with 'List 5 doctrines that are taught within the Christian church that you believe to be deeply de-Christian'... I know only have a loose grasp of what the context of the word doctrine should be here ;-)

I think most folk have completed this so forgive repeats: Alice, Richard, Maggi and would love to know what Bishop Nick would write but Liverpool still have injury issues...!

Here are mine and must say it has taken me ages, have had to work so hard to get down to just 5(ish)!

1. That Worship is more (or less!) important than Mission and justice and, even more dangerous, that by solely worshipping you are being missional by default.


2. Judgementalism - seems we are trained to be experts! At a local home group when the question was posed 'why are Christians so judgemental?' a good mate piped up: 'practice'!


3. Consumerism - this claim that the church teaches consumerism should not be a surprise! The first definition of consumerism I found when googling is: 'the theory that an increasing consumption of goods is economically beneficial'. How many times do we hear that by buying this CD, book, service that we support the ministry of this individual or organisation? What happened to tentmaking?!


4. Sentimentality - includes the dumming down of art and music to wellmeaningless bibledygook (new words warning!) which we are told is fine because it has the word God/Jesus (but it looks like a squirrel) somewhere on/in it... (or something about setting captives free, exalting, lifting names up high, putting tongues in... sorry, I cannot go on, it is TOO upsetting!). Check out this entry from Stan the Man again which includes some language of the immortal bard!


5. Discrimination - anyone in the public sector, business or society would be in serious trouble and not get away with with what the wider church teaches about women, gays and minority groups including the physically disabled. The current stuff about flying bishops (still only male) to serve twitchy C of E communion celebrants so they can receive from a man is highly de-Christian.

Oh, and something extra: Apostolic Succession - well, that's all a bit Dan Brown DaVinci Bollocks stuff isn't it?!

The Rolling Bones...

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They should have gone to SpecSavers!

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Read more in Ruth Gledhill's article in the Times Online. This section caught my eye:

— At Westminster Cathedral alone, 50,000 roses - the saint's symbol - were sold and up to 10,000 candles. Roses sold for £10 for a small bunch, although as the final Mass progressed they were discounted to £5
— The Big Issue seller outside Westminster Cathedral during farewell Mass sold three copies at £1.50 each

P