The Christian Music Thread Genre • Page 8

*sigh* Alright. I should have foreseen this; shame on me. Long post time.


@whitenblue88, I really didn't have you in mind when I was making my post (at least not consciously). Sorry if it seemed like I did. And, I guess I'm surprised that people find "A Prayer" so impactful. It's certainly an overall good song minus that one distracting choice, but it doesn't hit me any harder than a lot of my favorite emotional Christian songs. I mean, heck, I grew up with the songs "In the Light" and "Flood," the former having brought me into spontaneous, inner worship before.


@Lucas27, I think you misunderstood what I was saying. I'm all for confession and meeting people where they are; what I oppose is reckless freedom. If someone were confessing heavy struggles, I'd show grace and love. If someone isn't far along in the faith, or along at all, I show grace and love. I work in youth ministry, and I've done a good job of meeting broken kids in their filth and forming relationships with them.

But, that's not at all the same thing as keeping accountable those in high positions. If you're a Christian on a platform, you deserve scrutiny. Kings Kaleidoscope deserves scrutiny. Emery deserves scrutiny (and laughs it off while chasing controversy, which is why I think they're childish and obnoxious). As I work in youth ministry, I deserve scrutiny. It comes with the territory. I have seen firsthand that rampant disregard for accountability is no less damaging within the Church than self-righteousness; I have watch firsthand as both have wrecked the spiritual walks of people I cared about.

I can absolutely empathize with Chad and still dismiss his wording choice as dumb. I empathize with and love and have a broken heart over stupid choices all the time! I mean, on a less intimate scale, I can love Marvel Studios films and Tina Fey television in spite of having major criticisms with how problematic they can be. How much more can I love actual individuals while also calling out their foolish choices! (And, seeing as recording this song this way and releasing it in two versions was clearly a calculated decision, it's clearly also a decision that's not immune to criticism simply due to emotions.)

To further clarify something else: Acting differently in different contexts is NOT intrinsically a bad thing. Everyone does that. You don't typically act at a comedy show the way you do at a funeral or business interview. You don't typically tell strangers what you tell your closest friends. That's not being two-faced and hypocritical; that's reading situations. St Paul was all about reading situations. Sorry to bring in my ministry experience again, but this is especially important when you're on a pedestal. Those in Christian leadership need to live above reproach to the best of their ability, which is why Christian leadership isn't for everyone.

As for the Wizards reference... The idea was simply to give a silly example of how being impacted by something doesn't make it above reproach. I thought of it as self-deprecating ('cause what kinda dweeb is moved by a Disney Channel episode) and a chance for humor to lighten the conversation. I didn't expect it to be read as an outward attack. I guess that's on me for communicating it poorly. Not everything translates online. I still stand by the point itself, though.


@Benjamin Lee, I honestly think the backlash further proves the point to an extent. There's no way Chad and the Emery dudes (who, again, are constantly actively fishing for controversy) didn't know that there'd be a backlash; they admitted as much by offering a "clean" version of the album. I studied both education and journalism some in college before landing in ministry, and those three fields taught me the power of words. With one word change, they could have avoided controversy and let the focus be on the message, but instead, they chased the controversy. This conversation would be very different if Chad had made this decision in real time a la improvised live performance or prayer, but again, this was calculated.

Also, in terms of religion wars, at least within the same religion, most of that comes from arrogance. I don't claim perfection, but I use this awareness of our brokenness to strive towards something better and to push others in the same faith to do likewise (with methods befitting the context). I have people I disagree with and have vehemently debated with, people I've called out, and people who have called out me, all whom I'm on good terms with. The only Christians I can think of who I know personally and am not on good terms with are the ones who are sure that they're right, some in the self-righteous sense and others in the "how dare you expect more from me!" sense. These conversations go better when no parties have the mindset that they're somehow above any and all criticism.

Anyways, I'm glad you're sticking around! Hopefully you find some more good music you can get into, maybe of the sort that can help you connect with God (if that's something you're interested in)! And, hopefully you'll see that we're not all that bad! If you see more of my posts around the website in the future, I think you'll see that I'm not of the mindset that turns you off to religion! Or, at least I'd like to think so.

 

It's all good. I'll admit I can get a bit defensive with this stuff. My parent's forced me into an extremist cult when I was 11 and didn't leave until I was 17 (and even then they only left because of kind of dark reasons) so during that time I constantly saw people getting pushed around and their voice disregarded because of a difference in beliefs or theology. So when I saw someone using derogatory and dismissive language over this, I kind of got sent back a bit. I generally avoid Christian groups just because stuff like this seems to happen anytime I'm apart of them. I really didn't expect this to be anything more than music though, and I definitely didn't expect someone saying someone is "immature", "disappointing" and they won't take them seriously because of a word they personally choose not to say. It's just kind of toxic, and not something I feel morally okay with leaving unopposed. Even if I do get the same religious "justification" in response every time I do say something. So I do still stand by what I said 100%, even if it came off more harsh than intended. And, none of it was aimed at you just in case you thought it was.

As far as connecting strongly to the song, I've almost word for word had the same prayer just without the response at the end. There is a lot wrong with me (health wise), and a lot wrong with my life in general. I know exactly where this guy is coming from with panic and anxiety. That's just why I connect with it so strongly. It's the only song I've heard by the band, and since they are a worship band I imagine I won't really find anything else. But that's fine, I think the song is great.

This is really a topic I was tired of the moment I responded the first time though. So I'll probably just leave at that.

 

Tim, thanks for the response. Definitely clarified a few things that got lost in Internet translation. Still disagree slightly on a couple points but i think we've left this on a good note so I'll refrain. Sorry I brought the long-windedness out of you. But nice to know I'm not alone. :) Haha.

Benjamin, I've had a serious mental breakdown the last few weeks due to thyroid issues. It's caused some really intense depression and exhaustion and I've had a few really terrifying moments of anxiety. I can't fix the way I feel physically but my faith has been my prime source of sanity mentally because it allows me to get outside myself. If you want to PM me I could go into more detail. But don't want to take up more of this thread than I already have with a personal story. Just know you're not alone in more ways than one.

 

I'd love to talk. :) Though, I probably won't be able to respond until Friday because I'm doing my weekly day trip to visit my girlfriend in SC tomorrow. (I live in NC, 70 miles from her) and I always leave at 9:40 am and then get home at about 3 am. So whenever you have time just PM me and I'll get back to you as soon as I can.

 

Sweet. :) I'll send you a PM in the AM. My mind is basically dead right now from no sleep.

 

Well, I've found this discussion to be quite fascinating.

 

New Kings Kaliedescope has lost my attention... I'd much rather listen to their older stuff still.

 

I'm the opposite! I never really got into their older stuff and I still spin the new one regularly.

 

That's cool. I'm not sure what it is for me.

 

New needtobreathe is way too good. This band is like wine, they just keep getting better with age.

 

I forgot this was coming out. Thanks for the reminder!

 

Is there a consensus "best" needtobreathe album among fans? My favorite is probably The Reckoning, but I've never actually known what popular opinion was on their discography.

 

I would say before this album it was Rivers in the Wasteland > The Outsiders > The Reckoning > The Heat for me.

H A R D L O V E is really good though. I want to give it some more time to sink in before I put it in with the rest of their works though.

 

Rivers in the Wasteland is my favorite.

 

Awesome! Didn't realize Rivers was so well received, but really, I think all their albums are great!

My personal order is probably Reckoning > Outsiders > Rivers > Heat > Daylight and then I'll know better where Hardlove sits soon.

 

Rivers was really a unique sound for them and the first time I really felt like we saw what they had to offer. That's not to say that the rest of their albums aren't great, because I don't think I've listened to a NTB album that I haven't enjoyed. They seem to have this Southern Rock meets Folk meets 50s/60s pop sound that's incredibly unique.

 

Has anyone heard Colony House's old EPs when they were Caleb? I'm looking for the Caleb EP and Trouble EP.

 

Anyone looking forward to the new Relient K album on Friday? I think there's a stream on Pandora at the moment, but you can't listen to that in the UK so I'll wait until Friday...

 

Yeah I'm excited to listen to it in anything that isn't Pandora, since it doesn't work well on my phone.

The album is fantastic. You can go over and read through the album thread to get hyped about it.

 

What I heard sounded like a mix between Collapsible Lung and Five Score, which I'm honestly alright with, so yes, I'm definitely looking forward to it. I'm going to the CD Release Show on Saturday, which should be a blast. Then them with Switchfoot this fall! (Still need to listen to that new Switchfoot album.)

 

Between Relient k, King's K, Switchfoot, and House of Heroes, this is probably the most excited I've been for new Christian releases in awhile! Some have been better than others, but it's been fun getting into all this stuff again!

 

Kings Kaleidoscope's new album has just gotten better for me and is a serious AOTY contender. Relient K's new album is an epic comeback. Switchfoot's new record isn't their best but it's grown on me and is super encouraging anyhow. House of Heroes' new album is also a grower. But I've grown to really like it. Haven't heard Needtobreathe's new record.

But so far I'd say this summer hasn't been amazing, but it's been a solid summer for Christian music.

 

Oh right I've been listening to Needtobreathe's new one all day but forgot to write that one. Ha. I'm loving that one so far.

I think this hits the nail on the head of how I feel about all these albums, although I haven't given HoH enough time yet for it to really grow on me.

 

I listened to Needtobreathe's new one this morning driving to work. I immediately liked it a lot, so I'll definitely be revisiting a lot soon.

 

Cannot wait for Relient K, huge fan and I hear good things. So glad to have another RK album