Christian Music Sucks! (well, some of it)

The logo at the Christian Music Wiki
Image via Wikipedia

I was thinking the other day. Liesl tells me that it’s never a good idea. But I was thinking that there’s a lot of really bad music out there, and a lot of it is Christian music. Take this video for an example:

Take a real good listen to those lyrics. “He is like a Mounty, he always gets his man, and he’ll zap you anyway he can. Zap!” I’m sorry Sonseed, but you really can’t get much more cheesy than that.

See, that’s the problem with bad Christian music – they try to write a “Christian” song, and it ends up being cheesy, kitschy and just plain wrong. However, there is hope. There is a multitude of musicians out there, who are Christians, who write fantastic music that is up there with “secular” music.

Take for example this little band. They’ve got some great songs, and are really deep in faith.

U2 are fairly well-known as being a very spiritual group, with Bono having a deep Christian faith, but also an understanding that to get his message out to the world, it can’t be shoved down people’s throats, but coming through every facet of their music and lives.

Naturally 7, if you’re not aware, are a band that only use their voice. Liesl and I saw them opening for Michael BublĂ©, and were amazed. Their version of Can you feel it in the Air tonight is amazing.

And they write their own songs too, like Bless this House.

And remember, every sound they make is made with the human voice. And they’re Christian too – they’re headlining at Easterfest 2011, a massive Christian festival being held in Toowomba.

For something a bit heavier, why not try Underoath? This Christian metal band have played at the big heavy rock/metal festivals such as Soundwave, and are not shy in hiding their faith at those events either.

One of my favourite bands at the moment is New Empire. They’re currently touring with Good Charlotte, opening for them. It’s very much a pop-rock sound, but if you didn’t know they were Christian, it would sound very much like any other band out there.

And there’s heaps more out there too. Everything from Metal to A capella. Ska to Soulful, it’s all there, and it’s all brilliant. All you need to do is go searching for it.

My Wonderful Birthday Weekend

This weekend was incredibly busy. On Friday, we hosted a farewell for one of a friends who’s heading to America to be an Au Pair. That was a great party, with a fair few people. Saturday was my birthday party. We played a round of Supa Golf, which I ended up taking out with a brilliant round of 44. If only I could shoot that in actual golf! I even finished with a brilliant drive on the par 4 120m 18th hole that reached the green. That night, we had a few mates around for a barbeque to help celebrate.

Sunday, and we started off the day leading our first service, this time at the Kwinana Corps. It went pretty well, but I learnt a very valuable lesson – always run your Children’s Story before the actual day. I was trying to open this bag of pebbles, and it ended up going everywhere. All these bright coloured pebbles all over the floor in front of the Holiness table. Oops! Following the service, it was up to my parents for lunch, and then home for a bit of a rest, and a wonderful dinner with my wife.

It as an incredibly busy weekend, but it was incredibly rich, spending time with friends and family. I want to thank everyone who came and helped me have a great weekend.

The Masters Masters

The masters began today. Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus were invited to hit the first drives of this seventy-fifth US Masters.seeing these greats that still have it makes me want to get back out on the course. I’ve got my birthday party tomorrow, we’re going Supa golfing. Then hopefully next week I’ll not only get out on the course, but order my new set of golf clubs. See you at the nineteenth!

Religious Tolerance isn’t removing religion

A Christmas tree in the United States.
I fail to see this Christmas Tree imposing Christianity on anyone. (Image via Wikipedia)

There’s a lot of talk going around at the moment about “religious tolerance” or “freedom of religion.” There was the Bondi Public School who banned the word “Easter” being associated with their Easter Hat Parade because they were trying to promote tolerance. Then there’s the new Childcare laws that have been passed in Victoria that prevent Children being forced to participate in Religious or Cultural activities, such as decorating Christmas trees and painting Easter eggs, yet they’re also not allowed to separate children from the group “for any reason other than illness or an accident.” Continue reading “Religious Tolerance isn’t removing religion”

Evangelism for those uncomfortable with it

There are many dirty words around. Often referred to by the first letter, there’s one word that Anglicans don’t like: The E word. Evangelism. Coming from an Anglican background, it’s something that I’ve never been comfortable with. the thought of going out there and telling someone why they should be a Christian is something that fills me with dread. Unfortunately for me, as I want to become an officer of the Salvation Army, this is something that I am going to have to get over. Continue reading “Evangelism for those uncomfortable with it”

Band I’d Love to see live

The Beatles wave to fans after arriving at Ken...
Image via Wikipedia

It’s late, and I need to post, so this will be a short one. The band I’d love to see live would be The Beatles. Not only did they form a lot of the “rules” of rock music that bands would come to live by for years to come, but they also broke those rules and did things like write a pop song accompanied entirely by string quartet (Eleanor Rigby) or one accompanied by a Clarinet Trio (When I’m Sixty-Four), yet also did really quite rocking songs. So that’s the band that I would love to see live.

Do Parents beliefs equal your own?

I was asked a question on my Facebook page when looking for inspiration on what to write. She asked, “‘if my parents believe it/vote for it/say it/follow it, does this mean I should do it unquestioningly too?”

It’s a difficult question, and one that I don’t think there is one specific answer to. It will very much depend on your own family upbringing and circumstances.

In my own family, my parents have very strong beliefs, and they have passed those onto myself and my sister – yet I would say my sister and I have very different beliefs. So while our beliefs have been passed down from our parents, there is part of our own make up, our own experiences that determines how much of that we accept or not.

So that’s my experience, and while it doesn’t definitively answer that question, I hope it’s something. And I’d like to hear what you think on that question, on how much your parents have influenced your beliefs, and whether you’ve had your own choice on those beliefs.

My wonderful wife

I’m sorry for anyone who isn’t my wife who reads this, because this may get a bit mushy. But I’ve only got 30 minutes of battery on my laptop, so I may have to cut it short, but I want to dedicate this post to my beautiful wife.

She’s been waiting for this post for a while, as she one day discovered a journal entry I had written about a summer crush I once had. She was worried that she wasn’t journal material.

Well, I’m telling you now, and the entire world, that she was much more than journal material, she is wife material. Continue reading “My wonderful wife”

Death

Martin Luther King, Jr.
Martin Luther King, Jr. (Image via Wikipedia)

“Every now and then”, he told the congregation, “I think about my death.” His words brought a low murmur of surprise from the parishioners.

“I don’t think of it in a morbid sense,” he qualified, smiling faintly. “I ask myself what I would want said. If any of you are around when I have to meet my day… I don’t want a long funeral. And tell them not to mention that I have a Nobel Peace Prize. Tell them not to mention where I went to school. None of that is important. I’d like somebody to mention that day that …Martin Luther King, Jr., tried to give his life to serving others… I’d like for somebody to mention that day that … Martin Luther King, Jr., tried to love somebody…

I want you to say that day that … I tried to be right on the war question… I want you to be able to say that day that … I did try to feed the hungry… I want you to be able to say that day that … I did try in my life to clothe those who were naked …

I want you to say on that day that … I did try in my life to visit those who were in prison …

Yes, if you want to say that I was a drum major, say that I was a drum major for justice! Say that I was a drum major for peace! And all of the other shallow things will not matter. I won’t have any money to leave behind. I won’t have the fine and luxurious things of life to leave behind. But I just want to leave a committed life behind.

That’s all I want to say. If I can help somebody as I pass along … if I can cheer somebody with a word or song … if I can show somebody that he’s travelling wrong … then my living will not be in vain.

If I can do my duty as a Christian ought … if I can spread the message as the Master taught … then my living will not be in vain.”

Continue reading “Death”