MUSIC AND CULTURE

One of my true loves in life is music. Mr. Marley said – “One good thing about music is when it hits you feel no pain!” Music is so diverse in what it can accomplish –no? It brings about joy, sadness, memories, dancing, and the list goes on and on. Another thing music does very well, is that you can gain a perspective (although at times limited) on a culture, and era, or even a group of people based on the lyrical content and style of music, e.g., Flamenco – Passion and flair; Reggae – Relaxed and fun; Alternative – Loud, hard, and fast; Hip-Hop – Spoken word with a statement and reflection on the culture; Country – Romance and hard luck; Goth – Great sound but weird dress. Now obviously there is more to each of these genres of music, but that is a first impression or thought when you hear the words right? Well…, at least for me anyway?

That being said, I think we can find so many good topics of discussion in the music of our past, present, and future. What does the music say? What is the artist saying about the culture of his or her day? What resounding issues of that day are important to look at and discuss openly? There is a great book out that I wish would be updated that you can get from Relevant Magazine and their store called, “Their music cries out!” This is a book about modern artists, their lyrics and music, and what are they saying from a personal and cultural perspective. A very interesting read, so check it out!

From the church start up perspective our intent is to look at Music from a couple of angles. What music/style will work in our cultural context? Secondly, what is that music/style saying, and how can we use it to reach those far from God?

I recently purchased a new download CD of Ben Harper and the Blind Boys of Alabama called “There will be a light”. If you love Blues, gospel, and great guitar work, you will love this production; but more importantly, this work of art is an excellent example of what I am talking about. Ben bellows out a line in one of the songs that goes like this: “They say that Freedom is just another place to hide”. Wow! What a line, and how much can one get out of that line with respect to teaching and life application? Right off the top of my head, I thought of a two week 4th of July series idea – Week #1 - Land of the Free and Week #2 - Home of the Brave. Week #1 discussion will be centered on the idea of freedom in making good choices and bad choices, and how we have the freedom to hide in those choices; and Week #2 discussion will be about those who have put their life on the line for Christ by choice and the Freedom that comes with that!

If you listen closely, you can get a pulse of the culture and then you can create your own stories and parables from that pulse. I vaguely remember someone else doing that a couple thousand years ago – could it be – JESUS? :-)

Until the next time - sing "Jingle Bell Rock" until your co-workers throw things at ya!