Video
It’s the fear of every organ – loving session in the Presbyterian Church in Canada. Someday those darned hippies are going to cast out the instrument Jesus played at the synagogue and invite some silly kid to play rock and/or roll music in the church! All kidding aside, I distinctly remember a wonderful lady on my session recalling being a visitor at another church where you could hear nothing but the banging of drums. A lot of the time, opposition to modern music in church is nothing more than a matter of taste; just as opposition to “traditional” music (meaning what we’ve seen in the last 80 or so years) is really about preference as well. And I’m with some of you on this one. I’m getting old now, too. I took earplugs to my last concert—because nothin’ says smart like trying to block out the noise you’ve just paid $120 to hear. Sometimes those drums are just too loud. And if you don’t believe me, here’s a nice little video of the world’s most excited church drummer. It’s pure gold.
Rap Music
I’ve pointed this guy out before but I think that was about seven years ago and he’s getting more attention now so I’ll do it again. Lecrae is a new kind of rap artist. He is what J.I. Packer calls a “reformed rapper.” Reformed Rap is actually becoming quite popular. Lecrae, in fact, was just on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon and sat in with his house band, The Roots. As a side note, Lecrae is also the founder and president of ReachLife Ministries, a para – church organization and scholarship program.
Book
Dr. Eric Ortlund is a professor of Old Testament and biblical Hebrew. In many ways, he’s exactly what you’re picturing in your head. But his book, Dead Petals: An Apocalypse is anything but typical. Much like Scott Adams’ God Debris, it sort of defies genre. On one hand it is a kind of teen fiction novel. On the other, it deals with very heady subject matter that leaves you spinning. In one way, it’s an exploration of the doctrine of Hell. Alternatively, it’s basically sci – fi. On one reading it deals with a popular genre of the time. In another, it’s more anti – myth polemic than anything and attempts to flip the genre on its head. In short, it’s hard to nail down. I’d call it Christian allegory. And if I had to say what its subject matter is, I’d say it’s mostly about the Canaanization of the church. It’s about grace and confession and about living in a culture that wants to change us and assimilate us. Oh, and did I mention it’s about zombies?
Find it @ amazon.ca.
Movies
I love documentaries. This week I saw Kirk Cameron’s Unstoppable. The film is essentially Cameron’s attempt to answer the question: Where is God when I am suffering? Inspired by the death of a child with cancer, the movie is largely a sermon. When it first came out, Facebook and YouTube blocked access to its trailer; apparently a clear act of censorship. Amidst cries of persecution the ads were put back up. And I really wanted to see them though not for the reasons you might think. I remember watching and thinking, this is going to be so hokey. I was sure it was going to be as unintelligent as that clip of Kirk with Ray Comfort arguing that the shape of a banana disproves evolution (if you haven’t seen it, you must!) But … it turns out Unstoppable was actually pretty good.
Find it @ Netflix.com.
See the banana skit on YouTube.
