Sting has a Christmas album out.  But it probably isn’t what you think.  Called “If On a Winter’s Night…,” it is very thoughtful and melancholy.   There are no jingle bells or twinkling lights.  It’s about winter, and difficulties, and love in spite of pain.  It feels right today.

It is, perhaps, more of an Advent album. There is an emptiness, a need defined. And even the parts that talk about Christ brings the crucifixion and lay it over the incarnation.  “The Burning Babe” is from the poem by Robert Southwell (tortured and killed, by the way, in post-Reformation England because he was a Jesuit priest):

As I in hoary winter’s night stood shivering in the snow,
Surprised I was with sudden heat which made my heart to glow ;
And lifting up a fearful eye to view what fire was near,
A pretty babe all burning bright did in the air appear ;
Who, scorchëd with excessive heat, such floods of tears did shed
As though his floods should quench his flames which with his tears were fed.
Alas, quoth he, but newly born in fiery heats I fry,
Yet none approach to warm their hearts or feel my fire but I !
My faultless breast the furnace is, the fuel wounding thorns,
Love is the fire, and sighs the smoke, the ashes shame and scorns ;
The fuel justice layeth on, and mercy blows the coals,
The metal in this furnace wrought are men’s defilëd souls,
For which, as now on fire I am to work them to their good,
So will I melt into a bath to wash them in my blood.
With this he vanished out of sight and swiftly shrunk away,
And straight I callëd unto mind that it was Christmas day.

(Listen here)

So, what can I say?  We contemplatives aren’t afraid of a little sorrow and poetry with our hot cider.

I want to be the kind of person who gives God glory and honor through my actions.  Sometimes this is something I know I need to do, and sometimes it’s something God SHOWS me I need to do.

I had the opportunity to hear Francis Chan speak this morning as part of the Torrey Conference.  The thing about Chan’s talks is that they start, and then they wander, and then they come back and nail the original point, and you suddenly realize God worked the whole thing together.  So his talk was about being a Christian for a long time, and really reading the Bible to understand what it says.  And to then DO the things that it says, but not be surprised if everyone is surprised and disapproving when you do so.  Because, basically, doing what the Bible says isn’t comfortable.  Or safe.  And frankly, it leads to suffering.  Which seems wrong….

And yet, somehow, right.  Especially if you really read the Bible to understand what it says.

And just now I wandered around in Lala.com and re-found Jason Gray’s latest album, and listened to his excellent song, Fade with Our Voices.  Where the lyrics point out this same truth – if worship fades with our voices, then apparently we haven’t quite grasped what worship is.

After all the songs are sung
And our prayers for Kingdom come
Did we bring honor to the words we sing?

Does our worship have hands?
Does it have feet?
Does it stand up in the face of injustice?
Does our worship bow down?
Does it run deep?
Is it more than a song
That fades with our voices?
Does it fade with our voices?

Lord it’s you we long to please
Make our lives a melody
That we proclaim when we live in Jesus’ name

So I’m taking the hint.  God, give me your spirit, so I can make my life a melody that I proclaim when I live by your name.

I’ve never met Vince Antonucci.  I’m not even a friend of a friend.  At some point, a blog post of his was brought to my Google reader, and I’ve been following him for a month or two. 

Vince is starting a church.  On the Las Vegas Strip.  And his desire is to make his church something that people on the Strip who never thought they would go to church… would want to hear more about his church.  So he’s thinking about weeknight services instead of Sunday morning.  Food co-ops, seminars, block parties.

It’s been a great journey to track from my suburban home.  But I was particularly touched by his list of first worship songs.  Since I’m a fan of Needtobreathe and Tenth Avenue North, I decided to check out the rest. 

Most aren’t hymns.  Or overt worship choruses.  I love hymns and worship choruses, and think they have an important place in the church.  But considering where Verve Church is trying to go (and where many of us are), it’s a great list.  Here are a few examples:

Take Me Away (Lifehouse)

this time what I want is you
there is no one else who can take your place
this time you burn me with your eyes
you see past all the lies
you take it all away
I’ve seen it all
and it’s never enough
it keeps leaving me needing you

Typical (Mute Math)

‘Cause I know there’s got to be another level
Somewhere closer to the other side
And I’m feeling like it’s now or never
Can I break the spell of the typical

Amazing, Because It Is (The Almost)

I was so scared of everything you put in front of me
I’ve been marching to every part of me
Just to see,
See
Why you need me to be
The boy you need me to be

Surely We Can Change (David Crowder Band)

And the problem is this
We were bought with a kiss
But the cheek still turned
Even when it wasn’t hit
And I don’t know
What to do with a love like that

I’m Not All Right (Sanctus Real)

I’m not all right, I’m broken inside
And all I go through, it leads me to you
Burn away the pride
Bring me to my weakness
Until everything I hide behind is gone
And when I’m open wide with nothing left to cling to
Only you are there to lead me on.

I’m less of a fan of churches that deliberately play whatever song is popular this week at church.  I am a fan of carefully chosen songs that cry out about loss, brokenness, love beyond ourselves, and redemption.  Visit Verve to learn more and support their ministry.  The full list is posted here.

Jason Gray is a singer and songwriter.  He has a new album out today, called “Everything Sad is Coming Untrue.” I wasn’t expecting anything in particular when I set it to play on Lala.com.  But the lyrics of the first song pulled me in, and a google search later I came across this great post by Gray about his journey in writing the title song.  Because, it turns out, he ended up writing it five different times. 

The title is a quote is from The Lord of the Rings, spoken by Samwise Gamgee after he wakes up from his ordeal with Frodo. Gandalf speaks to Sam, who has thought Gandalf dead.

    "Well, Master Samwise, how do you feel?"
    But Sam lay back, and stared with open mouth, and for a moment, between bewilderment and great joy, he could not answer. At last he gasped: "Gandalf! I thought you were dead! But then I thought I was dead myself. Is everything sad going to come untrue? What’s happened to the world?"
    "A great shadow has departed," said Gandalf, and then he laughed, and the sound was like music, or like water in a parched land; and as he listened the thought came to Sam that he had not heard laughter, the pure sound of merriment, for days without count. It fell upon his ears like the echo of all the joys he had ever known. 

Frankly, anything that uses The Lord of the Rings as its inspiration is going to be good.  But Gray is thoughtful about what this might mean, “everything sad coming untrue.”  It doesn’t mean that sad things don’t happen.  Or that, in the age to come, we won’t care that they happened.  It means that sad things DO happen in this broken world, but that, in God’s time and in his power, the evil that happens here is run backwards, and what was broken will be made right.  This happens to some extent in the partial kingdom now, and will happen fully at Jesus’ return. 

I like the idea that this one small phrase was so complex that it took Gray five songs to work it all out.  Only two made it onto the regular album – you need to buy the special edition to get the other three versions.  But you can read about the making of the songs, and listen to Part 1 and 2 on his post here.

From Everything Sad is Coming Untrue, Part 2:

Broken hearts are being unbroken
Bitter words are being unspoken
The curse undone, the veil is parted
The garden gate will be left unguarded

Could it be everything sad is coming untrue?
Oh I believe everything sad is coming untrue
In the hands of the One who makes all things new

It’s the time of year when people post the Top 10 of various things – books, music, blogs.  I am new at this, but I figure I can list stuff as well as the next guy.  So here is my “Top 10 Music of 2008″ post.

Oh, wait.

I just looked up my purchases.  I bought a bunch of albums this year… but most of them were older music.  And used.  And actually physical CDs.  Yes, I am old and cheap.

So I guess this is my “Top 10 CDs of 2008, only 4 of which came out in 2008″ post.

Best artists I’d never heard of before 2008:

Remember I said I’m old?  Well, I tried to catch up a little this year.  Here are my favorite artist discoveries of 2008 that everyone else knew about already:

• Leeland “Opposite Way” (2008)
• Switchfoot “Beautiful Letdown”
• Coldplay “Viva la Vida” (2008)
• John Mayer “Where the Light Is” (2008)
• Sufjan Stevens “Seven Swans”
• Robbie Seay Band “Give Yourself Away”
• Patty Griffin “Children Running Through” (though I’m cheating because I haven’t bought the CD yet – I just listen online)

Best artists nobody I know has heard of:

• C.J. Bergmen “Sons and Daughters” (Found on noisetrade.com)
• Mike Farris “Salvation in Lights” (Found on an old “best of” list)

Best album:

• Brook Fraser “Albertine”

I’m kind of proud of myself on this one.  I bought an album that actually appears on some Top 10 lists elsewhere.  And it is wonderful.

And because I am a geek, here are the resources I used for music in 2008:

• Noisetrade.com: “pay what you want” for albums and EPs.  Run by Derek Webb.
• Lala.com: listen to anything once for free.  Listen online forever for ten cents.  Buy the mp3 for 89 cents.  Upload your own mp3s and listen to your music on any internet connection.
• Myspace.com: So THIS is what myspace is for!  I can check out any band and listen to their 5 favorite songs streamed for free.
• Half.com: Best place to purchase used CDs.  I pay about $6 for them, rip them to listen to the mp3s on my bike, and put the CDs in the car.
• Twitter: If someone I like recommends someone, I go check it out.

What is your favorite find for 2008?

I ride my bike to work.  Well, actually, I drive to my daughter’s school and then ride my bike from there to work.  Well, actually, we drive to a parking lot near her school, we walk to her school, and then I ride to work.  I’m kind of not into parent-drop-off-traffic.

Anyhoo.  I’ve recently discovered the interesting world of randomized music.  My little mp3 player holds 1gb, or about 20 albums.  I usually listen to full albums.  But now I’ve got it set on random play, and it’s created a new world of my music… with some interesting juxtapositions.  Which leads me to this — what does my music say about me?  More specifically, if I took the message of the last five songs I listened to, what would it say my worldview is?  Let’s find out:

Last five songs:

• “We Lift You Up” by Jason Morant
• “Diane” by Robert Randolph and the Family Band
• “Let Your Love be Strong” by Switchfoot
• “The Lonely Road” by Mike Farris
• “Everything Glorious” by David Crowder Band

Therefore, my view of life is:

• God is amazing, over all and deserves praise
• I’m gonna be true to my main squeeze, even when I’m not sure I’m loved back
• I tried to fix my problems myself, but I need God to do it
• The world is messed up, but God’s got a grip on me.

Hmm. I buy that.

Why not find out your own Shuffle Worldview, then link to it in the comments?

I’ve just found Phil Joel’s new album online at NoiseTrade:

And I like the music a lot.  But even more I like his mission: www.deliberatepeople.com

He is working to combine his music with resources to help people with a daily Bible reading plan that includes an OT reading, a NT reading, a Psalm and a Proverb, plus help with prayer and journaling.  I only wish that the reading itself was a little more structured than just a “start at Genesis/Matthew and go.”  I’m big with themes instead.

But if the man wants to find God more important than fame and the major music scene, then I’m on board.