Its funny that one of the most anti-Christian, atheistic songs I have ever heard come not from the dark metal lands in the recesses of Scandinavia, but rather from a popular British pop band in the 1980’s.  XTC became popular for their catchy pop-hooks with songs like “Making Plans for Nigel”, “King for a Day”, and “Mayor of Simpleton”, but their single “Dear God” off their 1986 record “Skylarking” (which incidentally garnished an almost unheard of 5 out of 5 stars on All Music Guide) stands out from the others in notoriety.  The song is basically a tongue-in-cheek open letter to God, pointing out many of the injustices and evils in the world and therefore concluding, “if there’s one thing I can’t believe in.it’s you.”

This basically boils down to the whole “there are so many bad things in the world that I refuse to believe in God” argument.  For me personally it was probably good to listen to this song that I once identified with to see both how far God has brought me, but also to stay fresh and remember how to always be ready to give an answer for the hope that’s in me (1 Peter 3:15) to people who raise such objections.
 Someone recently sent me this clip of John Piper that is about as opposite to the above sentiment as possible. 

There really isn’t much more for to ad to that.the difference it apparent.  One stands and shouts from bitterness on a tiny pretend throne, the other in reverence before the throne of God.

Dead Can Dance - The Host of Seraphim

By itself this piece of music is extremely moving, but when coupled with this section from the film Baraka it is beyond heartbreaking. Lisa Gerrard has an astonishing voice, which has been heard more recently in a lot of other films like Gladiator and Black Hawk Down. I was fortunate enough to see Dead Can Dance live on their reunion tour in the fall of 2005 at the Paramount Theatre in Seattle and can say without a doubt that her voice filled that space in a way I’ve never heard any voice fill a space before. Breathtaking. (more…)

I have just finished reading an essay from Harold Best called Creative Diversity, Authenticity and Excellence and as always Dr. Best provides a dense and thought-provoking read. There was a lot that stood out to me, but one paragraph in particular caught my attention:

“But to our dismay, all of this wondrous stuff begins to be constricted and shut down by a slickened and cynical culture in which our children and young people are made to think that they are personally unique, while unwittingly being made into each other’s image. It is really commercial totalitarianism: this massive hype, this cynical flattening of human diversity, this ornamented stasis. Our children are Michael Jordaned, and Barneyed, mega-churched, Sandi Pattied, Nintendoed, and MTV’d clean out of their uniqueness. The local, home-grown heroes–those necessary stay-at-home mentors–are almost no more. They have either left us, trying for bigger things, or if they humbly choose to stay at home, their worth is belittled by the steroided hype and illusion which surround the super-stars. Their options are curiously shut down by the gatekeepers: these product mongers who choose our culture for us and then manipulate us into thinking we have freely chosen it.”

This paragraph immediately reminded me of a documentary I saw a couple years ago on PBS Frontline called The Merchants of Cool. For years I’d wished I’d taped it so I could show it to as many people as possible.well, thankfully someone else with more computer savvy than I had the same idea and posted the entire thing on youtube. Here is the first installment of 5, but I highly recommend watching all of them:

What you will see will probably depress you (as I hope it should), but at the same time no one should be ignorant about it. Keep in mind this was made a couple of years ago and I’m sure the statistics he mentions have only gone up.

What really struck me was how well Best nailed the same sentiment in his article, which is really impressive for a guy who is old enough to be my grandfather. AND he wrote this article in 1993, when I was seventeen. Imagine how it must be for the 17 year olds now. (more…)

Zep good!

Nathan Burke’s vital stats:

-Was born and raised in Washington, D.C.
-Now lives in Seattle.
-Became a Christian at the age of 25 (after a long bout of agnosticism).
-Is married and has a daughter.
-Has an undergrad degree from George Mason University in History, with a minor in Religious Studies.
-Played in some bands. The only one you might have heard of was Frodus.
-Currently has a musical project called The Out_Circuit that you are less likely to have heard of.
-Played in MHC worship band Red Letter.plays in the new Pastor Tim worship band (as of yet unnamed).
-Works at MHC as Pastor Tim’s executive assistant.
-Has been to 48 states and almost 20 countries.
-Isn’t sure why you’re reading this.
-Wrote this in the third person, which was weird.

Beach House - “Beach House”

A few months back a friend burned me discs of about 6 different records which then sat in my car for months before I finally ran out of things to listen to and threw them on. The other 5 didn’t really impress me, but something about this resonated right out of the gate. It is a very low-fi and unassuming record. The elements are fairly simple…shimmering 60’s sounding organs with corresponding drum machines (imagine finding an old wood paneled organ-esque machine in your grandmother’s basement with far too many knobs…the sound that comes out of that is pretty much what you will hear on this record), minimal but tasteful guitar, and a relatively low female voice. There are wonderful pop hooks throughout (in particular on “Master of None”), but done in an understated way that is quite refreshing to hear.

This record has a nostalgic sound that hangs out in that wonderfully ambiguous space between beautiful, sad, and longing. I think they chose the name Beach House not because it sounded like some summer party, but more like hanging out in a mostly empty beach house in October when the town is quiet, the air is cool, and the sand untouched. Perfect listening for grey autumn days, of which there will be plenty in coming months.

“Love is not static; it cannot but pour itself outward.”

There is plenty in Harold Best’s Unceasing Worship that makes me scratch my chin and think, or put a place holder in the book and stare off into space, and the quote above is worth some pondering.

The idea that love is an active thing can be found throughout scripture.”For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only son.” (John 3:16), or when Jesus reminds his followers that if they truly love him they should do what he says. Love does not sit by on the sidelines, just as Jesus did not sit by on the sidelines. He stepped boldly into human history and paid a great price. Biblical love is not theoretical, but tried, tested, and true.

But, as Best points out throughout his book, this can go two ways. We become more like what we love.if Christ, than more like Christ, if the world than more like the world, but not both. Love compels us to be more than what we are, but the love described in the Bible is so much different than the “love” the world offers which seems to be more about feelings than action.

Reading Unceasing Worship was a good checkup to see where and what I pour myself in to, and thus to see what I love. A lot of what I saw, and continue to see, is disheartening, but I hope it is God’s purpose to put those kinds of reality checks in my life so that I see my fault and come to love Him more. It also makes me realize, once again, how far I am from being a perfect worshipper, and how much I need to cling to Jesus who was (and is) exactly that. And that’s just on page 22.

Brian Eno
Thursday Afternoon

I have been a huge fan of Brian Eno’s ambient works for many years, and all told have listened to his records (Thursday Afternoon in particular) probably more than anything else I own.  Part of the reason is because it’s easy to throw on and forget about.  You can nap, work, read, sit and chill, etc, and pretty much forget its on.BUT it has the effect of a wonderful but subtle candle in a room that just gives it that subtle.well.ambiance.  (more…)

In April of 2006 I was blessed to become a father.  Over the last 14 months or so I have learned many lessons from my young daughter Scarlet, and one recent lesson was in how to worship.  My wife Rachel has taken Scarlet into the sanctuary in Ballard to hear the worship bands play almost every Sunday since she was born, but as I am often playing in one of the bands I don’t get to see her in action.I just hear reports about how she cheers and waves her hands and yells “dada.”
   
A couple weeks ago I got the opportunity to hold her in during the closing set on a Sunday and was blown away.  She raised her hands, clapped, bobbed her head, and tried her best to sing.  Being the natural skeptic I figured she was just imitating someone around her, but looked around and didn’t see anyone in our proximity doing the same thing.  I almost cried.my deepest prayer for my daughter is that she know and worship Jesus, and though she is very, very young I knew she was doing just that, even if she still doesn’t completely know what that means.  I remembered Jesus quoting from Psalm 8:2, ‘From the lips of children and infants you have ordained praise’ (Matt 21:16), and thought how pleased God must have been with her.  But though my heart was full of joy I also felt convicted.  What an uptight snob I’ve been about how I praise my Lord!  How often have I been dispassionate in fear of appearing awkward or showy!  How I’ve been so much more concerned with worshipping “correctly”!
 
This also reminded me of how Jesus said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children.” (Matt 11:25), and “I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” (Matt 18:3). 
It has been a prayer of mine that God would teach me things through my children, beginning with Scarlet, and already He most certainly has. 

In order for this post to make sense you must first experience Speak the Hungarian Rapper for yourself, because frankly there’s just no way I can describe it:

Let me start by saying that I have researched this a little bit and it is not meant to be a joke.  The man known as Speak made this with the utmost sincerity, and in fact went bankrupt doing so.  I should also make it clear that the purpose of this article is not to bash Speak or make fun of him, but to try and point out that a lot of what Christian culture produces often comes across to those outside of it much as Speak does to us. 

I sent this link to my friend a week ago and his only response was “how does this happen?”  A fair question.  I think a huge part of it has to do with the fact that Speak and his cohorts spent much of their lives behind the Iron Curtain and only in the last decade or so have had greater access to more culture.  The Soviet ideal was that the countries within their dominion and influence (including Hungary from 1945-1989) would create their own “counter-culture.”  In doing so, however, they created such a divide and such an oppressive environment that almost NO culture resulted.  What often sprung up instead was a weird bastardization of the culture that trickled in from the West.  (more…)