Waterdeep put on a "really big shoe" at the New Earth Coffeehouse this weekend (Friday and Saturday nights, April 30th and May 1st). The young man who put the band together and married the lead female singer, Lori Coscia, is none other than my "little" brother, Donald. Really not little at all, of course - he's a big guy (bigger than me?) - he's a papa! - he's a famous rockstar... but a little younger, perhaps.
Since I don't get to talk to him much and since the thing that I'm most wanting to talk about is a general topic everyone who is remotely interested in the Man/God of the Universe, Yeshua/Jesus, might want to consider and / or debate (in a friendly way)... I'm just gonna bust out right now tonight - at 4 am after a REALLY long night of rockin the New Earth house down!
The topic is this - What Does a "Christian Songwriter" Sing About?
Hmm.... well, allow me to suggest that before you commence the pondering of the answer, check out the soundtrack I'm listening to - a friend of Waterdeep's...
The formal answer (for, well, a really long time - not that that implies positively, for sure, the RIGHTNESS of such practice - of COURSE!) has been, well, since he or she is a "songwriter" NOT sans the "Christian" part, about God! A Christian Songwriter - one who is identified with Christ and is a songwriter... mmm... sings about Christ?
That's what I would think.
But Donald makes the argument (quite poignantly, I might add) that a Christian is FREE. And, therefore, Christian songwriters should spread that freedom into their songwriting and just write about whatever artsy thing suits their fancy... and don't worry about it!
I'm worrying though. (In a patently post "post-modern" way)
We live in a world that is not as content as we are.
If some of you who read this don't know the eternal God who comforts the inner being and answers all the burning questions with molten wisdom that burns, fills and settles your soul to the core, we who know Yeshua should be like wild horses in our concern over that disparity and do whatever we can to share that wholeness with you in ALL our endeavors!
Whether we're "Christian songwriters, plumbers, traffic cops, sign-makers, politicians, breadmakers, homemakers" all are clearly called to live devoted to the God who yearns to be known by ALL.
He yearns deeply for ALL people to know His "wholesomeness" - and our devotion urges us to share that well-being in every way possible - songwriting notwithstanding.
[Note from 080805! Something important here in 1st Peter 2:9! Our "telling" is us actually PRAISING God IN our SOCIETY!!!
We don't just say, "Hey, I wanna tell you something really cool...."
We ACTUALLY DANCE AND SING AND DO ART AND ARCHITECTURE AND DESIGN AND ACTS OF SOCIAL JUSTICE IN PUBLIC!!!! We "show forth the praises of Him who has called us out of (our) darkness... (societal) darkness... (mysterious and vast spiritual) darkness and into His MARVELOUS LIGHT" - the LIGHT of His GLORIOUS KINGDOM WISDOM AND ETERNAL REIGN AS IT IS BECOMING CLEAR TO US! HOW GENIUS! HOW ALL-ENCOMPASSING IT IS!! BOTH NOW AND FOREVERMORE!!! We 'live out loud' by speaking as well as acting out our faith. Faith without works is dead, yes, but faith with mouths of joy and compassion and grief and anger TAPED SHUT is, at least, limited.]
