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Review: John Mark McMillan’s “Economy”

September 29, 2011 in Reviews with 0 Comments

John Mark McMillan’s much-anticipated album, Economy, soars above the lofty expectations I was almost afraid to hold for it.

I met John Mark in August 2007, with tens of thousands of others. The Song Inside the Sounds of Breaking Down was almost life-changing for me. Later, The Medicine was a religious experience in itself; it took worship music to a whole new place – beautiful, simple melodies and stunning lyrics. When he signed with Integrity and they re-released The Medicine without changing anything, I breathed a huge sigh of relief.

When I started hearing about a new album coming out this fall, I admit I was more nervous that excited. We’ve all been in love with some independent musician or band who finally got discovered, signed, and then pushed to put out a new album … which then, of course, sucked. Or the band that gets signed and decides (or is told by the producer) to change their sound … which then, of course, sucks.

Label-signing aside, everybody reaches a peak at some point, right? It was hard to imagine anyone keeping up with The Medicine, much last surpassing it. Even John Mark.

But he did it. No kidding. Whatever your expectations for Economy, I assure you, he (and his team) exceeded them.

If you love his music, you’ll still love it. It’s still the folk-infused indie experiment you already adore. (Yes, I just made that up, you like it? “folk-infused indie experiment”)

And the lyrics? Come on. If John Mark can do one thing, it’s write poetry that also perfectly fills in a melody that you can’t not sing. Some of my favorites:
From “Daylight”:

The boardwalk is painted red with the blood
Of a thousand prospective heroes but one
Still cries out beyond all the grave and the flood
Where the blackest abysses cannot overcome

Cause we live on the edge
On the edge of a darkness oh
We live on the edge
On the edge of a darkness oh
But daylight is coming on

From “Murdered Son”:

Glory to One
God’s murdered Son
Who paid for my resurrection
Once from the dust, once from the grave
Daughters and sons from the ashes you’ve raised
And hidden our faults even from your own face
And scattered our debt upon the waves

From “Chemicals”:

But I want to love you
When the blood of my veins
Don’t know how to call out your name

And at the same time, “Sins are Stones” is three or four simple lines over and over again, but it will move you to tears like the rest.

A friend of mine once commented, “I think John Mark McMillan understands Jesus in a way I just don’t.” I think that’s a great way to describe his work. I’m just humbled and grateful that he shares it with the rest of us.

November 1 it can be yours. (The single, “Sheet of Night” can be yours now.) Mark your calendars.

Book Review: Where Has Oprah Taken Us?

September 28, 2011 in Reviews with 0 Comments

Have a blog? Like free books? Check this out. 

Stephen Mansfield has written a book that every Christian in America should read.

It is nothing if not thorough. It is remarkably insightful. It is generous, but it is exact – open-minded, but wise; decisive, but humble. It is a genuine search to understand the faith of “the worlds most famous woman,” and its impact on our culture.

But, to my surprise and delight, it is also about so much more than Oprah.

Mansfield’s search begins with Oprah’s story, and it’s a fascinating one. He gives an insightful account of her childhood, adolescence, and rise to fame. He goes deeper into the early-adulthood years that became the turning point in her religious beliefs, and in all of it Mansfield is kind.

Then, he steps back and reviews the past sixty years in America’s religious history. Instead of, “Where has Oprah taken us,” Mansfield seems to ask, “Where has our society taken Oprah?” It’s a fair question. He explains – neatly and insightfully – the spiritual path that the baby boomer generation has walked: the rise and mutilation of Eastern religions, the gradual acceptance of Satanism and the occult, and the blending of it all.

The next chapter turns to Oprah’s spiritual mentors and teachers. As Oprah herself has yet to write a manuscript, or clearly outline her spiritual beliefs, Mansfield suggests that just as revealing is to analyze the writings and clear positions of the people whom Oprah identifies as her inspirations, teachers, mentors, etc. Marianne Williamson, Eckart Tolle, Gary Zukav, and Deepak Chopra are all explored.

Finally, Mansfield does his best, based on Oprah’s own statements, to outline her fundamental spiritual beliefs. He draws no unreasonable conclusions.

In all of it, the author strives to write as unbiased a text as possible. He admits, however, that a completely unbiased writing is probably not possible by any author, and so reserves his opinions for occasional interruptions – set aside by wider margins and italics. I appreciated his efforts.

Where Has Oprah Taken Us? is about so much more than Oprah and her spiritual beliefs. It is a brief history of modern American spirituality, and it is a resourceful overview of the New Age movement and the spirit of our age. It draws together important subplots in our recent religious history, asks bold questions, and provides remarkable insight.

For the believer serious about sharing his faith and living in the world to fulfill the great commission in America, this book is a priceless asset.

I Don’t Know Why I Pray

September 26, 2011 in Discipleship with 0 Comments

Do you love God? Why?

Is it really because He is good, or is it because He does good for you?

Is it because He is merciful, or because He is merciful to you?

I was praying for a friend one morning last week, a friend whose family is in a bad season. The kind that pushes mortality and eternity right up to your face, the kind that asks hard questions about healing and hell.

So I prayed for healing. I stood on the authority of the Name, and asked that God would intervene for His glory. I prayed every way I knew how, but He interrupted me,

“If I wasn’t going to get the glory, would you still ask for healing?”

Probably. No one wants a loved one, or the loved one of a loved one, sick and suffering. But then, am I really asking because my heart’s desire is to see the name of Jesus lifted up … or because I dislike suffering?

I pushed the question aside and moved on.

More importantly, I prefaced, and set into whatever angle I knew to pray for someone’s salvation.

“What is more important than Me being glorified?”

That is difficult.

That is not the Rich Grandpa God that I pray to. That’s not the voice of the Slot Machine God that I worship, or the Eager To Please God that I love.

God is love, and He did pay for sin and sickness on the cross, and He does give us power over our enemy, and He does want every last person to come to salvation. Our God loves to answer prayer, and bless His people, and forgive.

But He also asks, in Romans 9,

Does not the potter have power over the clay, from the same lump to make one vessel for honor and another for dishonor? What if God, wanting to show His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath prepared for destruction …

Same God.

Do I love all of Him?

Because, really, this whole thing is about Him. This is His creation, designed to bring Him glory. I was created so that I could, if I chose to, experience Him; there’s nothing greater or higher for me to do. The Law demonstrates His holiness. The Cross demonstrates His mercy and love, and allows us to experience Him. When His mercy is complete, He’ll end creation as we know it and we’ll all be given what we chose – Him, or not Him.

There’s nothing else.

Jesus glorified the Father in everything He did. Is my ambition to glorify my God, or to make myself – and others – happy, by His power? Am I asking for what I want, what I think is right, and trying to convince Him to do it by arguing that He’ll be glorified in the process? Or am I looking around me for situations that will glorify Him, and praying them through?

Because He isn’t always glorified through my requests. Sometimes people get healed, and they don’t thank Him. Sometimes they get delivered, and they don’t surrender to him. Sometimes situations turn around for our comfort, or our pleasure, and we just give Him a wink and move on.

If He wasn’t going to be glorified in the end, would I still make that request? What if His glory caused me pain, would I still seek it?

How much do I love Him? How much do I trust Him? How loyal is my heart?

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