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Stuff Christians Like

Music

How to Hillbilly Up a Worship Song.

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A few weeks ago, I made fun of my friend Sojourner because he wore a tiger shirt on stage. I teased him because I was jealous that he could pull off a shirt with a full tiger face with no degree of irony. He is simply that cool. He didn’t even reference the shirt during the announcements he was reading from stage.

Tiger

I am not nearly that cool. Even saying the phrase “Snapback” in reference to a hat seems like something I am not cool enough to do.

In retaliation, he bought me a shirt, the majesty of which is probably going to explode your computer. I have named it “Freedom,” here it is:

Eagle

There are three things I find curious about this shirt:
1. How closely they cropped in on the face.
I wish I could have been in that design meeting when the client kept yelling at the artist, “Closer, closer, closer! Crop it tighter on the eagle’s face!”

2. The colors do run.

3. It says, “Do not iron.”
I would love to meet the person who thinks, “If I have a night out on the town with Freedom, I want it to look crisp! Better get out the iron!”

I’ve been wearing it all summer at BigStuf camps and taking some epic photos with people. Like this one:

Bacon

How ‘Merica is that?

Bacon and Freedom!

Upon

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seeing the shirt, my friend Ben Snider confessed one of his favorite games to play as a worship leader. He didn’t have an official name for it, so I’ll just call it “How to Hillbilly Up a Worship song.”

The game is easy to play.

Step one: Take your favorite worship song.
Step two: Change the words, “Our” and “Your” in the lyrics to the word “Y’all’s.”
Step three: Sing the song.

It might not seem like fun, but I promise, it’s delightful. Watch:

“Our God Reigns” becomes “Y’all’s God Reigns.”

“How Great is Our God” becomes “How Great is Y’all’s God.”

“Blessed Be Your Name” becomes “Blessed Be Y’all’s Name.”

I could do this all day, but you get the point. It’s delightful! It helps if you sing it with a little twang, (As if you are gargling with sweet tea) and don’t turn it into a theological discussion about the trinity. (Is the Father, Son and Holy Ghost, technically a “y’all?”)

What’s one worship song or lyric you’d like to hillbilly up? Share it in the comments!

The fast clap, a eulogy.

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I appreciate everyone coming here today as we celebrate the fast, but memorable, life of the fast clap.

Born in church the minute a worship leader plays an up-tempo song and encourages everyone to play along, the poor fast clap never stood a chance.

Most humans, especially tired first service church attendees, can’t keep up with a regular paced round of clapping. We always start off so hopeful. We’re going to make it through the entire song! We are bright eyed with hands that believe this time will be different.

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SCLQ – Seryn

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Prior to going to the Catalyst Conference a few weeks ago, I had not heard of this band.

After going to the Catalyst Conference a few weeks ago, I can’t stop listening to this band.

Seryn is from Denton, a mythical land in Texas that Matt Chandler says “hello” to often at the start of sermons. They remind me a little of Mumford & Sons. Each member of the band can play approximately 17 instruments proficiently. Seriously, during their set, the drummer would stand up, grab a guitar play that, then walk over to some sort of instrument I’ve never seen in my life and then absolutely kill that too. It was amazing, and they played with that kind of unabashed joy and gusto I’ve written about before. Someday, I hope to throw an event and invite them to be the music.

Here’s one of their songs. It breaks in a big, beautiful wave at the 2:15 mark. I’m a huge fan of Seryn. (Which I think is Greek for “We play an amazing amount of instruments well.”)

SCLQ – We're all made out of shipwrecks.

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My brother recently told me about this guy named “Listener,” but apparently he’s been around for years and years.

I think this song, lyrics and video are hauntingly beautiful. Capturing grace in any medium is an impossible act, but Listener takes the medium of music as close to grace as I’ve seen anyone take it. His line, “We’re all made out of shipwrecks” is some kind of crazy beautiful. (In my wildest dreams, this is the kind of thing I’d like to do with some of my ideas.)

Watch “Wooden Heart” after the jump and let me know what you think in the comments!
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Having a Black Belt in Worship Crowd Control.

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A few weeks ago I ran into the lead singer of Paramore, Hayley Williams, while I was grabbing a coffee.

When I tweeted that, people asked, “What did you say to her?”

What did I say? Nothing. Had I said hello, that moment would have instantly dissolved into the interviews Chris Farley used to do where he would ask painfully awkward, obvious questions on Saturday Night Live. (Example: He said something to Paul McCartney like, “Remember when you were in the Beatles? That was awesome!)

The other reason I didn’t talk with her is that 76% of the people who live in Nashville are famous.

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The power ballad worship song.

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I grew up reading Thrasher magazine, watching the movie “Rad” as many times possible and listening to the rap group, “Public Enemy.”

Why Thrasher? Cause I was a skateboarder.

Why Rad? Because the title says it all, it was rad.

Why Public Enemy? Because growing up on the mean streets of suburban Massachusetts really prepared me for hard laced, urban rap. Clearly.

Given my love for the hip hop, I’m lacking the musical background to truly appreciate something I’ve started to notice lately at church though.

The power ballad worship song.

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4 ways to Febreze, “Blessed Be Your Name”

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I don’t know Matt Redman, the singer of Blessed Be Your Name, but I have to imagine he’s somewhere right now wearing solid gold pants, riding an Arabian horse named Montalban on the sandy shores of the Grand Caymans.

That’s if he gets paid per time a church uses his song, because if there’s ever been a stuff Christians like, it’s that song.

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Arguing about the faith of U2.

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U2 is definitely a Christian band. Or they are definitely not. I’m positive it’s one of those two.

It’s hard to be sure, but what I am sure of is that we Christians like debating that. I learned that the hard way when I called the band “NeedtoBreathe,” the “Christian U2.”

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Feeling slightly embarrassed for male singers who don’t play instruments.

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Good service so far. Only felt a modicum of judgment from the people next to me who don’t know I direct deposit my tithe, no one’s asked to borrow my pen and I’m pretty sure I’m going to win the “please turn to” Bible verse race. All in all, pretty good day and here comes a minister to preach. Wait a second. No, this can’t be right, he’s not the preacher, he’s …

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