Made It. Make It.
I’ve been flooded with e-mails since my last post, and just to get everyone up to snuff, I made it safely back into my home from my garage.
Phew. I know. I was worried about me too.
Artists have a weird job. So do toll booth operators. But having only given and never received a toll, I can only speak for artists. We take stuff in. We process. We regurgitate but with twists and turns and hopefully allow you to see things in a new way. Not necessarily better/worse or right/wrong but new.
I’ve been taking a lot in the last few weeks. The last week especially has given me a lot to think about. I was part of a group promoting and showcasing a resource called Lutheran Songs Today – touring around, being on panels, taking part in discussions, and letting people know about this resource. And it’s a great resource – well organized, applicable, accessible and theologically sound. And I think it well reflects what the vast majority of Lutheran churches today like to sing and in a style they like to sing it.
We were a big hit with the 40 and over crowd.
That’s what I’m trying to process.
Lutheran thought/tradition does well with tension. After all, we’re the home of the saint/sinner, over 7 billion served. Maybe what I want is something to hold this resource in tension. It’s important to have resources like this – a compilation/best of, of current Lutheran resources. But the resources we offer the Church also need to move it forward.
I’m ready for something new. We need fewer songs celebrating the styles and wordage that keep us comfortable and more songs that push us into tomorrow. And then we can honor Herb Brokering’s invocation of the psalms when he dared to put test tubes into our hymnody, and sing to the Lord a new song.
Let’s write those songs. Let’s lose the flowery language and talk about God’s place in our struggle. Let’s be real about the pain and real about the hope. And let’s figure out a new way to do it.
Now that I think about it, perhaps my writing has taken its toll on you. In which case I do speak for toll booth operators. And I say this: When you pay for the car behind you and think you’re paying it forward I actually keep the difference and charge them anyway. Sucker.