Joy To The World: Music Video
When I recorded "Joy To The World," and made this video, I wanted to find a way to highlight the profound dissonance (for me, at least) of singing this carol in a broken world... JB
Listen to the rest of the album here:
Every Lament A Love Song: The Pulse Shootings In Orlando, FL
G. Rouault
What Do We Do With Pain?
In ninth grade English class, my brutally honest professor once asked me, "Josh, do you know why your papers get C's? Because your Christianity keeps you from writing honestly about the evil in the novels we're reading- and in your life as well."
He was right. At the time, my understanding of evil was that any kind of worthy faith in God explained it away- if not with denial, then certainly with trivial answers and quickly referenced scripture verses.
A number of years later I spent a summer preaching through the different genres of the psalms for a church in Tennessee. I didn't know it then, but that summer would become a turning point in my theology, in my relationship with God, and in my relationship with suffering. That's because I learned that, more than any other kind of Psalm in Israel's hymnbook, there are Psalms of Lament, of sadness, pain, anger, confusion, ambiguity, and discouragement.
So what does it say to us, in the wake of the shootings in Orlando last Sunday, that God's people wrote more sad songs than any other kind in their hymns of "praise?"
Here is the audio link to a sermon on Psalm 13 I gave a few years ago. The title is a phrase from Nicholas Wolterstorff's fantastic (and heartbreaking) book "Lament For A Son," where he says that every lament is [ultimately] a love song.
By the way, during that summer of preaching on the psalms, I tried to write a modern day psalm of lament. I called it "I Need You." A few years later it was picked up by a band called the Swift and got some radio play. You can hear the song here.
You can hear the Swift's version of the song here.
Josh Joins The Grace Party on the Steve Brown Etc podcast
Listen to the podcast.
Grace Party
Last week I had the pleasure of joining one of my seminary professors and heroes, Steve Brown, in his studio to record a Steve Brown Etc podcast for the upcoming Grace Party that Steve's Ministry, Key Life, will be throwing later this month in Orlando, FL. I shared a couple of songs while Charlie and Ruth Jones, and Buddy Greene, also joined the conversation. It was a lot of fun!
Something that was especially meaningful to me to was sharing "Only The Sinner," a song that was inspired by Steve's teaching about God's grace. You can hear the podcast here or click on the image above.
Last year I wrote a guest blog for Key Life about "Only The Sinner" and you can read the story and listen to the song here.
If you're in Orlando the weekend of May 20th, please join us at Willow Creek Church for Key Life's Grace Party. It's going to be a blast. Details here.
10 Quotes & A Song About (Sweet) Forgiveness
"Sweet Forgiveness"
Listen
I was surprised to see you in the store recently. And after all this time, the tears still welled up in my eyes. (Chorus) I do forgive you with all that that means. Though the wounds and scars you left still bleed. And who can say if I’ll ever forget, all those things you did without regret. But there's still forgiveness- sweet forgiveness, yet. You don't know this but we've talked. I've begged you for answers with no response. I've searched for peace. And all I want is to be free. (Bridge) Some people say that forgiveness is the key. It opens the door and sets you free. (Final Chorus) I do forgive you with all that that means. Though the wounds and scars you left still bleed. And I will not live a life of regret, when I could live with love instead. But there's still forgiveness- sweet forgiveness, yet.
Download a free PDF of the lyrics and chords
Watch
Read
Almighty God have mercy on you, forgive you all your sins through our Lord Jesus Christ, strengthen you in all goodness, and by the power of the Holy Spirit keep you in eternal life. Amen. – Words of Absolution from The Book of Common Prayer
“Don't you want to be there/don't you want to cry/when you see how far you've got to go to be where forgiveness rules/instead of where you are?” -Songwriter Jackson Browne
We forgive people not because they deserve our forgiveness, but because we want to be free. – Author Mike Mason
“To forgive is to set a prisoner free and discover that the prisoner was you.” – Author and Ethicist Lewis Smedes
“The triumph of sin, the main sign of its rule over the world, is division, opposition, separation, hatred. Therefore, the first break through this fortress of sin is forgiveness: the return to unity, solidarity, love. To forgive is to put between me and my ‘enemy’ the radiant forgiveness of God Himself. Forgiveness is truly a ‘breakthrough’ of the Kingdom into this sinful and fallen world.” - Fr. Alexander Schmemann
When you forgive, you release yourself as well as the other person. You allow life to go on, to bypass your exaggerated sense of virtue and your worry about being offended. As long as you sit on your power to forgive, you suppress your joy in life. You also limit yourself: If you keep those you love within tight boundaries of behavior, you have to bind yourself as well lest you be a hypocrite. – Author and Psychotherapist Thomas Moore
[The Bible] does not say ‘Forgive everyone, unless they’ve said something rude about your child.’ And it doesn’t even say, ‘Just try.’ It says, If you want to be forgiven, if you want to experience that kind of love, you have to forgive everyone in your life- everyone, even the very worst boyfriend you ever had – even, for God’s sake, yourself. – Author Anne Lamott
[Divine forgiveness] demands of me that I step over that wounded part of my heart that feels hurt and wronged and that wants to stay in control and put a few conditions between me and the one whom I am asked to forgive. This ‘stepping over’ is the authentic discipline of forgiveness. –Author and Catholic Priest Henri Nouwen
To forgive somebody is to say one way or another, "You have done something unspeakable, and by all rights I should call it quits between us. Both my pride and my principles demand no less. However, although I make no guarantees that I will be able to forget what you've done, and though we may both carry the scars for life, I refuse to let it stand between us. I still want you for my friend." …Our unforgivingness is among those things about us that we need to have God forgive us most. – Author Frederick Buechner
...Whoever has been forgiven little loves little. - Jesus Christ
Orthodox Christians would commend to us their annual observance and celebration of “Forgiveness Sunday,” the first service of Lent where congregant and priest alike kneel before each other during worship for to ask forgiveness one for the other. Beautiful! Alexander Schmemann has written a short piece on this Christian Orthodox tradition HERE.