The Christian Imagination

I went to college in Central Pennsylvania. Between Central PA, Lancaster Country, Philadelphia, there are a lot of good bands. I heard quite a few live in my time there, but somehow, I never heard The Innocence Mission. I do have their songs though, and they are quite moving, in a way that typifies The Innocence Mission.

I really like their album Small Planes, and in particular, the song Small Planes:

I know what you mean,
when you want to run to meet the world,
intentions may not carry you far.

I want to be like Sister Veronica,
whose life connects with so many lives.

My words to him
they didn’t touch him, not at all.
And I never can say what I mean to say.

Small planes are here
but they never leave my room at all.

Full lyrics are here, at the bottom of the page.

This is one of those songs that conveys a lot with very few words. It’s a song I feel, the sense of longing and disappointment. Musings about what we desire to be, what we desire to do, and how often we, just, don’t get anywhere, don’t end up being what we envision. This song isn’t about conclusions. It’s more about the journey, and the heart beyond it. And sometimes, it’s just nice to know I’m not the only one who feels like this.

Recently, Mitch McVicker performed at Everyday Joe’s Coffee House. You can see him play My Deliverer in the video above. My Deliverer is a song he cowrote with Rich Mullins, who he lived and traveled with for a period of time, up until the fatal car wreck that killed Rich and put Mitch into critical condition.

Mitch is a great guy if you ever get to meet him. He’s currently working on a new album scheduled for release this fall, tentatively titled, Overcup Runneth. As a way to fund the album, he is offering people the option to sponsor the album. If you’d like to know more, visit this page.

Here’s one of the songs on his new album, called 15 Minutes:

One of the musicians who plays at Everyday Joe’s and Timberline Church now and then is Kate Hurley. Kate has a few solo CDs and played on Enter the Worship Circle: Third Circle.

As it says on her website: “Kate lives in Boulder, Colorado, where she is hoping to reach out to people with her music and love people with her friendship. Her goal in her music and her life is To paint an accurate picture of God to those who have misunderstood Him.”

She has quite the voice. You have to hear her to understand what I mean. You just don’t know it’s there, until she starts to sing, and then you go: Woah.

Fortunately, she has a free 5 song EP called You Are Not Alone available for download, so you won’t have to wonder:)

I first heard the songwriting of Derek Webb when he was part of Caedmon’s Call. My roommate played their CD quite a bit and it quickly grew on me. Soon after, they came to Messiah College, and being on stage crew, I got to meet Derek and the rest, briefly. It wasn’t that long after Rich Mullins died, and when they finished with Hope to Carry On, stage full with Caedmon, Bebo, and Andrew Peterson. Well, wow.

I always liked Derek’s songwriting with Caedmon. His songs are very heartfelt, thoughtful, and honest. They don’t always have answers. They resonate with my Christian life.

He left Caedmon after Long Line of Leavers to go solo, with his first album being, She Must and Shall Go Free. I remember reading that something from Derek, that said, in essence, that Caedmon’s vision was more to encourage Christians, while Derek was desiring to speak truth to the Church, even if it wasn’t pleasant.

In 2005, he released Mockingbird, to download, for free. Keith Green stirred the pot quite a bit 20+ years ago by offering his albums for free, and that was when they had to be printed. More recently, Derek and others have launched Noisetrade, where musicians can offer their music for free to those who recommend 5 friends, or pay whatever they want.

While much of his earlier songwriting was more personal, albums like Mockingbird are more about society. It’s a different tone, but he says so many things that make me take notice…and applaud:

don’t teach me about politics and government
just tell me who to vote for
don’t teach me about truth and beauty
just label my music
don’t teach me how to live like a free man
just give me a new law
-From “A New Law”

my first allegiance is not to a flag, a country, or a man
my first allegiance is not to democracy or blood
it’s to a king & a kingdom
there are two great lies that i’ve heard:
“the day you eat of the fruit of that tree, you will not surely die”
and that Jesus Christ was a white, middle-class republican
and if you wanna be saved you have to learn to be like Him
-From “A King & A Kingdom”

how can i kill the ones i’m supposed to love
my enemies are men like me
i will protest the sword if it’s not wielded well
my enemies are men like me
peace by way of war is like purity by way of fornication
it’s like telling someone murder is wrong
and then showing them by way of execution
-From “My Enemies Are Men Like Me”

His latest album, The Ringing Bell, is available at Noisetrade…and everywhere else.