• Wanderlog

    Praise for CCM

    A recent article on some 90’s CCM tracks got me thinking. I suppose you could say I came of age in the mid-90’s, discovering for the first time the great alternative music scene of Smashing Pumpkins, Bush, Oasis, and No Doubt. (Little did I know until much later that they stood on the shoulders of some serious alternative giants.) I rarely bought their music because I was concerned about the lyrics. So when I began searching for Christian musicians, I found myself embracing dc Talk, Jars of Clay, Newsboys, and Audio Adrenaline, among many, many others. In no time I was a CCM fanboy. I couldn’t get enough! And as…

  • Wanderlog

    Critiquing Critiques of Criticism

    [Note: This post was inspired by my friend Lisa’s blog about worship music criticism.] I remember the first time I criticized worship music. It was in kindergarten. We would sing this song where half the class would jump up and sing “praise ye the Lord,” then as they sat back down the other half would jump up and sing “hallelujah!” I decided it was shallow and repetitive, and as I recall we sang it all the time. Fast-forward to the new millennium. I was a late-bloomer in terms of modern music, but I had embraced CCM (or “Contemporary Christian Music,” for the uninitiated) when I first heard Jesus Freak as…

  • Bible Study

    Saul & the Evil Spirit

    This morning I found myself in 1 Samuel 16. I started reading through the whole Bible cover-to-cover for my devotions an embarrassingly long time ago, (5 years?), but I always find it interesting that what I read connects so well with what’s going on in my life at the time. I assume this is more a testament to the applicability and relevance of the Bible than Providential approval of slacking off. God’s been working in my heart a lot since the move, and one thing that was weighing heavily on me is a desire to be more loving to my neighbors, more outgoing and encouraging to those around me. There…