(click on the title to download song)
Warning: this is the song that could get me in trouble. Really. At least with some of you.
Please do not take this song as a comment on any one church. It is not. Instead, it is a commentary on the materialism that seems to drive certain congregations in America, and throughout the West. I apologize for the raw commentary, but please understand that I very much identify with the church of which I speak and, from time to time, find myself wanting to be a part of that church. After all, who here does not get excited by the "stuff of earth"? I do. Especially when I can justify the stuff by its particularly keen spiritual application (who else here has bought an x-box for purposes of ministry? I have.).
I guess my broader question is, does this have to be the focus of our local congregations? Is there anything wrong with our "play places"? Does the church that makes such outlays make correlating expenditures to missions, poverty, community devlopment. I don't know, maybe this is where I rely on you guys for some input...
Lyrics
The church just purchased all their dreams with a buck
that was borrowed from the bank
That was borrowed from the government
They filled it up with movie theater seats and flat screens
That were borrowed from the bank
That were borrowed from the government
They rationalized it with the lies that if you build it they will come
And pay for all you built
They graced the halls & walls with shades of paints in gray that muted all their guilt
Chorus:
Render unto Caesar that which is Caesar's
You draft, your vote, your tax
Your government TV
Render unto Jesus that which is Jesus'
And when you've paid Matthew
Leave with him, come follow me
V2:
The church just purchased ethical degrees with a buck
That was borrowed from the bank
That was borrowed from the government
They purchased corporate morality with a buck
That was borrowed from the bank
That was borrowed from the government
They entertained the candidates
And were obliged to make endorsements on politico.com
And in return they wrote the bill
That made its way to Capitol Hill
That rezoned the homeless wanderer
To maintain their white facade
Chorus:
Bridge:
We sacrificed our charity so that we could have our own
Disney Day Care Place
We reconciled our ledger and became the moral debtor
So that we could tax a tithe their wage
We rant and rave and froth and foam to justify the loan
So that we can lay claim to another piece of land
And we ignore the rising anger in the stomach of the MakerAs his fists of fury pound out--"Frankly, I do not give a damn!"
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
16 comments:
Seth,
I was glad to hear you wrestling with some very real issues that face us in our affluent American church, and I can appreciate your frustration.
You pose the question in your post "Is there anything wrong with our "play places"?" No, there is nothing intrinsically wrong with the stuff of earth (great Rich Mullins shout out by the way!) - after all God made all things and said that they were "good". The issue, as is always the issue, is a matter of the heart. It is not wrong to have stuff, nor to ENJOY stuff, but we must heed the command from Hebrews 12 to cast off "EVERYTHING that hinders AND the sin which so easily entangles". So it is not just about sinful things, but also the things that keep us from RUNNING after God and his kingdom. Therefore, IF the "stuff" gets in the way of Christ being lifted up in an individual's or congregation's life, then yes it is time for that thing to go (at least until such time as priorities are back in place).
To be sure there are church systems and cultures that do a dis-service to their congregations by promoting lifestyles and "things" that entangle... But perhaps I have already said enough, and should wait for others comments.
-The Jackal
I like it. These things make me ANGRY too.
A friend of mine leaves me this comment by email, which I particularly like...
"Enjoyed the song... Even though our debt to Caesar is beyond payment. It's time to face reality and declare bankruptcy."--R
i also enjoy this tune, musically and lyrically. I feel like it does well to convey a message and also have a truly attached emotion. there are songs out there that without any proof, i could tell you that the writer and the performer were two different people. On the other side you hear some songs and think wow, this person experienced something and here's a little note to express it.
i have tried not to buy an xbox for many reasons and so far i've been successful.
i've heard this song for awhile now so i almost can't remember my first impressions. the meat however is very nutritious and i would like you to cook me another.
Yeah, sometimes blanket statements are so inaccurate that they are unjust. In this case, i think differently. The church has lost it's ability to provide a viable ethical witness to the people who surround her. Ok, so we might want to argue that "stuff" isn't ontologically evil. What kind of "stuff?" AK's that kill children in third worlds...guns are stuff. What about the stuff that finances AK's? Stuff like US governments. Who finances the stuff of governments? Taxes on ipods, I can only assume. Reality (i.e. stuff) was created good. However, we have so deformed stuff that it serves so much evil. We can't escape the infrastructure of evil stuff. It has enveloped us. Stuff is evil when it separates me from my neighbor. The church is for this reason bricked into an evil existence. So much stuff to serve only it's members...not it's neighbor. A better option might be to simply close down these brick boxes of stuff and try something simpler.
Well said and sung friend.
This is why I love you, Kyle. I don't know if you get "it" (can any of us really say that), but you definitely get me.
Great run on bricking ourselves in. I too wish we'd try something simpler and less refined. Something designed to carry out the gospel, perhaps? I don't know, call it a dream.
I also realize that at some point, all churches will undergo a building campaign, or some such endeavor (I am a realist). But, I just long for the day when the church says-"If we took out the building design that includes the flat screens in the foyer, we could support one more overseas worker for a year." Fortunately, I feel like I go to that kind of place right now. Unfortunately, I feel like it is rare. Or at least medium rare.
"Let me ask you one question
Is your money that good
Will it buy you forgiveness
Do you think that it could
I think you will find
When your death takes its toll
All the money you made
Will never buy back your soul."
Masters of War by Bob Dylan
Your song represents well THE dilemma ... we owe to Ceasar a debt that has swallowed our very ideal. It's time to declare bankruptcy and go back to lovin our neighbors not just our possessions.
Woody Guthrie engraved upon his guitar, "This machine kills Fascists." This has always been the ideal of the church as well... a machine to slay oppression, injustice and hatred. Instead we've become the very cogs through which materialistic oppression and consumeristic injustice is birthed and produced in mass.
Thanks for the song.. Good stuff
Seth, I am digging this song, but can't get all the words. Can you post them?
Cindy
I liked the song! add a little twang and maybe a banjo and you could open for Derek Webb! :) Ben and I had this discussion the other day about what the church has become- a mini government with programs for everyone to fit into for ministry and thus it's lost a bit of the original intent for personal ministry even though it was for good reasons. It's not an easy subject to tackle and I admire your candor.
Clarks,
I was talking last night about this very subject with Amber and a friend. We were discussing several friends we have had over the years who have become addicted to drugs/alcohol and how they used the substance as a numbing agent; a kind of way to enter into a cathartic state where they didn't have to deal with truth. We then discussed how the Church should be careful before it judges these same people, because it has (in large part) become no different. Endless programming, special events, large expenditures on material possession seem to create the same numbing effect in me (and I assume others). We focus on the next "event" and therefore do not have to grapple with truth.
So I ask: what is worse--an addiction to ilicit substances, or an addiction to the numbing effects of endless programming and events?
Although the consequences may be different, in the end, the effect seems to be the same.
I would love to get all of your feedback on this line of thought.
Worse is the addiction to endless programs and events that are then used to exalt oneself over the rest of humanity.
Wow, you are a very talented artist. It's refresing. This seems to question the all-consuming nature of the type of church to which you refer, is the consumption of what you want to be consumed by or is it not and where do the two part, perhaps?
Thanks for making me think today. I love the lyrics.
Cindy
I agree with you, as to what is worse, I hesitate to say the over-programming involvement in a church b/c although the numbing effect is the same on our souls, we are at least being surrounded by "good" people. It brings me to Pascal's logic- it's still better to surround yourselves with good "Christian" types, vs. people of the world which would encourage substance abuse.
Consequence wise, like you said, it's all the same, but I'd rather be a helpful numb robot involved in programs intended to help others than a selfish robot out only for what pleases my own desires. I am selfish enough on my own. I don't see a solution to the state that the church is in today w/ the above mentioned woes, but to keep the passion alive in yourselves and (hopefully) a community group against all the odds. To realize and take advantage of the programs, etc. and really try to make a difference in spite of the overwhelming obstacles can be just as hard here as the persecuted Church in other parts of the world. We don't suffer for Christ, we instead break his heart with our lack of desire and passion for him. Your song is a good slap in the face for the sleepy church to wake up. Thanks!
i am not particularly bothered by this song, not in any way. I also don't concern myself with this "type" of church. Like seth said earlier, i don't feel like i belong to a church that is super into programs. I know of places that are, and for them i am not particularly angry, but a bit sad because to me it would not feel like i have freedom.
there is an edge of anxiousness and scrambling in all that event-junk that i frankly am not in the least bit attracted to.
I doubt very seriously that Christ and his disciples had meetings before and after each talk to discuss if the venue was appropriate for the topic or if the acoustics fit with the 'style' of the music or discussion.
that stuff is crap folks. having a sit down in a crowded pool hall with a beer in my hand and randomly being approached by a guy that i "knew of" in high school who was into drugs and that i never associated myself with at the time, who wanted to say hi and shake my hand and sit and listen to me say something as simple at first as "God has been good to me, or God loves you, man" is what i'm about. And you know what, the big Guy up there scheduled that little sucker out for me without even concerning me with it before-hand. He didn't even ask me what i thought about the smoke-filled air or loud middle-aged women with half of a tatoo crawling up their unessarily exposed breasts.
i wouldn't have said to Him, "that's exactly what i had envisioned it to be," even if He did ask. But, that doesn't mean that it wasn't good, and that doesn' mean that Jesus' love wasn't falling out all over that place and attaching to peoples clothing like the smoke.
Smoke and Jesus can be in the same room at the same time, i'm sure of it.
baker
I still haven't actually listened to the song, but I love the words you wrote. Right on, man. Check out this article -- I think you'll find it pretty darn interesting.
http://blog.christianitytoday.com/outofur/
archives/2007/10/willow_creek_re.html
Post a Comment