“If you go to church to get your needs met, then I would encourage you not to come to church.”

I took a listen to a talk Derek Web did at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School (TEDS) in October 2003 entitled, “Music Style & the Sufficiency of Jesus“. He has some great insights through the lens of worship in the church that is transcultural. Good stuff.

Jesus, my passion in life is to know You
May all other goals bow down to
This journey of loving You more

Jesus, You’ve showered Your goodness on me
Given Your gifts so freely
But there’s one thing I’m longing for

Hear my heart’s cry
And my prayer for this life

Above all else
Above all else
Above all else
Give me Yourself

lyrics by Vicky Beeching
from UK Vineyard CD, Holy

NPR interviewed Bruce Springsteen last year by Renee Montagne while he was touring for his recent Album “Devils & Dust”. He actually did a few songs for the them, including “Jesus Was an Only Son” (see the lyrics a few posts down). It is a pretty interesting chat where he talks about songwriting, politics, religion, and music. Worth a listen; it’s in 2 parts about 45 minutes total. Here’s a summary:

On his latest album, Devils & Dust, rocker Bruce Springsteen strips down, musically and spiritually: The singer uses his lone voice against a spare acoustic backdrop to explore themes of spirituality, moral uncertainty and loss.

“At this point, a lot of [my music] traces back to gospel roots… I was drawn to music that addressed the spirit, probably because my own needed to be addressed,” Springsteen told Renee Montagne during a recent interview in Asbury Park, N.J.

Springsteen broke through with his 1975 album Born to Run, which established him as a writer of characters. “You’re always writing about yourself… you hide it in a variety of ways, and you meld your voice with other lives,” Springsteen said.

Among the characters on his latest release is a young soldier at a checkpoint in Iraq, whose story is explored in the title track. It begins: “I got my finger on the trigger, but I don’t know who to trust … I feel a dirty wind blowing devils and dust.”"What moved me the most was the idea of a young kid stationed at a checkpoint,” Springsteen said. “You’ve got a very, very short period of time where you have to decide about the car that’s driving toward you, whether it’s an innocent family, or whether it’s your death coming at you… And you have to decide right, right now. There’s so little room for error, and the error that you make is so very final.”

Jesus was an only son
As he walked up Calvary Hill
His mother Mary walking beside him
In the path where his blood spilled
Jesus was an only son
In the hills of Nazareth
As he lay reading the Psalms of David
At his mother’s feet

A mother prays, “Sleep tight, my child, sleep well
For I’ll be at your side
That no shadow, no darkness, no tolling bell,
Shall pierce your dreams this night.”

In the garden at Gethsemane
He prayed for the life he’d never live,
He beseeched his Heavenly Father to remove
The cup of death from his lips

Now there’s a loss that can never be replaced,
A destination that can never be reached,
A light you’ll never find in another’s face,
A sea whose distance cannot be breached

Well Jesus kissed his mother’s hands
Whispered, “Mother, still your tears,
For remember the soul of the universe
Willed a world and it appeared.”

This is a beautiful song by Bruce Springsteen, who is one of the most underrated songwriters of all time. Just purchased “Devils & Dust” from Legalsounds.com and am thoroughly enjoying it. Legalsounds reduced their prices recently from $.14 a song to $.9 a song, a true steal (even though it’s legal)! Other recent acquisitions:

Gwen Stefani
Enya
Best of Bob Dylan
Best of John Lenon
Best of Simon and Garfunkal
R.E.M.
Bjork
P.J. Harvey
Bush
The White Stripes
Arcade Fire