Odds and Ends - July, 2025
We’ve all got a drawer or two in our lives that just accumulate stuff. Old electronics cables, pens and pencils, paper clips, etc. One drawer in my house growing up was where one could find sticky tack, twist ties, writing utensils and a pair of pliers, and random cables. And that is what this article is going to be like, just some odds and ends of what has been going on in the worship ministry and worshipping life of our church.
Evangelism Event
At the end of June the 36GO Evangelism initiative culminated in a concert and grill out at Wellsburg Memorial Park.
It was INCREDIBLY hot…
a TON of work…
and completely and entirely WORTH IT!
The food was great, the sun moved behind some trees and provided some shade, and a breeze kept some air moving. Nolan Luther provided some nice country songs as people ate hot dogs and watermelon, and then our worship team played an hour or so of praise music. I have heard some neat stories of people who were invited to the event and were moved by the experience.
Special thanks to the worship team who sweated-it-out: Dave, Janie, Ryan, Nolan, Steve, and Mike.
And thanks to Dean Weikert for the use of his trailer to get our equipment from the church over to the park.
Music that is Moving Me
I have been listening to some moving music the last few months. Some of it Christian, some of it not, but moving nonetheless.
Sons of Sunday - This is a cohort of very influential Christian song-writers that had a batch of songs that did not fit their typical “worship music” style, so they got together and put them all onto an album together. My favorite song off this record is “God Did”, reminding us of all the times God has moved and come through.
Capitol Hill Baptist - “The Dead’s Alive” - This album is simply a collection of congregational singing of hymns from a church in Washington, DC. Just a piano and what sounds like 500 voices. It has been a stirring and consistent reminder of the centrality of our congregation being the primary “voice” singing in our worship services.
Stephen Wilson Jr - “Son of Dad” - I stumbled across this singer/songwriter a few months ago and his music hit me hard! His songs are very poetic and cover themes of fatherhood from perspectives of both being a dad and being a son, and the evolution of those relationships over a lifetime. “Father’s Son”, “Henry”, and “All the Wars from Now On” have brought me to tears, while “Calico Creek” has been my go to for driving with the windows down!
Christian Culture in Secular Places
There have been a handful of moments in the past few months where American Christian culture has intersected with American Popular culture in some interesting ways. American Idol hosted a faith based Easter special where Carrie Underwood and Luke Bryan performed hymns and overtly faith-based songs. Christian artist Brandon Lake had a very high-profile cross-over hit with the country/rap artist Jelly Roll called “Hard Fought Hallelujah”. Two Christian artists were simultaneously on the Billboard Hot 100 chart (Brandon Lake, again, and Forrest Frank) which is rare. And a very articulate young apologist named Wesley Huff had a viral appearance on Joe Rogan’s podcast.
This is interesting and I’m not quite ready to make an evaluation or assessment of it. But here are my Odds and Ends thoughts: The presence of Christ-forward content is positive, but there is a cynical inclination to see financial gain as a contributing factor.
I would bet that Brandon Lake has had a positive influence on Jelly Roll’s engagement with his faith. I would also bet that both artists have benefited from exposure to the other’s fan-base. I think that a Christian Apologist on the Joe Rogan podcast was incredible, and exposed a typically faith-skeptical audience to Christian doctrine and truth. And it likely added new listeners to Rogan’s show.
On one hand this is clearly positive because it is putting the name of Christ and the gospel out into spaces that are often been hostile to that message. God’s sovereignty is certainly at work, and the power of the Holy Spirit on the move. But while Christians rising to cultural influence is good, platforms of influence and wealth have a uniquely corrupting charms.
So, this is all very interesting to me. Is this revival in America? Is this part of the political climate of our time? Is this just about making money? I do not know, but it probably is not just one of those things.
Well, I’m going to close up the junk drawer for now. Perhaps I will open it again in the future!