Foreward-Rock and Roll Devotional, The Relaunch

I did not put you here to suffer
I did not put you here to whine
I put you here to love one another
And to get out and have a good time

Let My People Go-Go by Bob Walkenhorst from "The Rainmakers," 1986

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When I was in seminary, my professor for "The Theological Legacy of Karl Barth" was the Rev. Dr. Cynthia Rigby. The final project in her class was something she called "The Final Ten." She wanted us to spend some time alone, ten hours to be precise, with the Word and the theology and develop a project to submit by the end of the semester. For the final class session, the dozen of us in class shared a meal and fellowship together. As we began the "class" portion of our time together, she wanted us to share our ideas for the "Final Ten."

One of my classmates was a brilliant man who has recently completed his doctoral studies at Baylor University in Waco, Texas having formerly served as a missionary in Uganda. He said he was going to put Barth into conversation with Søren Kierkegaard. Everyone was impressed. He had a plan too, he was ready to get into it and I am sure he produced a superior piece of work. He was that kind of student, thinker, theologian, and pastor. Honestly though, it was way over my head. Kierkegaard was never on my reading radar. This is my loss.

So, being a bit of a smart mouthed purveyor of irony, I said that I was going to put Barth into conversation with the music of Lenny Kravitz. It got some snickers around the room, "Paul plays the fool again" perhaps. Dr. Rigby was excited and interested though.

So I spent some time, in the end a bit more than ten hours, putting together a disc of Lenny's music along with quick biography, lyrics, and an explanation of how the music was connecting with the theology. I knew the connections existed, but finding them and putting them together was work--joyful, glorious work.

She returned the project with excitement telling me that this is the sort of thing publishers are looking for these days and it may be the source of a book someday. I was honored by her opinion, but thought little more of it. Well, that was ten years ago and it may be passe in the publishing industry, but the intersection of scripture, life in Christ, and pop culture is still on my radar.

Over the years, I have been putting together pop culture with more weighty spiritual matters. I have led youth studies connecting pop culture and faith. Helping the youth of the church connect where they live with the vocation they are called to. Suddenly, discernment, time, technology, ability, and experience have come together to start this ball rolling.

Baby Boomers and Gen-X'ers (I was born on the cusp of the two) are the heirs of a popular culture that is broad if not deep. We were born in the age of the record player and 8MM movies. Moving into the age of the MP3 player being made obsolete by the Smart Phone, those things are beyond antique. Still, in all of the stuff, we seek a broader connection, a deeper meaning. The meaning hasn't changed in thousands of years, but the media has ways of connecting the true and the new.

That's how this project came from seed to sappling. There is still a lot of work to do, but there's a lot of time to get there. So I pray you enjoy. If you have suggestions for songs or scriptures, drop me a line. Your input is one blog-comment away.

Be blessed. May the Grace and Peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you always.

Paul