"God did not create religions, he created the world"

"God did not create religions,
he created the world"
-Franz Rosenzweig (quoted in Ben Birnbaum, "Jerusalem Manor")

No explanation needed for this photo

Photo credit:
Brian McLaren via Adam Moore

Eye See Two Gringos

Nothing like solving the mystery of this 1984 photo, almost thirty years later,

Summer term of college for Steve Nay and I, Fresno Pacific. We elected for term living and studying in Guadalajara, Mexico. Our delightful host family of five women spoke absolutely no English...

..except for three words:

"Eye see two."

Huh?

That's right, they used to make us assume a crazy position like the one in this top photo, while they would say,
"Eye (pointing to their eyes), See (pointing outwards from their eyes), Two (holding up two fingers and pointing at us)."

They would laugh hysterically and take pictures of us.
We continued to pose, loving the attention. And we knew there was some inside joke, but they just wouldn't explain. We got part of the pun, but were still baffled..especially why we had to pose like grinning fools.

Occasionally over the years, I would tell a Spanish speaker the story, but the puzzle never came together until last year.

Jonathan Villalobos is a local pastor who hails from Guadalajara. (I love this guy, he was the instigator behind a really cool Kingdom project...click this) I asked him for insight, thinking it might be a Jalisco idiom or colloquialism.

I was right.

He thought for a minute, and finally said something like,
"Oh, I get it! I have heard a version of this saying in Mexico; it is bilingual pun, with double meaning:

'Eye' is 'Ay,' 'See' is 'si,' "two" is tú"

Thus: "Ay, si tu.."

Translated, "Oh my goodness, if YOU.."

As in "Man, if you (can amount to anything, anyone can!)"

"If YOU two can make it, I guess anyone can!"


"So, it also works as 'I see two gringos naive enough to pose for photos like this.'"

Then good Pastor Jonathan laughed that same Jalisco laugh that my Mexican familia aimed us twenty six years ago. Ay!

The saying is used to good-naturedly roast and toast someone, particularly gringos.

And you know, the two of us have turned out pretty well. If we can make it....anyone can.

I'll be tagging Steve (and out teacher pictured with

the kids) Leslie Mark in these pics on Facebook..

with a note, "Ay, si tú..."

Bonus photo: We LOVED our Mexican mom's cooking, but after a few weeks we just couldn't always finish our breakfast beans. But one does not say no to a gracious Mexican mom. So when she would go into the kitchen, we would scoop the beans from our plate into a bag and into our backpacks. And let me tell you, this dog, whose house we passed everyt day on the walk to school, waited expectantly for us every week day, saying: "Ay, I see two gringos who bring me breakfast every day.":

All Dogs are Secular, All Djembes are Evil..and All Fasting is Time Travel

As I sit here beside my secular dog..


..computer propped up on a syncretistic djembe..

..listening to non Christian (so non Christian that I could only show the back cover, as the front cover, as any Sigur Ros fan knows, contains nonfrontal nudity!!) worship music,
procrastinating about getting to my spiritual work,

I digress.

No, I PROgress.

That opening sentence was worded so as to reconvert me once again from the naughty gnosticism that was bundled and embedded in the USAmericanevangelicalism that brought me to faith...and heresy.



There is no spoon, and no secular.

And no such a thing as Christian music.

Matter matters.

And as you can see by the photo, my dog is a saved saint and not secular.

There are no Christian bookstores for that matter.

I AM indeed stalling re: getting to my "religious/pastoral" business of the morning (typing official minutes of our church network's annual meeting), but what I am doing now (blogging on a wordly blogging platform about how God is blessing me through a "secular" CD as I reflect on a "secular"..or worse.."syncretistic" book I just bought at a "non-Christian" store.)

That's the point.

Fasting is time travel.

Having collected quotes from Google (a "wordly" search engine, by the way) on various arts and ideas that have been called the equivalent of time travel..

I realized while reading a chapter from a "pagan" magazine (Conde Nast Traveller) included in a chapter in a "syncretistic" book ("The Best American Spiritual Writing 2008") that I just picked up (discount rack, of course) at a heathen store (Borders) in a secular (Riverpark) shopping center...

...that fasting is time travel.

Uh oh, I guess I should have not stopped off in the world after the pastors prayer meeting!!

I have struggled to articulate to myself and others the feeling I experience coming into, living in, and coming out of, a fast. It as if fasting creates an alternative reality...the real one, of course.
(I know, I know, we have been told we can't ever talk about our fasting, as we will lose our reward when you think we are super-spiritual...well, that is a bit out of context, and besides...once I give my next analogy, you'll think less of me, not more (:.....)

Sometimes the only analogy I have for it is drugs! There was a moment, I remember well from the 1970s, when the marijuana would kick in, and I would enter that other world. A la The Wizard of Oz turning from black and white to color. Not that the drug zone was always colorful or good, but it did transport us. And there was always that moment when you "came down" or eased out of the trip....transition back to reality.

The zone I enter and acculturate to when fasting...the place of non-eating...is rewarding and bizzare. Like no other time, I realize how our entire culture...and church culture..revolves around eating. Now, food ain't evil (or I would be a true gnostic), and I agree with St Wolfgang how crucial church "meatings" (see Thesis #4 here) are to Kingdom life...

..but only in the dasting zone do I see what Richard Foster sees so clearly:

In a world dominated by Pizza Temples and Shrines to Golden Arches fasting seems out of step with the times - out of place. (link)

The world we live in is out of step with the times.
Which is why fasting functions as time travel.

All right, having quoted the officially Christian author above, time to quote the dreaded nonChristian source:

Three hours later, I was back in central Osaka, and around me were plate-glass offices, beeping cell phones, trucks, and giggling girls. Flashing lights gave off the time, people rushed to commuter trains, and in McDonald's the cash registers were clicking hectically. Like Rip Van Winkle, or so it seemed, I had awoken to a world several decades out of sync. So soon, so soon, I thought, the fire turns into ash again.
-"The Magic Mountain," page 10 (careful clicking that secular link, a demon might get ya)

The author had just returned from a Buddhist (gasp!) monastery, a place and zone of fasting and discipline and an "air of weightedness and remoteness that seemed to give the place its power".

The secular world I live in is good and of God (The earth is the Lord, and the fullness thereof).
Yet the wordliness and animating empire that wraps around it,..and the principalities that piggyback on it ...can often be sourced in satanic systemic evil..

..of which the most subtle and insidious might be the "decades out of sync"-ness.

I need to time travel more often.

Sometimes that's in my secular Toyota with an anointed secular novel.
Oftentimes that will be via fasting.

Thank God a pilgrim to a Buddhist holy place was used by Jesus to call me to that conviction.

Or maybe it was Satan..after all, I am listening to forcidden music..gee, the singer is gay..
..and maybe my computer picked up some cooodies (and a virus) just by nature of it resting on the djembe.

Don't you know the history of djembes?
They were known a healing drums" in ancient African religions..
(Besides, the Violet Burning sometimes use them for worship songs!!
Watch out, this is the blog you were warned you about!)

Oh, well.

Knowing all that, this while blog post can't possibly be of God.

I had better cast out those demons, and get on to my spiritual business.

Crank up the Sigur Ros, and fast.

Pioneer God "Scares the Hell Out of Settlers"

Below is from Brennan Manning's "The Lion and The Lamb."
Topic: Settler vs. Pioneer Theology (Borrowed from Wes Seeliger)....
NOTE: Six minute AUDIO of Manning reading this is here.

WESTERN THEOLOGY
“According to Wes Seeliger in his book Western Theology, there are two kinds of people, two visions of life. The first sees life as a possession to be carefully guarded. They are called Settlers. The second sees life as a wild, fantastic gift. They are called Pioneers.

These two types give rise to two kinds of theology: Settler Theology and Pioneer Theology. Settler Theology is an attempt to answer all the questions, define and housebreak some sort of Supreme Being, establish the status quo on golden tablets in cinemascope. Pioneer Theology is an attempt to talk about what it means to receive the strange gift of life. The Wild, Wild West is the setting for both theologies.

In Settler Theology, the Church convenes at the Courthouse. It is the center of town life. The old stone structure dominates the town square. Its windows are small, and this makes things dark inside. Within the courthouse walls, records are kept, taxes collected, and trials are held for the bad guys. The courthouse is the symbol of law, order, stability, and most importantly, security.

In Pioneer Theology, the Church moves in a Covered Wagon. It’s a house on wheels, always on the move. The Covered Wagon is where the pioneers eat, sleep, fight, love, live and die. It bears the marks of life and movement—it creaks, it’s scarred with arrows and bandaged with bailing wire. The Covered Wagon is where the action is. It moves toward the future, trying not to get bogged down in old ruts. The old Wagon isn’t comfortable, but the pioneers don’t seem to mind. They are more into adventure than comfort.

In Settler Theology, God is the Mayor. He is slick and fancy like a dude from back East. His office is on the top floor of the Courthouse. He looks out over the whole town, as his eagle eye ferrets out the smallest details of town life. No one actually sees him or gets close to him. He keeps his blinds drawn. But since there is order in the town, who can deny that he is really there? The Mayor is predictable and always on schedule. The Settlers fear the Mayor, but look to him to clear the payroll and keep things running. Peace and quiet are the Mayor’s main concerns, so he sends the Sheriff to check out any Pioneers who might ride into town.

In Pioneer Theology, God is the Trail Boss. He is rough and rugged, full of life. He chews tobacco, drinks straight whiskey. The Trail Boss lives, eats, sleeps, and fights with his people. Their well‑being is his concern. Without him, the Wagon wouldn’t move and living free would be impossible. The Trail Boss will get down in the mud with the Pioneers to help push the Wagon, which often gets stuck. He prods the Pioneers when they get soft and want to turn back. His fist is an expression of his concern.

In Settler Theology, Jesus is the Sheriff. He’s the guy who is sent by the Mayor to enforce the rules. He wears a white hat, drinks milk, outdraws the bad guys. The Sheriff decides who gets thrown in jail. There is a saying in town that goes: those who follow the rules and believe that the Sheriff is sent by the Mayor, they won’t stay in Boothill when it comes their time.

In Pioneer Theology, Jesus is the Scout. He rides out ahead of the Wagon to find out which way the Pioneers should go. The Scout faces all the dangers of the Trail and suffers every hardship. He is even attacked by the Indians. Through his words and actions he reveals the true intentions of the Trail Boss. By following the Scout, those on the Trail learn what it means to be a true Pioneer.

In Settler Theology, the Holy Spirit is the Saloon Girl. Her job is to comfort the Settlers. They come to her when they feel lonely or when life gets dull or dangerous. She tickles them under the chin and makes everything okay again. The Saloon Girls also squeals to the Sheriff whenever someone starts disturbing the peace.

In Pioneer Theology, the Holy Spirit is the Buffalo Hunter. He rides along with the Covered Wagon and furnishes fresh meat for the Pioneers. They would die without it (and him). The Buffalo Hunter is a strange character—sort of a wild man. The Pioneers never can tell what he’ll do next. He scares the hell out of the Settlers. He has a big, black gun that goes off like a cannon. He rides into town on Sunday morning to shake up the Settlers. You see, every Sunday morning, the Settlers have a little ice cream party in the Courthouse. With his gun in hand, the Buffalo Hunter sneaks up to one of the Courthouse windows. Then he fires a tremendous blast that rattles the whole Courthouse. Men jump out of their skin, women scream, dogs bark. Chuckling to himself, the Buffalo Hunter rides back to the Wagon Train shooting up the town as he goes.

In Settler Theology, the Pastor (the clergyman) is the Banker. Within his vault are locked the values of the town. He is a highly respected man. He has a gun, but keeps it hidden in his desk. He feels that he and the Sheriff have a lot in common. After all, they both protect the Bank.

In Pioneer Theology, the Pastor is the Cook! He doesn’t furnish the meat. He just dishes up what the Buffalo Hunter provides. This is how he supports the movement of the wagon. He sees himself as just another Pioneer who has learned to cook. The Cook’s job is to help the Pioneers pioneer. He doesn’t confuse his job with that of the Trail Boss, the Scout, or the Buffalo Hunter.

In Settler Theology, the Christian is the Settler. He fears the open, unknown frontier. His concern is to stay on good terms with the Mayor and keep out of the Sheriff’s Way. “Safety First” is his motto and the Courthouse is his symbol of security, peace, order, and happiness. He keeps his money in the bank. The Banker is his best friend. The Settler never misses an ice cream party.

In Pioneer Theology, Christians are Pioneers. They are persons of daring, hungry for new life. They ride hard, and know how to use a gun when necessary. The Pioneer feels sad for the Settlers and tries to tell them of the joy and fulfillment of life on the Trail. They die with their boots on.

In Settler Theology, Faith is trusting in the safety of the town; obeying the Law and keeping their noses clean; and believing the Mayor is up there in the Courthouse.

In Pioneer Theology, Faith is the spirit of adventure; the readiness to move out; the willingness to risk everything on the Trail. Faith is obedience to the restless voice of the Trail Boss.

In Settler Theology, Sin is breaking one of the Town’s ordinances.

In Pioneer Theology, Sin is wanting to turn back.

In Settler Theology, Salvation lies in living close to home and going to the Courthouse.

In Pioneer Theology, Salvation rests in being more afraid of a sterile life in Town, than of death on the Trail. Pioneers find joy in the thought of another day to push on into the unknown Wilderness. They realize their Salvation by trusting the Trail Boss and following his Scout, while living on the meat provided by the Buffalo Hunter.

The Settlers and the Pioneers portray in cowboy-movie language the People of the Law and the People of the Spirit. In the time of the historical Jesus, the guardians of the ecclesiastical setup, the scribes and the Pharisees and the Sadducees, had hunkered down in the Courthouse and enslaved themselves to the Law. This not only enhanced their prestige in society, it also gave them a sense of Security. Man fears the responsibility of being free. It is often easier to let others make the decisions or to rely up the letter of the Law. Some men want to be slaves.
[excerpted from The Lamb and The Lion by Brennan Manning, 1988, pgs. 23-27]

------------Chart below, link

CHURCH:

Settler

Pioneer

Courthouse The center of town life. Within the courthouse walls, records are kept, taxes collected, trial held for bad guys. The settler's symbol of law, order, stability, and most importantly - security.

Covered Wagon It's a house on wheels, always on the move. It's where the pioneers eat, sleep, fight, love and die. It bears the marks of life and movement. It creaks, is scarred with arrows, bandaged with bailing wire. The covered wagon is always where the action is. It isn't comfortable, but pioneers are more into adventure than comfort.

GOD:

Settler

Pioneer

The Mayor Dressed like a dude from back East, he lounges in an overstuffed chair in his courtroom office. He keeps the blinds drawn. No one sees him or knows him directly, but since there's order, who can deny he is there? He is predictable and always on schedule. Peace and quiet are the mayor's main concerns. That's why he sends the sheriff to check on pioneers who ride into town.

The Trail Boss He’s rough and rugged, full of life. He chews tobacco, drinks straight whiskey. He lives, eats, sleeps and fights with his people. Their well-being is his concern. Without him, the wagon wouldn’t move; living as a freeman would be impossible. The trail boss often gets down in the mud with the pioneers to help push the wagon, which often gets stuck. He prods the pioneers when they get soft and want to turn back.

JESUS:

Settler

Pioneer

The Sheriff He’s the guy who is sent by the mayor to enforce the rules. He wears a white hat, drinks milk, out-draws the bad guys. He decides who is thrown in jail.

The Scout He rides out ahead to find out which way the pioneers should go. He lives all the dangers of the trail. The scout suffers every hardship, is attacked by the Indians. Through his words and actions he reveals the true intentions of the trail boss. By looking at the scout, those on the trail learn what it means to be a pioneer.

HOLY SPIRIT:

Settler

Pioneer

Saloon Girl Her job is to comfort the settlers. They come to her when they feel lonely or when life gets dull or dangerous. She tickles them under the chin and makes everything okay again. The saloon girl squeals to the sheriff when someone starts disturbing the peace.

Buffalo Hunter He rides along with the covered wagon and furnishes fresh meat for the pioneers. Without it they would die. He is a strange character - sort of a wild man. He scares the hell out of settlers. He has a big black gun that goes off like a cannon. He rides into town on Sunday to shake up the settlers and their weekly ice cream party in the courthouse. With gun in hand, he fires a blast that rattles the whole courthouse. Men jump out of their skin, women scream, dogs bark. The ice cream social is disrupted.

CHRISTIAN:

Settler

Pioneer

Settler He fears the open unknown frontier. His concern is to stay on good terms with the mayor and keep out of the sheriff’s way. “Safety first” is his motto. To him, the courthouse is a symbol of security, peace, order and happiness. He keeps his money in the bank. He never misses an ice cream party.

Pioneer He is a man of daring, hungry for new life. He rides hard, knows how to use a gun when necessary. He feels sorrow for the settler and tries to tell them of the joy and fulfillment of life on the trail. He dies with his boots on.

CLERGYMAN:

Settler

Pioneer

Banker Within his vault are locked the values of the town. He is highly respected. He keeps his gun hidden in his desk. He feels that he and the Sheriff have a lot in common. After all, they both protect the bank.

Cook He doesn’t furnish the meat. He just dishes up what the Buffalo Hunter provides. This is how he supports the movement of the wagon. He never confuses his job with that of the Trail Boss, Scout or Buffalo Hunter. He sees himself as just another pioneer who has learned to cook and help the pioneers pioneer.

FAITH:

Settler

Pioneer

Trusting in the “safety of the town”: obeying the laws, keeping your nose clean, believing the mayor is in the courthouse.

The “spirit of adventure”. The readiness to move out; to risk everything on the trail. Faith is obedience to the restless voice of the Trail Boss.

SIN:

Settler

Pioneer

Breaking one of the town’s ordinances.

Wanting to turn back!

SALVATION:

Settler

Pioneer

Living close to home and hanging around the courthouse. (People of the Law)

Being more afraid of sterile town life than of death on the trail. Salvation is joy at the thought of another day to push on into the unknown. It is trusting the Trail Boss and following His Scout while living on the meat provided by the Buffalo Hunter. (People of the Spirit)

the one who has years to hear

Re: the Christian Scharen interview excerpt below:

I think the 4th line from bottom may be a typo (or transcription mistake; see the mistaken Switchfoot reference, etc)..."didn't have the years to hear," when it was supposed to be "ears to hear"....but how prophetic the "years" comment is. It sometimes takes years to get deep enough in God to hear the "obvious" Christian content of the U2 1990s material...

and years to get over everything you have heard about that being the decade that they "backslid," and everything the church has taught us about the message "must be direct.":

JC: Would we even be having this conversation, and would you have written this book if U2 had signed with a Christian record label, way back when?

CS: I don’t think so. They would never have gotten this big, for starters. Not to say I wouldn’t have written a book about a Christian rock band. My whole intention of writing this book was how big they are, and the fact that there are a lot of people who like the band but don’t necessarily get it. I was in New York City last night talking to a bunch of seminary students, and even among pretty Christian folk they said “you know, I’d liked U2 for a long time but after I read your book, I went back and I was like ‘wow, this whole sort of deep conversation with God that was going on during the 90s that I totally ignored, I thought they’d gone off the rails and weren’t Christian anymore. Now I realize all the complexity of what was going on then in their Christian journey.’ So a real disconnect between what U2 has been up to and people’s perception of that, and understanding of that. And in some cases I’ve heard directly that that’s a gift for people’s faith to be able to go deeper, and be nourished by that.

JC: I’ve seen so many examples of that, where people had no idea and to me, they’re bolder than any Christian rock band in the ‘Christian’ industry with what they say - they’re so real. When All That You Can’t Leave Behind came out, a local critic called them hypocrites for never talking about their faith, and yet the music is informed by their faith.

CS: Somebody asked me last night - he was quoting Franklin Graham, but he used that [same] critique…

Quoting Franklin Graham?

Yes. Just saying, if their commitment to poverty and their orientation as a band is so Christian, why don’t they directly proclaim Christ? And we were listening - we were talking about U2’s use of the genre of lament. Most explicitly drawing on lament Psalms and scripture and also sort of writing songs that fit that mode even if they’re not directly referencing Scripture, and one of the ones we listened to was ‘Sunday Bloody Sunday’ and that song ends with “the victory Jesus won.” I mean, it’s just an absolute clear declaration of the victory of Christ in relationship to the troubles of this world. And that’s not the only place; there are clear places in their catalog, where they’ve just said, ‘you know, this is it - this is where we’re coming from.’ Early on, and recently. And people, I think, just don’t have years to hear it. If you listen to the song ‘Playboy Mansion,’ it’s a parable of grace: 100% right out of John’s Gospel. But people don’t have the sensibility of art, and the sort of creative presentation that they use. It’s not in a sense absolutely direct.

-link

architecture unfolds in time

"To compose [music], in my opinion, is to create an architecture, to formulate an order and set in values certain structures...In music, this architecture unfolds in time."
---Alberto Ginastera, HT: PensiveSpy

Becky Garrison: Who are the leaders of this Awakening? Holy Crap, it's us!

101 Things to Do During a Dull Sermon

101 Things to Do During a Dull Sermon

Lessig: Sousa and Stangling of Creativity by the Law

From the TED series, where speakers are challenged to give the talk of their lives in eighteen minutes (a worthy goal..I had my preaching students aim for 17-22 minutes...and man, they rocked)

St. Ringo

Now that Ringo has announced he has "found God," (see this)
..and Paul McCartney has been leading in prayer (see this)...

...pray that the remaining Beatles won't become a CCM band. (:
(Be sure Alice Cooper disciples them, and keeps them from becoming "sugarcoated" if they do).

Seems like Ringo has been on a centered set journey for years, especially the last few (see T-Bone Burnett's comments on this video)..

earnest thumbsucking or astonished hearts?

The Astonished Heart (excerpts from the book) by Robert Farrar Capon:

For some time now, we've been treated to a good deal of heavy breathing and earnest thumb-sucking about the plight of the Christian religion and the problems of the institutional church. My thesis is that almost all of it is wildly off the mark. While it is true that our present dishevelment may well be one of the larger crises (or opportunities) the church has bumped into over its long career, our real difficulty is something else: we have an almost continuous track record of hitting the Christian nail squarely on the thumb. All our noisy hammering to the contrary, the problem is not that we need to get back to the truth of our religion or to get on to some better version of the ecclesiastical institution: rather, it's that we need nothing so much as to stop acting as if we're either a religion or an institution at all.

To begin with, Christianity is not a religion; it's the proclamation of the end of religion. Religion is a human activity dedicated to the job of reconciling God to humanity and humanity to itself. The Gospel, however-the Good News of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ-is the astonishing announcement that God has done the whole work of reconciliation without one scrap of human assistance. It is the bizarre proclamation that religion is over, period. All the efforts of the human race to straighten up the mess of history by plausible religious devices-all the chicken sacrifices, all the fasts, all the mysticism, all the moral exhortations, all the threats-have been canceled by God for lack of saving interest, More astonishingly still, their purpose has been fulfilled, once for all and free for nothing, by the totally non-religious death an resurrection of a Galilean nobody. Admittedly, Christians may use FORMS of religion-but only because the church is the sign to the world of God's accomplishment of what religion tried (and failed) to do.

Furthermore, the church that God inspired to be the ongoing sign of such vulgar Good News is not an institution; it is a community of merely human beings entrusted with the proclamation of an astonishingly catholic salvation. Institutions are not human. The Congress of the United States, The Presidency, Marriage, the family, General Motors, IBM--even the Holy See and the First Presbyterian Church of Resume Speed, Indiana-none of these are flesh and blood persons. Real people may indeed be members of such ethereal entities; but for all that, the entities themselves are not people for whom Christ died.

This is especially important to bear in mind in our present context, when most of the forms of the church we've know have collapsed or are collapsing before our eyes. We are faced, you see, with the task of creating a new form-even a multiplicity of new forms. It might be nice if we could come up with something a little less dangerous to our catholicity than some of the models we've previously been tempted to try on...

One model we have yet to consider...is the Marginal-Church Model. Of all the places where renewal can really begin, this is the most likely; there's just too much corporate baggage everywhere else. My program would be this. Whoever is in command over the dying institution at the next highest level of corporate church-the diocese, the presbytery, whatever-would take the bull by the horns and kill it: close the church, dissolve its bard, sequester its endowments, and sell off its property, putting the proceeds in escrow just in case the corpse ever rises and finds a use for them. Then the managers would explain to the remaining members of those churches that they were free to do anything they could think of (or nothing at all, if they so chose). A suggestion would be made, however, that they might think about holding a kind of wake the next Sunday, perhaps in one of their homes, or in a restaurant or bowling alley that didn't open till 1:00 p.m. And if they took that suggestion...

Well, they might sit and stare blankly at each other to begin with. But with any luck,, some free spirit (young or old) among them would break the ice with the questions they had never been able to ask-namely, "Who are we?" "Why on earth are we here?" And most importantly, "What do we think we'd actually LIKE to do?" Having no model at all to meet the upkeep on and no known shape to whip themselves into, they would for the first time be open to looking for radically new answers--honest answers that could range anywhere from "We haven't the foggiest notion, but let's get together again next Sunday and see if anything occurred an the meantime" to "We're here to be the church, I suppose-whatever that means"", to "How about for openers we just try to stick with fellowship, breaking bread, and the prayers--maybe God will take care of the rest, if He wants any."

Those answers wouldn't sound like much of a start, of course; but then, a bunch of Galileans twiddling their thumbs in Jerusalem for nine days after the Ascension didn't seem like a grand opening, either. The operative fact is that a start can occur only after stop. As Isaiah reminded Israel, the church's strength is to sit still: all the power, all the resources, and all the hope of the defunctly marginal lie hidden in the terrifying reality of their death. Only out of that can they live. The only thing they need to guard against is the temptation to stop being dead. Alive and kicking may be nice, but it's not astonishing. DEAD AND KICKING, thought, that's astonishing. That in fact, is resurrection-and its the only thing that can bring the best out in the church...

It's the thirst for astonishment that we need to recover...It won't be easy, though. Astonishment is a highly perishable commodity. It may be the igniting fuse of every romance, every marriage, every career, and every intellectual delight; but given the soggy march of time and circumstance; its hard to keep lit. No new form we adopt will protect us from the loss of astonishment we will suffer if we forget the Good News that only the dead hear the voice of the Son of God-and that only the dead, therefore, LIVE. But I promised you comfort, and here it is. The Lover who restores the world in Christ is not the god of the philosophers or even the theologians (unless they are very astonishing theologians indeed). And that God is certainly not the god of inner harmony through self-help gurus. The God incarnate in Jesus is an utterly DESIRABLE God. He runs the world from beginning to end by the radically astonishing device of ROMANCING it into being out of nothing.

Because the church is not a club; its is a divine Mystery-the body of Him who fills all in all and who, when He is lifted up, draws all to Himself. We are in a dance of desire over which we have no final power to throw in a wet blanket. The thirst of the astonished heart lies at the root of all thirsts, however trivial, and it is the THIRSTY, therefore-and the hungry, the last, the lost, the least, the little and the dead-who are the sacraments of the church's hope. Only fools, of course, willingly embrace these conditions. But the divine Fool who died and rose needs only one of them-Himself-to bring the dance to its wild conclusion. Even if all the rest of us are tripping over our feet to the end of time-even if we spend every one of our days trying to wallflower our way through the various models of the church-even if we never get the dance of desire right, God never gets it wrong

Resurrection reigns wherever there is death; and with it comes the joy of the Really Good News: the dance into the New Creation in Christ will always be alive and well. DESIRE, however we manage it, can always explode into astonishment.

-Capon

What can wash away my sin? Nothing but the Red Rain of Jesus

No matter what Peter Gabriel says below , everyone knows "Red Rain" is also/ultimately/thematically and rhematically about the blood of Jesus (Right, Scott?):


1986:


Gabriel, Natalie Merchand and REM version:


1994 on Letterman:


9/11 Tribute (not an official version):


2003:

2009 WOMAD:


Remake (with a twist):


I wouldn't be surprised if Christian bands covered it ..I prefer see especially David Ruis, who snippets it Bono-style; heweaves and namechecks the title into "By Your Blood".
(From a great album)

Of course, there is (inevitably) a Christian band called "Red Rain"

Gregory of Nyssa and Green Day: death/birth of the concept of the concept album

(photo credit)

It may not yet be the death of the album, or the concept album.

Not yet time for "incredulity toward the concept album"..
..though maybe time to bury the concept of the concept album.
"Concepts create idols, " Gregory of Nyssa offered, "only wonder understands."

It IS a very timely time for TCAAWI (The Concept Album As We Know It) so the concept album can be(re)born and remixed...or maybe killed are re-surrected.
No accident this parallels what Wolfgang Simson has coined CAWKI (Church As We Know It) and the appearance of CAGWI (don't dare read this Simson book unless you soundtrack it to one of the albums mentioned).

Fidelity of betrayal does not betray fidelity.
Or hi fidelity.

The album is dead; long live the album.

Expect it too look different.
Expect more ellipses in any story line..it may be so that you can wiki-participate, maybe even create your own ending.
Expect some "new" ways of conceptualizing, and some holy synesthesia about precisely what is conceptualized.

This is all sounding much more like art.

Consider recent offerings:

U2's "No Line" (of course...could the album title itself...and selected lyrics..and music... be a clue that the concept is a non-linear linearity), Coldplay's "Viva La Vida," David Crowder's "Church Music' (here the concept is musical and historical more than lyrical narrative) and Green Day's 21st Century Breakdown...maybe even Switchoot's "Hello Hurricane" (note the band has been opening concerts by playing the entire album straight through..hmmm)

Some early poineers of a new breed of concept album would include The Violet Burning's
self titled album and its sequel (chronologically) and prequel (logically and thematically) prequel"Demonstrates Plastic and Elastic."

Here's an article a bit critical of the Green Day way of doing this, though the argument could also be made from the same evidence that they actually "get" the new way. No wonder these guys "love Jesus and thank God for church," even though one (or more) members may claim to be "optimistic agnostics":

From a conceptual standpoint, 21st Century Breakdown doesn’t differ from American Idiot‘s template at all: much like Idiot‘s heroes St. Jimmy and Whatsername, we are again following another boy/girl couple through the charred political landscape of post-millennial America: the confused, hedonistic Christian and the affected, lonely Gloria..

The Christian/Gloria storyline proves frightfully hard to follow, feeling almost abandoned by the time we get to “American Eulogy” (unless you really want to dig into it and claim it’s the same eulogy Christian is singing prior to his operation in “Before the Lobotomy”), and then, the group’s master statement is revealed: “I don’t want to live in the modern world” (repeated ad nauseum).

...Yet when you begin taking Armstrong’s lyrics at face value and stop trying to tie them into Breakdown‘s supposed three-act format, we get some of the best (and most venomous) lines of Armstrong’s career. On the scathing “East Jesus Nowhere”, Armstrong calls out those running on blind faith and tactical imperialism..
he’s taken very careful consideration in crafting his lyrics. Such quality care is evident throughout most of Breakdown, and, as such, individual moments positively glisten, even if the widescreen view of Breakdown feels a bit muddled and confused, the whole actually being less than the sum of its parts..

Though Armstrong’s declaration of not wanting to live in the modern age is undoubtedly a central theme of the album (he repeats it enough times), perhaps the most telling statement about 21st Century Breakdown‘s intentions rests simply in its last line: “I need to know what’s worth the fight”. After listening to the admirable, powerful, frustrating, confusing, and fiery Breakdown straight through, it’s hard not to wish that he actually followed that sentiment and picked something worth fighting for, instead of tackling everything at once.

-Pop Matters

You know, to be " again following another boy/girl couple through the charred political landscape of post-millennial America: the confused, hedonistic Christian and the affected, lonely Gloria" may not be a bad thing.

It may be the only thing. The only concept/metametanarrative we have,

Might even be the micronarrative storyline of U2's "Magnificent," and the album from whence it came.

The song's lyrics can be subjectively interpreted by the listener though Bono specifically "noted that the lyrics were influenced by both Cole Porter and Bach, and that the song is about "two lovers holding on to each other and trying to turn their life into worship"
LINK

Now, that's not only a concept..or better yet,a concept-free concept that Gregory might even approve of....and you can dance to it.

I close with a song with a "king must die/long live the king" reference, which ironically and arguably might even come from a a very early prophetic pioneer of the new bread of concept/reconcept album:

And if my hands are stained forever
And the altar should refuse me
Would you let me in, would you let me in, would you let me in
Should I cry sanctuary

No man's a jester playing Shakespeare
Round your throne room floor
While the juggler's act is danced upon
The crown that you once wore

The king is dead, the king is dead
The king is dead, the king is dead
Long live the king
-link