Phil McCracken

this past weekend, i had the privilege of going to see a concert. i don’t remember how it was billed, but i certainly walked in assuming that 15+ year veteran songwriter Charlie Hall would be headlining. i was wrong, and as soon as the main act took the stage, it was immediately apparent why my assumption was incorrect. but we’ll get to that. Charlie is a small fellow from OKC with a goatee that is one of the most amazing i have ever seen. he stroked it thoughtfully and affectionately during the spaces in between songs as he talked about life and God. i walked in with the notion that Charlie’s best songwriting days are behind him. he started off so strongly, writing songs that captured the imaginations of hundreds of thousands of people around the world, writing of hope and eternity and life with a rare poetic force. but ever since then, it seemed that it may have been more of a personal exploration and experimentation… one that i and many others quickly lost interest in. i don’t know that this trend has stopped, however, there were 3 songs in his 10 song set that caught my attention.

the first song was his opener, called “new year.” it was played powerfully, and while it still some of the awkwardness that has entangled Charlie’s lyrics recently, it hints at a page turning. “i’m held in a place, a beautiful space, where heaven meets the earth, my heart opens wide and the Father pours life, deep inside my soul…where hope can hold my hand of sorrow.” Charlie briefly spoke of difficult times he has gone through recently. this song is a brilliant example of a composer opening up his soul and creating something beautiful our of the muck… something that others can read and relate to and worship to. Charlie also spoke of a liturgical service he had been visiting to take communion and clear his head every few weeks. some of the liturgy stuck with him, and out popped the song “mystery,” which easily gave me hope that Charlie is coming back strong.

“mystery” has some interesting words which after doing a quick bit of research, brings up some interesting points about liturgy, scriptural interpretation, and lyrics in worship songs. in March, Becky, and hesitantly, Chad, took issue with the lyrics of a couple of songs we sang at a worship gathering. one song says “i am stained with dirt, prone to depravity… You are everything that is bright and clean, the antonym of me.” another says “i’m so unworthy, but still You love me.” they happened to be sung on the same night, and it set off a mini controversy. i thought about my ideas of original sin and Augustine and Calvinism when i agreed (Levi suggested it) to use the first song. i think that although David Crowder might theologize one way or another, i’ll go ahead and take his words as they’re written. i AM, in fact, prone to depravity. i’m an asshole. no ifs, ands, and there are most certainly butts. but the key word is “prone.” if others finds themselves otherwise, then by all means, don’t sing the song or that line, or at least let’s chat about it. however, i’ve sung and lead songs that don’t accurately describe how i’m feeling or aren’t completely in line with my life’s story. but singing these words together unites us, brings us into unity by acknowledging and honoring our community’s roads as a whole and as individuals.

back to the research: King James (dang him to heck!) scribes added the idea that Jesus body is “broken” for you. so the uberdramatic lifting high and breaking of the loaf at the Presby church is really an extrabiblical idea. the literal word there is Jesus telling his disciples that his body is “given” for them. perhaps not a big difference in the grand scheme of things, but shouldn’t we be obsessed with truth? especially when it’s something simple like this, within our grasp. we have the chance to stop the perpetuation of false notions of our faith….. or we could leave it to someone else.

the lyrics to this song are simple, but are so powerful in light of the circumstance from whence they spring: “Sweet Jesus Christ my sanity. Sweet Jesus Christ my clarity… Christ has died and Christ has risen and Christ will come again.”

on the whole, it’s good to see the return of great lyrics to go with the usually creative music Charlie produces. and now on to Phil.

Phil, Phil, Phil. awesome, awesome, awesome. he and his band played with so much energy, and their songs are all written so abnormally well. there’s nothing predictable or formulaic about them. most of the songs he played were from the “Cannons” album but he threw a couple new ones out there for our enjoyment also. Phil didn’t waste any time blabbing–everything he stopped and talked about was coherent and flowed. it didn’t seem scripted, but it was smooth enough to re-inspire me to have thought about the things i say when i get to lead people in musical worship.

he has this voice that’s higher than your average guy, but it’s so pretty. michelle remarked that it is good to hear someone sing live and sound just as good as they do in the studio. i concur. all this was very encouraging to me. the writing and the musical execution… the whole thing. but the setting was a bit foreign. it’s been so long since i’ve been to a concert, let alone a “Christian” concert. the last place where i’ve seen that many people physically expressing their hearts was many years ago in san diego at a conference. and there was something unnerving occurring. the people in front of us were probably staff members of the hosting church, based on snippets of conversation we overheard and the sheer number of people coming by to say hello. and every few minutes, they would bust out their phones and tweet or facebook or text. and then they would spend a few minutes sitting and watching. and then they would occasionally stand up and sing, sometimes raising their hands. it wasn’t just them, this was happening all over the room. and it secretly horrified me. i know worship music is a hot commodity, but to see the blatant consumption-engaging only in familiar songs they liked, ignoring the rest, and being so incredibly disrespectful to the artists on stage-it kinda killed a corner of my heart. they are the people that are leading this church, the people whose every moves are being analyzed non-stop, and this is the example they present for their church.

i desperately hope that the things i value will be the things i outwardly show have importance to me. and i hope that nothing i do detracts from those unspoken messages. and if not, then i need to question how much i truly care about worship and art and the worth humans have and the respect that God deserves.