Growing up, I listened to a lot of Contemporary Christian Music (CCM). Most of the time, I was running away from some of the music that I felt I shouldn't be listening to. All of the music that I listened to always left me wanting for more. The thing that it was missing was reality. My world was not always the teenage After School Special that Michael W. Smith sang about. Instead there was pain, questions, frustrations as well as excitement, worship and choices.
Michael Card is someone who seems to have sought a life where his art was more congruent
with his life of faith. First, Michael Card is a man of faith. He originally wanted to be a theologian until his music was noticed. He is a great musician. Michael Card plays banjo, piano, guitar and more. Card's music leaves the confines of CCM, much of it taken straight from the scripture. He has written whole albums focused on Wisdom Literature (The Way of Wisdom), the life of Peter (A Fragile Stone), the life of Jesus (The Life), the book of Revelation (Unveiled Hope), the prophets (The Word: Recapturing the Imagination) and many more. The album that really got me excited about who Michael Card again was his latest album The Hidden Face of God. In this album, Card discusses the topic of lament. If you have ever darkened the door of one of our "relevant" churches, you wouldn't find many songs of lament. After 9/11, Card felt there was a hole in contemporary Christian music. Music that does not speak of the times when we want to shout at God or when we don't even know if he is there, does not reflect the whole of the life of faith. Check out an interview with Michael Card about this album. He spoke a lot about this topic on his radio show late last year.I have many of Card's albums, but I think I like listening to his radio show via podcast even more. He has on very interesting guests, discussing Commentary (the Bible) Creativity (art), Community (relationships) and he plays his own music live in the studio. It has been one of my weekly enjoyments. I wrote him an e-mail a while back thanking him for the show and how he and his guests struggle with the ideas of art and Christianity. They read part of the letter last week. I felt pretty cool, even if they didn't mention my name. If you would like to check out one of the shows, I recommend episodes 241 and 242. Larry Crabb is on these episodes. They were amazing. You can either listen to the archived version on-line or you can download the podcast (you don't need an iPod to do this, just iTunes).
Michael Card has not become a millionaire, he is not winning awards, he is not lauded by men. It seems though, that through his music and through the community that he keeps, he is affecting lives and helping to make people more like Jesus Christ. Thank you for that, Mike.
4 comments:
You are cool. That is awesome that they read your letter. It reminds me of the time I wrote Dan Gerber...although he never read that on a radio show.
Ok, a much more serious comment after I read his interview. I was moved. I had forgotten how good he is. I will be purchasing that cd. How do I listen to that radio program of his???
im seconding that last comment...i cant seem to find anything i can listen to.
If you click on each show it will have the streaming audio there that you can click on. You can also search for Michael Card in the iTunes store. You'll see his podcast there. I hope that helps.
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