I Don’t Like Contemporary Christian Music

Happy Sunday! Great time for confession, right? Right. So, here we go:

I am not a fan of contemporary Christian music. I wasn’t raised with it, I have no tradition that points me towards it, and praise songs in particular do not move me. I find them shallow, to be honest.

But I love music, and I particularly love music that makes me think. The first outwardly Christian music I ever bought was from Jars of Clay. Musically exciting and not remotely shallow, Jars was a terrible, terrible place to start my Christian music journey. Outside of a couple other bands (Future of Forestry being one of them), I never found a band that matched what Jars was doing. I soon figured out there was a reason for that–contemporary Chrstian music largely does not abide the deep, questioning music Jars of Clay produced on the regular. They haven’t made new music in 10 years, and it’s been about that long since I heard a song in the genre that I genuinely liked.

But, I do like music that reflects my values.

What I have started doing is collecting songs by secular artists I do like that have a Christian theme, or that could be easily heard that way (all art can be manipulated to fit the viewer/listener). Below are a few I really love.

(I’m not listing any Jars of Clay songs here because they pretty much all fit the bill, but if anyone is unfamiliar with Jars and would like some recommendations for where to start, let me know and I’ll post a list. [Full disclosure: the lead singer/songwriter from Jars, Dan Haseltine, is one of the composers on my movie, but I only met Dan recently and I’ve been a fan of jars since 1996.]

Also, I’m including U2 here even though they’re one of the most Christian bands out there. Their lyrics can be a bit esoteric, so I’m listing songs from them that are more blatant in their themes.)

This selection doesn’t shy away from songs that are just as much about doubt as they are about faith. I find doubt in the context of faith to be strengthening and very much worth contemplating. We all experience it, and there’s nothing to be gained from pretending otherwise–and a lot to be gained from dealing with it head on.

Again, this is just a sample. I may drop more in the comments.

Kingdom Come – Coldplay

Until the End of the World – U2

On the Floor – Brandon Flowers

Get Me Right – Dashboard Confessional

A Certain Type of Girl – The Airborne Toxic Event

No Hard Feelings – The Avett Brothers

Let Your Heart Hold Fast – Fort Atlantic

Peace on Earth – U2

How It Ends – DeVotchKa

Open Arms – Elbow

Whispers in the Dark – Mumford & Sons

Morning Has Broken – Cat Stevens

The Man Comes Around – Johnny Cash

Man of God – Neil Diamond

Moment of Surrender – U2

Let There Be Morning – The Perishers

I Came to Believe – Johnny Cash

If you’ve got any others that fit, I’d love to hear it in the comments. There’s more out there for sure.

Originally published on Facebook on 7/16/23

The Shift – Poster

I love this The Shift Film poster so much. Captures the film perfectly, shows off our incredible cast, has the best hobbit…can’t ask for much more than that.

Originally published on Facebook on 7/6/23

The Shift – The Official Theatrical Trailer

And now, we have a new trailer. I love it. Hope you’ll help spread the word.

Originally published on Facebook on 7/5/23

Sound of Freedom

Let’s talk about Sound of Freedom.

I got a chance to watch an early cut a couple months back and was so humbled and devastated by the importance of the film. Child Trafficking, as I learned from the film, is a far more prevalent and lucrative evil than most of us know. Bigger than the drug trade. Bigger than the gun trade. Those facts alone make this film something everyone should see. Change begins with awareness.

But all that sounds like watching the film is going to be a bit like taking your medicine. You know you should do it, but it tastes like dead fish in your mouth. That’s not the kind of movie that should be able to beat Indiana Jones in pre-sales, and certainly not one that should be projected to hit $20 million in box office over the 6-day.

But besides the miracle-executing Angel Studios marketing team you should NEVER bet against, Sound of Freedom has one other huge asset working in its favor: it’s a supremely excellent and gripping film that doesn’t forget its primary purpose is to entertain.

Don’t get me wrong, the film NEVER cheapens the story of Tim Ballard and his quest to save children–it never takes its eye off that ball in favor of Tim blowing a dude away with a bazooka and turning toward the camera with a wink while saying “Traffic this” (I’m so sorry)–but it does successfully deliver its message while also staying, expertly, within the guardrails of a genre thriller. It’s not medicine. It’s not dead fish in your mouth. It’s chilling AND thrilling.

It’s expert filmmaking.

Here’s what Sound of Freedom is also not: crazytown banana pants. Forget whatever you’ve heard or whatever your perception is that this is some hard right, conspiracy-touting movie designed to expose secret pedophile rings or whatever. That’s not what the film is at all. There are zero politics in Sound of Freedom. It focuses on the facts and the truth. Anyone who tells you differently clearly has not actually seen the film.

Made by a cast and crew that covers the political spectrum, it makes me sad that the bridges they built together aren’t being walked by everyone. Child trafficking is not a political issue. It’s a human rights issue, and anything that clouds that fact can be safely ignored and the film enjoyed.

See this movie. Know it deals with some harsh realities and plan who in your family should view accordingly, but also know it’s just terrific. My hat is off to Jim, Alejandro, Eduardo, Mira and everyone who was a part of the making the movie. They walked a long road to its release, and I’m so happy that now it’s so obviously worth it.

See this movie.

(And I’d be remiss if I didn’t also acknowledge that, yes, as many have already noticed there is one other reason to see the movie…the new The Shift Film trailer debuting online tomorrow is already playing in front of most showings of Sound of Freedom. If you see it, love to hear what you think!)

Originally published on Facebook on 7/4/23

I Broke the Contract

In this delirious time of putting the finishing touches on the movie my shirt is bragging about, we have to work a little harder (okay, a lot) to spend time as a family. This pic is from a recent trip to learn about U.S. history in Boston (we were minus one member, but still, family time).

I have come to a little bit of an understanding why so many marriages in the entertainment business fall apart or are strained. This can be an all-consuming work, and that’s before you get to all the travel involved. I never imagined I’d be directing movies for a living, so when Erin and I got married we both agreed stability and a 9-to-5 was the objective. In a way, I broke that contract. Spectacularly. And the past 8 years have been a slow and often difficult acclimation to our new paradigm.

But what is clear is that the only way through all this in which our family stays intact and love abounds and grows is through purposeful effort, setting of priorities, and, sometimes, saying no to very legitimate and important things in the professional sphere. There is a balance that has to be struck, and ultimately the priority order is God, family, work. I’m not always perfect at it, but the smiles on the faces of the women beside me are the surest indicator of when I’m getting it right.

Originally published on Facebook on 6/23/23

Happy Father’s Day

Sometimes, I think Father’s Day isn’t for me. Sometimes, I feel like I barely qualify for the category.

And then I remember: I have a 20-year old. And an 18. And a 12. But still, a Father… isn’t that something else? Something that doesn’t look or feel very much like me?

And then I realize that it’s been 27 years since I had a face-to-face with a father. Not to discount grandfathers or my Stepfather or my Father-in-Law, but “Father,” for me, has long since come to mean someone who I feel very close to but is actually, physically, very far away. My girls are in the next room. They can see me anytime. Surely, I’m not their father?

But I am, and hopefully that’s special to them even though I often feel unworthy of the job and mess up constantly. Thankfully, they’re pretty forgiving. It’s a privilege to be associated with them, and an honor to serve.

Happy Father’s Day to all the men out there. I submit we don’t know the full impact of the work we do (it can be a lot less obvious than mothering), but it is so, so important. Hope you’re feeling special today.

And if you’ve got a father who’s still around, give him a call. A hug. Some cake. Dads love cake.

(And if your dad is a pie guy, forgive him and send that cake over here. All dads need forgiveness and I need buttercream frosting.)

Originally posted on Facebook on 6/18/23

Photo credit: Cake n’ Bake Noida