bt

[Flash 9 is required to listen to audio.]

This is one of the songs I wrote about in the last post.

The Music of my Heritage

Over the last decade, I’ve taken a lot of grief from a lot of friends for being such a big fan of the Gaither Vocal Band. While I recognize that, at times, the lyrics from the GVB leave some theology to be desired, the harmonies and vocal talents are what I love. (Don’t get me wrong…more often than not I think the lyrics are great, too.)

In September I traveled to Ashland, Kentucky, to celebrate the 40th anniversary of my parents’ church, Ashland Plaza Church of the Nazarene. My dad has been the worship leader there since the day the church opened its doors. A huge part of the anniversary celebration was some great southern gospel music, mostly featuring my dad, his sisters Stella and Linda, his brother Lawrence (yes, I have an uncle named Lawrence Taylor; no, he is not a punishing linebacker), and his brother-in-law Gene. My cousin Erin and I sang a few with them, but mostly we all just sat back and listened to their sweet harmonies and ringing chords.

During that weekend, I was reminded why I love that particular type of music so much. Just like the importance of my faith and family, my penchant for grammar, and my dedication to certain athletic teams, this stuff runs in my blood. The chorus of one of those old Vaughan songs is often in my head, and when one of them comes on my iTunes shuffle, I hum or sing along in my office.

While I don’t make it to Lawrenceburg, Tennessee, for the annual family reunion and singin’ any more, I hope to find a way to pass this great music on to my boys and keep the heritage alive.

Three Upcoming Blog Posts

I’ve had three blog posts percolating over the last few weeks because of different happenings in my life. If I tell you (all two of you) that they’re coming, I’m much more likely to actually post them. Watch soon for:

The Music of my Heritage
The Wizard of Oz
A Sports Pessimist No More

#6

Here is the sixth most viewed post from my days at Blogger, posted 29 October 2008.

Incarnation

Posted by BT

I’m sitting at Panera listening to Alli Rogers’ song “Eden.” I recommend it.

I’ve really been dwelling the last couple days on what it means to be incarnational. I was just replying to a great question from my friend Andy, who really got me to thinking about this. Does incarnation mean anything to followers of Jesus? I mean, besides the obvious? I don’t think it has meant much to me…I can say it has meant a lot, but unless it changes the way I live, it just doesn’t really matter. I wonder what it would look like if, instead of short term missions and giving money to overseas missions getting all the attention (not saying those things are bad), we shifted our focus to incarnational mission. I wonder.

My toes are cold.