Last week, I was a guest on World magazine’s excellent weekly radio show The World and Everything In It. Host Joseph Slife asked me about my favorite Christmas song and my favorite Christmas recording. I chose “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel” as my all-time favorite Christmas song and the more obscure “Christ Is Born” as my all-time favorite Christmas recording.

Here is a link to the segment(which features the music, not just my talking about these songs), a downloadable mp3, and below is the transcript.

“O Come, O Come, Emmanuel”

Over the years, the Christmas song that continues to move me is one of the oldest Christmas songs that we still sing in our churches today, “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel.” I believe it goes all the way back to the 12th century. It has a very mournful melody. But then there is that lyrical command of the chorus to “Rejoice!”

The song is sort of a bridge between Advent and Christmas. Advent being the time of anticipation as we are mourning in the exile, knowing that God’s full promises have not been completely fulfilled, and yet we also know that because of the birth and life and death and resurrection of Christ that God has already accomplished our salvation and we are awaiting Christ’s return and we are waiting for the time when joy really will flood the world as other Christmas songs remind us.

I also enjoy the second verse of “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel,” which is not as often sung… the verse that says, ‘O come, Thou Dayspring, come and cheer our spirits by Thine advent here; Disperse the gloomy clouds of night, and death’s dark shadows put to flight!” I love the fact that Jesus did not only defeat sin and evil… He also conquered the greatest enemy to God’s good creation, which is death itself. And so, this is a Christmas song that for me is a bridge to all the rest of the story that the Gospels give us, where we go from the wooden manger to the wooden cross and then the empty tomb and then Christ’s ascension and the anticipation of His return.

One of the reasons I enjoy this song so much is because it not only allows us to go back and put ourselves in the shoes of the first-century Jews, so to speak, who were awaiting the arrival of the Messiah as they mourned in lonely exile as the song says, but it also allows us to take that quality of anticipation from the first-century Jews and to have that again even now as we look over the evil in our world, as we see the evidence and the effects of the curse that still lingers and know that even though Christ has come and that the world is being made new, we are like the first-century Jews, still in a sort of exile as we await Christ’s return and await for Him to make good on all the promises that God has made in His covenant.

“Christ Is Born”

Another favorite Christmas song of mine is one that is a bit more obscure. It is a song called “Christ Is Born.” Like “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel,” it was originally written in Latin by the choir director at the Sistine Chapel, Father Domenico Bartolucci. And Ray Charles of the Ray Charles singers talks about how he went to see Father Bartolucci in his apartment, and he says that he had a big Ampex tape machine and a box of tapes. He brought out a tape of a gorgeous piece he had written and he played it for the singers and the words were in Latin.

Later Perry Como decided that he wanted to record it. So there was an English adaptation of the song that was produced called, “Christ Is born” and Perry Como used it on various Christmas shows that he did.

The version that I have really grown to love is one done by The Carpenters in 1978. There is a very understated majesty to this song. I really like the line that says, “Hear him crying in the manger,” and then that is juxtaposed by the line “King of heaven, Son of God,” which then leads to the worshipful response “Alleluia.” And you really have the mystery of the incarnation there in a nutshell. You’ve got it described so beautifully with a crying baby in a manger and yet this is the King of heaven, this is God in the flesh, this is the Son of God.

Last week, I sat down with Keith and Kristyn Getty to talk about their new Christmas album, Joy: An Irish Christmas. I’ve long appreciated the Gettys for the way they serve the Church through their hymn writing. Reading this transcript, one can sense Keith and Kristyn’s heart for evangelism, for the Church, and for praising the Lord who took on flesh to save us.

Trevin Wax: How do you go about choosing songs for a Christmas album? You probably have so many favorites.

Kristyn Getty: It’s a long, long process. Was it two years ago when we first started thinking about a Christmas album?

Keith Getty: Yes. Judson Baptist in Nashville asked us to do a Christmas show. And we didn’t have one.

Kristyn: That’s right. So we had to put some songs together for it, and that was the beginning of the sorting process. Then we developed the Irish theme with an Irish friend of ours who is fantastic at arranging music with an Irish side to it. Then, for the album, we brought out a few songs we wrote many years ago for a project that we did at home in the UK called Incarnation.

Keith: So it was basically a mixture of those three things: the older carols we’d written, the new carols we’d written, and carols that we loved that other people had written.

Kristyn: It was quite refreshing, actually, because for all our other albums, we have tried to write everything. It worked out well that in the year we were having our first child for us to take on a project where we didn’t have to write as much.

Trevin: Do either of you have a personal favorite Christmas song on the album?

Keith: My favorite Christmas song isn’t on the album because it didn’t fit the style of where we were going – “Once in Royal David’s City.” I love the melody, but it really doesn’t fit an Irish approach.

Kristyn: I enjoy singing “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen.” Our arrangement with the band has a lot of energy.

Trevin: How has having a baby changed Christmas for you?

Keith: Well, we have a song called “How Suddenly a Baby Cries,” and it’s true that things are forever changed.

Trevin: Your song “Jesus, Joy of the Highest Heaven” has some lines about the glory of the incarnation. When I first heard that song, it reminded me of when we had our first child. He was six months old at Christmas, and I remember thinking about how helpless a baby is. And the glorious mystery of the incarnation hit me like never before…

Kristyn: You taste it in a new way. You know, you understand it before, but life experience helps you understand it differently. You view childbirth differently too. In one of our songs, we had a line that described Mary as “frail.” And after I’d given birth, I thought, Frailty has nothing to do with the process! So we changed the word to “young.” The song “Magnificat” has been meaningful to us because we’ve sung that song through the journey of the struggle to conceive, waiting for her to come and then now that she’s arrived.

Trevin: Whenever I hear “Magnificat,” I think of SBTS professor Chip Stam. There’s a YouTube video of you all at the hospital singing the song for him.

Keith: Chip was a good friend of ours who died this year of cancer. Track 9 on the album, “O Savior of Our Fallen Race,” is dedicated to him. That hymn melody is actually called “Stam.”

Trevin: Thinking about Chip and other men like him, are there some particular authors or worship leaders you turn to when you are looking for inspiration in the hymn-writing process?

Keith: The Bible is the primary inspiration. We read the whole Bible every year systematically. Likewise, our church focuses on expositional Bible teaching. In the last two years, I’ve been inspired by the whole history of Christian verse, especially poetry in English language. So I enjoy that. Authors? Tim Keller and Don Carson are two of the people who we’re closest to in terms of understanding theology. They’ve got a broad vision of understanding the gospel but in a sense that’s culturally relevant and artistically fulfilling.

Kristyn: Also, my uncle, Dr. John Lennox.

Keith: Yes, Professor Lennox introduced us. I had sort of a skeptic phase, and he helped me.

Kristyn: He’s one of those people whose strong faith makes you stronger. Whenever I’m with him, within a few minutes, either in conversation with myself or other people, he’s talking about the Lord and trying to find a way of communicating the gospel. He’s a phenomenal evangelist and a great Bible teacher.

Another person who has inspired me is Joni Eareckson Tada because of the contagious joy that she has, her unbelievable cheerfulness, and her deep faith that has been tested and shines brightly. Regarding some of the gentler songs that we’ve done – perhaps not an individual line – but the thought of her sometimes informs my singing.

Trevin: Does the fact that churches immediately grab on to certain hymns surprise you? Do you ever expect a hymn to take root quickly and then find it didn’t become as popular as expected?

Kristyn: Well, everybody’s different. And different denominations, different groups, link on to different things.

Keith: But I think different songs have different value. The last song we wrote is always the one we’re most excited about. Take two songs on the Christmas album: “O Savior of Our Fallen Race” and “Jesus, Joy of the Highest Heaven.” The second one, a children’s hymn, is useful and timeless, but has a sense of immediacy. The first one, “O Savior of Our Fallen Race,” is probably one of our best melodies ever, but it will be a gradual build, as it’s not in the style for the popular evangelical church. So different songs find different homes.

Trevin: One of my favorites is “Jesus Is Lord,” but it’s not on any of your American albums.

Keith: It was the closing hymn at Chip’s funeral, actually. He wanted his funeral to finish up with the theme of Jesus as Lord.

Kristyn: I like that one too, but it’s not one we do with the band very often.

Trevin: Looking beyond to other singers, bands, and artists… are there any particular songwriters or people you look up to or respect?

Kristyn: There’s Stuart Townend and then everybody else! After him, I loved Vikki Cook’s melody to “Before the Throne of God Above.”

Keith: Graham Kendrick pioneered the way. “The Servant King” is pretty unsurpassed.

Kristyn: Our worship music diet growing up was Graham Kendrick…

Keith: And deserved to be because it was head and shoulders above everything else.

Trevin: What’s your impression of the other side of the modern hymn movement – the practice of taking old, obscure, forgotten hymns and giving them new music with a band and things like that? Sojourn, Red Mountain Church, etc.

Kristyn: I think it can be very, very good. The only thing I would say is that if the original melody was greatly loved, I’m usually disappointed unless the new melody is incredible. But the way these groups are taking more obscure texts that people don’t sing anymore and composing a beautiful melody for them is fantastic.

Trevin: How do you recommend people approach this Christmas album?

Kristyn: Carols are a further opportunity to help tell the gospel story. It’s incredible that you can be in supermarkets and malls and street corners and hear songs like “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing.” We pray that the songs that are old will be heard in fresh ways and that the new songs will be an avenue for the gospel to reach into people’s lives.

Keith: Christmas in our culture is our biggest chance. Once a year, the culture determines that it’s okay to bring your friends to church, to have the gospel presented in songs and sermons and on television. This opportunity probably won’t be around forever, not to the degree that it is now. So it’s a huge opportunity. You’ve got captive audiences every time. We’ve got to be strategic about these things.

Kristyn: If a little bit of Irishness might draw some more people in, that’s exciting. Christmastime is also an incredibly difficult time for people. Our culture creates a sentiment, and the expectation is that we all have to tap into it somehow. Yet many people feel outside of that sentiment because that’s not where they are. That’s an opportunity for us to present the gospel story that gives people answers to their deepest longings.

Trevin: Thank you both. That is good counsel for church leaders and church members who want to reach out during Christmastime. And thank you for your service to the Church through your hymn writing.

Everyone knows Keith & Kristyn Getty and Stuart Townend for “In Christ Alone” and “The Power of the Cross.” But Getty and Townend collaborated on another hymn that is undeservedly underrated: “Jesus is Lord.” Aside from “In Christ Alone,” this is my favorite Getty song.

Check out one audio version of Jesus Is Lord here.

Meditate on the richness of truth presented in these lyrics:

Jesus is Lord, the cry that echoes through creation
Resplendent power, eternal word, our rock
The Son of God, the King whose glory fills the heavens
Yet bids us come to taste this living bread

Jesus is Lord, whose voice sustains the stars and planets
Yet in His wisdom laid aside His crown
Jesus the Man, who washed our feet, who bore our suffering
Became a curse to bring salvation’s plan

Jesus is Lord, the tomb is gloriously empty
Not even death could crush this King of love
The price is paid, the chains are loosed, and we’re forgiven
And we can run into the arms of God

Jesus is Lord, a shout of joy, a cry of anguish
As He returns and every knee bows low
Then every eye and every heart will see His glory
The Judge of all will take His children home

Many people go into a movie theater and are barely conscious of the music that provides the atmosphere to the movie they are watching. I can’t do that. My ears are always tuned in to the melodies coming from those mega-speakers.

If I enjoy a movie’s music, I sometimes download the score. Occasionally, I download scores to movies I haven’t even seen, simply because I enjoy the music from a specific composer.

There are not many movie scores that I can listen to straight through. Suspenseful movies often have music that matches the action, which means it’s a little much to have music playing softly in the background that sounds like a car chase or a shoot-out. There are, however, certain tracks in the scores from action movies that I enjoy.

Below, I’ve listed ten of my favorite movie scores. (Please note: I am not endorsing these movies, only recommending the music!) Some of these CDs have tracks that I rarely listen to (for the reasons listed above), so I am putting in parentheses the best tracks from each one. If you click over to the Amazon page, you can listen to some of the samples and download a few mp3s.

1. Forrest Gump (best tracks: “Suite from Forrest Gump,” “I’m Forrest… Forrest Gump”, “You’re No Different”)

2. Life Is Beautiful (La Vita E Bella) (best tracks: “Buon Giorno Principessa”, “La Vita e Bella,” “Abbiamo Vinto”)

3. The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe (best tracks: “Evacuating London,” “The Wardrobe” and “Only the Beginning of the Adventure”)

4. Pearl Harbor (best tracks: “Tennessee,” “Brothers,” “And Then I Kissed Him”)

5. The Village (best tracks: “Noah Visits,” “What are You Asking Me?” and “The Gravel Road”)

6. Wall-E (best tracks: “Define Dancing,” “2815 AD,” “72 Degrees and Sunny”)

7. Titanic (best tracks: “Distant Memories,” “Southhampton,” and “Rose”)

8. Peter Pan (best tracks: “Flying,” “Main Title,” “Fairy Dance”)

9. Lord Of The Rings Trilogy (best tracks: “Concerning Hobbits”, “The Fellowship,” “Hope and Memory”)

10. While You Were Sleeping (best tracks: “Riverside Walk,” “Opening,” “An Untimely Accident”)

These are ten of my favorites. What about you? What movie scores do you enjoy? I’m always open to building my music library.

My favorite hymn:

Summer is for cotton candy. If you’re like me, you enjoy perusing your iTunes library for some fluffy pop music to go along with cotton candy. This summer, I put together a playlist of the ten greatest pop songs. These ten are my own picks, but I rigorously subjected each song to the following tests:

1. The song’s subject matter must be light-hearted and fun. Absolutely NO taking itself too seriously.
2. The melody must be catchy and have some sort of hook that sticks in your head.
3. The song must have a touch of the “annoying” factor (meaning that if you listen to it too many times, it gives you a headache, just as too much cotton candy bothers your stomach).
4. People either love the song or hate the song. There’s very little in-between for most people.

So here are my ten picks (in no particular order). Feel free to weigh in with your own “pop perfection” recommendations:

1. “Fireflies” – Owl City (2009)

This is the most recent addition to my playlist. Adam Young’s “Fireflies” is a family favorite around our house, especially when we’re watching lightning bugs fire up our backyard.

2. “Kokomo” – Beach Boys (1988)

The perfect song to listen to as you pull out of your driveway on your way to a vacation at the beach. Even if you’re not going to all the islands mentioned here, you’ll still get in the mood for rest and relaxation.

3. “Baby Baby” – Amy Grant (1991)

Admit it… just seeing the title has already got this song going off in the soundtrack of your mind. Apparently, Grant wrote this for her little baby, not the guy she danced with in the music video.

4. “Kiss Me” – Sixpence None the Richer (1999)

This song was very popular the week I graduated high school, which (for me at least) brings back the summer of ’99. It’s been called “the perfect pop song”, a description well-deserved in my opinion.

5. “ABC” – Jackson Five (1970)

I can’t listen to this song even once without it staying in my head for days. It’s not my favorite from the Jackson Five (“Never Can Say Goodbye” would be my pick), but it’s very popular with our kids.

6. “Mmmbop” – Hanson (1996)

The song (and band) everyone loves to hate. But you’ve got to give the homeschool boys their props. They took an incomprehensible song (yeah, you try to figure out the lyrics) to the top of Billboard.

7. “Please Mr. Postman” – Carpenters (1975)

This song has been a hit three different times. The Marvelettes took it to #1 in 1961. The Beatles covered it a few years later. Then, the Carpenters took it to #1 in 1975. We like all three versions of this song, but I think the Carpenters’ version best meets the criteria for this list.

8. “There She Goes” – Sixpence None the Richer (1999)

The follow-up to “Kiss Me”, this song was originally recorded by The La’s in the 1980′s. I have no idea what this song is all about, but the melody is light and easy.

9.  “Exhale (Shoop Shoop)” - Whitney Houston (1995)

This song came out when Whitney could still sing. Apparently, it’s about leaning on friends when going through a hard time. All I remember is the chorus “shoop shoop shooby-doo”, which sounds like it’s right out of the 1960′s.

10. “Dancin’ in the Moonlight” - Toploader (1999)

This song is from the 1970′s, but I’ve always liked Toploader’s version the best. This version was included in the popular film, A Walk to Remember. Out of all the songs on my playlist, this is the one that I can listen to most before getting annoyed.

So, what songs did I miss? Which songs would you say meet all the criteria?

After viewing Friday night’s Larry King Live with Jennifer Knapp, pastor Bob Botsford, and Ted Haggard, I was struck with the question:

Why is it that whenever a proponent of Christianity’s historical view of sexuality goes head to head with an advocate for gay rights, the traditional Christian almost always loses the argument?

Read the transcript from Friday’s roundtable discussion here. Watch as the traditionalist pastor seeks to be loving and gentle, and yet still gets pelted with the pejorative term “judgmental.” Why is this so?

I’m convinced that we continue to lose the argument about homosexuality and Christianity because the traditionalist almost always makes his case within a conversation that has been framed by the opposing viewpoint. The Christian doesn’t lose the argument at the micro-level. The argument is lost from the beginning because of how the discussion is framed.

I only know Jennifer Knapp through her music. (Kansas is one of the best albums in Christian music, as far as I’m concerned.) I do not want the rest of this post (or the comments) to focus on her particular story. Instead, I want to analyze the Larry King appearance as a launching pad from which we can think clearly about how we might re-frame this discussion in ways that benefit the traditionalist position.

Here are four ways to get started:

1. We need to shift emphasis from the truth that “everyone is a sinner” to the necessity of repentance.

“We’re all sinners” comes up again and again in discussions like this. In her Larry King interview, Knapp realized the power of having the pastor admit that he too is a sinner. Once she received this admission, she had the upper hand in asking, “Then why are you judging me instead of me judging you?”

Whenever the discussion centers on “homosexuality is a sin… but we’re all sinners,” the traditionalist inevitably comes across looking like he is singling out homosexuality as a worse sin than all the rest. His protests to the contrary always ring hollow.

But this is the wrong way to frame this debate. We are not saying that some of us are worse sinners than others or that homosexuality is a worse sin than pride, stealing, etc. We are not categorized before God as ” better sinners” or “worse sinners.” Instead, we are either unrepentant or repentant. True Christianity hinges on repentance. The pastor on Larry King Live eventually made this point later on in the broadcast, but the rhetorical damage had already been done.

If we are to reframe this discussion along biblical lines, then we must emphasize the necessity of repentance for the Christian faith. The point is not that the pastor and the Knapp are both sinners. It’s that the pastor agrees with God about his sin, while Knapp remains in her sin without repentance. That is why he is questioning her Christianity, for Christian teaching makes clear the necessity of repentance as the entryway into the Christian family.

Ultimately, the debate is not about homosexuality versus other sins. It’s about whether or not repentance is integral to the Christian life.

2. We must not allow ourselves to be defined by our sexual attractions.

There is a difference between homosexual attraction and homosexual behavior. Whenever this discussion takes place in public, the homosexual advocate inevitably merges these two concepts together and then fashions an identity based upon this attraction. The traditionalist is then considered judgmental for telling the homosexual that she should not be true to herself.

But the assumption that we are defined by our sexual attractions is a modern one and should be questioned. If I lust after a woman other than my wife, and yet choose not to act on that sexual urge, am I not being true to myself? Is it not better to be true to someone else rather than true to one’s desires on certain occasions? Could it be that the suppression of an illicit sexual attraction can also be considered true to oneself?

This is where the whole idea of Christian virtue needs to be revisited. Our goal is not authenticity. It is to be true to the self that is redeemed, transformed by the gospel and the power of the Spirit, under the authority of God’s Word.

That is why we must make distinctions between sexual urges and sexual behavior. One might not choose one’s temptation (the “I was born this way” argument is true of all sinners, after all), but we do choose our behavior. We are not animals, led helplessly by instinct.

Right now, the gay rights advocates are claiming that their opponents have a low view of humanity. Actually, it’s the traditionalist who has the high view of humanity, understanding that we are more than our sexual urges and we have an inherent worth and value that leads us to do more than simply act on whatever instincts we feel.

3. We must expose the arrogance and judgmentalism of those who would so flippantly dismiss the witness of Christians for two thousand years.

No matter how gentle and humble the traditionalist may be, the notion of being “judgmental” will continue to be thrown at him by those who see homosexuality as a legitimate behavior for a Christian. I thought the pastor did well in his stated affection for Jennifer and his insistence that ultimately God is Judge.

But why is it that the debate always takes place with the homosexual as the one “being judged”? Knapp positions herself as the martyr, facing condemnation for her beliefs, though it is she who advocates views that directly contradict the testimony and witness of Christians for the past two thousand years.

Despite the veneer of humility (she admits her lack of knowledge in Greek and Hebrew), Knapp points to recent scholarship that says we have misunderstood the Scriptures that appear to deal with homosexual behavior. This point of view is not humble at all. Knapp has flippantly dismissed the consensus of two thousand years of Christian scholarship and witness, not to mention the vast majority of Christians outside the West who continue to see homosexual behavior as sinful.

Unfortunately, the arrogance and imperialism of this view is never exposed or questioned in these discussions. For once, I’d like to see someone gently point out the implicit judgmentalism of the “homosexual behavior is legitimate” view.

4. We need soft hearts toward Christians struggling with same-sex attraction.

Jennifer Knapp’s point of view appears to be liberating and compassionate. It’s actually condemning and dismissive. How so?

Consider the people in our churches who are struggling with same-sex attraction and temptation. Consider these believers who are walking alongside other Christians, choosing daily to remain celibate, to crucify these desires as a part of their painful sanctification. Knapp dismisses the legitimacy of struggling with such attractions by saying that one should just give up the fight, for homosexual behavior is not even a sin. This kind of hard-heartedness toward fellow pilgrims is not coming from the traditionalist pastor, but from Knapp, who considers herself to be liberated from that struggle.

In closing, it is good for us to remember those who are struggling in our churches. For too long now, Christians have acted as if this struggle is non-existent or we have questioned the sincerity and salvation of those who wrestle with this specific temptation. We ought to repent of our rush to judgment, our cruel jokes about this sin, and our mockery of those who struggle in this area.

Even though we continue to hold to the increasingly unpopular view that homosexual behavior is sinful, we recognize that many Christians are involved in the struggle – whether silently or openly – and we should commit to prayerful pilgrimage with them.

All of us are sinners. True Christians are repentant sinners. And God’s grace is mighty to save us and change us – every one of us and every part of us.

This is one of my favorite lesser-known Christmas songs.It was first sung by Perry Como, and then by the Carpenters. The latter version evokes a sense of quiet majesty that builds as the song progresses.

So many Christmas carols practically dehumanize the baby Jesus. This one does not. I especially like the line: “Hear him crying in the manger” juxtaposed by the line “King of heaven, Son of God” – leading to worshipful response to such mystery: “Alleluia!”

Take a few moments for quiet reflection on the hidden majesty of Christ’s first coming.

In my desk drawer at home, I have a large collection of CDs. Years have gone by since I last touched many of them. Yet I still listen to the music, now conveniently stored on my computer hard drive. My big CD collection is now a large iTunes playlist. I know I’m not the only music-lover who has gone digital.

Ripped: How the Wired Generation Revolutionized Music tells the story of the transformation of music that has taken place in the past decade. Digital music has changed everything. The music industry has faced an unprecedented number of challenges, leading one analyst to call the changes “a technological freak out.”

The internet has led to the democratization of music. New artists without an official record label can market their music online. Old artists who saw success in the past are scrambling to keep their music from being illegally downloaded.

Ripped author, Greg Kot, is on the side of music lovers. He makes the case that Napster fans should not be considered criminals. He celebrates the success of iTunes. He points to the large attendance at concerts thanks to an artist’s internet presence.

Reading this book, I was reminded how expensive CDs used to be. Remember the frustration of wanting to purchase one song only to discover you would have to buy an entire album?

But the transformation of music has both positive and negative aspects. Some of the recent developments in music cause me to say, “This is wonderful!” Other times: “I really miss this or that.” As thankful as I am for 99 cent tracks on iTunes, I think music fans lose something when we no longer support the idea of an artist putting together an entire album that tells a story or makes a compelling statement.

Greg Kot’s book is interesting, even if his analysis of music is sometimes simplistic. (Example? He demeans the “simplistic response” of conservative country anthem “Have You Forgotten?”, and cheers the complexity of “John Walker’s Blues” and “George Bush Does Not Care About Black People.” It seems to me there is plenty of simplicity and silliness on both sides of the political aisle.)

What can church leaders learn from a book like this? Two things.

First off, consider this quote from Howie Klein (a longtime executive of Reprise Records):

“We were there for the short-term needs of Wall Street, which is antithetical to the needs of a company that is supposedly founded on music. The industry was built on signing artists with a strong vision, and trusting that vision to do good work over a long period of time. Your job as a record-company man was to help them realize that. ‘If it’s a real artist, you can never go wrong.’” (8-9)

Klein recognizes that good bands often need time to carve out a niche, find a wide audience, and hone their artistic skills. Unfortunately, the focus on success now can lead to a diminishing quality of music in the long term.

Plenty of churches make the same mistake. Pastor search committees look for a visionary pastor who can lead them to immediate numerical growth. Pastors are expected to bring about instant success. This kind of pressure leads to a diminished view of the pastorate in the long term. Future effectiveness is sacrificed for immediate impact.

Secondly, the democratization of music means the digital revolution should impact how pastors and churches release information and resources. I am amazed that so many preachers and conferences still charge money for sermons online. The world of lucrative cassette-tape ministries no longer exists. Listen to the words of an e-zine editor:

“People weren’t going to buy music unless they could hear it. That is what college radio and MP3 blogs were for. It is to the band’s benefit for people to hear their music because we’re in a day when nobody buys music unless they’ve heard it. We don’t trust anyone really.”

The way that the young generation views music is the same way that we view preachers. Few young people will show up at your conference unless they have been exposed to the teaching online. Some of the evangelical leaders who lament the recent resurgence of Calvinism in Desiring God, Together for the Gospel and The Gospel Coalition fail to notice the correlation between free online resources and conference attendance (not to mention book sales).

Ripped tells the story of how the wired generation is changing music. The question for church leaders is this: will we be able to anticipate how the wired generation is leading to widespread changes in our churches?

I thought I would pass along ten of our favorite artists who have terrific Christmas CDs. If you have some recommendations to add to this list, please do!

1. Home Alone, Home Alone 2: Original Score
John Williams

 
The original scores for these two movies make for great Christmas music. A must-have for Christmas fans. “Somewhere in My Memory” is one of the prettiest Christmas tunes ever composed.

2. MIRACLES, FAITH, WISHES
Kenny G

      
Romance! Nothing quite compares with the sweet sound of the saxophone at Christmas time. Kenny G captures the Christmas sound with some fantastic arrangements of great Christmas songs.
Highlights from these CDs: “The First Noel,” “We Three Kings/Carol of the Bells,” “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,” “Away in a Manger,” “O Holy Night,” and “Jingle Bells”

3. CHRISTMAS COLLECTION
The Carpenters

  
The Carpenters’ Christmas Collection is a double-CD set that includes all of their Christmas music from the late 70′s, and early 80′s. There is nothing like Karen Carpenter’s warm voice on a cold wintery day and Richard Carpenter’s creative arrangements. I like these two CDs because each song leads into the next as if the album were a suite of Christmas music.
Highlights: “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,” the slowed down version of “Santa Claus is Coming to Town,” the awe-inspiring quietness of “Christ is Born,” and the fun “Sleigh Ride”

4. CHRISTMAS & CHRISTMASTIME & IT’S A WONDERFUL CHRISTMAS
Michael W. Smith

    
Even if you’re not a big Michael W. Smith fan, you’ll probably enjoy his Christmas music. The first CD (from the 80′s) is arguably better than the second, but both are terrific. The third CD was released last year and is a worthy addition to your collection The orchestral sound and terrific original compositions give the later CDs a “timeless” quality about them.
Highlights: “No Eye Has Seen” with vocals from Amy Grant, the boy choir on the spine-tingling “All is Well,” the revved up “Gloria,” and the instrumentals on Christmastime.

5. A CHRISTMAS STORY & WINTER WONDERLAND
Point of Grace

   
There’s just something about the harmonies of Point of Grace that go over great at Christmastime. Both of these CDs are terrific. Point of Grace follows the Carpenters’ formula and utilizes the “suite” mentality on the first CD, letting songs flow right into each other. The new Tennessee Christmas features the best of both original CDs.
Highlights: the big band version of “Santa Claus is Coming to Town,” “One King,” the a cappella “In the First Light,” “Let it Snow/Sleigh Ride,” and “Jingle Bells.”

6. CHRISTMAS COLLECTION
Manheim Steamroller

20 years might have passed, but these instrumental CDs from Manheim Steamroller remain a Christmas staple for our family every year. Creative sound, standard Christmas hymns, beautiful orchestration.
Highlights: “Carol of the Bells,” “O Come, O Come Emmanuel,” “Still, Still, Still,” “O Holy Night,” “Little Drummer Boy,” and “Hark the Herald Angels Sing”

7. THE MUSIC OF CHRISTMAS
Steven Curtis Chapman

I’ve enjoyed this Christmas CD the past few years. There are some fantastic arrangements of classic Christmas songs, as well as a few original songs that quickly become favorites.
Highlights: “Christmas is All in the Heart” with CeCe Winans, “Carol of the Bells” played on the guitar like you’ve never heard it before,” “Music of Christmas,” a medley of Christmas songs done instrumentally, “O Come All Ye Faithful” and “O Come, O Come Emmanuel” to a different tune.

8. A CHRISTMAS ALBUM, HOME FOR CHRISTMAS, A CHRISTMAS TO REMEMBER, THE CHRISTMAS COLLECTION

Amy Grant

   
No Christian artist does Christmas quite like Amy Grant. Her 4 albums get spun a lot around our house during the Christmas season.
Highlights: “Emmanuel,” “Christmas Hymn,” “Breath of Heaven,” “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year,” “Silent Night,” and “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas”

9. NOEL
- Josh Groban

Great vocals (it’s Josh Groban, after all) combined with some really creative arrangements.
Highlights: “Angels We Have Heard on High” with Brian McKnight, “Little Drummer Boy” and a rousing rendition of “O Come All Ye Faithful”

Honorable Mentions

What favorite Christmas CDs are you listening to this year?

written by Trevin Wax  © 2008 Kingdom People blog