Scott Freeman

On Tuesday I will unveil my top 10 albums of 2007 (so far). On that list will be what is probably the most transcendent album of the year: Mavis Staples’ “We’ll Never Turn Back.”

It is a rocking, rollicking and yet heartfelt compendium of some of the most enduring songs to emerge from the Civil Rights Movement. With Ry Cooder’s guitar licks and production it brings the heart and emotion of those songs into the present age.

Watch this video of Mavis pounding out the classic song “Eyes On The Prize”

Here she is performing the same song on Leno where you can see Cooder performing along with her:

Get this album!

My reading slowed down drastically during the final half of my vacation but I still got a few books in. Here are my thoughts for each of those:

Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides–This epic story of genetic abnormalities, regret and consequences is a staggering read. You will be swept up in a story that spans 80+ years and deals with the repercussions of actions that ripple throughout time. This book will hook you from the first sentence. Grade: A

No Country For Old Men by Cormac McCarthy–I have never been a McCarthy fan. I tried several years ago to read All The Pretty Horses and failed to connect with it. Then I read The Road, which turned out to be one of my favorite books of 2006. This is not at that level but still a good read. It’s vintage McCarthy in that it is not dependent on a happy or fulfilling outcome. Grade: B

Everyman by Phillip Roth–I know that people loved this book but I found myself struggling to finish the audio book. Thankfully it was only four hours long. Maybe I don’t get Roth. Maybe I need to be about 30 years older to appreciate this tale of a man recounting his life via his medical procedures. At any rate, I found it to be a somber and melancholy tale that never really managed to gain traction with me. Grade: C

While I Was Gone by Sue Miller–I wanted to like this book a whole more than I did. The premise was strong but there was something about the main character that I found maddingly frustrating. It was uneven throughout with flashes of brilliant writing only to be offset by an inexplicable turn. Grade: C+

The Memory Keeper’s Daughter by Kim Edwards–I would highly recommend this book alongside Middlesex as another tremendous tale of decisions and consequences. This is one of those rare books that you will find hard to put down. The conclusion was a little unsatisfying for me but all in all it was one of my favorites of the bunch. Grade: B+

I tried to listen to The Memory of Running but grew bored with it and quit. I also attempted A Thousand Splendid Suns but found myself unable to follow the accent and the fast pace in a car with three kids. I’ll wait for the hard copy.

I haven’t seen many movies lately but one I recommend: Who Killed The Electric Car?

My June eMusic Downloads are:

The Revolution Starts…Now by Steve Earle–One of the best Alt-Country protest voices out there. I had this when I was on Rhapsody. I finally added it permanently.

A.J. Swearingen–I don’t know who this cat is, but he’s good.

In the Aeroplane, Over the Sea by Neutral Milk Hotel–Classic album recommended to my by Jonathan.

Theology by Sinead O’Connor–I downloaded just the acoustic Dublin sessions. I plan to add the other disk next month. I’ve never been an O’Connor fan but this is a beautiful and prayerful set of songs.

Fourteen Autumns, Fifteen Winters by The Twilight Sad–Scottish rockers. Could make my year end list.

We’ll Never Turn Back by Mavis Staples–Wow! Wow and Wow! This is a stellar collection of songs from the Civil Rights era by one of soul’s enduring voices. I don’t typically like music in this genre but this will most definitely make my year end list.

Discover: Songs of Father by Various–A collection of praise songs by various Christian artists.

Hello Starling by Josh Ritter–Don’t know why I’ve never downloaded this. One of the best singer-songwriters out there today.

What are you reading and listening to?

Most of us who are involved in church work have some level of desire to reach out and share the gospel with others.

We might disagree as to what the true heart of the gospel is. We might not employ the same methods or techniques. But most of us are sincere in the desire.

Another area where we need to establish agreement is that a static methodology can not and will not work in this postmodern (for lack of a better term) society. If we are honest and our finger is anywhere near the erratic pulse of our culture then we have to feel slightly overwhelmed and not quite ready to be salt and light.

I read yesterday that 96% of teens use social networks at least once a week. The tenuous conclusion is that “(those) attempting to reach out to young people through social networks should meet them on their own terms.”

And the prospect of meeting those in this world on their terms, going to them with the good news of God’s infinite love and mercy is a daunting task. Where to go from here, how to anticipate the coming trends and the proper avenues to engage will consume us in the coming years.

Here is what we know:

–Centralized, attractional models are no longer working. They are not coming to us. It’s that simple. There might have been a slight uptick in the post 9/11 world but we weren’t prepared for that and the door is closed in that regard.

–Progress occurs at such a dizzying rate that anticipation of coming trends has become more difficult. Today’s Facebook is tomorrow’s Myspace. What replaces Twitter? What follows after the PowerPoint backlash?

–Truth is more complex and multi-faceted than we have traditionally understood. Those who cling solely to propositional truth might dismiss that as relativism but that is short-sighted.

–Truth means nothing without love. If we don’t care about them it doesn’t matter what we know. It is as simple as that.

So, what do we do? How do we proceed from here? Ultimately, if we are going to be anything more than a relic (talking about the institutional church, here) then we must ask some hard questions, grapple with some traditions and rethink the way we do things.

At the core we have to get up from here and go to there. I want us to begin to think, wrestle and dream in this space about what it means to be the church in the 21st century. What does it mean to be a Christ-Follower? And how does that relate to the world at large?

Let’s begin this discussion.

After 2+ weeks, 7 states, 2000+ miles in a van, and countless sinus headaches we returned home last night.

I am now safely ensconced back in my office and ready to resume my regular routine, including blogging.

It was a tremendous trip. In what turned out to be the longest vacation of my adult life we had an extremely enjoyable and relaxing time. I don’t know if it was the trip or the Effexor that was relaxing but I digress. We were able to spend time with family and friends, old and new. More about that later.

Anyway, I return recreated, medicated and rejuvenated. That’s a good thing.

To get up to speed I will resort to the ubiquitous bullet-points:

–Please continue to keep Cassie in your prayers. She has an eye exam tomorrow and then she will go to see the Pediatric Rheumatologist on August 22nd. We still don’t really know anything but at this point we are assuming that she has JRA. Our hope and prayer is that it is an extremely mild case.

–We almost bought a Timeshare, sorry “Vacation Ownership Experience.” Thankfully, Tracy is much more financially responsible than I am. But we got two Dollywood tickets out of the process.

–And Dollywood rocks. Perfect for the kids. We had a great time and didn’t see everything. (Thank the Effexor for that).

–My eMusic refreshed two weeks ago. I now have two weeks to find my 90 downloads for the month. I was going to dl the new McCartney but I hate it. Here’s a good idea: when you are 64, stop recording.

–My posting has not been very ambitious as of late. I would like to tackle another indepth series along the lines of the nonviolence ones. Any suggestions?

…I turned 39.

One more year of young adulthood. Then it’s straight downhill

That there are hotels left in America that do not have internet access?

Yeah, me either.

But, apparently, the one we are staying at in Gatlinburg does not.

I’m at the Pigeon Forge library. Dollywood here we come.

I woke up today in Nashville, the place that I called home for five years. I love this town and will always look back fondly on the time I spent here.

We got a great hotel for a song so we came in last night. We wanted to swing by Uplift in Searcy but decided to stay on our intended schedule.

This morning I got to go and hear one of my favorite preachers, Stan Mitchell, at the Gracepointe church. As always, his message was spot on and an encouragement to me. If you have never heard him, check out his podcast.

We then went to one of my favorite restaurants from my Nashville days.

After that we got to take a two hour nap! A little hot tub and swim action followed that. I was then given my father’s day presents: two Arkansas Razorback T-Shirts, a Pen and Dark Chocolate Hershey’s Kissables. Is there anything better than Dark Chocolate?

After that we went to the Opry Mills Mall. We were going to eat at the Aquarium Restaurant but opted for Johnny Rocket’s rather than wait an hour which was fine by me.

After that we went to Lipscomb where the Impact Summer Camp is taking place. I got to see my old buddy Johnny Markham and some other friends.

All in all it was a pretty good father’s day. How was yours?

We are safely ensconced somewhere in the great state of Arkansas.

It is now late Thursday afternoon and this is the first stable access I have had to a computer since Monday. I haven’t watched TV or read the paper in that time.

My Google Reader has about 3000 posts that I don’t have the time to even begin to sort through.

So, tell me: what have I missed? Any world events I need to be apprised of? Brad and Angelina still together? How many times has Paris been released and thrown back in Prison?

What’s going on?

–I’m an ISTJ.

–I am an Otter (huge shock) but I have been living a beaver life.

–Tracy and I have a vitalized marriage

–David Crowder rocks on Guitar Hero

–Highland Park requires the ownership of a Lexus SUV to live there

–My kids aren’t going to eat what I order them at a restaurant unless said restaurant is McDonalds.

I have just embarked on a long vacation. Preaching and teaching four times a week can sometimes be draining. Now we take a couple of weeks and just decompress from the last couple of months with floods and house sellings and intimations of arthritis.

We are currently in Dallas. Not much to see here but we plan excursions to Arkansas, Tennessee and Alabama. I’m sure I’ll be blogging from the road. Pigeon Forge here we come.

This is the most ambitious vacation we have ever planned in the kid-era of our life. Are we crazy? We just might be.

Any great vacation stories to share?