Favorite Albums of 2011

This has been a pretty good year for music.  Lots of good albums.  There were a lot of artists I love who put out good but not great albums in comparison to previous work (Radiohead, Ryan Adams, Coldplay DCFC).  There were also artists who put out the best album they’ve done in a while (Foo Fighters, Wilco).  There were some good albums from newer artists (Florence + the Machine) and good albums from old school guys (Paul Simon, Robbie Robertson.)

Here are some of my fav’s in no particular order:

Radiohead - The King of Limbs

Even if it’s not as good as “In Rainbows” it’s still better than most of the crappola out there.  You can’t kill them for not making “In Rainbows” and “Kid A” every time out.  Once I got over the brevity of the album, I liked it.  The second side really grew on me the more I listened to it.

Favorite Tracks: Lotus Flower, Codex, Give Up The Ghost

Wilco - The Whole Love

Really good Wilco album.  Has all the great songwriting of the last two albums, with the expiremental-ness of Yankee Hotel Foxtrot.  Probably my favorite of the year.

Favorite Tracks: Art of Almost, Black Moon, Whole Love

 Foo Fighters - Wasting Light

Best Foo album since “The Colour and the Shape.”  Rocks harder than they have in a while without losing the great hooks and melodies.

Favorite Tracks: Bridge Burning, Rope, Back and Forth

The Black Keys - El Camino

Great album.  Sounds like 70’s classic rock radio.  Everything from Zeppelin to The Clash.  One of my favorites of the year.

Favorite Tracks: Little Black Submarines, Dead and Gone, Run Right Back

TV on the Radio - Nine Types of Light

Not as good as “Dear Science” but still really good, weird rock and roll.

Favorite Tracks: Will Do, Keep Your Heart, Future Shock

Bon Iver - Bon Iver

Layers of Auto-tune vocals, 80’s adult contemporary synth, Coldplay-esque falsetto, drum machines, with folk underpinnings.  Some how it all works.

Favorite Tracks: Perth, Holocene, Beth/Rest






The Decembrists - The King is Dead

More twang and less prog-rock than their previous stuff and it suits them.  I like it.

Favorite Tracks: Don’t Carry it All, Why We Fight, All Arise







Gary Clark, Jr - The Bright Lights

Only four songs, but so good.  Great guitar stuff.  A Little folk, a little a blues, little rock.

Favorite Tracks:  All four but especially “When My Train Pulls In”







Dawes - Nothing is Wrong

Sounds like Jackson Browne with a touch of Wilco.

Favorite Tracks:  Time Spent in Los Angeles, How Far We’ve Come








My Morning Jacket - Circuital

Good ‘ol jam band, with great hooks and nice grooves with a little bit of humor thrown in.

Favorite Tracks:  Circuital, Wonderful, The Way I Feel







Death Cab for Cutie - Codes & Keys

Not as guitar driven as a lot of their albums, but still full of great pop songs and thoughtful lyrics.

Favorite Tracks: You’re A Tourist, Codes and Keys, Stay Young, Go Dancing






Florence + The Machine - Ceremonials

Such a big, unique voice.  Adds a lot to already good songs.


Favorite Tracks:  What The Water Gave Me, Only if For A Night, All This and Heaven Too







Coldplay - Mylo Xyloto

I don’t like the pace of this one as much as Viva La Vida - it drags at times, but it does have some really good songs on it.  Plenty of U2 bombast as you would expect.

Favorite Tracks: Paradise, Hurts Like Heaven, Charlie Brown






Quick Hit Favorites:
Noel Gallagher & The High Flying Birds (Oasis without the snarky singer/brother - much better)
Kurt Vile - Smoke Rings For My Halo
Switchfoot - Vice Verses (Can’t say I don’t like Christian music)
John Mark McMillan - Economy (…didn’t believe me)
Paul Simon - So Beautiful, So What
The Civil Wars - Barton Hollow
Iron & Wine - Kiss Each Other Clean
Ryan Adams - Ashes & Fire
Lucinda Williams - Blessed
Bright Eyes - The People’s Key
The Strokes - Angles
Alison Krauss and Union Station - Paper Airplanes (Can’t say I don’t like country music)

Guitar Favorites:
Steven Malkmus and The Jicks - Mirror Traffic
Robbie Robertson - How To Become Clairvoyant
Tredeschi Trucks Band - Revelator

Album That Pandora Thinks I Will Like But Don’t: Fleet Foxes - Helplessness Blues

Most Disappointing: Eddie Vedder - Ukulele Songs (I love Pearl Jam and I thought it might be good, but…. nope)

Album I Surprisingly Like: REM - Collapse Into Now (never really been a fan)

Worst Idea: Metallica and Lou Reed - Yikes!  I like pizza and I like ice cream.  I just don’t eat them at the same time.

Album That Just Came Out That I Haven’t Really Listened to Yet But Will Probably Like: The Roots - Undun

Album That Came Out Way Back In February That I Haven’t Listened to Yet But Will Probably Like: Drive By Truckers

Album I Am Indifferent About: Chili Peppers (they are getting a little repetitive)

People That Put Out Albums This Year That Should Stop:  Nickelback, Lady Antebellum, Korn, Limp Bizkit, Toby Keith

I’m sure there are some great (and terrible) albums I forgot.

I didn’t call this “Best” albums because music is subjective (although it is scientifically proven that Radiohead is awesome and Nickelback is terrible).  Tell me what I got right and what I got wrong.  And tell me else what I should listen to: just don’t make the same mistake as Pandora and suggest any of the following: Creed, .38 Special, Fleet Foxes, Kings of Leon (I will just thumb them down).

Transactional or Transformational?

I’ve been going to church for a long time.  In my formative years words like “saved,” “salvation,” and “born again” were used so much that I always just felt like I knew what they meant and never really gave it a second thought.

Saved: (adj.) describing someone who is not going to hell (verb) what Jesus did for me so I don’t have to go to hell

Salvation: (noun) deliverance from hell

Born Again: (verb) reborn as someone who is bound for heaven and not hell

Faith was always transactional.  I agree to believe Jesus is God’s son who died for my sins and rose from the dead, God agrees not to send me to hell.  We have made a transaction.

But as I’ve gotten older and began to study, I don’t think faith was meant to be transactional, but transformational.  And not just transformational in the sense that I am transformed from someone that was going to hell, but is now going to heaven, but I am someone different altogether.  Believing that Jesus is God’s Son, that he is God made flesh, should cause me to see who God is and in light of that, live differently. be transformed.

Philippians 2:5 (NCV) “In your lives you must think and act like Christ Jesus.”

The NIV says, “In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus.”  Putting on the “mind of Christ” is a thought Paul uses over and over.  It is in his letter to the Romans, Corinthians, and Philippians.  "Asking Jesus into your heart” is not just a badge that allows you to enter heaven when you stand before God on judgement day, it’s not just a “get out of hell free” card.  Having “the mind of Christ” or “asking Jesus into your heart” implies a change.

Being “Born Again” means right now we are born again as new creatures.  Citizens of the Kingdom of God.  We are no longer born into the families of this world, where our ethnicity and nationality are often times in conflict with the Kingdom of God.  Instead we are now children of God, dedicated to taking part in God’s redemptive plan for his creation.

Being “Saved” is not about what we are saved from but what we are saved to.  God didn’t send Jesus to the earth to kill him so he wouldn’t have to kill us.  He sent Jesus to the earth to begin the restoration and redemption of all things.  When we are saved we are saved to that.  We are invited to leave the greed, consumption, violence, evil, lustful world and join with Jesus in reshaping the world in God’s image.

When we are “born again” it is not just to some afterlife destination, but we are born again, new creations, here on earth meant to put on the “mind of Christ” and be about the the things Jesus was about.

Having Jesus in your heart and putting on the mind of Christ requires emotion and intellect.  Passion and reason.  Because of what we believe about Jesus, we need to become like Jesus.  Because of what we feel in our heart, we use our minds to study the life and teachings of Jesus and then apply them to our lives.  We make decisions based on what Jesus said and did, not based on where we were born, the politics of our tribe, or the way of the world.  That is where the transformation comes in.  We are no longer who we were.  We are “born again” and we have been “saved” to something better.

It is a narrow path Jesus says (Matthew 7:13).  The path that says, “I believe in Jesus so I am no longer going to hell” but with no transformation is not our option.  If we are “in Christ,” the Bible says, we are to “live like he did.”  That is the narrow path that leads to salvation.  Lots of people on the wide path think they are going the right way.  But if we are not changed, if our faith is merely transactional, and we simply live like everyone else, all the while waiting for the “great escape” where we are whisked into heaven, then we are on the wide path that leads to destruction.

Read Matthew and Mark and see what that transformation will look like.  It is easy to see why the path is narrow and few take it and are willing to be transformed and instead, settle for a transaction.

Messiah, Master, or Both

There is an interesting story in Mark 8:22-26.  Jesus comes upon a blind man, lays hands on him, and asks, "Do you see anything?"

The man replies that he sees "trees walking."  People look like trees to him.  His vision is blurry and not completely restored.

Jesus lays hands on him again and his sight is fully restored.

Interesting.  Jesus can't fully heal him the first time?  That is doubtful.  It must have had more to do with the man being healed, than the one doing the healing.

As the chapter goes on Jesus questions the disciples on who they believe he is.  Ultimately Peter declares that Jesus is the "Messiah," meaning he is the one who will deliver them.  Jesus goes on to stake his claim as the Messiah, but he doesn't stop there.  The chapter concludes with Jesus saying that we must "deny ourselves, take up our cross and follow Jesus."

I believe we are a little like the blind man in the first part of the passage.  Jesus has healed us, but we only see in part.  We see Jesus as savior.  We see him as the one that saves us from our sins and helps us escape hell.  But is that it?  Is that all there is to it?

Or does Jesus need to lay hands on us again?

If all God wanted was to send Jesus to earth to kill Him so He didn't have to kill us, why did Jesus teach and call followers?  Jesus didn't attract crowds because He was God's scapegoat.  He didn't draw followers because he was destined for martyrdom and everyone knew it.

And the Roman Empire and Religious Establishment didn't plot to and ultimately kill Jesus because they thought God wanted them to.  They did it because he upset their way of life.

Jesus preached a message of peace, justice, humility, and selflessness which empires hate.  He preached a message of inclusion, which religious establishments hate.  This is why he was killed.

This is also why he was loved.  The new way he showed, a way of peace, love, inclusion, equality, grace, mercy, meekness, and selflessness is what drew people to him.

What we have to decide is do we see Jesus clearly?  Is he just a savior, sent by God to die and help us escape hell?  Or is he also God made flesh who came to show us how to redeem the world?  Is he just a savior to be worshiped?  Or is he also a master to be followed?

The people of Jesus's day had no trouble seeing him as both.  He was seen as the Messiah, but he was also seen as a revolutionary.

No matter which side you were on, Jesus's message was dangerous.  If you were on the side of Empire and the Religious Establishment, Jesus's message said that God had a different plan.  If you followed Jesus, you were going to be going against the Empire and Religious Establishment.  Everyone who did met the same fate as Jesus.

But Jesus could not be stopped.  Even after being killed by the Empire, His message grew and spread.

The question we have to ask ourselves is which side are we on?  We don't get to just worship Jesus as savior and not follow in His footsteps.  In 1 John 2:6 it says that "Anyone who claims to live in him must live as Jesus did."

In living as Jesus did, we will bump up against the traditions of our country and our religion.  Which path will we choose?  The wide path (that of nations and religions) that leads to destruction or the narrow way (the way of Jesus) that leads to life?  Jesus says that anyone who wants to find life must give theirs up.

I believe that Christians and The Church need to ask Jesus to lay his hands on us one more time, so that we can see clearly.  So that we can see that Jesus is not only the Messiah, but the Master.  He not only wants to save us in the afterlife, but in this life also.

A New Creed

I grew up going to a protestant church one week and a catholic church the other.  My dad is catholic so when I was with him, we went to Mass.  Every week during the Mass the congregation would recite the “Apostle’s Creed.”:

I believe in God,

the Father almighty,

Creator of heaven and earth,

and in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord,

who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,

born of the Virgin Mary,

suffered under Pontius Pilate,

was crucified, died and was buried;

he descended into hell;

on the third day he rose again from the dead;

he ascended into heaven,

and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty;

from there he will come to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit,

the holy catholic Church,

the communion of saints,

the forgiveness of sins,

the resurrection of the body,

and life everlasting. Amen

The “Apostle’s Creed” is a statement of beliefs.  I don’t really have a problem with the “Creed” (except when I was a kid I skipped the part about the “holy catholic Church” not knowing what it meant - as I wasn’t sure I was catholic or not.)

But I’m not sure if the actual Apostles/Disciples - Peter, James, John, and the rest of the fellas - would have settled for a statement of just beliefs.  See the “Apostle’s Creed” first came about in 390 AD.  Long after the original 12 were dead.  I think if they had a “creed” it would have contained more action, more about what they were to “be” not just what they were to “believe.”

In the first three Gospels, Matthew, Mark, and Luke, Jesus hardly talks at all about what we are to believe.  He talks about how we are to be.  He talks about what we are supposed to do.  Jesus came to show us a new way of life.  He came to show us the narrow path that leads to full life.

If a “creed” is a statement of faith and beliefs (which “wikipedia” says it is) then what would THE "Apostle’s Creed” look like?  What would Peter and the gang have written down?  It just so happens that they did write letters.  And much like Jesus, their letters don’t contain a lot of propositional beliefs.  Instead, they tell us how to live and follow this new way.

Their “Creed” would include things like:

We believe Jesus is the Son of God who came to show us a new way
We believe in loving God with all of our heart, mind, and soul
We believe in loving our neighbor as ourself
We believe in loving our enemies
We believe in feeding the hungry
We believe in clothing the naked
We believe in welcoming the stranger
We believe in ministering to the sick
We believe you cannot serve God and money
We believe you must not judge others or you too will be judged
We believe the peacemakers are blessed
We believe the meek will inherit the earth

The actual Apostles would have supported he “Apostle’s Creed” which asserts the divinity of Christ.  If we believe he is divine, does what He spoke and taught and did while he lived on the earth matter?

An apostle is defined as a “religious ambassador."

If we believe all that is contained in the “Apostle’s Creed” but do none or very little of what Jesus says, are we apostle’s at all?

This is not to say that there is no value in the “Apostle’s Creed.”  In fact, if we truly believe it, then we are compelled to examine the teachings of Jesus and follow them.

It is much easier to believe in Jesus than it is to be like Jesus. We are not called to be believers and make believers.  We are called to be disciples and make disciples.  A disciple is a follower and student of a teacher.  “Follow" is an action word.  It means we do what Jesus did.  That is a disciple.  That is what Jesus called us to be and that is what Jesus called us to make.  Not converts.  Not church members.  But disciples.  And to do this, our “Creed,” our statement of beliefs, must reflect that there is more to being a disciple than just belief.

How To Win The Lost In One Easy Step

With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus.  And God’s Grace was so powerfully at work in them all that there were no needy persons among them.  For from time to time those who owned land or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales and put it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to anyone who had need.  Acts 4:33-35


I’ve been going to church for a long time.  Every church I’ve ever been to has as it’s main goal to “win the lost,” “see souls saved,” or some form of that idea.  And the church should.  I’ve been to services and classes on how to “witness” or “evangelize.”  I’ve learned strategies like the Romans Road and 4 Spiritual Laws.  I’ve gone door to door to tell people about Jesus.  I’ve helped plan big events in order to draw people to the church to present the gospel.  I took 3 classes in college that were all about evangelism.  I’ve been to conferences at big churches where they tell you how to be a big church.  Basically I have heard and tried just about every strategy.

But I think we can learn a lesson from the most successful church ever.  The first one.  You can find it’s story in the Book of Acts.  It grew from 120 to 3000 in one day and from there took over the world and had campuses everywhere.

How did they do it?

Education?  Nope.  Acts 4:13 says they were “unlearned.”

Big Events?  Not really.  No inflatibles, dunk tanks, or any of the other ways we entice people to church.

Marketing?  You couldn’t “friend” Peter on Facebook or go to www.earlychurch.com.

But Acts 4 says they “continued to testify to the resurrection” and “God’s grace was so powerfully at work in them…”

So what was their testimony?  “That there was no needy among them.”  Hungry people can’t hear the gospel over their rumbling stomachs.

Make sure we read this as it was intended.  The Early Church met physical needs and that was a testimony to the resurrection and to God’s grace.  Jesus came to redeem the world.  He came to fix it.  The early church became about that mission.  As a result people came to know that the Early Church offered “good news” and people received not only physical healing and rescue but spiritual as well.

People became a part of the church and ultimately the Kingdom of God by having their needs met.

But it doesn’t stop there.  It goes on to say that “from time to time those who owned land or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales and put it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to anyone who had need.”  Not only did people become a part by having their needs met, but people who had plenty became a part because they saw the church was redeeming God’s creation and they wanted to be a part.  They wanted to be a part of something bigger than themselves and the church offered that.

One more note about the story in acts.  “…it was distributed to anyone who had need.”  Anyone.  No qualifications.  No passing a drug test.  No getting themselves right first.  See these apostles had walked the earth with Jesus.  They had seen him serve the outcasts.  They had seen Jesus welcome the sinner.  They had seen Jesus accept those that were rejected.

That’s the “good news.”

That’s what people responded to.

That’s why the church grew.