David Miller

Growing up my mom would tell me to “be careful about the company you keep because you’ll become known by their actions”.  Like most adolescents I rolled my eyes and hung out with whomever I wanted. I found out the hard way that she was right.

We truly do become known by those we associate with.

What do we do when the people giving us a bad name are The Church?  Many have disassociated with The Church and I’ve got to be honest, I don’t blame them at all.  I’ve thought about walking away many times.  Not from God but from organization of The Church.  I wanted to make up a new name for Christ followers so no one would know that I was associated with the same people who started the crusades or judged them when they were growing up.  I struggled with this for years.

Truly disliking the organization of The Church and  understanding it as the Bride (John 3:29) I found difficult to reconcile.  I decided that rather than shake my fist outside the doors of The Church, I would work to become a part of the solution and reintroduce The Church to culture.

Here are some people who’ve taken the lead and that I’ve learned from:

Donald Miller recalled in Blue Like Jazz how he and some friends set up a confessional for a local college, not for the students to confess their sins to a priest, but to confess to the students the sins of The Church throughout history.

Derek Webb uses his music to inspire The Church to become The Bride we were intended to be.  He challenges us to look past our comfort and recognize the purpose of The Church.
Read past posts about Derek Webb HERE.

Shane Claiborne recently took a huge step in this reintroduction process in an article he wrote for Esquire Magazine.  I could tell you all about it but I really think you need to read it for yourself. Click HERE to give it a look.

We will be known by those we associate with.

What are you doing to reintroduce The Church to your culture?

I saw Derek Webb in Orlando two nights ago and was reminded of the  impact his music has had on my life.

Webb’s, She Must and Shall Go Free album was especially influential and  one song sticks out more than the rest, “The Church”. This is one of those  songs that seemed to be written just for me.

Derek explains why he wrote the song below:

This is one of the last songs I wrote for the record…the reason I wrote it was because people were coming up to me (after shows) and saying, “Yeah, I’m right with you man…this whole church thing’s (not for me). I can’t stand the church…”, And I hated that. I hated the idea that people who seek to church bash would see me as their champion. Because I am not that. The reason that I have, after all these years, decided to put my energy into a solo project…is because of my love for the church. There’s none that can replace her. There’s none that can do the job of the church…so I wrote this song to hopefully communicate that.
—Derek Webb, 10/4/02

Now, I’ve never spoken to Derek Webb but if we had, our conversation would have looked very similar to this.  I loved Jesus but had turned my back on His bride.

You can read the lyrics of “The Church” below:

The Church
Appears on: She Must and Shall Go Free

Lyrics:
I have come with one purpose
To capture for Myself a bride
By My life she is lovely
And by My death she’s justified

I have always been her husband
Though many lovers she has known
So with water I will wash her
And by My word alone

So when you hear the sound of the water
You will know you’re not alone

[Chorus]
‘Cause I haven’t come for only you
But for My people to pursue
And you cannot care for Me with no regard for her
If you love Me you will love the church

I have long pursued her
As a harlot and a whore
But she will feast upon Me
She will drink and thirst no more

So when you taste My flesh and My blood
You will know you’re not alone

[Chorus]

There is none that can replace her
There are many who will try
And though some may be her Bridesmaids
They can never be My bride

[Chorus]

I cried the first time I heard this song and accepted an internship for a church in Central California the next day. Rather than shake my fist outside of the church, I decided to become a part of its redemption and learn to truly love it.

Is there a song that has changed your life or given you a new perspective?
What is it? Tell your story.

The Background:

I’ve been following the career of Derek Webb since he was in Caedmon’s Call years back.  He has become a HUGE voice in my life.  She Must and Shall Go Free was a game changer for me!  It was released during a time that I was questioning the local church and it’s place in the God equation.  I was truly brought to tears when I heard the lyrics of his song The Church,

you cannot care for me with no regard for her
if you love me you will love the church

All to say, Derek Webb is a poet and has an incredible view of God and His Church.

The Controversy:

It seems that Derek and his label have not been seeing eye to eye regarding his new album, Stockholm Syndrome.  All content has been pulled from his myspace and his website has been replaced with copies of two emails he wrote to his subscribers.  You can read the criptic emails below.

Email #1 (5/12/09):

friends-
i haven’t sent many personal emails to this email list but we’re in a situation that has gotten a little out of control and it’s time to fill you in. as some of you may know, i’ve been working for months on my new record, ’stockholm syndrome’, which i’ve recently finished and turned in to the record label. they’ve been very supportive over the years, but this time we didn’t get the response we expected. it seems i’ve finally found the line beyond which my label cannot support me, and apparently i’ve crossed it.

i consider this my most important record and am adamant about all of you hearing it. we had originally hoped to have ’stockholm syndrome’ out this month (next week even), but at this point we’re not sure when the record will come out and in what form. the majority of the controversy is surrounding one song, which i consider to be among the most important songs on the record. so we’ve decided it’s an appropriate time to break the rules.

but because of various legal/publishing issues we’re having to be rather careful with how we do what we need to do. that’s really all i can say for now and i’ve probably said too much.

this is our plan and we’re moving ahead, but we’re not sure what kind of trouble we might be getting into. we’ll let you know as soon as we know our next move-
derek

Email #2 (5/19/09):

friends-
this is turning into a bigger deal than we expected. as a result, we’re having to temporarily _pull everything online down (can’t explain now). and to be on the s_afe side, i’m going to pe_rsonally go offline while we sort this out. i re_ally shouldn’t use my twitter account for now either so _don’t expect any updates there.

make no m_istake, our trouble with the label over content i_s very r_eal, and not as simple as one word; we’re backed into a corner. but we have applied all of our creative resources to th_is, working furiou_sly to create something that we believe not only subverts any leg_al issues but should also be a _pretty wild ride.

so this will be the l_ast email for a while. we’ll t_ry to lea_k information via a new tw_itter account, @ssyndrome. you’re o_n your own so start payin_g attention. i’l_l see you _on the o_ther side-
derek

Obviously many questions are raised by these emails.

On one hand, Derek talks about the power of this album and I find it hard to believe his label would not support him!  Let’s be real, the guy has proven himself.  I say this without hearing the album nor fulling understanding it’s content so take that for what it is.

On the other hand, Derek is genius when it comes to creating a buzz.  There are some who believe this is more of a marketing ploy than a controversy.  I would be one of them.  Can you say that you will “leak information” on your official site?  There are also some hidden “easter eggs” on his site that cause me to raise an eyebrow.

Judge for yourself.

Things to get you started…

1) You may want to follow the new twitter he talks about in the 2nd email.

2) On Derek Webb.com there is an ellipsis toward the bottom right of the page.  Click it and type in kickdrum when it asks you “what do you want”.  This will take you to a huge picture of Derek.  To be honest, this is as far as I have gone down the rabbit hole.

3) If you want more go to this blog and read the comments.  These guys have “cracked the code” and it’s been fun to uncover hidden songs and backdoors to that take you all over the place.

As I said, I’m leaning toward marketing stunt and I say well done sir.  Either way, I cannot wait for Stockholm Syndrome to blow us all away!

-David

An effective storyteller can alter culture.  

Sadly, it seems the art of storytelling is going the way of a “paint by numbers” masterpiece.  It’s become a formula and lost its truth, passion, and beauty.  

A few years ago I went on a search for true storytellers.  I dove into poetry, music and media—desperate for something original, something that made me a part of the story.  

This post highlights some of what I’ve found. 

Slam Poetry:
Oscar Brown Jr.

Liza Garza

Music:
Derek Webb

Ben Harper

Media:
Kings (To preface this, Kings is a loose adaptation of 1st and 2nd Kings found in Scripture—so it’s not an original story, but the telling of this story is beautiful)

Where have you seen the art of storytelling lived out?

-David

20something Profiles: David Miller