Despite a pretty lousy year for our family (for obvious reasons) we are enjoying the beginning of our Christmas break. And during this Christmas we are especially thankful for the birth of our Lord, who gives us peace in our difficulties, hope for tomorrow, and joy in the forgiveness we don't deserve.
This photo was put into our Christmas cards and we wanted to share it with you here. You can also view our Christmas card from 2007. That's a tough one to top.
Merry Christmas to all!
The McCoys.
I'm not a music critic, and I don't (can't) buy & listen to all the good stuff out there each year. But it's an enjoyable hobby for me and so I make my best effort to search out, find, and enjoy good music. It's a wonderful bonus for me to then share that good music with you. I gave you my best albums of 2006 & 2007. Metacritic is now listing many "best of" lists for 2008. All of the albums on my list below are linked for purchase through the Reformissionary Music Store at Amazon (which also has a special page for 2008 best albums). Here are my 21 best albums of 2008 with brief comments. First let me start with a few regrets and honorable mentions.
I REGRET (haven't heard these albums): TV on the Radio: Dear Science (on many year-end lists), Girl Talk: Feed the Animals, Deerhunter: Microcastle
HONORABLE MENTIONS: Calexico: Carried to Dust, Sam Phillips: Don't Do Anything, Spiritualized: Songs in A & E, British Sea Power: Do You Like Rock Music?, The Avett Brothers: The Gleam II EP, The Walkmen: You & Me, Juno Soundtrack
21. Quiet Village: Silent Movie -- Mood music. This stuff is a vibe, a feeling, an emotion, a moment in time made into music. It may be perfect for changing your mood, remembering, or seeing yourself in a place you've never been. Being lyric-less, it's also good for listening while reading or working.
20. Black Mountain: In the Future -- I love this band. This is thoughtful, heavy rock music with a psychedelic twinge. This is classic rock after hitting refresh. It's creatively-crafted rock music. It's thick rock music. It's very good rock music.
19. Jenny Lewis: Acid Tongue -- I didn't expect a lot from Lewis' follow up to her stellar Rabbit Fur Coat with the Watson Twins (#12 in my 2006 list), but I like this album a lot. As usual she speaks to the brokenness of humanity and humans...a lot.
18. My Morning Jacket: Evil Urges -- I really tried to avoid this album. I'm glad I caved. This is a band worth following if only to see what they do next.But they are never as good as so many say they are.
17. Okkervil River: The Stand Ins -- Not its equal, but a worthy follow-up to The Stage Names (my 2007 #1). I'm not sure I could shrug my shoulders at anything from this very talented, lyric-driven rock band.
16. Raconteurs: Consolers of the Lonely -- I'm pretty sure The White Stripes can't compare to the Raconteurs. These guys are really exciting. Lots of talent. Lots of fun. Plus, they make me turn it up to 11. It big music meant for big speakers.
15. The Music Tapes: Music Tapes for Clouds and Tornadoes -- Not what I expected, and still unwraps my expectations when I put it on. It's just different, sometimes spooky, sometimes curiously antiquated. Yes, the saw is still an instrument. Always a feast for the ears.
14. Blitzen Trapper: Furr -- A fun mix of sounds, from southern rock to piano ballad, from trippy Beatles to straight-up Wilco to a Conor Oberst ditty. I'm always intrigued how their music come across on my subwoofer. Interesting beats. A great album by a band that's going places.
13. Drive-By Truckers: Brighter Than Creation's Dark -- At times full of energy southern rock. At other times sad or frustrated or lonely. When I want country music to be so much better than it is, this is where I often turn. They are coming to Milwaukee soon. I hope to be there.
12. Vampire Weekend: Vampire Weekend -- Melodic post-punk songs full of energy and spunk. You don't rock out, but your heart beats quite a bit faster. Tons of fun throughout this literary album. You will hear stuff that just doesn't fit in your musical categories, and that's a good thing.
11. Elbow: The Seldom Seen Kid -- Elbow makes good albums. Always solid. Never the best I've heard, but always very good, enjoyable, interesting. And always with a standout track or two (see: "Grounds for Divorce").
10. Cut Copy: In Ghost Colours -- This whole album is like a post-Red Bull heartbeat. If you ever need to wallpaper a room...or a whole house!...just throw on Cut Copy and do it while singing and dancing and letting the time fly by. Zoom!
9. The Nadas: The Ghosts Inside These Halls -- The definition of "bar band" has a pic of these guys. More accessible than The Hold Steady and more straight up real. Nothing fancy here. It's just good ol' rock music meant for people who drink beer and still high-five.
8. Fleet Foxes: Fleet Foxes
-- There is no lack of love for Fleet Foxes out there. If you aren't a
fan yet, you should be. These guys are the real deal. Melodies and
harmonies abound. Did I mention harmonies? These guys float in the
ether. I will get grief for putting this album this low on my list, but it's my list so deal with it.
7. Sera Cahoone: Only As the Day Is Long -- Hard for me to not put this album higher. I'm entranced by Sera Cahoone, the slow build of her songs, the heart-wrenching lyrics. I'm always pulled in and involved with each song. I can't wait for what she does next.
6. Shearwater: Rook -- I own both versions of Shearwater's powerful last album, Palo Santo (my #1 in 2006). This band is a staple in my music diet, and this album is no let down. The expressive vocals of Jonathan Meiburg is the band's best instrument, but that is no dig against these excellent musicians. One of the best bands working, and they are just getting started.
5. Liam Finn: I'll Be Lightning -- A late addition to my list, I picked this up recently and have been playing it almost daily since. Liam is the son of Crowded House singer, Neil Finn. I liked Crowded House, but this is a whole other category. His style has been built on a steady diet of The Beatles, to be sure. And it's fantastic.
4. David Ford: Songs for the Road -- Though a 2007 UK release, it was available in the U.S. in April. And it's hard for me to believe this album hasn't been discussed more. This talented singer-songwriter has packed together a creative set of heart-on-his-sleeve songs about love, longing, and love lost. At times I get a Josh Ritter feel.
3. Frightened Rabbit: The Midnight Organ Fight -- There are many fun and shockingly frank (!) tunes on this upbeat album. This Scottish band is an instant favorite for me. I can listen to this album again and again without growing tired of it. It reminds me a bit of Clap Your Hands Say Yeah without the crazy vocal extremes.
2. Portishead: Third -- This was my introduction to Portishead, but I beg them to not let it be farewell. What an album! Full of fuzz and clanging and creepy-crawly things. It's gorgeous, thickly layered, and deeply trippy (even hypnotic). An enjoyable album from beginning to end. It may not be immediately accessible to Portishead virgins, but it's brilliant.
1. Bon Iver: For Emma, Forever Ago -- Self-released near the end of 2007, but most are putting it on their lists for this year after a label release. For me there is no competition for #1. I had no other options. This wintry album from Wisconsinite Justin Vernon is just about as good as it gets, this year or any year. It's cozy but not always comfortable. Light up a crackling fire to thaw out your frostbitten fingers and toes and experience these songs without distraction. Bon Iver, you complete me.
It's a Keller-centered day here at Reformissionary. The new issue of Themelios is out (also PDF) which includes "The Gospel and the Poor" by Timothy Keller. This was originally a paper presented at The Gospel Coalition's Pastors' Colloquium last summer.
--> Via Jim Hamilton, who also has an article with a very Baptist title. :)
Update: I also noticed a glowing review of Culture Making by Andy Crouch in this issue.
Thanks to emailer Colin Millar of Belfast, Northern Ireland, you have three new talks by Timothy Keller. Keller spoke at a church planting conference called Urban Plant Life in late November.
1. Contextual Mission
2. Church and Culture
3. Gospel Renewal
The original links to the conference talks are at the London City Mission site. You can stream the messages there rather than downloading if you like, but that's like going to P.F. Chang's once without ever returning. It's just stupid. Enjoy!
By the way, the beginning of the first talk Keller talks about what "missional" is, what a "missional church" looks like. The whole talk is in that direction, but the start was particularly interesting.
Brief Molly Update: We are going to Molly's neurologist today. He will hear that the medications are not working so far. Then we will hear whether Molly's EEG shows us anything worth knowing. And all of this is contingent upon the weather not being so bad that we can't go since it's in Crystal Lake and a snow storm is coming.
Jonathan Dodson: Four Church Planting Manuals Reviewed
The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary now offers a PhD in having a quiet time
David Allen has a new book, Making It All Work: Winning at the Game of Work and Business of Life
This 9Marks video is kinda funny. "It's calligraphy. I can't even read it."
Stephen King lists his 10 best movies of the year
Keller and Powlison: Pastor's Self-Evaluation Questionnaire
John Frame: Christ and Culture audio
Trevin Wax wants you to have some good books...for free
Very excited about Jerram Barrs' newest book coming in May of '09: Learning Evangelism from Jesus
More 2008 album of the year lists coming out: SPIN, Rolling Stone (Metallica, GnR, and John Mellencamp in top 12!), and NME. The hear ya blog is starting their top 50 albums. Pitchfork is starting to list their 100 Best Tracks of 2008 and lists their 20 Worst Album Covers of 2008. Also, Advertising Age's Ad Songs of the Year and Most Questionable Ad Songs looks like fun.
My list of Best Albums of 2008 is planned for next Monday. I've been working my list for about 3 weeks now, re-listening to some things I've neglected for a while, listing my favorite songs of the year, etc. I'm no music critic, but I'm hopeful that my list will be a helpful resource for you as you look for music worthy of your time and money.
There's some new music on my radar...
First, Bifrost Arts (HT: Kevin Cawley's del.icio.us and Brent Thomas' tweet). This is a collective of sorts including Dave Bazan, Damien Jurado, Leigh Nash, Rosie Thomas, Denison Witmer and many others to produce an "Anthology of Hymns and Spiritual Songs, entitled "Come O Spirit!" (with songbook)." It sounds like a great idea, and it's confirmed by listening to the three tracks offered at Bifrost Arts' MySpace. Here's some helpful stuff from Isaac Wardell on the project. Brilliant.
Second, Laura Gibson. I watched Laura Gibson's Tiny Desk Concert this week and just loved it. Beautiful music. By the way, go see other Tiny Desk Concerts when you have time. All are great, including Shearwater, Dr. Dog, and others. So I looked for more Laura Gibson stuff online and found her free Daytrotter Session downloads from last year. Here more at her MySpace. Here's a video with some lyrics. Stunned and haunted by "The Longest Day" (also on the Daytrotter Session)...
Look, I don't know how long YouTube will keep this up, so watch it NOW. It's the great Bon Iver with "Skinny Love" on Letterman. If you haven't joined the Bon Iver bandwagon yet, it's time. Watch this to understand why...
Joe Thorn is in love with Casting Crowns, and pretty much anything in Contemporary Christian Music (JT hearts CCM). Here's a Casting Crowns Christmas song that is speaking to his heart lately. Merry Christmas Joe.
This middle school basketball referee is too busy to ref. Sarah was the lead flute at her concert. I'm so proud of her. She worked very hard. My three sons listened quietly and almost patiently through the whole concert. See all my photography.
I got an email from my buddy, Marcus, at TheHighCalling.org and he told me one of my articles is now listed as a Best of 2008 article on their site. Very cool.
Brief Molly Update: Molly is spending the night awake tonight so she can have an EEG test in the morning. If you think of it, pray for her. She is already exhausted and struggling the last few days with sleep. She is sleeping longer but not better. So tonight is going to be rough for her.
I've started to add music recommendations as well as poetry recommendations to my Amazon Store. Shop there and help the Reformissionary!
David Fitch discusses Dan Kimball and missional vs. attractional...and Tim Keller comments a couple of times. Fun.
Jeremy Pryor is thinking about the centrality of the prayer meeting.
Ligon Duncan has some good thoughts on a gospel culture in the local church.
Justin Buzzard lists 20 books to read in your 20's.
John Piper on why God is not a megalomaniac in demanding to be worshipped.
Sam Storms is starting to list his recommended New Testament commentaries. Right on so far in my estimation.
Joe Thorn tagged me in Facebook and said I'm this, uh, person. If everyone on Facebook who even remotely likes me and who is Joe Thorn's Facebook friend would tag Joe Thorn in one random, funny, or odd place, I would be eternally grateful.
If you haven't listened to my advice yet on Alaska in Winter, here's a good chance to open your ears to something new. Their new album, Holiday, is out. Pitchfork likes it. Check it out on MySpace.
Speaking of Pitchfork, they have listed their top 40 music videos for 2008. Hard to beat the funny Weezer vid...
If you like LCD Soundsystem, this isn't quite what you expect. But I have enjoyed the song since Sound of Silver came out. And it's an interesting video. Don't miss the lyrics. "New York...you're still the one pool where I'll happily drown."
I know, you need some Christmas. Here's Nsync with "O Holy Night." Say what you want about the band...it's well done.
And here's a classic you still see around. Bing and Bowie duet...
Just got home from Molly's appointment with her neurologist. She hasn't seen him since June of '07, which was soon after her symptoms from Chiari I Malformation first showed up. So since then Molly has had one surgery with the elimination of all symptoms and another surgery which at this point hasn't helped. The doctor has thrown 4 things at us...
1. To help with her "jolting" issue, which he thinks may be like mini-seizures, she is getting medication. We'll see if it helps.
2. Molly is now taking a vitamin to help with thinking/memory issues byexpanding blood vessels in her brain. I may swipe some of that for myself. :) I can't remember the name at the moment.
3. To help with sleep Molly got a sample pack of Ambien CR. We'll see how much that helps.
4. The doctor recommended a 15-20% wedge to elevate her head and upper body at night, since lying flat seems to create some of the sleep issues.
It's apparent that we are dealing with symptom alleviation rather than fixes. We are guessing this is what life will be like for Molly now. We are still looking into second opinions and possible re-exploratory surgery, but nothing major will be happening until at least after the holidays.
Quick Molly Update: Molly has been doing a little better lately. She is even starting to sleep on her own (without meds). It's not every night, but it's getting better. When she sleeps well her Chiari symptoms seem to be significantly better the next day. When she sleeps poorly, her Chiari symtoms get all jacked up. She still isn't sleeping deeply and consistently, but things are headed in a better direction. We are going to her neurologist (not neurosurgeon) today to ask about the sleep issue. Hopefully he will have some insights. Thanks for your continued prayers for my wife and family.
Here's the Advent devotional my family is using (via). We are also using selections from the excellent Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus: Experiencing the Peace and Promise of Christmas.
Karis Church's Theology Weekend audio featuring Bruce Ware is up
ESV SB for your mobile phone - $29
Dan Kimball has some missional misgivings
Mark Driscoll on The Mission and Vision of the Acts 29 Network. It's nice to follow Mark over the past few years and hear the the ways he's changed as well as how he hasn't changed.
Paste Magazine lists their top movies of 2008
Roger Ebert on the death of the film critic (via)
The New York Times: 100 Notable Books of 2008
More year-end lists coming out. Here are lists from Uncut and Mojo. I think both do a pretty good job with higher choices. Paste explains how year-end lists work. Brilliant!
Frightened Rabbit covering N-Trance, "Set You Free". Good stuff, and much better than the original...
I Love You But I've Chosen Darkness is one of those bands I return to from time to time. I found this compelling video for "The Owl" just this week. Really simple, yet stunning...
It's Christmastime, so we need some Christmas songs. As best I know I've never heard Stevie Wonder's "Someday at Christmas" before. Caught it on the radio last week and really loved it. It's an oldie, but worth following the lyrics. Here's the song at YouTube (video is worthless)...
Here's Low with "Santa's Coming Over." This is anything but cheery. A must listen just because it's a bit creepy and about Santa...
Crossway has put out a wonderful, small book for Advent called Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus: Experiencing the Peace and Promise of Christmas
Here's an excerpt from Tim Keller's chapter, "The Gift of Christmas"...
When September 11th happened and New Yorkers started to suffer, you heard two voices. You heard the conventional moralistic voices saying, "When I see you suffer, it tells me about a judging God. You must not be living right, and so God is judging you." When they see suffering they see a judgmental God.
The secular voice said, "When I see people suffering, I see God is missing." When they see suffering they see an absent, indifferent God.
But when we see Jesus Christ dying on the cross through an act of violence and injustice, what kind of God do we see then? A condemning God? No, we see a God of love paying for sin. Do we see a missing God? Absolutely not! We see a God who is not remote but involved.
We sometimes wonder why God doesn't just end suffering. But we know that whatever the reason, it isn't one of indifference or remoteness. God so hates suffering and evil that he was willing to come into it and become enmeshed in it.
Thanks to an email from Wodu Majin (obviously a made up name or a Witch Doctor) you now have new Tim Keller audio, namely two lectures at Oak Hill College called "Preaching to the Heart"...
You will learn from these lectures if you just listen to your heart...
Some best of the year lists are starting to come out, like Blender's top 33 (meh) and Paste (Paste website appears to be down, but the link should work again at some point).
I can't listen to Christmas music until I've eaten Thanksgiving dinner, but the minute I belch I'm playing Dunham Van Durham's Christmas from the Heartland. I'm a bit biased since this album's artwork is one of my photos, but it's a really enjoyable and unique Christmas album. It may be the perfect Christmas album for use during work because there's no singing. It has a folksy, Americana flair. I'm telling you, I think you'll like it.
I'm checking out a bunch of new music lately, mostly due to a friend passing me some Paste magazines from a couple of months ago. One band that has me very pumped is Right Away, Great Captain! Check them out on MySpace. Check out their new album, The Eventually Home
My computer speakers have been an embarrasing part of my music enjoyment. The built in speakers in my Gateway Notebook are terrible so I always use external speakers, which are probably 6 years old. For a year they have been continually cutting out because of multiple frayed wire issues. So I went to pick up another cheapo pair of externals and discovered a whole new world of computer sound systems that I didn't know existed. Shame on me. Thanks to some birthday money (given by people who love me!) I purchased the Logitech Z-2300 THX-Certified 200-Watt 2.1 Speaker System (click for proper response). I didn't go surround 5.1 or anything, but I can now rattle the windows upstairs with an 8-inch long-throw subwoofer (click). One of the best purchases I've made to increase my enjoyment of great music.
Here are two of the first songs I played to see how great this system sounds. First, Elbow: "Grounds for Divorce" (warning: come chick is dancing around in a bar)...
Radiohead: "The National Anthem"...
Yeah, I needed a pretzel rod and I had a camera phone. So what? See all my photography.
We are both and to pretend otherwise is to be disingenuous. The leader who fails to face [his] darkness must live with fear and hypocrisy. The result will be a defensiveness that places saving face and controlling others as higher goods than blessing others and doing good work. Clearly, the biblical model of leadership is odd, inverted, and deeply troubling. It is so troubling that most churches, seminaries, and other religious organizations would never hire a 'chief sinner.' The only one who thinks to do so is God.
Dan Allender in Leading With A Limp, p 57.
Quick Molly & Elijah Update: Molly has had a few really great days. Better balance, more energy, more driving with less danger, etc. Very excited. Maybe finally catching up on sleep is doing something. Elijah had a 102+ fever for 6 days, which included several hours at the hospital for IV fluids, but is back to his normal self. So glad for that.
In 2 days the Catalyst One Day Conference hits Granger, Indiana. If you are nearby you should go. Should be great, and I believe registration is still open. I'm actually still considering going, but haven't decided yet.
I've been dealing with male leadership in the home with some church members recently. Here are some complementarian resources I've found helpful on this issue from The Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood website...
Fifty Crucial Questions (John Piper)
Summaries of the Egalitarian and Complementarian Positions (Bruce Ware)
We Need Some Leaders! (Bob Lepine)
Download Driscoll's Porn-Again Christian in full.
Desiring God's 2009 Pastor's Conference is on evangelism.
Tim Chester has provided a narrative statement of faith. (HT)
Resurgence; Six ways to engage culture.
