Posts tagged passion
REVIEW: Matt McCoy – Heaven Calling
Apr 19th
Rating: 
Heaven Calling
I have to admit, I’m not much of a “love at first listen” music consumer. Very rarely do I love an album the first time I hear it. Even the ones I like on first listen, I tend to like even more upon repeated listen. Then, there are those albums that simply don’t grab me at first, but sneak up on me later, when I least expect it.
Matt McCoy’s new release, Heaven Calling falls into the latter category. It’s hard to describe. It’s not that I didn’t like the record the first time I heard it. I actually really enjoyed the opening track “My Eyes Are Fixed On You” from the first note, but the album as a whole didn’t really grab me. Mind you, the production quality is great, mix is excellent, musicality is solid and the songwriting is mostly good. There just seemed to be something missing.
But I know Matt and I know him to be a great worship leader, so I continued to listen…and I wasn’t disappointed. What I found is an inspired album that, in spite of one significant flaw, which I will discuss later, manages to bring a lot to the table. Mentioned earlier, the opening track, “My Eyes Are Fixed On You” is one of the best on the album. It is a big song with big production and nice little aural touches that make it feel much more like a big-budget song than an indie record. “My Eyes Are Fixed On You” is followed by “Stronger Than The Storm” and “Sovereign King”, two songs reminiscent of some of Chris Tomlin’s early work. “Sovereign King” stands out, however, as a great congregational worship tune with emotionally charged verses, an anthemic chorus that begs to be sung by a crowd and great interaction between McCoy’s lead vocal and excellent BGVs provided by Lindsay McCaul.
Lindsay also lends a hand on the fourth track, “Alleluia”, which opens with a bit of a surprise for a solo album – someone other than Matt singing lead. It works for the record, though. A bit reminiscent of a Christy Nockels vocal in the midst of an otherwise male-led Passion record, the track benefits greatly from the female voice.
The next two tracks, “Take Control” and “You Will Be My Song” are solid in their own right, but not especially noteworthy. Track 7, “Will You Carry Me” is an honest conversation with God that reminds me of so many I’ve had – the thoughts and questions of a broken person and the recognition of an ever-present and loving God. It is the story of a prodigal returning home – or rather, of a prodigal recognizing the need to turn homeward.
For “I Know I’m Yours”, McCoy returns to the Passion ‘98 vibe in a way that almost makes me nostalgic. All that’s missing are several thousand other voices singing along in agreement. I can hear the crowd singing the tag – “So take the world, but give me You…” This is one of those “lost in worship” songs that could go on forever (at almost 6 minutes, it’s one of the longer songs on the record).
After “I Know I’m Yours” comes the pop-rock tune “Trust In The Lord” followed by the somewhat confusing “Kindness”. Don’t get me wrong, I like the song. The confusing part is the production choices made in the first 45 seconds. I must have listened to this track 20 plus times trying to find the downbeat in the first verse before ultimately pulling out the metronome to try to decipher the code. What I discovered was that either my ears were completely fooled, or Matt and the band weren’t actually sure of where the downbeat was either. About half way through the first verse, I think we all found it and the song progressed nicely from that point, but up until then, I was really lost. Now, I’ve had those times before when my mind was convinced that the downbeat should be in a certain place and I just couldn’t shake it. Admittedly, this may be one of those times and, if shown the correct position of “1″, I might reevaluate my previous statements, but nonetheless, this seems like a production decision that may have sounded cool in the studio, but served as a distraction to me.
But enough of that technical pissy-ness. “I Choose You” is a straight-forward presentation of the incredible choice that we are offered in Jesus. Stylistically, there’s somewhat of a Matt Redman quality to the song, especially in the verses. That is followed by the mysterious, atmospheric opening of “You’ve Given Everything”, which eventually builds into a furious, driving, repeatable chorus which, again, begs to be sung in a big arena with a big crowd, flowing into the album’s final track, “Calling Home”, which is more of an extended tag on the end of “You’ve Given Everything” than it is a stand-alone song.
The verdict: Yes, this album is full of Passion-esque songs and sounds. Just as songwriters and worship leaders of my generation and a little older were profoundly impacted by Vineyard Music and early Delirious?, so Matt’s generation and younger have been forever impacted by Tomlin, Crowder and the rest of the Sixsteps crew. I don’t have a problem with that, but if you’re not a Tomlin fan, you may not be a fan of this record. It’s certainly not “rehashed” in any way, but the style and sound are similar to what you would expect from the Passion folks. On the other hand, if you like Chris, David, Charlie and the gang (and many certainly do) then I would wholeheartedly suggest that you pick this record up.
“What about the one significant flaw?” Yes, I mentioned in my open that there was a significant flaw in this record (and no, it wasn’t the opening of “Kindness”). It took me a while to put my finger on it, but this is what I concluded: Matt seems to suffer from the same syndrome as many other excellent worship leaders. The passion, energy and authenticity he exhibits on stage in a live worship setting simply doesn’t come through in a studio recording. There is a huge gap between the Matt McCoy you get in a live setting and the Matt McCoy you get in the studio.
Fortunately for Matt, he is in good company when it comes to the live vs. studio disconnect. Two of the most influential worship leaders in recent history, Chris Tomlin and Matt Redman, both suffered (or still suffer) from the same issue. Fortunately for both of these artists, they had, in addition to studio work, live recordings which let people know what they could really do. Tomlin’s contribution to the live Passion records and Redman’s 2004 release Facedown allowed these two seminal worship leaders to exist in their comfort zone and allowed the listener to hear “what all the fuss was about”.
In McCoy’s album, you hear this familiar problem, which is often discovered when one tries to record a worship leader. Unlike the pop stars and TV creations found on hit radio, worship leaders tend to actually be better live artists than they are studio artists. Most worship leaders, after all, are playing live in front of large crowds on a regular basis long before they record an album. Take a guy or girl out of that in-the-moment worship setting, put them in a tiny box with a giant microphone and some engineer or producer yelling in their ear, and the whole experience loses something. The “something” could be called many things – maybe “passion” or “worshipfulness” or more mysteriously “the Spirit”. Whatever it is, it has nothing to do with musicality or technicality, but affects the overall sound just the same. Is that Matt’s fault? I don’t think so. Personally, I would rather go to a live event and hear something better than the record than to hear something worse. In short, I’d rather hear Matt than, say, Taylor, the Jonas boys or Miley.
In the end, this is a good record with some really good songs. It’s definitely worth picking up and is, I think, a taste of what’s to come from McCoy. Here’s to hoping we get live recordings of some of these songs in the future.
The Greatest Motivational Talk Ever? Almost.
Mar 24th
This talk from the Web 2.0 Expo in 2008 may be the greatest motivational talk ever. Mom (and others) I apologize for his salty language, but Gary Vaynerchuck is a passionate guy. The funny thing is, I think he’s almost right. Almost. Here’s a guy who has (almost) figured it out. You take the thing you’re passionate about, add absolute determination and hard work, and you find yourself doing something significant.
But here’s why I say he’s almost right. Because the thing that he’s passionate about is boring compared to what I’m passionate about. His hard work is wholly unrewarding compared to my hard work. The significance of his legacy is not nearly as great as he thinks it is. Why? Because Gary Vaynerchuck still thinks it’s about him and about us.
But here’s the thing, I think every church planter and pastor needs to see this video. Everyone who has ever felt like God was asking them to do something and giving them a passion for it needs to watch this. Every missionary, human rights activist and college student determined to change the world needs to listen to the words Gary is speaking.
Why? Because he has tapped into something fundamental in the human soul. What he has stumbled upon is the thing that God has placed inside of us that allows us to do “immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine.” He has found an echo of the voice of God inside of us.
Take his words and apply them not just to the thing your passionate about, but the thing that God has made you passionate about. “Hustle” at the things that God puts in front of you. You want significance in your legacy? Work for the only One who was here long before you and will be here long after you. The passion that Gary exhibits in this talk should be reserved not for Web 2.0, but for a king – for The King.
If we can become as passionate about Jesus as Gary is about wine, web and whatever else, we can absolutely change the world. Jesus isn’t about Web 2.0. That’s WAY too boring for him. What he’s up to is World 2.0. And we’ve been invited to be on his team of initial investors. Let’s sign up and take the plunge!
Why We're Adopting – An Open Letter
Jan 9th
Our baby Lucy is two months old today. As we celebrate the joy (and sleepless nights) she has brought to us, I want to share with you a letter I wrote just a few short months ago. It was a particularly frustrating day (there have been many during this process) and I wrote this letter, which I only shared that day with my incredible wife. I share it today with you because I know that some of you are where we were that day, some of you have been or will be soon. For others, it may simply be good to catch a glimpse inside the mind of an adoptive parent to maybe understand what it is that drives us to make the choices we do. There are others more passionate and those whose journey has been far more difficult, but this is just a bit of our journey…and a bit of our calling.
The adoption journey that we have been on has been a long one, but it has taught us many things. We have tried, through it all, to remain open to all possibilities and to stretch and grow in the process. As a result, we have wrestled with many of the tough questions of adoption: “What are the challenges of having a multi-racial family?” “How do we handle the unknowns of a child’s medical or psychological history?” “Are we willing to do what is necessary for our child to develop emotionally and physically, even if that means making a greater sacrifice than we’re even currently aware?”
The answer to the last question is a resounding “YES!” You see, we’re not adopting just because we want children, although we do. We’re not adopting through CPS because it’s less expensive than other means of adoption, although we’re happy it is because it allows more opportunities for more families to adopt and more children to find permanent homes. We’re not looking to adopt a child of another race because “that’s what’s available”, though we are fully aware of the high number of minority children entering the system every day.
The reason we desire to adopt a minority child through CPS is that we care for these children. We have a loving home ready and waiting for a child who is in desperate need of a loving home. We understand that raising a child, no matter what his or her background is or needs are, presents parents with daily challenges that sometimes seem insurmountable. And yet, we look to the great examples of our friends and family who have walked through incredible adversity to make a way for their children to grow up in a loving, safe and nurturing environment.
We don’t see the world through rose-colored glasses. We don’t view children as constantly laughing, smiling and playing. We understand that every child brings with him or her a personality that will range from euphoric to enraged, a body that will regularly produce dirty diapers, runny noses and physical ailments and a mind that will grasp some things easily and struggle with others. Furthermore, we understand that every child is a “special needs” child and that it is up to the parents and, many times, medical and psychological professionals to help determine just what those needs are and the best course of action to take. We understand that raising a child means taking on the responsibility of another human being’s life and we take that responsibility very seriously. Yes, we are aware of the gravity of the condition that some of these children are in. That is the very reason that we want to rescue them.
In this journey, we are fortunate to be surrounded by family and friends, not only to lend encouragement and a helping hand, but also to advise us on the special circumstances of our family. In our immediate circle of friends, we have 10 multi-ethnic families, 7 of which are adoptive families. We have adult friends who were adopted into multi-racial families and who are very open about sharing their experience with us from the child’s perspective. We have a church family who has embraced not only multi-ethnic and adoptive families, but who have embraced the mission of adoption and caring for orphans.
Very close friends of ours have been adoption advocates for years. They recently set up a non-profit organization to help other families adopt and have raised tens of thousands of dollars in the past year alone to help fund adoption. Into their otherwise Caucasian family, they have added an African-American/Caucasian little girl and twin Asian/Caucasian girls. Other close friends recently adopted an African-American girl into their home. Other friends have adopted multiple African-American children. The bottom line is that we are a part of an incredible multi-ethnic community that not only accepts, but encourages and embraces diversity in our community and within our families.
As for us, we have spent the last three years discussing what it means to be a multi-ethnic family. We talk about it with our family and friends. We ask questions of other families and spend time with their kids. In our minds, we have made a shift to multi-ethnicity even if we don’t yet have children of a different ethnicity.
For us, however, it goes way beyond ethnicity. We are called to help children out of bad situations and out of “temporary” situations into a permanent, loving home. We take this responsibility very seriously. When we say “yes” to a child, it is a full-throated “YES” backed up by all the books we’ve read, prayers we’ve prayed, conversations we’ve had and children we’ve held. It is a “YES” to a long future with that child, whatever complications may arise. It is a “YES” to sleepless nights and tiring days, a “YES” to challenges and obstacles and a “YES” to the hopes and dreams of that child – hopes and dreams that may or may not be achieved, but which are always worth fighting for.
We have no illusions that this road will be easy, but we know it is worth it. We know we can’t rescue all the world’s orphans, but we can rescue some of them. We know that trials and pitfalls are in front of us, but we stand resolute to hold tightly to each other, to our children and to our God to see us through. This is why we are adopting. This is why our answer is “YES”. To that 2 year old, set of twins or group of siblings, our answer is YES. Please let them all know that our answer is YES.
