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The Jazz Theologian

Jazz:  On the Cusp of a Golden Age?

Strange Fruit used to hang from trees in America. Col. Charles Lynch was a Justice of the Peace with his own kind of justice in the late 1700’s.  He would hold illegal trials and upon convictions, would tie the suspect to a tree and whip them.  By the late 1800’s "Lynch Mob" was a part…

There are three fundamentals to jazz and thus a jazz shaped faith. Syncopation:  Accenting the offbeat.  This is what allows jazz to swing and when applied to prayer or bible study it brings to light, not hidden meaning but meaning that is often missed. Improvisation:  When we are so familiar with the basic groove of…

When we realize that jazz is more than music than  whole new way of living the Christian faith emerges.  One that leads to creativity in our walk with God and relationships that resemble an ensemble so that we can find our voice and develop our ear as we pray, read the scriptures and serve Christ.…

Strange Fruit is a tough song to listen to.  In clear and measured words it captures what was happening in our country most powerfully.  Lynching was a form of terrorism that went unpunished in this country for too long.  Of all of the versions that I’ve heard, Nina Simone’s is the best.  Just a warning,…

At the moment I’m in Tacoma, WA with the wonderful people of Youth For Christ Tacoma/West Puget Sound and Adoption Ministry of YWAM.

My book is due to hit shelves Feb. 2009–Here’s a sneak peek at the cover… (Design by Kurt at Zondervan)

I collect every version of this haunting poem put to music.  Here’s Billie Holiday’s rendition.

Christianity Today recently did a story on L’Abri, the Swiss shelter for spiritual seekers.  (You can read the article here)  The piece stirred up a bit of controversy. Dr. Greg Laughery is the current director (his blog) and I recently asked him what he thought about the article.  Here is his response…
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