Jonathots Daily Blog
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PoHymn: A Rustling in the Stagnant … August 1st, 2018
Jonathots Daily Blog
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Come, My Children
by Jonathan Richard Cring
Come, my children, let us greet
The rumble we hear on the street
Tear down the walls of religious tradition
Take a look at the human condition
Bring the drum, start the beat
Then let us dance to the sound
Of understanding spreading around
Love your neighbor is the scheme
Living out Brother Martin’s dream
May the blast of brass abound
Jimi arrives with his lick
Jesus comes and heals the sick
Love blends jazz to soul
A song celebration is our goal
Who am I in this holy jam?
An honest heart
I am what I am
In a climate of physical fitness
Can I get a spiritual witness?
Ease on down in the Muddy Waters
Bring your sisters and your daughters
‘Tis the season for the news
Race escapes into the blues
Gospel created the rhythm and rock
Join the festival on our block
Hometown boy is back today
His hair sporting a streak of gray
The shepherd seeking a groovy flock
So count your measures and blessings, too
The joyful noise is coming to you
This week’s reader is James, who lives in Shreveport, Louisiana, and shares his music, labor, love and ministry to everyone he meets.
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“Stephening”… May 15, 2013
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Sometimes I just can’t sleep very well.
It’s not insomnia–it’s usually because I’m excited about the next day, and my brain is moving at seventy-two miles per hour in a thirty mile per hour zone. On those rare occasions, I turn on the TV.
Last night when I did so, the first thing that popped on the screen was a high-energy rock and roll concert with a young lady running across the stage, dancing and singing with vibrance and enthusiasm. I was unable to make out the words but they had something to do with how excited she was to be in love.
You see, I’m kind of a weird old fart. I’ve always liked rock and roll and still do. I even like all the transformations that have occurred and am greatly intrigued by the present crop being harvested in the music field. What struck me last night was that even though I’m not critical about how young humans entertain themselves, I am greatly concerned about their pursuit of inspiration.
Whether you like jazz, dancing, hunting, fishing, sewing or tap dance really doesn’t make much difference to me, but I do think that somewhere along the line we human beings need to come to an agreement on what is truly inspiring.
This week when I made my way to Stephenville, Texas, my mind floated back to recall the life of a young fellow named Stephen. He, too, was bursting with youth. He was selected to do a job. They put him in charge of food distribution for the hungry and told him to make sure it was done equitably. They trusted him.
Now, here’s the twist: the next time we hear about Stephen, he’s not passing out bread to the hungry, but instead, is sharing his life story and the mission of his message with the masses.
And then, in our next encounter, he is speaking truthfully to the powers that be, and because his words are so convicting, he ends up being killed.
Quite a transition.
It got me thinking about what I think “Stephening” is. For I believe this–if you’re a young human, interested in rock and roll, movies, video games and technology, more power to you. But somewhere in your soul, there has to be a kernel of awareness about the world around you and your part in helping to make it better.
Stephen had that.
- He had a yearning to take care of the needs of others.
- But he also was not going to be limited to that, and freely stepped out of the box prepared for him, to do something of his own heartfelt desire.
- He shared with others–he didn’t hold the truths that were working in his life inside himself, but instead, freely communicated his joy to the world around him.
- And finally, he wasn’t afraid.
True success is when we walk away from tradition and also avoid walking toward “the world.” We find out where tradition has failed, and instead of pursuing the foolishness of abstract materialism and bad habits, we forge a path towards inspiration.
Tonight I will be at the Oakdale United Methodist Church in Stephenville. I am so delighted to be with them–and I’ll be curious if there are any folks there who are interested in “Stephening.”
Because if you don’t decide to care for others, step out of the box, open up your heart to the people around you and not be afraid, you either become a slave to tradition–or a puppy dog chasing the world.
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