Saturday Night with SLC, Representing the 559, or The Believable Future That Works

My bride and I drove down to Costa Mesa Saturday night to attend the Sparrow Love Crew EP release show. I have talked about these guys before. You know who they are: everyone’s favorite hipster hip hop crew. Come on.

 

It was at The Detroit Bar (they play there a lot). It was fresh. A lot of new beats, a lot of energy (they rule the crowd). This group called U-N-I opened. They are from Inglewood. They were good. Real funny. They rapped about fat girls, sneakers, Nintendo, and fly girls. They seemed like seasoned performers, working the crowd effortlessly. They were all smiles after the show, had a good old time, loved the SLC set (they remained on stage almost the whole time).

 

Before the last song Mikey Brixx asked all the “Fresno Boys” up on stage. We were all in the front couple rows (Josh, Zak, Dustin, Corndog, Yockey, myself). I hesitated, but was pulled up and spent the last song dancing and rapping, “What y’all know about the Monster Boogie? It’s been a long time coming never knew that it could be so fresh.” Poor Nikki was left in the front row by herself. She was a good sport. Pretty awesome.

 

It is crazy to think about these guys from Fresno (David and Carlos, plus the guys invited up on stage) entertaining hundreds of kids at the hippest clubs in Orange County (and all over L.A.). They are dealing with some of the freshest DJ’s in the area. It’s a good time.

 

Here is what I really want to say.

 

Saturday night got me thinking about church. The future of church.

 

Kinda weird, I know, but bear with me.

 

SLC may never be huge. They may never make it on MTV or the top 40 or whatever else. I don’t want to count them out and I do think they are good, but who knows how far this is going to go. But, their art still matters. Instead of hugely impersonal music, movies, theatre, art, etc. coming down from some cultural force far outside of the average person’s realm of existence, people are flocking to the smaller, local artists to hear what they have to say. Everyone loves when they have a friend who is making music and they can claim their songs as their own.

 

I often think about a certain singer/songwriter type in my life whose music inspires me because it is good and because I know him. I know his songs. I know his heart. This makes his music more entertaining, more meaningful, more enjoyable. More of what music should be (I just turned his playlist on in iTunes). If music is meant to help us express ourselves, our feelings, our experiences, then who better than a friend or someone from our community. Someone who actually shares some of our experiences.

 

 

Okay. I am not throwing out all of my music made by people who I don’t personally know. That would send me straight to the pits of despair. Also, I know that not everyone is talented enough to make great music or has access to recording studios. With advances in technology, access no longer remains part of the problem and it doesn’t have to be music. It could be movies. Photos. Painting. Comedy. Poetry. Acting. Whatever, really. Besides, are these guys really more talented than anyone?

 

What the hell does this have to do with church?

 

Good question.

 

The church needs to reconsider many things, methinks. But, one area of immediate improvement can be found within this discussion. I don’t want a one size fits all spirituality. No one does. In this increasingly spiritually active culture (think about how huge Kabbalah, Buddhism, Yoga, and other forms of spirituality are right now) the church must offer a meaningful spirituality. Note that I did not say individualistic. A resurgence of local communities committed to faithful living in their context (south-central L.A., the West Bank, West Midlands, Atlanta, Clovis) is what will save the church. 

 

The church needs to be a community that people can own, feel a part of, resound with. Many (not all) churches are not great at this. They follow national trends, they use church growth models from across the country, and they plant the same church in very different neighborhoods. They have hierarchical practices, and doctrines handed down from hundreds (sometimes thousands) of miles away and hundreds of years away.

 

It may be the influence of Vanhoozer. I think that the church must be present and acting out their doctrine. This comes from local communities relying on liturgy to remind themselves of faithfulness, of love, of God’s presence. The local church must own the gospel in their context, in their shared experiences and act faithfully where they are. 

 

One last shot.

 

Several months ago I had the chance to see Wicked with my family. It was great. If you have been alive in the past year, you have heard about how this play is going off. It is making people go bonkers. A co-worker said their friend has seen it 8 times. Crazy.

 

Anyway, we went as a family and it was awesome. It moved us. It was an experience worth having. We were awed by the writing, the performance, the experience. Afterwards we went to dinner. Bought the soundtrack to remember our time.

 

More recently I was able to see a good friend in a student play. It was amazing. I went with a couple of friends. We were moved. It was a special night. Small, but excellent venue. Intimate, but enthralled crowd. Heartfelt performances. There is something very special about a group of students doing what they love. And that’s all. No money (maybe scholarships). No fame (yet). Just acting. 

 

The cast was probably not as talented as the Wicked cast (no offense girls). Less people saw the play. The set was far less extravagant. There was a bulb that was starting to burn out in the back corner. Afterwards we went and got a six-pack of beer. We sat around and talked about character development, the writer’s intentions for the male characters, the meaning of the play. I was inspired to create. 

 

 

While Wicked is good and entertaining, I haven’t planned on going back to Hollywood to see another play. I am going in April to see my friend and her friends perform another beautiful little play that will hopefully echo into my life. The church has focused on the big entertaining plays, the big draws, the crowds, the lights, the huge one-time experience. The church needs to recover the intimate, the personal, the local, the faithfulness that follows from a heartfelt performance from someone you actually know. 

 

It might be a good idea for the church to focus on the six-pack afterwards. 

~ by JesusInNewOrleans on March 10, 2008.