Don’t Waste your Pulpit April 29, 2008

Until you hear a truly Bible centered sermon, you have not heard preaching.  How’s that Freddy T.

Robert Plant & Alison Krauss April 20, 2008

I have been to many a concert in my day, but none compared to the concert I attended last night.  Emily told me that Alison Krauss was coming to the Louisville and she really wanted to go, so I figured I would look into getting some tickets to give her as a birthday present.  I have never really listened to Alison Krauss so I was not too excited, in till I found out that she had made a CD with the greatest lead singer of arguably the greatest rock band of all time, Robert Plant of Led Zeppelin.  Getting these tickets proved harder then I thought, they had just gone on sale on tickermaster two days before, and had sold out in 30 mins.  So they decided to have a second show the next night.  Those also sold out in 30 mins and I did not get tickets to either.  Thankfully I was able to purchase some from a ticket broker (side note: Emily is covered for the next year on presents!) for the Saturday night show.  The show featured all the songs from the CD they did together as well as a few by Alison Krauss and Led Zeppelin.  Here is a picture I took on my phone from our seats, as well as an article from the Louisville Courier Journal, “Palace concert fit for royalty,” by Jeffrey Lee Puckett.

As their impeccable band swung into “Rich Woman” with an easy flourish, Robert Plant and Alison Krauss took the stage Saturday night at the Louisville Palace to the first of several standing ovations.

Plant, still the god king of rock ‘n’ roll, strolled out with a quietly confident swagger, his hair in that tangle of curls so familiar to Led Zeppelin fans. Krauss looked like she was headed to a prom in her pink dress, maybe one with “Stairway to Heaven” as its theme.

 And when they began singing, it was clear they still felt the chemistry so evident on their “Raising Sand” album, his well-traveled yowl blending perfectly with her pristine voice. There were a few goose bumps, and not the last.

This was the first night of the “Raising Sand” tour but both the singers and the band sounded fully warmed up. Krauss didn’t hit a bad note all night, almost flaunting her perfect pitch, and the band, led by T Bone Burnett, was nearly flawless. Plant was Plant, and that was plenty.

Krauss and Plant performed nearly all of “Raising Sand,” a handful of Led Zeppelin classics and a couple of songs associated with Krauss’ solo career. They also threw in a George Jones cover just because they could.

As expected, the Zeppelin songs drew a huge response — one guy screamed “Led Zeppelin rules!” barely five minutes into the show — but they weren’t the highlights (although “Black Dog,” with the world’s spookiest banjo, was pretty amazing).

“Fortune Teller” was better, with drummer Jay Bellerose exploding the song from the inside out, and Krauss broke every heart in the place with “Through the Morning, Through the Night.” “Killing the Blues” and “Trampled Rose” were also contenders.

But the most unexpected song might have also been the night’s finest. Krauss, backed by Plant, Buddy Miller and Stuart Duncan, soared through an a capella version of “Down to the River to Pray,” from “O Brother, Where Art Thou?,” that was so beautiful it sucked the air out of the room.

Everyone who went back for Sunday’s second sold-out show should be so lucky.

Young, Restless, Reformed by Collin Hansen April 18, 2008

While I was at the conference, Together for the Gospel, which was excellent, I learned about a new book that really peaked my interest.  Young, Restless, Reformed by Collin Hansen, Christianity Today writer, who wrote an article about the rise of Calvinism among younger evangelicals back in 2006, which which was the bases for the book.  The reason this book peaks my interest is because this book is about me, I don’t know why he did not interview me!  I was a very in-mature Christian in terms of spiritual growth, really in till my later college years.  It was not in till I attended New Attitude in 2004 that I experienced, expository preaching and college students and pastors who had a heart for doctrine, reformed doctrine that is.  It was here that I first heard Dr. Albert Mohler, president of the Southern Baptist Seminary, which is the Seminary I now attend.  This conference, lit a fire inside me, that I had not experienced since my conversion.  If I ever get the chance, I will thank C.J. Mahaney and Josh Harris of Sovereign Grace, for setting me on a path of great spiritual growth and introducing me to a reformed tradition that exemplifies the message of the Cross.  While I am thanking people I should also thank Andy Bennett, Jacob Fife, and Andy MacDonald who did more for my life then they know.  Anyway, I have ordered the book from Amazon, and am looking forward to reading it.

American Idol sings “Shout to the Lord” April 14, 2008

Alot of folks watch American Idol, and if you did not see it last week they sang the Christian Praise Song, “Shout to the Lord.”  I was unsure as to what I thought about it.  It is easy to get mad becuase thye did change the words, then change them back the night before, but hey, at least they did the song!  Here is a helpful article by Josh Harris.