BONUS Episode: The REAL War on Christmas

It's the REAL war on Christmas! It's THE real war on Christmas! It's the real WAR on Christmas! It's the real war on CHRISTMAS! You get what I'm saying? This is a talk I gave for the the Tent Talks podcast Patreon subscribers, but I'm offering it you here for free as a way of enticing you to go and listen to Tent Talks. There's a lot of great conversations on that podcast. For instance, coming up in 2022 our first episode is with a former U.S. presidential candidate. I wonder who it will be? To be sure, their name certainly doesn't rhyme with Schmillary Macklinton!  If you're interested in part one of this talk about resting and debauchery at Christmastime, please see the Tent Talks podcast.

Also, I've released a new Christmas song for the end of 2021. It's my electronic version of "What Child Is This?" Go have yourself an Xmas dance party! You can find my older Christmas album here. Also, here is last year's Christmas episode! (You're welcome!)

Oh hey, did you know I wrote a book about Christmas! It's all about the Christmas Culture Wars! And by the end of it, I've certainly won them. All of them. I am the victor. Here are all the places displaying the spoils of my victory:

Amazon
Christian Book Distributors
Wipf and Stock
Barnes and Noble
Google Play
Faithlife
Cokesbury
Lagron Miller (Roman Catholic book, gift, and vestment store in Peoria, Illinois)
Thrift Books

Check out the podcast page to subscribe on Stitcher, 
Google Play, Tunein, and PocketCasts.

You can stream the new song directly here:

BONUS: The REAL War on Christmas

It's the REAL war on Christmas! It's THE real war on Christmas! It's the real WAR on Christmas! It's the real war on CHRISTMAS! You get what I'm saying? If you're interested in part one of this talk about resting and debauchery at Christmastime, please see the Tent Talks podcast.

Here's our latest episode!

Ep 90: Brian Doerksen on His Song "215"

Brian Doerksen is a songwriter, worship music leader, and teacher who recently wrote "215" a call for lament and repentance from within the Canadian church for the atrocities committed against Indigenous children at numerous church and state run boarding schools. He joins PostConsumer Reports to discuss his process in writing the song, what it means to write from a place of sorrow and loss, and to reminisce with Chris about his past worship songs (those he still sing and those he's moved on from. You can discover Brian's music at his website as well as find out how to watch his "Christmas at Our House" concert film.

Subscribe to the podcast on itunes or

Check out the podcast page to subscribe on Stitcher, 
Google Play, Tunein, and PocketCasts.

Related Podcast Episodes:

Ep 88: Rachel Wilhelm on Composing a Modern Requiem

Ep 87: Harmony Smith—Vineyard Worship Leader, Songwriter, and Pastor

Ep 68: E. Byron Anderson on his book Common Worship

Ep 62: Stephen Backhouse on the Life of Kierkegaard

Ep 50: Stu G on the Beatitudes Project

Ep 26: Zac Hicks author of The Worship Pastor

Ep 47: Dr. Lest Ruth on the History of Contemporary Worship

Ep 81: Rain For Roots 

Ep 67: Singer-songwriter John Van Deusen

Ep 52: Fernando Ortega's The Crucifixion of Jesus

Ep 90: Brian Doerksen on his song "215"

Brian Doerksen is a songwriter, church music leader, and teacher who recently wrote "215" a call for lament and repentance from within the Canadian church for the atrocities committed against the Indigenous children at numerous church and state run boarding schools. He joins PostConsumer Reports to discuss his process in writing the song, what it means to write from a place of sorrow, and to reminisce with Chris about his past worship songs (those he still sings and those he's moved on from). You can discover Brian's music at his website as well as find out how to watch his "Christmas at Our House" concert film.

Here's our latest episode!

Ep 89: Author Martin Matthews on his Dream Chasers Trilogy

Martin Matthews is the author of four published novels, including The Dream Chasers trilogy and the Pencraft Award-winning The Graveyard Girl and the Boneyard Boy. The final book of his trilogy, Moria Versus the Universe, was just released in November 2021. Martin is a friend of mine (Chris) and we have had numerous discussions over the years about writing, the creative process, God, grief, not feeling like we belong anywhere, being consummate curmudgeons, politics, and schmolitics. Our conversation for this episode continues in that line, though here he goes into detail about the world building of his trilogy of novels, how it is a meditation on the possible future of humanity, and why exactly Stephen King is an utter failure (you heard it here first!). Martin came along in my life at a particularly pivotal moment. I was transitioning out of a job and had no idea where I was going. As our friendship formed he offered me a lot of encouragement and the simple excitement of talking with someone about writing, creativity, and all the ideas that fill our heads. For that I will always be grateful.

You can discover more about Martin at his website: https://martinmatthewswrites.com/ or purchase his books through his Amazon author page. 

Subscribe to the podcast on itunes or

Check out the podcast page to subscribe on Stitcher, 
Google Play, Tunein, and PocketCasts.

Related Podcast Episodes:

Ep 29: Melody Green—Tolkien Scholar
Ep 15: Mike Foster Tolkien Scholar and Author
Ep 79: Dr. Michael Ward on C.S. Lewis, Paganism, and Christmas
Ep 69: Ex Mormon Ministry Found Lynn Wilder
Ep 68: E. Byron Anderson on his book Common Worship
Ep 62: Stephen Backhouse on the Life of Kierkegaard
Ep 45: Religion and Philosophy Professor Brooks McDaniel

Ep 89: Author Martin Matthews on his Dream Chasers Trilogy

Martin Matthews is the author of four published novels, including The Dream Chasers trilogy and the Pencraft Award-winning The Graveyard Girl and the Boneyard Boy. The final book of his trilogy, Moria Versus the Universe, was just released in November 2021.  Our conversation goes into detail about the world building of his trilogy of novels, how it is a meditation on the possible future of humanity, and the process and craft of novel writing.

Here's our latest episode!

Ep 88: Rachel Wilhelm on Composing a Modern Requiem

Rachel Wilhelm is a songwriter and church music leader who has recently released her new album and work Requiem, which draws from ancient and modern texts and musical styles to offer us a meditation on death, grief, and our hope in the resurrection. Our conversation, along with these set of songs, offers us a chance to slow down and contemplate what it means that our days our numbered and how we are to best live in the time we have left. You can find Rachel's music at: https://www.rachelwilhelm.com/ or https://rachelwilhelm1.bandcamp.com/.

She also leads songwriting retreats and offers other resources for songwriters and artists within the church through United Adoration (https://www.unitedadoration.com/) and leads music at Apostles Anglican Church in Knoxville, Tennessee (https://www.apostlesonline.org/). Her writing was featured on PostConsumer Reports a few years ago in the article "Revisiting the Liturgy of 'Divorce': a reflection on Moda Spira's new album," and her album Songs of Lament was also featured in a previous article.

Subscribe to the podcast on itunes or

Check out the podcast page to subscribe on Stitcher, 
Google Play, Tunein, and PocketCasts.

Related Podcast Episodes:

Ep 87: Harmony Smith—Vineyard Worship Leader, Songwriter, and Pastor

Ep 68: E. Byron Anderson on his book Common Worship

Ep 62: Stephen Backhouse on the Life of Kierkegaard

Ep 50: Stu G on the Beatitudes Project

Ep 26: Zac Hicks author of The Worship Pastor

Ep 47: Dr. Lest Ruth on the History of Contemporary Worship

Ep 81: Rain For Roots 

Ep 67: Singer-songwriter John Van Deusen

Ep 52: Fernando Ortega's The Crucifixion of Jesus

Ep 88: Rachel Wilhelm on Composing a Modern Requiem

Rachel Wilhelm is a songwriter and church music leader who has recently released her new album and work Requiem, which draws from ancient and modern texts and musical styles to offer us a meditation on death, grief, and our hope in the resurrection. Our conversation, along with these set of songs, offers us a chance to slow down and contemplate what it means that our days our numbered and how we are to best live in the time we have left. You can find Rachel's music at: https://www.rachelwilhelm.com/

Here's our latest episode!

Ep 87: Harmony Smith Vineyard Worship Leader, Songwriter, and Pastor

Harmony Smith is the Director of Worship for the Vineyard Movement in the UK & Ireland where she encourages, raises up, and trains worship and music leaders. She also co-pastors Belfast City Church with her husband Andy. She joins PostConsumer Reports to discuss her song "You Have Our Yes," specifically how people in Ireland and America might wrestle with its lyrics differently and the responsibility that church worship leaders have to not only lead people to God but also challenge them to love their neighbors as themselves. From her bio: "Harmony is a worshiper, songwriter and pastor whose heart is all about seeing people connect with Jesus in a lifestyle of worship. This passion is particularly clear in her songs, which can be found on several Vineyard UK & Ireland worship albums, including Creator, Spirit Burn, The Feast and most recently, Legacy – Live from Ireland. She has also just released ‘You Have Our Yes’ a call to unity in the face of increasing division, chaos and distraction, inviting the people of God to offer their 'yes' and their full allegiance to Jesus."

You can watch the music video for "You Have Our Yes," featuring  Marc James and Cathy Burton HERE and stream or download the other music heard on this episode at Vineyard's Bandcamp page, or any place you stream music. 

Harmony interviewed political theologian Stephen Backhouse, who Chris produces the Tent Theology podcast with, on the Vineyard UK podcast, which you can watch HERE or listen to HERE. Stephen's thoughts were a partial inspiration for "You Have Our Yes," and he was also an early guest on PostConsumer Reports.

You can download the chord chart and lyrics to "You Have Our Yes," Here, or find other worship resources at:  //www.vineyardchurches.org.uk

Subscribe to the podcast on itunes or

Check out the podcast page to subscribe on Stitcher, 
Google Play, Tunein, and PocketCasts.

Related Podcast Episodes:

Ep 68: E. Byron Anderson on his book Common Worship

Ep 62: Stephen Backhouse on the Life of Kierkegaard

Ep 50: Stu G on the Beatitudes Project

Ep 26: Zac Hicks author of The Worship Pastor

Ep 47: Dr. Lest Ruth on the History of Contemporary Worship

Ep 81: Rain For Roots 

Ep 67: Singer-songwriter John Van Deusen

Ep 52: Fernando Ortega's The Crucifixion of Jesus

Ep 87: Harmony Smith Vineyard Worship Leader, Songwriter, and Pastor

Harmony Smith is the Director of Worship for the Vineyard Movement in the UK & Ireland where she encourages, raises up, and trains worship and music leaders. She also co-pastors Belfast City Church with her husband Andy. She joins PostConsumer Reports to discuss her song "You Have Our Yes," how people in Ireland and America might wrestle with its lyrics differently, and the responsibility that church worship leaders have to not only lead people to God but also challenge them to love their neighbors as themselves.

Here's our latest episode!