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Anonymous Culture
In his seminal work, The Nature and Destiny of Man,
Reinhold Neibuhr says, "Community is an individual as well as social
necessity; for the individual can realize him/herself only in intimate
and organic relation with his fellow human. Love is therefore the
primary law of his/her nature; and brotherhood the fundamental
requirement of his/her social existence."
Niebuhr realized that the need for community is hardwired into the soul
of every human. Though we cry out for autonomy, we are ultimately and
intrinsically dependent on each other for self-actualization. There is
no replacement for actual human interaction. Just as we are dependent
on human touch for emotional growth and development, so too are we
dependent on something that computer screens and podcasts just can’t
offer.
Read more here.
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Derek Webb show
Saw Derek Webb last night! He was excellent as ever and played a really informal show. We have a small local venue called the Village Tavern that holds just about 100 people and it's only 10 minutes from our house. They have been getting some great bands in recently although they never sell out and not many people here seem too interested. This is actually quite good because it means I can just roll up about an hour after doors open skip the support act if I want to, pay on the door, and still get a great view wherever I am in the venue. Last night I actually got to sit on the floor right in front of the stage as everyone was in a very chilled mood. It was a good crowd, the room felt full, and they certainly appreciated the music.
Derek Webb's wife Sandra McCracken opened for him (not a bad set up there! Save on paying someone else, save on rooming costs, be each other's 'band', and no need to worry about those long tours away from home!). Any way, she was pretty good although I don't know any of her stuff. She called up her 'band' aka DW about half way through and they played together before she left the stage and Derek asked people if they had a few requests for his first set. People asked for a pretty eclectic mix from various of his albums and Caedmon's and he graciously played them all and in fact seemed pretty pleased with the selections as they were more unusual than normal. Of course I selected 'Center Aisle' in Mike's honour and it was definitely a highlight of the show. He obviously still enjoys playing it. 'Wedding Dress' was also excellent. Then he took a break and came back 10 minutes later with his wife on keyboard and played through the whole of 'Mockingbird' song by song. He said that he feels that's the way it needs to be heard, and it actually worked. The songs are so powerful and I look the musical direction he has taken for this album, but it's the lyrics that really get you. You can't help but be challenged by what he has to say. He is certainly a prophet for the US church at this time.
I'll have some pictures up soon...
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Music...
Listen to the new Neil Young album, 'Living With War', for free here.
Some good news is that following the Mutemath show here in Mt Pleasant a few weeks ago, we have Derek Webb and Anathallo playing at the same venue, The Village Tavern. over the next two weeks. Things seem to be on the up music-wise in Mt Pleasant due to this one venue which is about 10 minutes drive from my house.
I have also been listening to some new albums recently, Needtobreathe (think anthemic guitars - nice!) and The Fray (think emo-pop, with incredibly catchy tunes), and they are both pretty good.
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The Bennetts USA at Easter
We had a lovely Easter with my parents who came over for a week or so and managed to get away to the mountains for a few days, which was very relaxing. Hannah continues to be a great joy and gave us a lot of joy last night when she slept for 10 hours straight...
Can't believe the summer is coming so soon (we end ournormal youth programs on May 21st and won't start up again until the end of August) but I am really excited about our various Middle and High School trips this summer, including our own first attempt at a Crusaders USA, aka Camp Bonnie Doone (check out www.bonniedoone.org to see some pictures of the venue). We are also doing New Wine USA which our neighbouring church St Andrew's is hosting for the US. It was a great few days last year and they did a good first event, but I think this year is going to be even better as word is spreading about it.
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