Category: Entertainment

The World Needs More Christine McVies

It was the spring of 1998. Stevie Nicks had rejoined the powerhouse rock group Fleetwood Mac, and together the band recorded a live album (The Dance), performed a concert for PBS, and went on tour. Arenas sold out across the nation, and a band who had broken up, reunited, performed with only a partial cast, and was nearly 20 years past their prime suddenly were relevant again.

Make no mistake about it, had it not been for Stevie Nicks rejoining the band, those arenas would have never sold out, The Dance would have never happened, and Fleetwood Mac would never have re-emerged.

However, without Christine McVie, Fleetwood Mac would have never happened in the first place. They would have remained some obscure blues band lost on the streets of London in the 1970s.

During The Dance tour, the spotlight was on Nicks. However, on the left side of the stage, behind the keyboard, was the driving force behind the band’s success. McVie not only wrote many of their hits (Say You Love Me, Don’t Stop, You Make Loving Fun, Hold Me, Little Lies, and Save Me, among others), her vocals and keyboards were part of the sound that distinguished Fleetwood Mac from other groups.

Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham were both in the spotlight, but either one of them could leave (and they did), and the band could go on (and it did). You could place anybody at base guitar, and no one would miss John McVie. And while Mick Fleetwood’s personality behind the drum kit was very noticeable, truth is you could place any professional drummer there and keep the sound of Fleetwood Mac.

However, remove Christine’s lyrical prose, harmonious voice holding the sound together, and soothing keyboard notes, and you’ve lost Fleetwood Mac altogether.

What makes Christine McVie so great, and unique, in the music industry was her ability to blend into a background role, and to cherish that role. In an interview with Sirius XM, she once stated “I never saw myself as a solo artist.” She understood her role in Fleetwood Mac, how it was key to their success, and she relished it.

One of the hallmarks of the music industry of the late 70s and early 80s were the artists who would leave successful supergroups in order to strike out on their own, and put their own name and image out there. Nicks did it. Buckingham did it. Belinda Carlile (The Go-Gos) did it, as did Ozzy Osbourne. But for McVie, she was content to keep the supergroup together and going. In fact, her forays into a solo career only came with the absence of Fleetwood Mac.

And that’s why I think the world needs more Christine McVie’s. We need more people who are happy to work together to build wonderful things while doing great things, for the good of others as opposed to pursuing the endless goal of self-glorification. We need more people who see the importance of their role and fill it, as opposed to begrudging the fact they don’t have the spotlight. That’s what we call “humility.”

And we need more people stepping up to make real contributions to society. Yes, the world needs more Christine McVies.

Why the story line of Little James in The Chosen resonates with me

Have you ever prayed to God, and not had your prayers answered? Or perhaps you’ve seen the Lord tangibly bless those around you, seemingly passing you over.

If this is you, good news! There is a Chosen character just for you.

The Chosen is a TV series offered through online streaming services like Prime, Angel Studios, and their app. The series is funded through crowdsourcing, and depicts the lives of Jesus and His apostles as they begin the Lord’s earthly ministry.

One of the great, yet controversial, aspects of the show is how it humanizes the apostles. Instead of being static figures depicted through stained glass, they each have personality quirks, and physical attributes.

The great thing about the way the apostles are humanized is that they become more relatable, thus more believable. In essence, The Chosen makes the Gospel come alive off of the pages of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, and provide some tangibility and credibility.

The controversial aspect to this is that much of the characterizations of the apostles is fiction. We don’t know that Matthew was on the spectrum, and there is no scriptural evidence to support that theory. Furthermore, many of the scenarios depicted in the show happen between the instances recorded in scripture, meaning that many of the events in The Chosen are completely fabricated and are fictitious.

However, these portrayals humanize the apostles and make the Gospel real and relatable.

So while The Chosen may be good for making the apostles relatable, and communicating the gracious and loving nature of Christ, as well as His divinity, those seeking truth are still well advised to open the Bible. Enjoy the show, but read the Bible.

Which brings me to my new, favorite character. Spoiler alert… if you keep reading, you may come across some plot information.

Little James, like Matthew, is depicted with a quirk. Again, no scripture that I can recall right off hand supports this portrayal, but such is the approach of The Chosen.

While Matthew’s issue is being on the spectrum, Little James suffers from a limp. Partially crippled, he relies on a walking stick he uses as a crutch. He struggles during travel, and believes his gait slows down the company as they travel.

So, the apostles travel, witnessing the miraculous healing our Lord freely performed for the masses. Multitudes, many of whom had the same disability as James, were suddenly healed and able to walk with little to no effort.

So, here’s Little James, crippled while everyone else around him is healed. He wants to ask, but he does not want to offend the Lord. He wants to understand, but does not want to be disrespectful to Jesus, and certainly doesn’t feel as if the Lord has withheld anything from him.

But, he desires healing. He desires understanding, and it’s breaking his heart. So, near then end of Season 3 Episode 2, he tearfully approaches Jesus, who gracefully understands, and encourages him.

Not gonna lie, that scene got me. It ranks right up there with the final scene of “Field of Dreams” for me.

Jesus told Little James that he could be healed, and someday he would, but what made his testimony so powerful was that he believed even though he had not been healed. And that through his testimony many would come to faith.

Modern Christianity has wrongfully turned faith into a transaction. You believe, then God gives you what you want. Therefore, if you do not have what you want, there must be something wrong with your faith. This is wrong and contrary to the scriptures, but leads to the following situations.

How many times have I sat with a weeping woman who couldn’t understand why God would not give her a child. A weeping man who doesn’t understand why God would allow his wife to have cancer, and why the miraculous healing still hadn’t come.

They had prayed, trusted the Lord, and called out to Him in ways we probably couldn’t imagine. Yet, no baby, no healing, no response. Yet, they still believed in the Lord. And yet, others continued to accuse them of imperfect faith, secret sin, and whatever else they could think of to explain the lack of a miracle.

Yet, these believers remained faithful, for their faith was in the Lord, His goodness and grace, regardless of their outcomes.

And I can not only admire that, I relate to it as well. I have lived knowing that God has forgiven me and cleansed me of all my sin, even while others tell me how awful I am. I have seen others receive tangible blessings from the Lord, while observers tell me that the lack of tangible answers to prayer in my own life reflect a flaw in my faith.

Yet, I live, with the peace in my heart knowing Jesus loves me, and that I have been blessed and forgiven. And nothing will take that away from me, nor will I ever be deterred.

And that’s why the story line of Little James resonates with me. How about you? Have you seen The Chosen? If so, what character resonates with you?

Maybe we’ll see him when we get there

Coolio performing for the troops ca. 2002

Accepting an MTV VMA award in 1994, Coolio imparted the following timeless wisdom, “This year, we kept it real. Next year, let’s keep it honest.”

Such became the mission statement for his music career. While “Fantastic Voyage” encouraged hope and striving for a better way to do life, “Gangsta’s Paradise” honestly assessed the condition of the inner city and the reasons for the struggle.

No one with a conscience can ignore the heaviness of the second verse of “Gangsta’s Paradise.” In it, he opined, “Look at the situation they got me facing, I can’t live a normal life. I was raised by the street…. I’m 23 now but will I live to see 24, the way things is going I don’t know.”

The song came to a hopeless conclusion in the third verse, “They say I’ve got to learn but nobody’s here to teach me. If they can’t understand, how can they reach me? I guess they can’t. I guess they won’t. I guess they’re frontin’, that’s how I know my life is out of luck, fool!”

The song was a hit, the lead single off of the Dangerous Minds soundtrack, and resonated across the nation. While most hip-hop chronicled life in the inner city and assessed the hopelessness thereof, “Gangsta’s” was sort of a call for help with an indictment on the hypocrisy of those who claimed to care, but offered no help that would provide any real relief.

From the inner city perspective, help meant viable education, spiritual support, and a pathway forward. Yet despite all the conversation in the media about solving inner city violence and poverty, that help was not coming.

To this day, I cannot listen to the song without considering what I can do to take the Gospel, God’s light and hope, into the inner cities.

Coolio’s final hit, “I’ll C U When U Get There,” shifted the focus internally. Instead of waiting for help from the outside that wasn’t coming, Coolio implored those in the inner city to look within, and make the changes in their own lives to find a better way. It’s a message that actually applies to all of us, whether rural or urban, rich or poor, White or Black.

That song reminds me to honestly assess what I’m doing while evaluating my priorities and my standing with God.

It may seem unusual for a Baptist preacher to relate to hip-hop. However, brokenness, searching and a longing for redemption resonate with me, which is why Coolio’s music hit home.

That’s why I was heartbroken to hear of Coolio’s untimely death. I can only hope that he found the hope and redemption he pined for, and that he found salvation in the Lord. I truly hope to see him when I get there.

The Ballad of Thomas Ryman

Rymanauditorium1

There are many reasons why people think that the Ryman Auditorium is called “the Mother Church of Country Music.” First, it looks like a church. Notice the arched windows and doorways, the American Gothic architecture, and the wooden pews inside.

Then, there’s the devoted, religious following of the Grand Ole Opry, which still closes most of its performances with a Gospel tune.

Finally, there’s the notion that you haven’t really arrived in Country Music until the “Mother Church” gives you her blessing, and you are invited to play the Opry (even if most of the performances are now held at the Opryland Resort.)

But how many realize that the Ryman Auditorium, the Mother Church of Country Music, was actually a church?

In 1885, Riverboat operator and saloon owner Thomas Ryman noticed that the ongoing Christian revival across Tennessee is cutting into his business. Looking to preserve his business ventures, Ryman decided to go to a revival meeting held by the great Evangelist Samuel Porter Jones for the purpose of disrupting and heckling the service.

Instead of stopping the revival, Ryman himself wound up converting to Christianity. So moved by the preaching of Jones, and his own redemption, Ryman endeavored to make sure everyone could hear the Gospel as spoken by Jones’ voice. So, he invested $100,000 ($2.7 million in today’s cash) to build the “Union Gospel Tabernacle,” a 6,000 seat chapel where Jones would be able to preach to multitudes.

Worship services were held, and Jones held many revivals in the facility. The tabernacle was renamed the “Ryman Auditorium” in 1904 by Jones as he preached Ryman’s funeral.

The Ryman Auditorium closed in the 1930s, and fell into disrepair before being taken over by WSM-AM in the 1960s to become the site of the Grand Ole Opry.

I read this story several years ago, and it continues to impress me that a hardened sinner was so moved with gratitude for his salvation, and concern for the eternal destiny of his fellow man, that he put his fortune to the test to build a place where everyone could come, hear the Gospel, and be saved.

When I think about this, I wonder what I have done to show my gratitude to God for my salvation. I also wonder what would happen if I did more. Furthermore, what if we had more Thomas Rymans in the world, hardened sinners broken and redeemed by the power of Christ who turned around and did everything in their power to reach those around them? If this happened, what kind of revival would we see in our country?

Right now, the entertainment industry politicizes everything, thinking that to legitimize their fame and popularity, they have to adopt a cause or message to change the world. Politicians legislate to leave their mark on the world. Athletes endorse ideas and causes.

The rest of the world uses its platform to advance a secular agenda. Isn’t it time that Christians use their platform to advance the Kingdom of God?

May God grant you the boldness to live out your faith and reach others with the Gospel.