Ever since I was a child, I have felt a connection to music and the way it draws on an artist’s experiences and ideas to invoke new experiences and ideas within the listeners. Throughout my journey, whether as a woman…
Politics, faith and mission: A conversation with Jimi Calhoun
Jimi Calhoun is full of stories about musicians with whom he’s performed, churches he’s served, and the human possibilities for which he hopes. As a bass player, he’s played across the globe with Dr. John, Parliament Funkadelic, Buddy Miles and…
Before evangelical males went after Taylor Swift, they hated on Amy Grant
“There is a difference between being secular and being ANTI-CHRISTIAN,” wrote Shane Pruitt, National Next Gen director for the Southern Baptist Convention’s North American Mission Board. The anti-Christian culprit he had in mind was not one of the many examples of…
‘You forgive us, we’ll forgive you,’ the theology of John Prine
April 7 marked the four-year anniversary of the death of John Prine. A beloved American singer-songwriter, Prine was one of the first victims of COVID-19 when the disease took his last breath in the spring of 2020. The multi-Grammy-winning storyteller…
Big ideas at human size: An interview with Carrie Newcomer
Carrie Newcomer may be the holiest person I’ve ever met. The Quaker singer-songwriter embodies the peace and universal love that characterize Quakerism, and it comes across clearly in her songs, which are peopled with characters who are flawed, searching, quirky,…
What worshiping with other people does to you
Recently, I had the opportunity to sing in a choir behind praise and worship leader Charity Gayle at one of her concerts. What I experienced was beyond my expectations and I learned more than I imagined. My church choir was…
Kate Campbell is glad to be back in the room where it happens
Kate Campbell has done something few Baptists have done. She has sung for the Southern Baptist Convention, the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship and the Baptist World Alliance. Campbell, whose style is a Folk/Gospel mixed with Blues and Country, is the daughter…
Making peace with my internal worship war
Walter “Buddy” Shurden is an esteemed historian who taught at Carson-Newman University, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and Mercer University. In a series of lectures in 1980, Shurden described two broad streams of practice in Baptist churches he labels the Sandy…
Kelly Clarkson changes ‘Piece by Piece’ lyrics into self-empowerment anthem
During her 10-day Las Vegas residency, Kelly Clarkson surprised the audience last Saturday night by singing a song many thought she’d never sing again, “Piece by Piece.” But this time, she rewrote the lyrics into an anthem of self-empowerment. First…