From the Pulpit: What’s on your summer playlist?

What’s on your summer playlist? What’s your summer soundtrack? Are there songs or albums you feel just fit those sunny drives into work, a campfire at dusk, hot July afternoons, road trips, lazy Saturday mornings, etc.?

Music is big part of my life. I listen to music. I write and make music. I sing with my kids. And music is also a big part of my spiritual life and worship practice. 

Now, I’m a pastor, but that doesn’t mean that all the songs on my playlist come straight from a hymnal or from a Christian radio station, definitely not. Every song is not by a “Christian artist” or about God (per se). Not every song is new. And trust me, I know I am definitely not cool but here are three songs on my summer playlist. And I definitely don’t expect you to like all or any of these songs but here they are…

“Same Blood”- Kings Kaleidoscope

Born in the context of the now defunct Seattle mega-church, Mars Hill, Kings Kaleidoscope survived the collapse of the congregation and continues to make dynamic, passionate, and artful pop with heavy use of synths and strings instruments and heavy spiritual themes. “Same Blood” is a track off their most recent album Zeal.

In this track lead signer Chad Gardner sings about human and Christian unity. He sings, “We can’t run together if we’re lost from the start. Wait on me brother, run at my pace.” It’s a good reminder in this time of hyper-partisan politics and general nonsense that as people of faith we are called to higher ideal of unity. (And check out the whole album, it’s pretty fantastic.)

“Rely”- flor.

This song is a couple years old now, but it got LOTS of plays from last summer and now it just sounds like a sunny drive to me. This is breathy pop rock with bright guitars, the whole track just SOUNDS sunny. This isn’t a Christian band and I don’t have any idea what the spiritual beliefs of the band members might be but there are some interesting lines in this track, specifically these lines from the refrain: “Don’t expect, no I can’t, comprehend all that I get. What have I ever done but to rely on you?”

This is probably about a human relationship, but the words get me think about the gift of grace from God and the way that sustains our life. 

“Freeee”- KIDS SEE GHOSTS

KIDS SEE GHOSTS is a project from Kanye West and Kid Cudi. Both rappers make headlines for personal problems and mental health issues but on this project, you see them exploring what healing looks like and hear spiritual themes of redemption. One of the best lines on this track is: “And you know d*** well, He lift me up every time that fell and set me free.” It is always intriguing to see how Kanye and Cudi interpret what it means to have faith amid the curses, bravado and trappings of rap culture, but the theme of redemption and freedom is something that we all hope for in every season of our lives especially during these summer months when try to find rest and relaxation.

Those are a few of the tracks on my playlist as summer gets going. You might like them, you might not; what’s on YOUR playlist? What songs give you rest for your soul in this season? What songs inspire your faith? What songs make you think about your place in the world? What songs bring a smile to your face? Whatever they are, I hope you get plenty of time to turn them on and turn them up this summer. Read Psalm 150 and take a moment to think about those songs that you’re going to be listening to this summer. God bless and have a wonderful summer!