I went to a Switchfoot concert last night. Switchfoot, if you don’t know, is one of the bigger acts on the Christian music scene today. Though they’ve been around for a while (over a decade), their popularity and notoriety leapt up with their album The Beautiful Letdown with national radio hits like “Dare You to Move,” a song about seizing life while you can.
The night was beautiful; the crowd, small but lively; and the pairing, perfect - (1) a mixed audience of racing fans (did I mention NASCAR put this event on?), youth groups, and sundry wanderers in with (2) Switchfoot’s hopeful, carpe diem emphasized lyrics and California-flavored rock. Who knows who was in the crowd. What made this potential oil-and-water emulsion so perfect was how the lead singer (Jon Foreman) would introduce his songs as “this is one about grace” or “this is a song about freedom.”
The introductions matched the lyrics; here are some of the themes of their songs:
- Life is more than (fill in the blank). Life is still worth living.
- I’m standing on the edge of everything I’ve never been before. I’m on fire when He’s near me.
- I’ve made a mess of me, I wanna get back the rest of me, I made a mess of me, I wanna spend the rest of my life alive
- (I want) More than fine, more than bent on getting by, more than just OK.
- This is your life, are you who you want to be?
What made this such a great mixture was not just that he’s speaking to Americans who hear of freedom often, it was that he started in with universal virtues and agreed upon goods. We all know we need forgiveness at times, we all want to be free, we all care about love. We all agreed with him that those things were important. So when Foreman and the band came out as a high-energy group, when they made jokes and had a ready laugh, when they seemed unafraid and free, we felt comfortable with them and welcome. We all agreed with Foreman’s starting points (love, freedom, etc.) and we wanted to be there with the band and, what happened?
We all listened to what they had to say.
And, in this, I take note of two things:
(i) People enjoy being around those who enjoy living; it’s a necessary condition. You can still enjoy life and people not prefer your company, but you’ll never have an invitation because of your demeanor if it is a constantly glum one, devoid of hope, and too serious to laugh.
(ii) Today we still are willing to talk about universal themes (like beauty or sacrifice) and those are great things to highlight in our conversations. What Switchfoot tried to do from a stage I can do over a fence or across a table. I can hold out things that are good and, if appropriate in that conversation, move to important other things which are related.
One of my favorite speakers is Ravi Zacharias. He gave a talk at a UN meeting a few years back and discussed four needs we all find in life, the need for justice, for forgiveness, for love, and for the good. As he talked, he referenced common experiences and compelling stories from the international scene. And then he closed with this picture: that the only place in all of history where we find these four needs intersecting is the Cross of Jesus Christ. The response was phenomenal. He could have approached the talk differently, but I’m not convinced it would have been any more effective.
So, today and for some of your tomorrows, I’ve got two things for you:
(A) Listen to what you hear discussed around you. People are talking about beauty, justice, love, family, mercy, and power everyday. How comfortable do you feel in talking with them about those things and letting the conversation go to God?
(B) Are you enjoying the life you have been given? I’m pretty sure that there are enough things to cause thankfulness for all of us to at least produce a meek smile, if not more. If life seems hopeless today, if it seems that gray clouds don’t come with silver linings anymore, stop. Reflect. And be thankful.
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