So the EP (or EP’s) is starting to come together.  I’ve got a few songs recorded.  Three, to be exact.  A pattern is starting to emerge between all of them – I’m using two main elements in the recordings.  Acoustic guitar and orchestra strings.  Since I’ve got about half or more of an EP recorded with this format, I’m planning to release one called “Strings”

So, taking a break from the musical creativity of the project, I’ve put some time into the graphic creativity and come up with a few options for cover art.

Here we go:

1.  This looks just like one of the Acoustic EP ideas I had a while back.

2.  Now we’re using some actual stringed instruments on the cover.

3.

So, which one is your favorite?

I am disgusted with what I call “American Christianity”. I was at a youth camp last week, and our speaker brought to our attention a recent poll of non-Christians in America.  The poll revealed 3 of the top feelings toward Christians in America. They are:

• Christians are judgemental
• Christians are gay-haters
• Christians are close-minded and intolerant

In other words – we’re no more than hypocrites.

There really is no argument against data like that. This is how we as a Christian community are viewed.  In my opinion, we’ve earned this reputation.  Other statistics show that the general lifestyle of a professing Christian in America does not at all differ from a non-Christian. Things like divorce rates and such are identical. The word “Christian” means “little Christ” – or to be Christ-like. In my opinion, we as Christians are way off the mark when it comes to actually doing what we are supposed to do – to be like Christ.

I recently had a conversation with a fellow youth pastor. It was one of those talks where you kind of come to an epiphany during the conversation. I’d never verbalized it in my life before, but at the end of our talk, I told him, “My greatest fear is that I’ll become like the Pharisees. That I’ll become like the religious leaders that Jesus hated”. Jesus called them “Sons of hell”.  He literally pointed to a group of pastors/church leaders and said, “You are sons of hell”.  Powerful.  It was because they cared more about how they appeared to those around them than what was inside their hearts.  They had empty faith.  The reason I said I was afraid of becoming like the Pharisees is because, while I truly and genuinely try to live like Christ, many times I don’t. I’ll say that I forgive, but I’ll hold a grudge. I’ll say I care for the poor, but I live in a nice house in the suburbs and hardly ever think about people who have less than I do. I’ll say I want to help the oppressed – the helpless, but I sometimes I feel like I don’t really do anything about social justice or equality.  There is a struggle inside of me.  There really is a struggle inside of all of us.  We are born with a sin nature.  Yet, we are also created in God’s image – in the image of a perfect, loving, and merciful God.  And we are called to live a life like Christ.

Last week, at camp in Colorado, I wrote a song called “Empty Faith”.  This song is many things.  It’s a confession – an admission of guilt.  It’s a portrayal of the struggle between sin and love that lives inside me.  It’s a prayer – a petition to God to change my heart and make me more like Him.

Here are the lyrics:

We hold our Bibles high
And we say we’re right
We’ll give you the perfect lines then run and hide

Can’t we see we’ve lost the way
Can’t we see that it’s all just fake
As long as they’re watching everything’s fine

Where are you in all of this
We use your name but destroy your image

I say I’m different but I just look the same
So I am over all this empty faith
I’ve been changed by a love I can’t explain
So I am over all this empty faith

We’ll white-wash the outside
We’ll do everything right
As long as they’re watching everything’s fine

You ask for more
You search the heart of me
Change the heart of me

May we all have a desire to truly and honestly live like “little Christs”.  I encourage you to really examine your own heart, and then ask God to make it more like His.

View the video on YouTube

This is kind of a follow-up to the “Stuff I want: Martin Acoustic” post.  I guess I wanted one bad enough that I bought one.

A few weeks ago I stumbled upon a used D-35 in a local shop. The word “used” is a stretch, as this thing has hardly a scratch on it. Virtually no fret wear. I’ve seen many, many guitars hanging on the wall at Guitar Center in worse shape.

Well, I played it for a while – realizing that, yes, I really do love the Martin sound. I was trying to decide whether I really wanted a Martin or a Taylor – Martin all the way.

I went back to the shop about a week later and put it on layaway. Got it for $1600, by the way. Not the best deal ever, but this one seemed to have something special – at least it spoke to me. That was two long weeks ago, and today I brought it home. Another hobby of mine happens to be photography, so here is some eye candy:

And a bit of a mini-review:

Sound: I’m used to my Takamine FD-360sc, which is a very nice high-end Takamine. Both guitars are solid spruce top/rosewood back and sides. The Takamine’s sound is very even and balanced, and a bit on the bright side. When I play these two guitars back-to-back, the Tak just sounds really thin in comparison. The Martin is very warm, and has a beautiful full bottom end that the Takamine just doesn’t have. Very round sound, too. With new strings, it’s bright, but it’s top end still maintains the warm character. Another thing it trumps the Takamine on is punch. If you dig into the Martin, it punches – hard. It fits my playing style very well (mostly strumming with a pick). When I was comparing to the Taylors (a 414ce), the Taylor sound was nice, but it’s very bright and jangly. They’ve got a good bass response, but the overall brightness of the tone wasn’t what I was going for. Again, the warmth of the Martin won me over.

Playability: This one was set up with a bit lower action that most factory Martin set-ups I’ve played. It’s perfect for my style, as it is pretty easy to chord, but I can strum hard and it doesn’t buzz. You could probably lower the action a bit if you wanted to. The neck has a satin finish (rest of the guitar is gloss). It seems to get a bit sticky, so I’ll have to get used to that. The shape of the neck is really nice. Thicker than my Takamine which is good – I like thick necks – this is totally a personal preference thing, though. It’s not quite as comfy in my hands as a Taylor neck, or, say, a vintage Telecaster neck, but it’s nice. Intonation is as good as any acoustic I’ve played – pretty much right on. Another thing, I’m used to acoustic with cut-aways, and I do play up pretty high on the fretboard sometimes. Another thing I’ll have to get used to. 90% of the time it won’t be an issue for me.

Looks/Build: To me it looks like a guitar should – simple and elegant. It’s got a bit of “bling” for a Martin, which isn’t much bling for most manufactures. I like the binding up the neck, and the ornamentation around the sound hole looks classy. The 3-piece back looks awesome, in my opinion. Build quality is as you would expect from a Martin of this caliber – I’m not going to worry about it breaking down on me. Also – I’ve always loved the look of ebony on the fretboard/bridge. One more thing – I tend to break a lot of strings. I think I’d describe my style as “strum hard and sing harder”. Hopefully the saddle on this is well-made, as I’m sure it is. Time will tell.