Artists of Our Times-- Michael Gungor

At the beginning of the year I didn't know who Michael Gungor was, but I had been singing his music for years.  The writer of FRIEND OF GOD has been contributing to the christian music scene for years and just now has come into his own with the publishing of two successful solo projects.

I have come to love Michael Gungor for one reason alone:  he's an artist that thinks deeply about the combination of words and music.  I will regularly play through my collections of his and discover another gem in his songs that I had never heard before.  Just a couple of weeks ago we were talking about The Church as family and I found his song  "SONG FOR MY FAMILY" to rouse thoughts and emotions that no other song would do for that topic and service.  His songs linger with you long after the song is over and they make you think.

I would highly recommend his albums and his music.  He's an artist for our times.

Beautiful Things -Accoustic Version

This is the accoustic version of GUNGOR'S new release BEAUTIFUL THINGS. It's simple, artistic and masterful!

Enjoy!

Dry Bones

Dry Bones
my soul cries out
my soul cries out for you

these bones cry out
these dry bones cry for you
to live and move
only You
can raise the dead
lift my head up

Jesus, You’re the one who saves us
Constantly creates us into something new
Jesus You’re the one who finds us
Surely our Messiah will make all things new

This haunting lyric has been playing in my office all morning as I process the week just passed in Tennessee at RECREATE. Michael Gungor's band released their album BEAUTIFUL THINGS today and I've been blaring it in my office (literally I went to another part of the building and I could hear the subwoofer going to town--good thing I'm on the other side of the complex)

I am grateful this morning that I have scriptures that lament and mourn and talk about the times in life that aren't so easily answered. Wouldn't it be a shame if all we had was a "lollipop" bible that only said good things? What would we do? We would fall apart--I know that for sure.

“The hand of the LORD was upon me, and he brought me out by the Spirit of the LORD and set me in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. He led me back and forth among them, and I saw a great many bones on the floor of the valley, bones that were very dry. He asked me, “Son of man, can these bones live?”
I said, “O Sovereign LORD, you alone know.” Then he said to me, “Prophesy to these bones and say to them, ‘Dry bones, hear the word of the LORD! This is what the Sovereign LORD says to these bones: I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life. I will attach tendons to you and make flesh come upon you and cover you with skin; I will put breath in you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the LORD.’ ” So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I was prophesying, there was a noise, a rattling sound, and the bones came together, bone to bone. I looked, and tendons and flesh appeared on them and skin covered them, but there was no breath in them.

Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to it, ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe into these slain, that they may live.’ ” So I prophesied as he commanded me, and breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet—a vast army.”

Ezekiel 37:1-10

"Yet again--these dry bones will praise you"

Michael Gunger "Beautiful Things"

I experienced something last week at RECREATE that I honestly can say was a "once in a lifetime" experience. Gungor (formerly The Michael Gungor Band) did a live concert/experience for all of us at the conference. They played their entire new album from start to finish and to compliment it we were treated to a visual art show by Grateful Inconvenience, Inc. and Nate Griffin using PRO VIDEO PLAYER. to accompany the experience. It was breathtaking.

Gungor says that this album represents "liturgical rock" styles and he wasn't joking. I described it to a friend as a fusion of musical styles (classical, folk, rock, jazz and praise and worship) and even those descriptions are inadequate to describe what we experienced.

I've long known that visual worship is a coming thing for the church, but what I experienced that afternoon was like walking through an art gallery of heaven with a chorus of angels singing the most sincere and passionate music of heaven. It was incredible.

Earlier in the day we had heard from Dan Cathy of Chik-Fil-A and how they're trying to provide a remarkable experience for each customer each time they come into their stores. That's exactly what Gungor did for us.

Their album releases today and I would urge you to go and get this album. I plan to have it in my ears as I run my half marathon in a couple of weeks. It's that good.

They are coming to Austin in April and if I didn't already have something planned for that day that I couldn't get out of, I'd be there. If you can go--go see this experience.