Bad Music Sunday: God Rock

Friends,

As promised, here is the Bad Music Sunday post about Christian music. Of course, I used to own a few discs by these bands featured below (like DC Talk) when I was a practicing Southern Baptist. One of these singers, Al Denson, I saw live in concert several times. For those of you who know me now, maybe it's a surprise to know that I had a religious streak where I abhorred drinking and tried very hard not to cuss (but I couldn't stop because saying replacement words didn't make sense to me...if I mean bullshit, but say bullhockey, and God can know my thoughts, then what's the difference?).

Also, today is the anniversary of my Baptism into Grace Southern Baptist Church in Granite City, Illinois. At the time, I hadn't been baptised, and I was only recently saved, but before church, and after the youth group Sunday School session, the pastor, Brother Bob Jones (I think), cornered me and my friend Dominick. I remember him saying something along the lines on how it would be a glorious way to celebrate Jesus' resurrection by getting baptized into the church. Dominick agreed and turned to me, the apparent heathen in the eyes of the lord and was letting everyone down by not being baptized. Also, what could I have said, "No, Brother Bob, getting baptized on Easter isn't a good way to celebrate Jesus." I think I was put in an unwinable position...kind of like being in high school and asked the ever embarrassing question, "Have you ever been caught masturbating?" So, I said okay.

After the service, I slipped into what can be best described as a thick plastic bag the color of dried glue, leaving my underwear on because the bag was white and I didn't want the congregation seeing my disciples. The baptismal pool was behind the choir and altar, and the water was warm. I stepped into it, the pastor said a few things, and then put his hand, with a little rag thingy, over my mouth and dunked me backwards into the water. I came up, everyone clapped. I was led back to the basement of the church to the classroom where I changed to towel off the best I could.

One problem was that I had kept my underwear on, so they were soaked, so I had to take them off, carry the sopping underwear and freeball it until I got home. After I dressed, a secretary gave me a certificate that said I had been baptized. So I walked home with that certificate in one hand, my wet underwear in another and when I opened the front door to my house, my mom was really upset that I was baptized without her there...plus, the soaked underpants. Now, she isn't religious, but it seemed like a big moment and she wanted to be there...and it was hard to explain how I was strongarmed into doing it and more or less got baptized on a whim. That didn't stop me from being a puppeteer for Jesus though. Anyway, more on that later...here's the bad music, as promised:

DC Talk - Nu Thang
You thought this was going to be Jesus Freak didn't you? Well...it isn't.



Michael W. Smith - Friends



Al Denson - Arms of My Lord



Petra - Beyond Belief



Newsboys - He Reigns



Anberlin - Godspeed
I guess these guys are Taking Back Sunday fans...oh, them and totally Jesus too.




I'll end this week kind of like last week by giving a link to a decent song with implications to the theme. Here's Jeff Buckley singing Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah.

viva el mustache