PICK OF THE MONTH
THRIVE
CASTING CROWNS
REUNION RECORDS | £12.99
Apologies, but I have to start this review with a warning. Wherever you are and whatever you’re doing, this album will make you sing along, bob your head, jig along, tap your feet and want to run through the streets wanting to live your life unashamedly for Christ with new and profound enthusiasm. To be honest, it wouldn't surprise me if, somehow, all of those things happened at the same time. 11 years after their self-titled first album was released, Casting Crowns and front man Mark Hall continue to produce songs that spur listeners on to evaluate their relationship with God and with each other, through an array of musical creativity, style and genre. Each song sounds completely different to the others, from alternative rock, to soft folk and quiet reflective music.
The title of the album refers to the fact that as Christians we are called to thrive rather than survive; to live our lives with the joy and enthusiasm that Paul had in Philippians even when he and the church were struggling so much. The album uses the metaphor of the roots of a plant, digging into the soil for stability but also reach ing out with energy and enthusiasm on an adventure to find sources of water in order to grow. The CD case of this album is embedded with wildf lower seeds that when the case is planted under a thin layer of soil and watered daily, will grow to form a plant. Genuinely. Seeds. With the album. Amazing.
From the first track of the album, Casting Crowns share a whole range of relevant life experiences and Biblical themes that would be familiar to any follower of Christ. Each song offers the listener something different to meet a variety of different tastes and needs. For me ‘Broken Together’ and ‘All, you’ve ever wanted’ were the songs which really stood out. ‘Broken Together’ is a beautifully slow, reflective song about marriage and how the combination of gifts a couple shares can be used to glorify God. ‘All, you’ve ever wanted’ is an up-beat rock song challenging the logic Christians sometimes have that when they fail, they need to make it right with God for him to be proud of them again. ‘All, you’ve ever wanted’ says that God is always proud of us whatever we do and that he just wants us to be close to him. Thrive is a fantastic, challenging, creative and easy-to-listen-to album, reflecting all aspects of life. Enjoy and get planting!
MIKE HARRISON is a youth worker at Nottingham YFC.
THE ART OF CELEBRATION
REND COLLECTIVE EXPERIMENT
ELEVATION MUSIC | £ 7.99
There’s a track near the end Rend Collective’s third album, The Art of Celebration (TAOC), called ‘Simplicity’, which neatly sums up the whole album. TAOC is 11 tracks of adoration, 11 simple songs that, unlike much of their previous work could easily be used in a congregational setting. In fact, to fully review this work you have to compare it to their previous efforts. If Rend’s first album was a toe in the experimental water, their second offering, Homemade worship by handmade people, jumped in, fully submerged itself and brought a snorkel along for good measure. TAOC is a step back from the madness and a step towards simplicity – the fireworks have been replaced by simple choruses and a simpler, folkier, feel. A remix at the end of the album offers a peak of a more electric, ‘dancier’ direction, but it isn’t the heart of the album. This means that, while not as memorable as previous offering, TAOC is more relateable album for your average church-goer, and still packed full of lyrics and music that stand head and shoulders above most other worship album. What Rend do best is creating a party atmosphere, and this album just creates a different kind of party, as one central lyric puts it – ‘This is the art of celebration, knowing we’re free from condemnation.’
JAMIE CUTTERIDGE IS YOUTHWORK’S JOURNALIST
A NEARLY INFALLIBLE HISTORY OF CHRISTIANITY
NICK PAGE
HODDER & STOUGHTON | £16.99
The sub-title of this book is ‘Being a history of 2000 years of Saints, Sinners, Idiots and Divinely Inspired Troublemakers’ and it could not be more apt. This book takes the reader through two thousand years of Church history; highlighting the good, the bad and the ugly, as well as the movers and shakers. It helps the reader understand how we came to believe the things we do, and why we say the things we say. It charts the rise from humble peasant beginnings to becoming the world’s largest religion.
This is not just a history book like you’d use in school- Nick Page writes in a way that is engaging and humorous, making his subject funny, fascinating and intriguing. He effortlessly mixes facts and comedy with the end result being that you want to keep reading. I loved reading this book as it made the history of the Church come alive in a new way I cannot recommend it highly enough.
BEN WHITMARSH WORKS WITH ADULTS WITH LEARNING DIFFICULTIES AND VOLUNTEERS AT HIS LOCAL CHURCH
RED LETTER CHRISTIANITY:
SHANE CLAIBORNE & TONY CAMPOLO
HODDER & STOUGHTON | £12.99
The book is written in a conversational style between the authors, around the idea of living a life based purely what Jesus says in scripture. The relaxed style of writing draws you in to the dialogue, and while it contains predominantly American points of view and examples it is still an easy read. The two authors have a shared theology although debate is sparked as to how the different generations of ‘Red Letter Christians’ live out their conviction.
As a Christian it is difficult to disagree with the notion of living out the teachings of Jesus, however Claiborne and Campolo discuss taking this concept to its extremity. The subjects they discuss are thought provoking, and the book must be read with an open mind to allow you to see their points of view from a clearer angle. As youth workers and ministers this book will encourage you to think deeper about what Jesus said and how it can impact our lives and the lives of young people. You may not agree with everything in this book but don’t be surprised if you are wrestling with some of the concepts for days afterwards.
TOM MILLINGTON IS THE CENTRE DIRECTOR AT KENILWORTH YOUTH FOR CHRIST,WARWICKSHIRE
ROMANCE ACADEMY PLAYING CARDS
ROMANCE ACADEMY | £8.50
Romance Academy is doing great things educating young people about relationships, under-age sex and teen pregnancy. They’re experts, but some of us aren’t. Tackling the topics of sex, love and relationships tends to fall into either the category of ‘It’s all my young people want to talk about’ or ‘I can’t get them to talk about it at all’. This set of playing cards each feature a question on them, ranging from milder things like ‘Should you put your friends or your relationship first?’ to deeper dilemmas such as ‘Could you love someone who had slept with over 25 people?’ You can use the cards in any way and there is a good enough range of questions for you to be able to approach groups with a variety of age and sexual experience. I went through the cards with the other youth workers from my church first, which was both helpful and hilarious. The cards do well at relaxing the group enough to ask their own questions. My young people keep asking if we can get the cards out again, so that speaks for itself.
LLOYD KINSLEY IS THE ART DIRECTOR AT YOUTHWORK
THE YOUTHWORK TEAM ANSWERED SOME OF THE QUESTIONS ON THE CARDS IN THE LATEST EPISODE OF THE YOUTHWORK PODCAST, AVAILABLE ON THE YOUTHWORK WEBSITE.
