The Devil’s Jar of Hearts

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When Death Dies

September 7, 2011 in Music with 1 Comment

“When death dies, all things live.”

I love the imagery of the lyrics and the creativity of the music and video. Check out this fantastic new song from Gungor.

An Evening with James Hetfield

May 14, 2011 in Church, Music with 9 Comments

I can cross something off my bucket list. I had the incredible opportunity to spend an evening with one of my childhood heroes… James Hetfield (lead singer of Metallica). On Thursday night we showed the documentary Absent and then had the producer, Justin Hunt (who goes to Central), and James here for a Q&A afterward.

I’ve had the opportunity to meet a handful of people who’s work has influenced me and I’ve been super impressed with most of them but extremely disappointed in a few. As a result, I try not to expect much out of these experiences so I don’t walk away frustrated. I’m proud to say that James is a class act and blew me away. He is a living story of redemption and it is fascinating to hear him talk about how his life is being transformed.

Absent Documentary Showing with James Hetfield!

April 22, 2011 in Movies, Music with 5 Comments

I am so unbelievably excited to announce that we will be showing the Absent documentary at our Mesa campus on May 12. This is a special screening of an award-winning documentary that affects thousands in our community alone. Filmmaker, Justin Hunt, and METALLICA guitarist/vocalist James Hetfield will join us to present and discuss this worldwide crisis of absent and disengaged fathers and the impact it has had on society.

The film includes on-camera interviews and testimonies from well-known author John Eldredge, world-champion boxer Johnny Tapia, fitness model Robin Decker and Hetfield. I’ve already seen it myself and can vouch for how powerfully it portrays the need for fathers and what happens when they are not around.

What Emotion Should Art Produce?

March 10, 2011 in Music with 39 Comments

One of the things that is tough for me about Christianity in America is our desire for everything to have a happy ending and a feel-good feeling. The problem with all of the happy worship songs is that I often can’t relate.

Not that I don’t love the message or believe that it’s true. It’s just that in my own life I often have more questions than answers.

This got me thinking about how we view art. What emotion should good art draw us to? Happiness? Celebration? Contemplation? Sadness?

I heard this song from an upcoming movie trailer and immediately it resonated with something deep inside me. I looked it up and found that it is from Johann Johannsson and called “The Sun’s Gone Dim And The Sky’s Turned Black.” As I looked at what other people are saying about it I was surprised to see how many people didn’t like it because it was “depressing.” My wife even told me it “made her feel sick” when I was listening to it in our living room as I wrote this!