Balm in Gilead Bryan Emerson & Grant Baker
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- Religion & Spirituality
The Balm in Gilead podcast explores music made for worship and entertainment and attempts to hold it up to a Biblical worldview. Bryan and Grant co-host this look at CCM and Worship music. Be sure to rate and review in Apple Podcasts. And, tell your friends!
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57 – Is Jesus Lower Still?
Psalm
Psalm 57
Welcome
What have we been listening to… since February
Bryan
(old hats)
* Poor Bishop Hooper
* Sarah Sparks
* Providence
* The Oh Hellos
(really old hats)
* Switchfoot/Jon Foreman
* Relient K
* Colony House
(new hats)
* The Gray Havens
* You Me & The Bread
* The Orchardist
* Nostalgia
* Shiplap
* On Repeat
Spencer
* Psallos (Philippians and Hebrews) on 2 road trips
* New upcoming Psallos tracks for Patreon members!
* PBH (Psalms, Golgotha)
* Sarah Sparks (Ways and Means, All I Have)
* Brian Sauve (Even Dragons Shall Him Praise)
* Jadon Lavik (Roots Run Deep)
* Classical Music (Bach, Handel’s Messiah)
* Ventured into a little Skillet (Dominion)
* Instrumental EDM
* Proverbs 10, Vol. 2: The Foolish Man Will Fall
* All Good Things
* Recommendation for Spencer: Handel: Messiah | Voces8 and Academy of Ancient Music [Full Concert]
Grant
* Crown & Covenant (Ps 42D, Ps 1A, Ps 143b, Ps 78f)
* Jared Kraft (Revival: The Work of God soundtrack)
* The Corner Room (Matthew 11:28-30, John 17:1-11, John 3:16-17, Movement II (V.4-10))
* Colony House (One of Those Days, Landlocked Surf Rock, Cannonballers, Would Ya Could Ya)
* The National Parks (As We Ran, Chance, Sunshine, 8th Wonder, Rodeo, Summer of Memories)
* The Beach Boys (Surf Jam, Surfin’ Safari, Surfin’ U.S.A., California Girls, Fun, Fun, Fun) -
56 – Innovation or Manipulation? The Ethics of Using Technology in Christian Worship
Psalm 56
Psalm 56
Welcome
“Hello and welcome back to the Balm in Gilead podcast, where we explore all things Christian music and worship. I’m your host, Bryan, and as always, I’m joined by my co-host, Grant. Today, we have a fascinating and thought-provoking topic to dive into – Artificial Intelligence and Christian worship music.
What happens when AI writes Christian songs? Can machines truly capture the essence of worship, or is there something unique about human creativity and expression? We’re excited to explore these questions and more as we delve into the intersection of technology and faith.
But that’s not all – we’ll also be discussing where worship comes from, and whether worship written by those outside the faith has a place in Christian worship. It’s a complex and nuanced topic, but we believe it’s important to engage with it as we seek to deepen our understanding of worship.
So grab a cup of coffee, sit back, and join us for this exciting and thought-provoking episode. Let’s dive in!”
(Yes, that’s written by ChatGPT, along with the title, and the excerpt. And the image #DallE)
Philippians 1:15-18
English Standard Version
15 Some indeed preach Christ from envy and rivalry, but others from good will. 16 The latter do it out of love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. 17 The former proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely but thinking to afflict me in my imprisonment. 18 What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in that I rejoice.
Yes, and I will rejoice,
This, coupled with the idea that a song does not need to be born out of worship to be useful for worship (which is a form of mysticism), allows for the use of any useful song in worship (so long as it has been proven useful based on its own merit through discernment).
What We’re Listening To
Grant
* Crown & Covenant
* Holly Dutton
* Time for Three, Letters from the Future
* Jeff Lippencott
* Colony House
Bryan
* Everything and More and Come Alive back to back
* The Balm of Gilead – Mike Crawford and His Secret Siblings
* Things Unseen
* Filter it Through a Brain Cell
Can AI/ML write a worship song?
write a worship song that focuses on lament turning to praise
Verse 1:
Lord, I come before Your throne
Heavy hearted, feeling alone
My tears fall like rain
As I cry out Your name
Chorus:
But in the midst of my pain
I will lift up Your name
My lament turns to praise
For You are worthy all my days -
55 – Deconstructing Reconstructing Deconstruction
Psalm 55
Psalm 55 on Relight
Welcome
The Rev. Aaron De Boer (Associate Reformed Presbyterian, ARP) joins us this week. Follow him on Twitter at @DutchPresby and visit Friend of Sinners church that he pastors in Everson and Maple Falls, WA. For more info visit their website FriendofSinnersReformed.org
What We’re Listening to
Bryan
* I have been listening to the album When I Was Younger by Colony House. My van is acting finicky in the cold weather and it’s doing weird things to my battery, so I have unplugged everything that might possibly be a problem, include the aux cable I use to connect my phone (no Bluetooth in this van, and no I don’t think that is actually an issue, but I would rather be safe than have to pay for another battery). I have the physical album in the CD player and I’m just listening to it on repeat. It would probably still be 5 Score, but the last two tracks skip which stinks because they are the best two songs.
* CH also released their 4th album this week: Cannonballers. While You & I is still arguably their best song (from their second album), this album is fantastic upon first listen. Very cohesive. It is a summer album released on a day where it is 13 degrees here, so kinda weird but it works. Not a work of high art, but it will probably do better than their third album on the charts. I think “Trying to Survive” is my favorite song on the album. It is clearly political, but not slap-you-in-the-face political. Definitely referring to current issues but is still evergreen. Well constructed lyrics to accomplish all that. That said, I still hate the opening line lol.
* I have tried to expand my horizons and find some other Metal in particular that I like. I actually want to find a band that incorporates banjo into their metal, and while there seems to be a decent amount, none of the lyrics pass the car seat test (I wouldn’t feel comfortable with my littles listening as well).
Aaron
Andrew Remillard
Grant
* Top 5 Artists This Month
* Crown & Covenant
* Ola Gjello
* Peter Gregson
* Colony House
* Jeff Lippencott
* Album of note
* The Cannonballers – Colony House like Bryan said
* Top 5 Songs This Month
* Cannonballers – Colony House
* One of Those Days – Colony House
* Would Ya Could Ya – Colony House
* Sunshine – The National Parks
* Landlocked Surf Rock – Colony House
* Mention a song you can’t get enough of
* One of Those Days – Colony House -
54 – 2022 Spotify Wrapped
Psalm 54
We love talking about music on the show and this week we talk about our top picks from 2022. Do you agree with us? Find something interesting? Let us know, follow us on Spotify or Last.fm and drop a comment below. -
Presbycast Crossover – Music for the Church and the Christian
Chortles Weakly and Wresby of the excellent Presbycast podcast join us to talk all things Christian music—from the business, to worship, to personal devotions and even for entertainment purposes. We had a lot of fun…maybe a little too much! Be sure to subscribe to their show: https://presbycast.libsyn.com/ Watch the show: https://youtu.be/s_aOPPt1gc4
We begin our discussion with Brett McCracken’s recent article for TGC, Best Christian Music of 2022, and we have a few questions.
Is the music coming from an earnest desire to glorify Christ and an authentic, unapologetic love for God’s Word? Even if it’s not in the “worship genre” (whatever that is), does the music cultivate in listeners greater love for the Christian God? If yes, we can call it Christian music.
“I disagree with his definition of Christian Music, though I think it is a good attempt to capture and include what the majority of people would label Christian music. I think a better definition would be “songs that carefully consider Scripture and theology and apply these truths rightly to the world, to the people in the world, and especially to the Christian life”. This takes the focus off of “earnest desires” or misguided intentions and puts it on measurable objective content markers.
Most CCM would not fit that definition, but any song that does not do what my definition requires is actually a syncretistic work of paganism, so I stand by my definition.”
Bryan
We also discuss instrumentation in worship, especially considering the places like Psalm 150 where it says to praise God with the clashing cymbals. This also leads into a discussion of contemporaneity and what music is good to listen to or perform in worship to in the car. There is a good chunk of this subject that falls into Christian Liberty. In any case, we had a great time and hope to see you again soon!
Thanks for listening
The Balm of Gilead podcast is a member of the Tech Reformation family of podcasts. If you enjoy the show, please share it with others. We enjoy hearing from you, so join us on our Discord and let us know what you’re thinking. If email is more your thing, write to us at thereis balmcast com. Thanks again and we’ll see you next time, Lord willing. -
Flying Duo: Advent Music with Renee Emerson
Balm in Gilead host Bryan Emerson and his wife Renee Emerson discuss their Advent Playlist as well as their thoughts on Christmas/Seasonal Music.
Worth noting, we added an Advent Birmingham album after the recording.