There's a meme circulating about of which I am quite fond. It features a photo of Robert Plant, lead singer for 1970s rock legends Led Zeppelin, in earnest conversation. The text reads, "You know why your generation is so angry? Because your music sucks!" There are exceptions, thankfully. The swaggering bluesy hard rock of Greta Van Fleet deeply satisfies, as does the warm folk of Abbey Sitterley. Alas, they are among the rare exceptions in today's plastic pop wasteland.

Although music still matters in today's culture -- witness the phenomenon of Taylor Swift and her Svengali-ish hold over her worshipful Swifties -- music that matters in and of itself is a scarce commodity. This is partly why I play new music by deserving artists alongside classics by Christian rock legends on my Cephas Hour podcast. If it was good then, it is good now, and if it is good now, it is good, period.

Speaking of the show, I hit a productivity spurt between December 7 and 9, putting together three episodes. Two are tied together, while one is a stand-alone. Together, the shows cover the releases on Solid Rock Records between 1976 and 1981. The label, created by Christian rock's founding father Larry Norman, was revolutionary for its time, in that its releases stood quality-wise toe to toe with the mainstream market's product. The then-nascent Christian music industry had no idea how to sell or market this music, so it went unheard except by the faithful few. The two shows, available here and here for listening on demand, contain multiple tracks from the eight albums released on Solid Rock during its tenure. Give them a try. I suspect you'll be glad you did.

The stand-alone show, available for listening on demand here, digs deeper into the apparent unwillingness of so much of today's Christian music to do anything other than churn out simplistic praise and worship choruses. Haven't these people ever read the Psalms, with their poetic depth and multitude of covered topics? Very annoying.

The show contains many more songs than for which there are videos linked below, and I encourage you to give it a listen. The marvelous Mrs. Rachel Wilhelm, with Phil Keaggy, starts this particular episode.

In this show, I’m focusing on the rich, artistic creations of different Christian musicians, both then and now, and promoting the rich, lyrical heritage of artists--from then and now--who were and are unafraid to pursue and examine humanity in the light of Christ. One of the most common complaints leveled against today’s overabundance of worship and praise music - not that there’s anything wrong with worship and praise music per se - is that it has drowned out the musings of God’s creation upon that self-same creation. People know joy, sadness, happiness, anger, fear, and being unafraid. They know all these things, often in close proximity to one another. So, in this episode, I am featuring many songs that may seem somewhat jarring in their juxtaposition, yet all share a common thread. They all reflect life on this planet when seen in the light of Christ’s love for us.

It’s a little-known fact that, at least occasionally, many Christians get off track. We get distracted by shiny objects or variations thereof, and we shuffle our priorities, playing solitaire for fun with a deck of 51--to quote the old song.

Unfortunately, it is far easier for many of us to point out someone else’s shortcomings while blissfully ignoring or tempting to justify our own. It doesn’t work, never has worked, and never will. But we do it anyway.

We can stumble and fall short. In fact, it is a guarantee that we will. However, restoration is available for even the most wretched among us. No one is outside the reach of God’s grace. No one is outside the love of Christ. These are good things. In humbling ourselves before the throne, we find that we are of authentic and genuine value.

In the Book of Hebrews, Paul wrote these words:

It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age and who have fallen away, to be brought back to repentance. To their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace.

Hard words. Yet, we should refuse not to continue praying for and reasoning with those who once were part of the fellowship. Perhaps, in the mystery of God’s workings, a seed remains within them that will one day come to life.

It’s true that what God puts together, let no man put asunder. It’s also true that now we see through a glass darkly. It’s also true that it’s not always God who puts things together on this planet. Sometimes, we get it right. Sometimes, we don’t. God loves us anyway. There’s great comfort in that.