Well done again, Casting Crowns!
Posted September 18, 2007
By sts99,
Casting Crowns has done it again!
With thought-provoking lyrics and heart-driven melodies, Mark Hall leads us to considerations of whether we are living out our faith genuinely on a day-to-day basis.
"Slow Fade" reminds us that we need to make a conscious effort to guard our hearts against the negative influences of this world; that if we relinquish control of our hearts and minds to our culture, it will slowly but surely take us over and guide us down a path that can cause unnecessary pain not only to ourselves, but to everyone that we come into daily contact with, particularly our families.
My favorite song on this album, "East to West", gave me chills the first time I heard it. The thought that Christ holds His arms wide open to us, with scars on His hands and no memory of our sin, just blows me away. We only need to let go of what we think makes sense, and just humbly ask His forgiveness, and He chooses to put it out of His mind as if it never happened at all. You can't help but fall on your knees in worship at that eternal truth.
The upbeat title track gets your foot tapping and your lips humming, and considering whether we truly are living out what we set out to do. We sit in church and soak up teachings, we make commitments to ourselves to change and live for Him more, but often times we leave the building and go about our lives as usual without really changing at all. Making a heart change is wonderful and great, but unless we live it out, we aren't going to impact this world for Christ in an effective way.
"Somewhere in the Middle" shows us that living on the fence is a precarious place to be. A balancing act like that allows us to be pulled in opposite directions, always having to compromise who and what we are. Just let go, step off that line and fall into the arms of God, and give Him all the control, and you'll find your feet.
Includes collaborations with Nichole Nordeman ("Every Man") and Steven Curtis Chapman ("The Word Is Alive").
I love that Mark Hall writes more than just vertical worship songs. With a contemporary feel, he continues to help us ponder our effects on each other as we live our lives out. Living for Him is more than just a relationship between us and Himself--it extends much wider to our earthly families, our church family, our friends, our neighbors, to strangers we meet every day and even to those on the other side of the planet. The choices we make this very moment have a domino effect on the kingdom of God here and now, as well as there and later.(See Matthew 22:37-40 and Hebrews 13:1-3.)
Casting Crowns continues to challenge us: How many crowns will you lay at His feet? Live obediently this moment, and then the next, and pretty soon you'll instead be asking yourself, who else can I encourage to be able to lay crowns, too? View All Music And Book Reviews By sts99 | View sts99's Profile
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