Another look at charismatics, 12 years later

Looking back on the points made 27 years ago by Charismatics at Geneva, I can only feel a great sadness. For I look at the landscape of what had then been the the robust, energetic Charismatic movement, and what is there now, the mainline part of it becoming either spent (Lutherans, for example) or reshaped and tamed in a manner better suited for the powers-that-be (like Catholics and Methodists). The 'Third Wave' part of it isn't in much better shape, for while there are many congregations within it that are better than ever, the overall impression is that they've lost their vision, and are being blended into a veriety of new mini-movements, or are being taken up by some larger movements that have little to do with following Christ.

I'll use the points from Geneva that I addressed 12 years ago as a starting point. When I do this, please remember that I am an outside observer, a mainstream Christian who is clearly not (by nearly all of the movement's own self-definitions) a charismatic, and never has been. I am simply a believer in Christ who insists on being in dialogue with a movement that, even at this stage, is still the main shaping force for many millions of Christians the world over. A believer in Christ who believes that mainstream Christian leaders are still seriously shirking their responsibility as Christians by choosing not to be in real dialogue with them.

In 1980, Charismatics at one of their many conferences saw a series of marks of the Spirit that they believed were present in their movements. These included :

• New openness toward the healing power
  and the lordship of Jesus;
  
• Renewal of spiritual life of the church in
  local congregations;
  
• Spontaneity, openness, freedom and joy in
  praise and worship;
  
• New interest in the Bible as God's living
  Word;
  
• Deeper experience of the reality, holiness,
  and transcendence of God;
  
• Deeper interest and new openness in regard
  to the essential doctrines of the Trinity, the divinity of Christ, his
  death and resurrection, confirmed in experience;
  
• Renewal of the service of healing for the
  sick;
  
• Lay leadership;
  
• New incentive for evangelization, missions
  and witness in the power of the Spirit.
  

I'll be going over these in upcoming weeks.

Bob Longman Sun 12:30-2:30 pm 23 September 2007
wusb.fm (90.1 FM, Stony Brook NY USA)

title -- artist -- album (if any) -- notation
(N=new, R=request)
--------------------------------------------
No Love Is Free -- Tom Griffin -- 40 Years Later -- N
Mountains o' Things -- the Duhks
Stop By Anytime -- Devon Sproul -- Keep Your Silver Shined -- N
Between Friends -- Rollyn Zoubek -- Hinge
Victory At Sea -- Bill Morrissey -- Come Running -- N
the Deep -- Claire Holley
Let Someone Love Me -- Solomon Burke -- Make Do w. What You Got
Hang Out With the Moon -- Diana Jones -- The One That Got Away
Scarborough Fair -- Simon & Garfunkel
Away Down the River -- Alison Krauss -- 100 Miles or More -- N
Light Years -- Caroline Peyton -- Intuition
Right On Time -- Eric Bibb -- Natural Light
Lies (That I Have Known) -- Patsy Moore -- Regarding the Human Condition
Eyes On the Prize -- Mavis Staples -- We'll Never Turn Back -- N
Al 'n Yetta -- Allan Sherman
the Trumpet Child -- Over the Rhine -- Trumpet Child -- N
Let Us Get Together -- Marie Knight -- Let Us Get Together -- N
All My People -- Hope Nunnery -- Wilderness Lounge -- N
I'm Gonna Change My Ways -- Peter Case -- Let Us Now Praise Sleepy John -- N
Lelilungelo Ngelakho -- Soweto Gospel Choir -- N
Late In the Evening -- Spanish Harlem Orch/Paul Simon -- United We Swing -- N
That Was Me -- Paul McCartney -- Memory Almost Full -- N
She Remembers -- Tim Grimm
Feels Good -- Take 6 -- Feels Good -- N
Water To Drink -- BR6 -- Here To Stay -- N

----------------------------------------------

It's strange, how so many of the TV shows Allan Sherman mentions in Al 'n Yetta (from the '60s) can still be seen on some cable channel. Case's song is about wanting to repent -- but wanting it not quite enough. The Trumpet Child is eschatology through the grid of supper club music. Bill Morrisey (with Phil Minnisale) is appearing Sunday 2pm at the University Cafe here on the Stony Brook campus. Catch you there?

radio show WUSB and wusb.fm, 11:30 am - 5 pm

Bob Longman Sun 11:30-2:30 pm 16 September 2007

Fool Like Me -- Porter Waggoner -- Wagonmaster N
Georgia Moon -- Pierce Pettis -- State of Grace
How Can I Meet Her? -- Everly Brothers
Kneeling Drunkard's Plea -- Johnny Cash
Confetti -- Lori McKenna -- Unglamourous N
Thank God -- Alpha Band
Cold Cold Heart -- Hank Williams
I Want To Be Ready to Meet Him -- Chuck Wagon Gang
I Can't Stand Up Alone -- Tom Kimmel -- Shallow Water
Ontario -- Diana Jones -- The One That Got Away
the Razor's Edge-- Carrie Newcomer -- My True Name
Patience and Hope -- Dan Bonis -- Delivering the Cake
Sweet Evalina -- Aengus Finnan -- Fool's Gold
Along Came Jones -- Ray Stevens

=========================================

Alone With You -- Joan Osborne -- Breakfast In Bed N
You -- Abra Moore -- On the Way N
Somebrightmorninblues -- Peter Case -- Let Us Now Praise Sleepy John N
Water Works Fine -- Eric Bibb -- Natural Light
Walk On By -- Ian Moore -- To Be Loved N
My Own Eyes -- Mavis Staples -- We'll Never Turn Back N
When the City Comes -- Chuck E. Costa N
Light Years -- Caroline Peyton
The Trumpet Child -- Over the Rhine -- The Trumpet Child N R
Crazy 8s -- Mae N
Must Have Done Something Right -- Relient K -- Five Score N
Nod Your Head -- Paul McCartney -- Memory Almost Full N
Plena Con Sabor -- Spanish Harlem Orchestra -- United We Swing N
La Hiedra Venenosa -- Los Straightjackets -- Rock En Espenol N
Wounded Me Wounded You -- Jan Krist -- Live at Calvin College N
Shanghai Moon -- Cosmos -- Aiming For the Stars N
Still Here -- Cosmos -- Aiming For the Stars N
Silver Bells -- Amandine -- Solace In Sore Hands N
I Got the Dirt On You -- Toby Walker -- Just Rolled In N
Walking On the Moon -- Eliza Gilkyson -- Tom Russell tribute N
Hot and Cold -- Flynn -- The Answer's Not Enough N
Made to Love -- TobyMac -- single
You'll Want Me Back -- Ethel Waters
Tu Scendi dalle Stelle -- Luciano Pavarotti -- Xmas
Twelve Gates -- Marie Knight -- Let Us Get Together N

==================================================
Jazz On the Air

I'd Love It -- Benny Carter Orchestra
Don't Worry 'Bout Me -- Ella Fitzgerald
Wrapped Tight -- Coleman Hawkins
Heading Home -- Joshua Redman
Coctails For Two -- Benny Carter Orchestra
Sweet Lorraine -- Nat King Cole
Can't Teach My Old Heart New Tricks -- Benny Goodman
Ooh Pop A Dah -- Dirty Dozen Jazz Band
Take the A Train -- Just 4 Kicks
Trouble Don't Last Always -- Allen & Allen R
But By the Grace -- Harrison & Blanchard
Ain't That the Truth -- Don Byron
Pink Champagne -- Lionel Hampton R
Ain't Nothing To It -- Fats Waller
Habanera 3 -- Kamikaze Ground Crew -- Postcards From the Highwire N
Yes and No -- Branford Marsalis -- Random Abstract
Gotta Travel On -- Ray Bryant
Show 'Nuff -- Red Rodney
Banished -- David Murray N
Joie De Vivre -- Dewey Redman
Old Music Master -- Nat King Cole
When Diana Dances -- Charlie Peacock
Happy-Go-Lucky Local -- Duke Ellington
Of Kindred Souls -- Roy Hargrove
But Not For Me -- Sarah Vaughan
All Too Soon -- Duke Ellington w. Ben Webster
Don's Idea -- James Carter
Make Sure You're Sure -- Joshua Redman
Tapajack -- Ray Anderson -- Alligatory Band
My One and Only Love -- Ella Fitzgerald
Yes Or No -- Jose Rizo N

Commercials can get weird, pt 1

Take, for instance, the Dux Bed radio spots. I remember the first one I heard, lo so many years ago. They apparently accidentally sent their first rough run-through to 880 AM -- the announcer sounded sleepy and badly out of breath, and didn't even mention his name (though the voice was easily recognizable to me as that of Pat Summerall, the sportscaster). It was unedited, and poorly written. But since then, there have been a dozen or more ads over the years, each one sharply done.

The latest one, though, stands out. In it, Summerall talks about -- get this -- how much he loves getting to bed with his wife. And he does it with such breathless, joyous longing that he's getting high on it even as he's doing the commercial. Wow. 77 years old, and the old kicker's still got kick!

On the other hand, the considerably younger onetime darling of commercials, Britney Spears, hasn't been doing so many of them lately. Now that she looks so, well, ordinary. I'm hoping her young sister Jamie-Lynn (the Zoe Girl who has a great face, and whose body should fill out in the next few years) is taking note as to what not to do and how not to handle fame. Or more precisely, I hope she learns not to sell herself out to the drive for fame.

Still Here.

------ but not on the radio, lately, at least not on my time slot. First, Riverhead's Polish Town festival, then Fiddle & Folk festival, then Bradstock. All are worthy shows, and I'm glad to step aside for them. I think next up is Valerie Wilcox, with Classical, my usual alternator. So it's a long time between playlists.

When I get back, there'll be new old stuff from Coleman Hawkins, Caroline Peyton, and David Brenner, and new new stuff from Hillary Scott, Bill Morrissey, and Mae. Also, acappella fans will get a dose of Cosmos, a superb band from Latvia.

My personal life? Oy vey... They dump me before they pick me up. I once dated Kim Possible, but when we got to commitment-time, she wouldn't promise anything for sure. For a few weeks I dated Hello Kitty, but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't get her to smile. And then there's Wonder Woman -- all she wanted from me was to do weird games using her lasso. (...tugging on my virtual necktie...) So I went to a matchmaking service. They made me pay for the phosphorus.

Then I went to another one, Yente To The Cosmos. They're not kidding -- they hooked me up with a six-eyed warted silica crawler from Alpha Centauri. We met on neutral ground, at the Tattooine Cantina. As the band played, she smiled, and said, "let's dance". Right... dance with a partner with no feet, lubricated by goo. As we held each other, I was noticing her eyes. I was looking into two of them, but the others were checking out four other guys! She left with one of the clarinet players. Hey, I can't keep this up -- interplanetary dating doesn't come cheap.

0-for-August. The story of my life (sigh).