Housemoot Teaser: Music and Grief with Andrew Osenga

Housemoot.com opens in six days!

In case you missed the announcement, Housemoot is the Rabbit Room’s new pop-up digital conference, replete with a curated collection of pre-recorded lectures from some of our favorite writers, artists, theologians, and musicians.

Because Hutchmoot, the Rabbit Room’s annual in-person conference, can be hard to get tickets to, we are offering Housemoot as a resource kit that you can use to create a “moot” experience of your own. We hope that it is a gathering point for your community.

God’s Not Finished With Us Yet: A Review of Rachel Wilhelm’s Jeremiah

When the hashtag #MeToo began showing up on social media feeds across the country in October 2017, Facebook reported that nearly half of its users were friends with someone who said they’d been sexually assaulted or harassed. Unfortunately, I wasn’t surprised, as I’d already heard stories from two family members who were taken advantage of by close friends. One month later, #ChurchToo began trending on Twitter as users sought to increase awareness of this kind of tragedy happening in churches as well. And in the last six years, multiple stories of abuse have continued to be uncovered in the Christian world as we’ve seen leader after leader weighed on the scales of justice and found wanting. 

Story Behind the Song: Faithful’s “A Place For You”

I grew up in a Pentecostal tradition that loved to call everything a spirit. If you showed up to church flustered because your kids wouldn’t get out of bed and your car wouldn’t start and you forgot to brush your teeth, they’d cast out the spirit of chaos. If someone had an allergy attack, they’d cast out demons before considering peanuts. If you were a woman with curves, they’d cast out the Jezebel spirit just to be safe.

I love my charismatic roots, complicated as they are.

Invited into a Rich Community: An Interview with Matt Wheeler

We love to shine the spotlight on friends who are crafting something meaningful, and Matt Wheeler’s new album certainly fits that bill. Matt is a friend of the Rabbit Room who is also a singer-songwriter from Lancaster, Pennsylvania, an artist who often leans on literary heroes for his musical inspiration. A Hard History of Love is his new project, a suite of songs and stories inspired by the short stories of Wendell Berry. Read on for our conversation about his love of Berry, the vision for his newest work, and the upside of creative limitations.

The Anticipation of Mystery: An Interview with Leslie Jordan

We’ve been so glad to call Leslie Jordan a friend of the Rabbit Room in recent years because we so admire the gracious spirit and communal heart that accompanies her music—whether as a part of the duo All Sons & Daughters, her work with Integrity Music, or her solo releases. No matter the outlet, Leslie has always made sure that a meaningful connection was at the heart of the creative work.

Holy Yearning: Skye Peterson’s Where The Winter Was

In the early days of an artist’s career, there’s a good amount of wandering and experimenting, planting seeds that will someday blossom into their own kind of art. Many of us have watched that transformation happen in real time with Skye Peterson.

The Value of Bespoke Worship Songs

Bespoke is not a word we use very much. The word means “custom made” and is most often employed in the clothing industry. I’ve never had any clothing custom-made for myself, but I understand the appeal. There is a welcomed utility in something made for the masses but there is a unique beauty in something made for the particular.

E-Minor Earnestness: The Importance of U2’s October

There was a time, not too long ago, when the church had a Music Problem. Check that—there have been lots of times when the church has had a Music Problem, but this is the one I remember. This particular Music Problem was born with the rise of so-called “Jesus Music” in the 1970s (if you’ve seen the Jesus Revolution film you’ve got some context). Jesus Music became Contemporary Christian Music, and many in the established church in the United States decried the perceived nefarious influence of “pagan” music on a format formerly reserved for pipe organs and hymnals.

A Challenging Hope: A Review of Anchor Hymns

In many ways, we’re in the Golden Age of worship music. Great congregational music is released every week, it seems. But it’s a rare project that engages the listener with spiritual depth, passion, and musical excellence. Anchor Hymns’ new project Sing, Sing, Sing pulls it off, all while covering difficult subjects like doubt, lament, and suffering.

Beauty in Ordinary Days: Appreciating JJ Heller

“Oh, Mom! JJ Heller!” my two-year-old, Shiloh, exclaimed in the backseat as the song shuffled through the speakers. I didn’t know she was listening, much less processing and correctly identifying the singer-songwriter. I was proud, but it made sense. Heller has filled our house with daily anthems, lullabies, anxiety-soothing balms, and beautiful music these last two years. 

What A Friend: The Companionship of Mission House

“What a friend we have in Jesus.” We sing those words, and we take comfort in our personal relationship with the Maker, but just a moment’s pondering reveals our inadequacy. We do not rate such access. We have never before known a friend so giving, so interested, so committed. We can only fail in our half of the relationship, but somehow that’s okay. 

Joyful Abundance: A review of Andrew Osenga’s Living Water EP

Waking up to joy can feel like spring. One day, it’s all gray skies and brown sticks. The next, the ground has softened into mud and the trees are covered with flowers you barely noticed were budding. That’s the feeling of Andrew Osenga’s new EP Living Water, five songs that prepare the way for his upcoming album Headwaters like a garden bursting into bloom.