Following is my third attempt to reflect on the 2015 theme of Lutheran Outdoors Ministry of Texas, REAL GRACE. For the sake of full disclosure, these lyrics and its backstory, posted below, were actually penned about six years ago. Reflecting on the theme for 2015 brought to mind the lyrics and the experience that led to them being written.
ROLLER RINK ROCK AND ROLL
Let your grace, Amazing Grace, override my melody
Let your mercy override the smallest corners of my song
Let your peace that passes understanding override my restless heart
Let your love, your hope and love, override me all day long.
c2008 Mike Tauser
In case you are wondering, there is a story behind the title of this song. Here it is:
I came home to Houston during Christmas Break of one of my years at Marquette University (I believe it was my junior year-1989) and volunteered to DJ a Christian music night at a local roller rink. I was majoring in broadcasting and had even produced and hosted a contemporary Christian music show on the campus station (WMUR), so I figured this was right up my alley.
I showed up at the rink with my feeble collection of music including Petra, Michael W. Smith, Steve Taylor and, if I remember correctly, Stryper, as well as a few more groups. I settled into the DJ booth, while the skaters started lacing up. The first song I played was THIS MEANS WAR by Petra, a Christian band with a hard rock sound. For many years their lead singer was John Schlitt who had been in a rock band called Head East. Before the end of the song's first stanza, a gentleman came in to the booth quite irate, asking why I was playing this rock music, etc.
I wish I could say that I had a great strategy of listening to this man's complaint in an attempt to reach some understanding, but the truth is I was so stunned by his attack on the TYPE OF MUSIC that I was playing that had been special to me that I couldn't formulate any response to him for several minutes.
Eventually, several skaters offered to get some music from their cars that was a bit more "acceptable", so I did my best to play a mix of the two styles. If memory serves, the gentleman, who as best I could tell was a pastor/minister stayed by my side for at least 90 minutes. As I listened to him and got to explain a little bit of the positive ways God had used this rock and roll in my life, I was able to understand the crux of his argument. He even quoted that famous Scripture to me to defend it, it is from Paul's letter to the Classical Musicians, chapter 4, verse 1:"Thine beat shalt not override thine melody." (OK, OK that's not really a verse, it is April 1 after all). However, that was the main part of his argument, "the beat overrides the melody, therefore, the music is not of God."
Some events I have recently been a party to have made me think again of that night at the roller rink. While the roller rink memory is a bit humorous now that the emotions of the moment are far in the past, the recollection is also a bit disconcerting to me. Even if I met that man today, I don't think I'd have much more to reply to his complaints and his attacks on me.
Furthermore, there are times when my shortcomings and sins make it so no one's words can get through to me, and I know there are some people who perceive me as THAT GUY attacking them.
I say all this to portray some of the jumble in my mind as I composed the above-posted lyrics. I know the writing of these lyrics reminded me that God's grace is sufficient to overcome(speaking of Paul) my failures. I hope they serve the same purpose to those who read them and hear the story behind them.
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