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This episode is the first in my series, ‘Christian Music not Played on Christian Radio.’ Since the series was inspired in part by my guest, I thought it appropriate to have him begin the series.

My guest is Adam Whipple. I learned about and was able to connect with Adam through his pastor and my former board chair, Dr. Wade Bibb. Wade is presently pastor of Central Baptist Bearden, in Knoxville, TN. As so many churches are doing, Central Baptist Bearden is seeking to navigate the challenges that have come about with the rise of ‘contemporary’ Christian music and its ‘conflict’ with ‘traditional’ Christian music. Because Central Baptist Bearden is large enough and has the resources, it has services devoted to each style. Consequently, Wade is in conversation with musicians from each style.

Wade and I were discussing this challenge and he told of an occasion when he asked one of the ‘contemporary’ musicians where the laments and the contemplative/reflective songs were in ‘contemporary’ Christian music. The answer given was that those songs are there, but they are not heard on Christian radio. The musician/composer Wade was speaking to and talking about was Adam.

As you will hear in this episode, Adam offers important insights into the nature and breadth of ‘contemporary’ Christian music and into a Christian perspective on the interpretation of all art.

As you will also hear, Adam blends an eclectic, highly literate brand of folk rock with a more traditional Appalachian sound. His music has been described as equal parts Rich Mullins and Garrison Keillor and compared to Andrew Peterson, Paul Simon, and Counting Crows.

Adam’s latest record is The Broken Season, released in 2018 to critical acclaim.

In addition to being a musician and composer, Adam is also an artist, photographer, poet, and writer. He has written for The Rabbit Room, Analogue, and Curator magazine.

Adam is one of the editors for the arts journal and growing creative community, Foundling House, base in Knoxville, TN.

You can learn more about Adam, how to book a performance, and how to purchase his albums at his website:  adamwhipple.com

You can learn more about Foundling House and experience the art provided there by going to its website:  foundlinghouse.com

The music for this episode is from a clip of a song called ‘Father Let Your Kingdom Come’ which is found on The Porter’s Gate Worship Project Work Songs album and is used by permission by The Porter’s Gate Worship Project. You can learn more about the album and the Worship Project at theportersgate.com.

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My guest for this episode is The Reverend Doctor Mae Elise Cannon. Dr. Cannon is an author of six books, a speaker, advocate, and the Executive Director of Churches for Middle East Peace.

Dr.Cannon is an ordained pastor in the Evangelical Covenant Church (ECC). Her ministry and professional background includes serving as the Senior Director of Advocacy and Outreach for World Vision-US, the executive pastor of Hillside Covenant Church (Walnut Creek, California), Director of Development and Transformation for Extension Ministries at Willow Creek Community Church (Barrington, Illinois), and as a consultant to the Middle East for child advocacy issues for Compassion International.

She earned doctorates in History (Ph.D) and Spiritual Formation (D. Min). Her Ph.D focused on American History with the minor in Middle Eastern studies from the University of California – Davis, focusing her dissertation on the history of the American Protestant church in Israel and Palestine. Cannon’s Doctorate of Ministry in Spiritual Formation is from Northern Theological Seminary. Cannon holds an M.Div. From North Park Theological Seminary, an M.B.A. from North Park University’s School of Business and Nonprofit Management, and an M.A. in bioethics from Trinity International University. Cannon completed her Bachelor of Arts degree at the University of Chicago in History, Philosophy, Social Studies, of Science and Medicine.

I will have more interviews with Dr. Cannon about some of her books and her work with peacebuilding, especially in the Middle East. However, I wanted to begin with a conversation about her first book, Social Justice Handbook: Small Steps for a Better World.

Most of us who are caring people want to live our lives is ways that help make our world a better place. We want to participate in and advance the causes of justice, compassion, and caring so that there are less of such things as poverty, homelessness, hunger, injustice, crime, violence, and war. Often, however, the daily demands of life absorb our energies and hinder us from being involved. In addition, so many of the issues that we care about are so complex we are uncertain about how we can be involved and whether our efforts will matter.

What Dr. Cannon does in Social Justice Handbook: Small Steps for a Better World is to provide us with a resource so that we can know how to become involved in something that matters to us which we believe will help make the world more just, compassionate, and caring. As the subtitle indicates, small steps do matter and make a difference. Even though this work is now ten years old, I wanted you, as my audience, to know of this resource because of its continued usefulness in helping us learn about issues that concern us and becoming aware of specific initial steps we can take to get involved.

In the first part of the book, Dr. Cannon gives us an orientation about what social justice is and involves. My interview with her focuses on this part.

In the second part of the book (which is especially why I wanted you to know of this resource), she provides an encyclopedic list of social issues. For each issue she gives an introduction to the issue; resources, such as books and websites, for learning more about the issue; and then specific steps one can take to become involved with that issue.

You can learn more about Dr. Cannon, her books, how to contact her, and how to arrange for her come and speak for your organization from her website:

maecannon.com

You can learn more about the work of Churches for Middle East Peace from its website:

cmep.org

Other books by Dr. Cannon on to which she contributed are:

Forgive Us: Confessions of a Complicated Faith

A Land Full of God: Christian Perspectives on The Holy Land

Just Spirituality: How Faith Practices Fuel Social Action

Evangelical Theologies of Liberation and Justice

Beyond Hashtag Activism: Comprehensive Justice in a Complicated Age

The music for this episode is from a clip of a song called ‘Father Let Your Kingdom Come’ which is found on The Porter’s Gate Worship Project Work Songs album and is used by permission by The Porter’s Gate Worship Project. You can learn more about the album and the Worship Project at theportersgate.com.