Good Idea, Horrible Execution or My First Negative Review!
There has been some online chatter lately about the zany John Crowder, a charismatic who uses colorful language to describe the Holy Spirit and our relationship with God.
John Crowder wrote a book The New Mystics which looks promising. I am giving the book to a pastor at The Plant, Rob Parker, who will be up and blogging shortly (I’ll announce it) so he can read and review it as he has a better handle on the goings on of charismatics than I do. The table of contents looks promising, we’ll see how the book does in the eye of its beholder.
Hopefully the book is better than John Crowder’s recent foray into music, Toking the Ghost! The album is horrendous, horrific, horrible, hack-work, and to get away from the h’s sad, pathetic, sacrilegious, offensive, childish, pedantic, and cringe-inducing. I almost turned the album off two minutes into the first song, but I listened the whole way through, then the whole album again, because I wanted to have a thought-out review of this album and not just one influenced from my almost immediate disdain for it.
So here’s my well thought-out perspective on John Crowder and his mis-guided and mortifying music…
John Crowder had a good idea. He sees the many ways in which the charismatic theology and perspective on the Holy Spirit could be seen not as a revolutionary idea but as a thread throughout Christian history. From the outline of Crowder’s book New Mystics he wants to tie the charismatic into the great stream of Christian thought, practice, and history. Kudos to that. I hope he does a good job making the case in his book.
John Crowder executes his idea horribly in the album. The title, Toking the Ghost, is offensive in itself. Crowder inappropriately has chosen to use as the guiding metaphors and examples of his project to be not literary, biblical, or cultural symbols or ideas. Instead of describing the Holy Spirit and the Godhead as our food and wine, our water, our fire—all symbols and metaphors that resonate across cultural boundaries and distinctions— Crowder has chosen to use as his guiding metaphors illicit drug references, potty humor, and Will Ferrell-isms. He even uses the clip from Talladega nights of Will Ferrell praying to “baby jesus” on this album as a case in point. Such phrases as “toking the ghost,” “smoking baby jesuses,” “jehovauana,” and tee-heeing at the mention of breasts and breastfeeding narrows the focus of Crowder’s project from laity, clergy, theologians, and everyday people to a demographic consisting of 13-18 year old boys. Maybe he feels this demographic needs to be reached with his message. I would agree, but they shouldn’t be reached by embarassing oneself and stooping to the cultural level of bad stoner movie. Putting a laugh track behind an exaggerated noise of a person slurping milk from a lactating miracle belittles the dramatic imagery of the Spirit’s work in our world and insults those who actually would like serious things taken seriously. Miracles and the works of the Spirit are very serious business, not a laughing matter.
On a whole, I am encouraged by the foundational belief that Crowder and all Christians should share, that the Holy Spirit is alive and active today, and God works in mysterious, mighty, and powerful ways. Those ways just should not be described or carried out in such offensive and immature ways. Hopefully someone will take up a more ambitious project and write and create music or art about the charismatic movement in a mature and serious manner.
Let me also add, as a providential act of grace, at this moment in time Toking the Ghost is not available for purchase on Amazon.com, so even if you wanted to buy this album after my disparaging review you’ll have to look elsewhere.
6 Comments
Submit a Comment
SUBSCRIBE:
I Support
I believe that God has yet to reveal Himself and men like John Crowder are on the right track. Many believers who call themselves bible fearing Christians are exactly that believers who fear a bunch of words in a book instead of being in reverance of the on the One that the words speak of. too many people are caught up in too many words and mostly words that have been misinterpreted. we use theologians as references as to why men like John Crowder are wrong and many of those people never seem to ask themselves what the Lord’s opinion is if they did they would be shocked to know that God is truly beyond our intellect.
Wow! I’ve never heard of John Crowder but I don’t really know that I want to! I can assure you that I would not ever go looking for an album that horrendously offensive to God. It sounds like this guy means well but has missed the mark by some distance. I will pray for him that he did a better job with the book!
sounds like john crowder could learn some things from David crowder. I actually have his book new mystics. He attempts to construct typologies of how the spirit works thru Christians. He presents examples old & new of each strain drawing on some very obscure & famous examples. His prose is sloppy and the work is poorly referenced/cited. However I think that his aim to show that the spirit works in different ways consistently down thru the ages is worthwhile. I’d suggest he select a better editor next time. One other benefit of the book for non charismatics is exposure to contemporary names and ministries in the charismatic/pentacostal scene.
Thanks for the comment Joe. I have not read the book yet, but as a bibliophile I grimmaced at the poor type setting of the book and how the type and pictures were poor quality. The paper did not have that bookish acid-free feel. I didn’t want to appear snobbish and comment on that during my review, but since you gave me an opportunity to mention it!
well!
I am horrified that there is such behaviour as deisplayed here in the Body of Christ. If you really think that a brother is mistaken, the law of love does not allow for these shallow and public put-downs, but for gentle correction. If you feel uncomfortable having just read this, maybe it is conviction that you are not acting (or thinking – remember what jesus said about your raca brother) in love.
When you are doing what Jesus commanded, not only the “healing the sick, raising the dead and casting out demons bit,” but the surpassing love that Jesus commanded, then maybe I’ll listen to what any of you has to say.
Goodness me!
By the way, Thomas, it’s “Grimace”.
I have the book and the album. I spent years speaking against men like this who I felt were demeaning the holiness of God. Then the Father lovingly transformed my heart. There is a verse in James that really hit me about speaking against believers (James 4:14, 5:9). It would take far too long to explain how God brought me from there to where I am today, but I can honestly say that I really like and appreciate John Crowder now. Whether or not I agree with his theology 100% of the time is irrelevant. What is relevant, however, is this is a man that breaks religious expectations yet still sees the power of God through salvations, healings, deliverance, and people experiencing the John 10:10 fullest life that Jesus came to bring us.
He may be unconventional, but this guy loves Jesus.