“I hate all your show”

I finally managed to get Jon Foreman’s latest solo offering “Spring and Summer” (whose music I insist on purchasing as soon as I can). “Spring and Summer” is a two EP set that marks the completion of a four EP series each consisting of six songs for each season. While Foreman’s band “Switchfoot” has always offered honest songs centered around the Jon’s Christian life, his solo albums have given us a much more intimate look at his struggles and conviction. Several of the songs are simply Psalms and scripture set to music (“White as Snow”, “Your Love is Strong“, “The House of God Forever“) , often offering consolation to his darker thoughts and realizations (“The Cure for Pain“,”Learning How to Die”, “Lord Save Me from Myself“).

As you can surely tell by the song titles, Jon’s not trying to be too subtle here. Surprisingly I don’t find his work too obvious, crass, or blunt. Indeed, I find it refreshingly to the point and courageously sensitive. When I listened to “Summer” for the first time, one not-so-subtle song stood out to me. This song is called “Instead of a Show”, and it’s hard to imagine it not offending just a little bit of you. It’s rather – strident. I’ve heard this sentiment echoed poorly; bemoaning hypocrisy is rarely a symptom of spiritual health, but this song toes the line.

And no wonder, it’s based on Amos 5:21-24 and Isiah 1:11-31. What we need is Christian worship, full of love and life for the world.