Covenant Faithfullness According to Dr. Dre and Eminem

     


     I've had this song in my head for a few weeks now, It's "I Need a Doctor" from Dr. Dre's "Detox" album. It's a three verse ballad (can I call a rap song a ballad?) featuring Eminem in the first two verses and Dre in the last with Skylar Grey providing the melodic chorus. I've reproduced the lyrics here censoring the coarser language for our more discerning readers.

[Chorus - Skylar Grey]

I'm about to lose my mind
you've been gone for so long
I'm running out of time
I need a doctor
call me a doctor
I need a doctor, doctor
to bring me back to life

[Eminem]
I told the world one day I would pay it back
say it on tape, and lay it, record it
so that one day I could play it back
but I don't even know if I believe it when I'm saying that
doubt starting to creep in, everyday it's just so grey and black
Hope - I just need a ray of that
'Cause no one sees my vision when I play it for 'em
They just say it's wack
they don't know what dope is
and I don't know if I was awake or asleep
when I wrote this,
all I know is you came to me when I was at my lowest
you picked me up, breathed new life in me
I owe my life to you
but for the life of me, I don't see why you don't see like I do
but it just dawned on me you lost a son
demons fighting you, it's dark.
let me turn on the lights and brighten me and enlighten you
I don't think you realize what you mean to me
not the slightest clue
'Cause me and you were like a crew
I was like your sidekick
you gon either wanna fight me when I get off this f******g mic
or you gon hug me
But I'm out of options, there's nothing else I can do 'cause

[Chorus - Skylar Grey]
I'm about to lose my mind
you've been gone for so long
I'm running out of time
I need a doctor
call me a doctor
I need a doctor, doctor
to bring me back to life

[Eminem]
It hurts when I see you struggle
you come to me with ideas
You say they're just pieces so I'm puzzled
'Cause the s**t I hear is crazy
But you're either getting lazy or you don't believe in you no more
seems like your own opinion's not one you can form
Can't make a decision you keep questioning yourself
Second guessing and it's almost like you're begging for my help
like I'm your leader
your supposed to f******g be my mentor
I can endure no more,
I demand you remember who you are
it was you who believed in me
when everyone was telling you don't sign me
Everyone at the f******g label, let's tell the truth
you risked your career for me
I know it as well as you
nobody wanted to f**k with the white boy
Dre, I'm crying in this booth
You saved my life, now maybe it's my turn to save yours
but I can never repay you, what you did for me is way more
but I ain't giving up faith and you ain't giving up on me
Get up Dre, I'm dying, I need you, come back for f**k's sake 'cause

[Chorus - Skylar Grey]
I'm about to lose my mind
you've been gone for so long
I'm running out of time
I need a doctor
call me a doctor
I need a doctor, doctor
to bring me back to life
bring me back to life
bring me back to life

(I need a doctor, doctor
to bring me back to life)

[Dr Dre]
It literally feels like a lifetime ago
but I still remember the s**t like it was just yesterday though
you walked in, yellow jump suit
whole room, cracked jokes
once you got inside the booth, told you, like smoke
went through friends, some of them I put on
but they just left, they said they was riding to the death
But where the f**k are they now?
now that I need them, I don't see none of them
all I see is Slim
f**k all you fair-weather friends
all I need is him
f******g backstabbers
when the chips were down you just laughed at us
Now you 'bout to feel the f******g wrath of Aftermath, f******s
you gon see us in our lab jackets and ask us where the f**k we been?
You can kiss my indecisive a******k, maggots, and the cracker's a**
Little Cracker Jack, beat-making w******s backwards producers
I'm back, b******s
one more CD and then I'm packing up my bags and as I'm leaving
I'll guarantee they scream, Dre don't leave us like that man 'cause

[Chorus - Skylar Grey]
I'm about to lose my mind
you've been gone for so long
I'm running out of time
I need a doctor
call me a doctor
I need a doctor, doctor
to bring me back to life

     I love this song, I have loved it since I first heard it, I bought it on iTunes, learned the lyrics, sing along. But there was something else about this song, something that got to me at a deep spiritual level, it reminded me of something, of someone.

It reminded me of David and Jonathan.

     The storylines and narratives of these two groups of men's lives certainly have nothing in common, but what struck me was the depth of commitment between Eminem and Dr. Dre, how they have covenanted with each other, seen each other through both good and bad.

    This all got me thinking about something I think about often: Christians and Media. Can the redeemed learn from the world? I've been of the belief that we can, and should learn and seek to connect and understand worldly events, people and even art in relation to biblical metanarrative.

     How many of us would give almost anything to have the kind of deep, intimate friendship that David and Jonathan had or that Eminem and Dr Dre have? This song gives me shivers in certain sections because of the feelings of hopelessness and devastation that come with the loss of a friend who may not come back. Eminem pleads for the life of his friend: "Get up Dre, I'm dying, I need you, come back for f**k's sake!"

     Not only does Eminem plead for his friend's life, he has the courage to tell Dre like it is even though the truth will hurt. You can almost put a scripture reference at the end of the first verse. (Proverbs 27:6)

     We can learn about friendship and covenant from David and Jonathan.
     We can learn about friendship and covenant from Eminem and Dr Dre.


-Kevin

Only The Good...

Recently, Pastor Mark Driscoll preached on the calling of the twelve apostles in Luke 6. In one of the key sections of that sermon, he encourages Christians to: "Die with your boots on" The gist of this is:

You're either going to go out like Judas or Jesus—that's how your life is going to end. You're going to go out like Jesus, faithful to the end, whatever the cost, or you're going to go out like Judas, prematurely, tragically, rebelliously, shamefully. I want you to keep your boots on, finish strong, run your race, see it through to the end, be a completer, a finisher, a closer of the things God has given you to do.

He goes on to describe how both tradition and history describe the deaths of nine of the apostles. The full text is available here.

I say this now because it is fitting on a couple of levels. A good friend of mine from college, Craig Simmons and his wife Kristin were in South Korea teaching ESL and living out the great commission. On June 9, Craig was walking home and was hit by a bus. The next week was filled with an outpouring of love, prayer and faithful facebook updates, keeping everyone in the loop. Despite apparent improvement in his condition, this past Tuesday (June 16) Craig Simmons died with his boots on. The reason that the Driscoll sermon is so fitting is that Craig introduced me to Driscoll's ministryback in my first year of Bible College. I owe a lot of owe a lot of who I am to the Spirit's work through Craig.

I miss my friend, and I grieve with his wife and with the friends and family who miss him more than I ever could, but I can't help but be reminded of Philippians 1:21. I know this too, not every man is blessed enough to die with their boots on, and one day, I will see my friend again, I can only pray that I get there with a set of boots too.

Well done buddy
See you soon.

 

Blasphemy?

An interesting thing happenned at work this week.






As a Christian there are things I, as a rule, don't say and certain things I won't say; blasphemy being one of the latter. Colossians 3:5-8 speaks on this directly when it talks about obscene talk, and so, as a Christian who believes the Bible, I seek to follow Paul's instruction by God's Grace.

The problem comes when we ignore the context and audience of this passage. The book is actually a letter written by the Apostle Paul to a church in Colossae; it's written to Christians. Paul is giving instruction on living to Christians. Why is it then that we (as Christians) get offended or freak out when a non-Christian does something that is in contradiction to these instructions? If a Brother or Sister gets frustrated and says something like "oh for christsakes!" we have a right (duty) to lovingly correct them, just like any other sin.  Why is it then that we get so upset when someone who is not a believer does the same thing? Yes, it's blasphemy, and it is sinful to take God's name in vain this isn't news to us, but guess what, blaspheming is the least of these people's problems. They're going to hell because they haven't repented of sin (all of it) and placed faith in Christ. They already have the judgement of God on them, what more could our reaction possibly add?

All we are communicating is God's anger, we're not communicating God's grace at all. When we show our overt displeasure at the language of our friends, we're preaching morality, not Gospel. Works, not Grace. At this point, I'm not concerned with the state of your tongue, but the state of your soul.

-Kevin

James and Media

I was reading in James tonight, and I had to stop in verses 26-27 of the first chapter. It's not often that I have to stop like I did, usually I can finish a book like James in one sitting and then Meditate and think on what I've read. But this section stopped me dead:  

"If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person's religion is worthless. Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world."

The relevant part is at the end. Christians are called to keep ourselves "unstained" from the world. The language James is using is the same as 1 Peter 1 talking about the sacrificial Lamb being without blemish. this got me thinking (again) about what Christians should and should not partake in when it comes to media.

Pastor James Harleman from Seattle has his own site where he reviews movies that most Christians won't even watch. (reviews available here) he explains why here but a shortened quote may help those who don't want to read the whole thing:

"We are image-bearers of our Creator, a master storyteller whose narrative spans all of creation, a metanarrative in which we all play a part. Made in the image of our Creator, we have a yearning to both create, and be entertained, by narrative"

By connecting "secular" narratives created by that save God-given creativity to the metanarrative of the scriptures, Harleman takes cultural engagement to a new level.The question now is what is acceptable to watch and what is not.

The answer to this comes from Jesus, in Mark 7:15 Jesus says this: “Hear me, all of you, and understand: There is nothing outside a person that by going into him can defile him, but the things that come out of a person are what defile him.” Yes, in context, Jesus obviously was not talking about movies or any form of media. The immediate context is food and eating. But the broader context applies directly doesn't it? I'll explain.

I had a conversation with my lovley wife tonight, we were talking about the recent controversy surrounding "South Park". Read about that here. In the end she won't watch South Park and certain other movies because the gratuitous language may cause her (and other good friends of ours who share the same postion) to fall into the same behaviour themselves. I on the other hand am free to watch the show and appreciate the (usually) excellent social commentary without it affecting by behaviour.

What we have here is a basic "weaker brother" situation. Some of us are free to watch things like South Park et al because they woun't blemish us or defile us and some cannot. Because the measure is mot what goes in, but what comes out.


Christianity: we have shades of grey too!


-Kevin