Talbot Davis, Author at Talbot Davis

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Top Five Tuesday — Top Five Pairs Of Songs That Sound Just Alike

Talbot Davis March 19, 2013 at 1:00 am 2

Every so often, I come across a pair of rock songs that are really just twins separated at birth.

To my untrained ear, characteristics in melody, chord changes, and vocalizations make certain pairs of songs sound eerily similar. Sometimes it could be a case of influence; in others, subliminal copycatting; in other cases it may be outright plagiarism.

In any event, different songs by different artists can sound just alike, and here are my top five pairs.

(Disclaimer: I'm not using any pairs of songs by the same artist. For examples of that, check out how the Eagles' Wasted Time is almost a reprise of Desperado; how Tom Petty's For All The Wrong Reasons has been nicknamed ReFallin' for its resemblance to Free Fallin'; and how every song on Boston's first album sounds just like every other song on Boston's first album.)

5. Gordon Lightfoot's Wreck Of The Edmund Fitzgerald

and Harry Chapin's Cats In The Cradle:

4. Bob Seger's Old Time Rock & Roll:

and the Eagles' Heartache Tonight:

The similar sounds of those two isn't surprising given that Eagles' vocalist Glenn Frey was a Detroit protege of Bob Seger himself. Something else those two songs share in common: they are my least favorite by each artist!

3. Led Zeppelin's Babe I'm Gonna Leave You

and Chicago's 25 or 6 to 4:

Who would ever have thought that a Chicago song would sound like a Led Zeppelin one? But check it out -- the chord progressions sounds (to me) exactly the same.

2. fun's Carry On

and Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody:

1. Bruce Springsteen's Radio Nowhere

and Tommy Tutone's 867-5309.

Could a song from Bruce Springsteen really be "influenced" by a one hit wonder? See -- and hear -- for yourself!

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Dangerous Calling

Talbot Davis March 18, 2013 at 7:06 am 2

As you can see by checking the "Books I Like" column to the right, I recently came across Paul David Tripp's Dangerous Calling: Confronting The Unique Challenges Of Pastoral Ministry.

I had never heard of either the book or its author before a friend loanded it to me. Tripp runs in some very different theological circles than I do, having taught at Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia and now serving on the faculty at Redeemer's Seminary in Dallas.

Both schools are founded on the kind of Calvinistic theology that we Methodists respectfully reject. (Well, sometimes our rejection is respectful; to see a not-very-gentle treatment of Calvinism, check out what Mr. Wesley himself wrote here.)

Yet in spite of the personal unfamiliarity and doctrinal distance, Dangerous Calling was and is a gift from God to me. I read most of it while in India and it spoke powerfully about the very issues I wrestle with the most: pastoral identity, pastoral ego, and pastoral competition.

Here are just a few of Tripp's gems . . . the kinds of words I wish I had read much earlier in my ministry journey:

. . . when people are your substitute messiah (you need their respect and support in order to continue), it's hard to be honest with them about your sins, weaknesses, and failures. (p. 38)

Pastor, no one is more influential in your life than you are, because no one else talks to you more. The things you say to yourself about God, you, ministry, and others are profoundly important, shaping your participation in and experience of ministry. (p. 99)

Could it be that many of the stresses of ministry are the result of our seeking to get things out of ministry that it will never deliver? Could it be that we're asking the ministry to do for us what only the Messiah can do? (p. 102)

It is very difficult in ministry to give away what you do not possess yourself. (p. 119)

You could argure that every worship service is little more than a glory war. The great question of the gathering is, will the hearts of this group of people be captured by the one glory that is truly glorious or by the shadow glories of the created world? (p. 138)

Another sign of the loss of your [received] identity is that your desire to master content of the Word is not coupled with a craving that your heart would be mastered by the God of the Word. (p. 195)

I pray it will be a long time before the force of those words -- be they the products of God's predestination or Paul Tripp's free will -- leave the confines of my mind.

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Journey Of Stones Week Two — Sticks & Stones

Talbot Davis March 15, 2013 at 1:00 am 0

Here's a look at our Journey Of Stones series:

I like that piece.

I'm also excited about the message I get to give on Sunday: Sticks & Stones.

Sunday.

8:30. 10. 11:30.

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What I Wish I’d Hear . . .

Talbot Davis March 14, 2013 at 1:00 am 3

Every once in awhile, I'll have a conversation with someone who is either new to Good Shepherd or just checking it out.

And usually the conversation includes the person or family saying something like, "we're looking for a church that's a good fit. We just want a place where it feels comfortable."

For many years, that reasoning made good sense. In fact, it still does.

But wouldn't it be great if just one time I or some other pastor would hear someone say, "we're just looking for a church that's uncomfortable. We really want Jesus to stretch us through our home church"?

That person would be so open to adventures in worship and risks in ministry! While in the Worship Center, they would love to sit next to someone of a different race, ethnic background, or nationality. And they'd love it even more to work alongside such ethnic diversity at our Room In The Inn or Salvation Army Center of Hope ministry.

Whether you are investigating Good Shepherd Church or even if you've been here a long time, how about asking that question, "Is this church making me uncomfortable enough?"

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Background Noise

Talbot Davis March 13, 2013 at 6:05 am 1

Most mornings, as I get ready for the rest of my day, I have the television playing for background noise.

Sometimes it's the caustic banter of Imus In The Morning. Other times it's the slightly more elevated political discourse of Morning Joe. And then for a break from all that, there is the clever back-and-forth of Mike & Mike In The Morning.

However you slice it, it's all noise, all the time.

And for years, that background noise has been part of my morning routine.

Yet something happened over the last couple of months as I was preparing and then delivering the messages for the Constant Contact series.

I very clearly heard God ask me in a plaintive kind of voice, "why can't I be your background noise?"

So the TV has been off, my heart has been softened, and my ears have been opened.

And I've been learning that when you cut out some of the world's noise, the God of the background becomes Lord of the forefront.

Talbot Davis

Talbot Davis

The Heart of the Matter

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