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Songs For a Revolution of Hope

by Brian Mclaren, The Restoration Project

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1.
With Kindness Words and music by Brian McLaren Publishing, Revolution of Hope Music Group SESAC 2007, all rights reserved. Registered with CCLI G D G D Christ has no body here but ours G D G Fm No hands, no feet, here on earth but ours G D Ours are the eyes though which he looks D On this world A D With Kindness Ours are the hands through which he works Ours are the feet on which he moves Ours are the voices through which he speaks To this world With Kindness G D Through our touch, our smile, our listening ear G D A Embodied in us, Jesus is living here Let us go now Filled with the Spirit Into this world With Kindness
2.
Seek Justice 03:40
Seek Justice Words and music by Brian McLaren and Aaron Strumpel, Publishing, Revolution of Hope Music Group, all rights reserved. Registered with CCLI (capo 2) Em C How will we seek justice … Lord as you require? Em C How will we seek justice … Lord as you desires? B7 A7 To protest abuse of power, we’ll face danger and arrest. B7 A7 We will stand against aggression and side with the oppressed. G-C cycle May we seek your justice and love kindness and walk humbly with you God. How will we love kindness … Lord as you require How will we love kindness … Lord as you desire To the orphan, widow, stranger, we’ll show hospitality. We’ll befriend the outcast sinner, and defend the refugee. May we seek your justice and love kindness and walk humbly with you God. How will we walk humbly … Lord as you require How will we walk humbly … Lord as you desire We will not pretend to be, better than we are We will not hide failure or cover up our scar May we seek your justice and love kindness and walk humbly with you God.
3.
11:57 06:47
11:57 Words and music by Brian McLaren Publishing, Revolution of Hope Music Group 2007, all rights reserved. Registered with CCLI We made a suicidal system, and we said it was predestined, we said devil made us do it, we told a lot of lies. It was a system of injustice, built on arrogance and greed, it was an empire for the powerful, and a hell for those in need. A suicidal system. A suicidal system. We made a suicidal system, and we turned a handsome profit, and we made a billion guns, and made more wars to utilize them. And we keep the poor in slums, to ignore them or despise them, and we broadcast shows and movies, to amuse and tranquilize them … in the suicidal system, the suicidal system. God help us, for we are trapped Stuck in this grim machine Please free us, teach us to live In joy and peace and justice We made a suicidal system, and we pumped it full of toxin, and we killed off lots of species, and we made the world an oven. And we built a lot of churches, and we saved a lot of souls, but we destroyed a lot of good things, and our way of life was full of holes. A suicidal system. It’s a suicidal system. We made a suicidal system that cannot be sustained. It must be redirected and we must be retrained … to reclaim our true identity in harmony and care with saving love for everyone to free all creatures everywhere from the suicidal system. The suicidal system. God help us, for we are trapped Stuck in this grim machine Please free us, teach us to live In joy and peace and justice We made a suicidal system, and we pray it’s not too late, but it’s 11:57, so we’d best not hesitate. It’s time for a defection, to choose a new direction, to seek for reconnection, pass through death to resurrection from the suicidal system … The suicidal system. There is another system, another way to go, it’s nearer than the air you breathe, it’s better than you know. It’s a sacred ecosystem, it’s invisible but there, it’s a gentle revolution, it’s the answer to our prayer. An answer to our prayers. God help us, for we are trapped Stuck in this grim machine Please free us, teach us to live In joy and peace and justice Dark valley, shadows of death Please be our shepherd Lord Still waters, green pastures There we will be restored
4.
Let Your Kingdom Come Words and music by Brian McLaren and Tracy Howe Publishing, Revolution of Hope Music Group, all rights reserved. Registered with CCLI Em-C Hallelujah Let your kingdom come Em-C Hallelujah Let your kingdom come Em D Let your kingdom come and liberate C B7 Every prisoner of greed and hate Let it fill our hearts With love for you For our neighbors and For our enemies too CHORUS Let your kingdom come and end all war And the pain and grief of the oppressed and poor Let all violence be finally put away Let the streets find safety so the children can play CHORUS Let your kingdom come and let cool streams flow Let your fields flourish fresh wind blow Let your children save instead of destroy Let every creature thrive free in health and joy. CHORUS G D Let your kingdom come and every knee bow Em C To the king who was, will be and is now G D And let justice roll, as the rivers run Em C And let death give way to resurrection!
5.
Today 02:14
Today Words and music by Brian McLaren and Aaron Strumpel Publishing, Revolution of Hope Music Group, all rights reserved. Registered with CCLI (capo 2) D Today up came the sun G Today’s for everyone A Today the Lord has made Today now we can see Today we can be free Today the Lord has made CH G A So my friends let us be glad D/B Let’s live in hope Dsus2/C# Could be the best day ever So my friends let us be glad Let’s live in joy Could be the best day we’ve had V2 Today we may dance Today’s let’s take a chance Today the Lord has made Today we can set sail Today take a new trail Today the Lord has made Bridge Bm A Agents of Progress and Lovers of Justice G A You are called to be in the moments of the here and now Bm A So let’s not forget it, this glorious present G A It’s like the sweetest kiss, this gift of today
6.
Canticle 03:35
CANTICLE OF THE SUN D A Bm Be praised, my Lord, through Brother Sun, G D A who brings the light of day; G D A D Bm A He’s beautiful and radiant, like you! Be praised, my Lord, through Sister Moon Through all her sister stars They’re luminous and wonderful, like you! G A D G D A I praise and bless You Lord, and give a grateful heart, G A D G D A To serve and love You Lord in humility and joy. Be praised, my Lord, through Brother Wind And Sister Cloud and Storm, They bring flowers from Mother Earth for you. Be praised, my Lord, through Brother Bird, You gave him wings to fly He sings with joy and soars up high for you. Through Sister Water, Lord, be praised, She’s humble, useful, too She’s precious, clear and pure, O Lord, like you. Be praised, my Lord, through Brother Fire, Whose beauty glows at night He’s cheerful, powerful, and strong, like you. Be praised through all those who forgive, The patient, kind and brave Enduring suffering, trial, and pain, like you. Be praised, my Lord, through Sister Death Who will embrace all life, And carry us up to the arms of you.
7.
In Your Crucifixion Words and music by Brian McLaren Publishing, Revolution of Hope Music Group, all rights reserved. Registered with CCLI Am Dm Am In your incarnation, may I embody too Am Dm Am The glory of creation, God’s image shining through. Dm Am As at your baptism, descending like a dove, Dm Am May your Spirit rest on me, baptizing me in love. Walking on the road with you, may I learn your ways. In the storm, at sea with you, may I trust you all my days. May I be healed as were the sick who felt your gracious touch May I love you as sinners did who were forgiven much. Am F C G I’ve been crucified with Christ but I am alive Am F C G For Christ was raised and now He lives in me F Am The life I live, I live by faith in the risen son of God Dm G Am Who loved me and gave himself for me, In your crucifixion may I lay to rest My prideful self-addiction, my craving for success. And in your resurrection may I forever rise To live in new connection, to see with different eyes. And in your ascension, may I also ascend And give my full attention, to you my Lord and friend And may your Holy Spirit, sent like wind and fire, Send me in your mission with one passionate desire. I’ve been crucified with Christ but I am alive For Christ was raised and now He lives in me The life I live, I live by faith in the risen son of God Who loved me and gave himself for me.
8.
Let’s Confess It Words and music by Brian McLaren. Publishing, Revolution of Hope Music Group, all rights reserved. Registered with CCLI Let’s confess it: there’s a lot of evil, lust and greed in our world. Oppression and sin build up pressure within until there’s an eruption of corruption. Beneath the skin, we skid and spin in spiritual crisis where vice is the norm, and justice, kindness, humility, and civility are all too rare. Unaware of our despair, we smile in denial and say “It’s all OK. No need to change, no need to grow, just have another drink or smoke, tell another joke, and don’t think or rethink. Make another buck, with some luck you can buy a bigger house, store more stuff, drive fast, look good, keep up.” Lord have mercy. Lord have mercy. Meanwhile, addiction, rejection, and a lack of reflection spawn friction, dejection and a loss of direction. Every family, community, and nation are shaken. Creation’s resources are carelessly taken. And pollution scars every ocean, mountain, breeze, and shore, with visible symptoms of our inner war. We’re all victims. We’re all villains. We’re stuck in the web that we spun ourselves. But God lights a spark of hope in the dark to help us cope with all that’s wrong and needs to be made right. God has come into all our pain, shame, and loss through the cross, and calls us to a path of life, love, purpose, and peace. Lord have mercy, Lord have mercy. If we humble ourselves to believe and receive, a river will flow and a candle will glow in a secret sacred place within us, very deep, where we have been wasting in shadows, half-dead or half-asleep. We’ve been falling in a vicious viral downward spiral that leads to death. Let’s wake up, hear God calling, take a deep, fresh breath. Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy. “We confess that we have sinned against you in thought, word, and deed, by what we have done and what we have left undone. We have not loved you with our whole heart and we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. We are truly sorry and we humbly repent. For the sake of your son, Jesus Christ, have mercy on us and please forgive, that we may finally and fully learn to live in dignity and unity, integrity and harmony, delighting in your will and walking in your ways, to the glory of your name. Amen.” Lord have mercy. Lord have mercy.
9.
Chant 02:16
Chant: Adapted by Brian McLaren This is a simple chant form that I’ve been teaching people around the world. Drawing from our monastic heritage, chant allows us to savor words of Scripture, unifying our hearts and voices in a desire to hear the Word speak to us through the words as we form them and hold them with our lips, lungs, and voices. This poem from Paul’s letter to the Colossians may have been a hymn in the early church. It presents a vision of Christ as the true authority, relativizing Caesar and all other “principalities and powers.” Christ brings peace – not through swords and spears (or bombs and guns), but through love that led him to forgive even as he died. Caesar used the cross to dominate; Christ used the cross in a radically different way, celebrated in this chant. You can use this chant form by putting a passage of Scripture in singable lines. Any line that is printed or projected at the left margin is sung on a single tone until the last word, where melody goes down a full note and then back up to the original note. Any line that is printed or projected with indentation (or perhaps with a different color) is sung on a single tone, but then at the last word, the voices rise by a minor third interval and then back to the original note. Of course, there are many other forms of simple Scripture-singing too – and new forms waiting to be invented as well. Christ is the image of the God who can’t be seen. Christ is the image of the God who can’t be seen. The firstborn of all creation. In him all things were created. Things in heaven and on earth Things visible and invisible Whether thrones or dominions, rulers or powers All things have been created through him All things have been created for him. And he is before all things. All things hold together in him. And he is the head of the body, the church He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead. So he has the first place in everything. For in him all the fullness - The fullness of God - Was pleased to dwell. In Him God was pleased to reconcile all things All things to himself, All things on earth, all things in heaven By making peace through the blood of his cross. By making peace through the blood of his cross.
10.
Atheist 02:53
Atheist Words and music by Brian McLaren and Aaron Strumpel. Publishing, Revolution of Hope Music Group, all rights reserved. Registered with CCLI Am G Am I am an atheist when it comes to the god of violent jihad. Am G Am I am an atheist when it comes to the lord who converts by the sword Am G Am G Am I am an atheist when it comes to the mission of politicians using religion as ammunition. Am – A9 G/A I believe in you - the artist of trees and galaxies A G/A I believe in you - the poet of oceans and rivers and streams A G/A I believe in you - the god of compassion who calls us to action A G/A I believe in you X/A I can’t believe what they believe but I believe in you (4X) I can’t believe what they believe but I believe in you (4X) I believe in you - majestic designer of space and time I believe in you - composer of beauty and music of life I believe in you - the holy forgiver and wild reconciler I believe in you I am an atheist to the gods of the greedy ignoring the needy. I am an atheist to the gods who make others torture and suffer I am an atheist when it comes to the view of the chosen few, who judge and condemn all who differ them. I believe in you … mighty in meekness and gentle in power I believe in you … the word who has spoken good news to the broken I believe in you … Transcending mystery, with us in history I believe in you
11.
Hymn of Remorse Words and music by Brian McLaren and Tracy Howe. Publishing, Revolution of Hope Music Group, all rights reserved. Registered with CCLI E B/Eb C#m We covered over your colorful earth with grey cement E B/Eb C#m We cut own trees and stripped the soil wherever we went A B We scarred the hills for gold and coal A B Blind with greed inside our soul A B Our goal to have complete control E B/Eb Lord we repent A B E C#m A B E Lord, have mercy. Can we be restored? A B E C#m A B Lord, have mercy. We have children we don’t love so we shove them away Make sex a drug, the more we take the more we crave From tender kiss to slamming doors From sacred vows to lawyer wars Break ours down to mine and your With no remorse Lord, have mercy. Can we be restored? Lord, have mercy. What of the lands of tribes and nations who lived here first? Who took the best with broken treaties and left the worst? By whom were slaves bought, used and sold? Who valued people less than gold? Who told us racist lies until our hearts went cold? The noise of traffic is drowning out the songbird’s song. Your voice within us telling us that we’ve gone wrong. You call us from our selfishness, To be blessed and to bless. To turn to you, begin anew. Lord we say yes. Lord, have mercy. Can we be restored? Lord, have mercy.
12.
Love and Justice Words and music by Brian McLaren Publishing, Revolution of Hope Music Group, all rights reserved. Registered with CCLI Am G Am The politicians lie/ to lengthen their regime Am G E7 The corporations buy/ souls for profit The factories breathe acid/ and leak into the stream And every day the earth gets hotter,/ who will stop it? Am Em Am Oh God of love and justice, let your will be done! Newscasters amuse,/ distracting from the truth The advertisers use/ sex for profit Entertainers choose/ to seduce our youth Life gets cheaper every day/, who will stop it? Terrorists plot violence/ and governments do too Scientists and engineers/ improve our kill-power Parents sit in silence/, not knowing what to do, Who will stir the dying embers/ of good-will power? The churches pray for peace/ but then they vote for war The preachers preach for profit/ and twist our story No wonder people don’t/ believe anymore They’re waiting for good news/ of hope and glory The human race is building/ a suicide machine. The people cheer and dance /as gears are turning. When will we wake up from/ this self-destructive scheme So everything can change … God’s kingdom coming!
13.
Majesty and Power Words and music by Brian McLaren. Publishing, Revolution of Hope Music Group, all rights reserved. Registered with CCLI CAPO 5 D/F# G Am7 D/F# Am7 D C/G G G/B C Dm7 G/B Majesty and power, immensity and might Tenderness and nearness, mystery and light Just and full of mercy, high and reaching low Forgiving and so holy, beyond all we can know Dm7 G F/C C O Lord, how great you are! O Lord, how great you are! Maker of the mountains, tender of the trees Sender of the rainfall, calmer of the seas Singer of the woodlands, Silence of the sky, I look up and wonder: Lord, who am I? O Lord, how great you are! O Lord, how great you are! Healer of the broken, champion of the poor Turner of the tables, Knocking on the door Dying on a cross, bearing all our sin, Rising up victorious, with us and within. O Lord, how great you are! O Lord, how great you are!
14.
God Bless the Poor Words and music by Brian McLaren Publishing, Revolution of Hope Music Group, all rights reserved. Registered with CCLI Intro: A9-A A9 God bless the poor Bless them with the treasure that the rich take for granted D9 A D Bless them with true prosperity A D A To have all that they need, enough and then some more to share E E/D E/C# E/B And wisdom to enjoy the priceless blessings flowing everywhere A For free God bless the rich Bless them with the treasure that their money cannot buy Bless them with generosity to realize we can only save the things we give away And the only wealth worth having is the joy of having family For free God bless the wounded The migrant and the refugee who see just to survive Bless them with hospitality to keep their hope alive just one more day through strangers who in kindness open hands and doors and borders until all are safe And free God bless us all Every child from here to Africa and in between Bless us with gratitude to savor every breath, the gift of every present moment And dance with all our strength within your rhythm and your music To be free
15.
If We Don’t Have Love Words and music by Brian McLaren. Publishing, Revolution of Hope Music Group, all rights reserved. Registered with CCLI Bm A Bm Bm A Bm What difference does it make if we speak like angels If we have all knowledge and we know every mystery What difference does it make if our faith moves mountains. If we give our money and die like martyrs. D Bm A Bm Hey – hey, Ho – ho. We have nothing if we don’t have love. Hey – hey, Ho – ho. We have nothing if we don’t have love. Love is patient. Love is kind. It does not envy or boast in pride. Love is never rude or selfish. It’s not hot-tempered and holds no grudges. Love does not delight in evil. Love rejoices with the truth. Love protects, believes, and hopes Love endures and never fails.
16.
With Kindness (free) 02:44

about

See other work by The Restoration Project at restorationvillagearts.bandcamp.com.

credits

released October 1, 2007

A note from Brian about Songs for a Revolution of Hope:

I’ve always loved music. From my teenage years through college I played in bands and wrote songs. I recorded a few albums of original music in the late 70’s and early 80’s, back in the pre-digital days of tape and LP’s. After graduate school, I taught college-level English and then in 1982 my wife and I and a small group of good friends planted a new faith community where I served as a pastor until 2006. In the early days, I was often the worship leader one Sunday and the speaker the next, so music remained as an important part of my life and work. In the mid-90’s, I began writing books which led to invitations to travel around the world to talk about the subjects of my books. In 2006, I became a full-time writer, speaker, and networker.

Through all these changes, I kept writing songs as part of my own spiritual practice – songs of prayer, hope, doubt, struggle, celebration, and worship. My songs were usually unheard by anyone except myself and God, but occasionally I shared a few with my faith community for use in public worship.

Some years ago I wrote an article called “An Open Letter to Worship Songwriters.” It originally was published in Worship Leader Magazine, but its life continued online and it has been translated into a number of languages since then. In it, I expressed a number of frustrations that I felt regarding the music commonly used in our churches. In particular, I complained about the hyper-individualism and even spiritual narcissism in so much of our “worship music.” At times, as a friend of mine put it, we seem to be congratulating God for making us feel so good and meeting our personal wants and needs so nicely.

This avalanche of personalized songs contrasted rather starkly with the lack of songs relating to themes of justice in the world around us. I’ve been pleased to hear from many songwriters who agreed with the article and who took up the challenge to write songs to fill the various voids it addressed. This collection is my own contribution, prepared in hopes of helping communities of faith be formed as agents of God’s love and justice in our world.

It’s been a great pleasure to work with Tracy Howe (The Restoration Project), Aaron Strumpel, Nuc and April Vega and Posido Vega (Harp 46), Tim and Laurie Thornton (The Blackthorn Project), and Dave Winton on this project. Tracy has been our project leader: she’s an amazing producer, writer, artist, organizer, and performer – a joy for all of us to work with.
We hope these songs will inspire you to a wider range of concerns and emotions than you’ve perhaps associated in the past with spirituality and worship – anger and protest over injustice, remorse over our history, compassion for people who suffer, determination to be an agent of change, all over the background of awe and joy in the presence of the living God.

We hope that many faith communities will find this collection inspiring, useful, and singable in their gatherings – whether in a cathedral or chapel, around a campfire, or in a home. And we hope that whatever creativity we have received and expressed through this recording will inspire you to be creative in your setting, in your unique way.

We hope that each song will give you a lot to ponder and enjoy over many, many listenings, and we hope that singing them will help bring needed change in and through your life.

Plotting goodness – Brian McLaren

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