Descript-Compatriot

Album Description

Compatriot

Description

Far from the madding crowd of reality TV watchers, I have been blessed with friends of extraordinary character. And yes, they are extraordinary characters.

In contrast to prior concept albums, the unifying theme is that the songs relate to my friends, often in ways you would not guess. I will not explain the origins of these songs, but only the aspects that led to them being included on this album. These true friends, who stick closer than a brother, are also fellow countrymen of the Kingdom of Heaven. Hence the album name.

It is not enough to escape the pit and the wasteland. It is not even enough to face God. You cannot be whole alone. The society of the lost is the lemming herd. But God Himself said, "It is not good for man to be alone."

When transcendence is the common bond among friends, and that group rises high enough to no longer simply live in opposition to some aspect of society, then true transcendence can begin. This is the type of group that was just beginning at the end of the Stranger album; in particular Pardon and Sinai's Mountain.

Only from the transcendent pinnacle is it possible to see sufficiently far off to be able to understand what is important. The sin that so easily besets us can drag us down from the peak. But the certain knowledge such a peak exists, for my group has stood thereon, keeps alive in my heart the flame to transcend the daily trivia of my life.

Once you get over the notion you should be king, you realize you need community. Not the community of Predator, which is a jungle, nor Epiphany, which drags drags you down with them. Not the community of Shards & Facets, where people use each other like tools. No, the community that is essential is that of friends, of fellow citizens.

Do not discard that ambition to be someone, to make a difference. But also do not expect that difference to come without hard labor and sacrifice. Do not forget you have an Enemy. How you choose to spend your time determines the scope of what is possible for you to achieve. If watching TV could make people significant, there would be few trivial people in the world.

Figure out how to get things moving.

From a somewhat different angle, this is the part of a three album subset. Personal God is salvation, while Stranger is passing through the temptation to think God needs you rather than you needing God, to think of yourself as some kind of king christian. Once you have left that madness behind, in Compatriot we finally begin the hard work of reading and studying and communicating, of growth, so we can learn the lay of this new land we inhabit as new creations in Christ Jesus. We labor to be a workman who need not be ashamed, rightly dividing the Word of Truth.

Compatriot is the communication album. It represents the legwork and the learning required to accomplish the vision God has placed in your heart. The ambition to do the work of the Kingdom is good. But babies in Christ need to be aware that ours is the God of seedtime and harvest, the God Who said that to everything there is a season. Seek the wisdom to discern the season.

01 - Signal Flare
A call is going out to all who will serve God.

02 - Things & Thoughts of Time
Art helps direct our attention to the human in a world of concrete, silicon, and steel.

03 - Pearl Smoke
Just driving though life will not leave a mark.

04 - Amputation Animals
Accepting that humans are only a species of animal is to forfeit being human at all.

05 - Let It Go
The betrayals of the past, the times you have been fooled, will teach you to distrust everything, to doubt everything. Such is the mindset of a beaten dog. Instead of surrendering your humanity without a fight, dare to trust, dare to believe.

06 - Plain In View
The call God has placed on your life will only be shared when it has been accomplished. Until then people will believe you delusional. And how could they do otherwise? If they were to accept the validity of the call, they would highlight their own inaction, their own distrust, disbelieve, and disobedience. Do not expect people to do so lightly.

07 - People You've Met
Touching people behind their existential isolation, either as friends or by reading what they think, is how you get outside your own existential provincialism. Material objects are, in comparison, of no significance whatsoever. True riches exist in your soul, not your bank account.

08 - Years
Just because God has called you to some responsibility does not mean it will be accomplished either quickly or easily. In general, it means the opposite.

09 - Extend the Song
Friends united by transcendence. Art works become words in their private language.

10 - Gravity Well
Both the mechanics and the result of art; in particular words.

11 - As I Look
The art of God, The Word, is the Gift of the True Friend, Who sticks closer than a brother.

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Album Description Compatriot

Works Series 1-Quest To Be Whole Album 8-Compatriot