Run the earth, watch the sky

Beating Time

RUN THE EARTH, WATCH THE SKY (CD)
By Chris Rice
£14.99

Chris Rice takes his personal motto 'run the earth... watch the sky' as the title of his latest album, a collection of catchy songs that incorporate a range of musical styles.

The distinct tone of Rice's voice, which has a warm yet vulnerable quality, provides the link between the 11 tracks, all of which vary in both theme and instrumentation.

Largely though, the inspiration for the songs comes from and concentrates on his own experiences. 'My Cathedral' offers insight, using poetic imagery, into Rice's love for nature, and he sings memories of childhood in 'Nonny Nonny' and '8th Grade'.

And so, in light of this, 'Untitled Hymn' (Come to Jesus) stands out, not just for its beautiful melody underpinned by the refreshingly simple piano accompaniment, but because of the unswerving focus on Jesus. Only here are sin and the atonement (loosely!) mentioned: 'Weak and wounded sinner... Now your burden's liftedƒ And precious blood has washed away the stain.'

'Me and Becky' is an honest and powerful illustration of the reluctance some Christians feel to 'do the work of an evangelist' (2 Timothy 4.1-5) and it challenges complacency with an urgent reminder: 'There's a world out there that we left behind/ Full of souls important as yours and mine.' While Becky 'loves Jesus and wants to make Him proud/She tears up in church and sings her harmonies loud... got a Bible by the bed, a prayer journal, and a fish on her car', she is asked the question: 'But is that enough?'

As the climax of the chorus 'I'm crazy scared it may cost our lives... but then I remember Jesus died', these lyrics are perhaps the very pinnacle of the entire album, reminding us how our brothers and sisters in Christ across the world are persecuted, while in the West we reside with Becky on 'Abundant Life Blvd'...

YR,
Watford

© Evangelicals Now - August 2003
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Main Articles

• EZ36 - Rebuild the ruined cities
  What's happening on St Mellons estate, Cardiff
• Teamwork: reaching barren Britain
  An interview with Andrew Setchell of TEAMwork
• How to have a good gap year
• Carers with a conscience
  Controversy among social workers
• Taking a tough job
  An interview with Jonathan Stephen
• Questions to an open theist
  Will anyone answer David Field's concerns?
• Five fatal mistakes
  Do we need to consider before it's too late?
• Monthly column on hymns and songs
  The numbers game
• Monthly column for youth leaders
  Seven diseases your church may have
• Monthly column on student work
  Feast your eyes - Emma meets art students
• God's wrath on America?
• Letter from America
  An Englishman in New Haven
• Speed dating
• Creation questions
  Four American academics give some answers

Other articles

• Run the earth, watch the sky
• Wesley and men who followed
• Lives turned upside down
• Streets paved with gold - The story of the London City Mission
• I capture the castle
• Monthly column on the arts - Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
• The Count of Monte Cristo
• The Message of Ezekiel
• I don't know how she does it
• Just wondering
• Authentic Christianity - Sermons on the Acts of the Apostles, Vol. 3, Acts 5 and 6
• Things we couldn't say
• Whose side is God on? - Nationalism and Christianity
• Lights shining in the darkness
• Characters around the church - Witnesses to the birth of the Jerusalem church
• Jesus asked - what he wanted to know
• Postmission
• New Covenant Theology
• On Giants' Shoulders - Bringing new life to Japan
• The unseen face of Islam
• Small groups, growing churches
• Chosen people - The big idea that shapes England and America