The Proof of Your Skills

I have often searched for affirmation of my skills. Am I a good basketball player? What do people think of my singing voice? Little did I know that this search could end with one simple trip. But unlike most trips, this one didn’t move forward. It went back. Way back. Back to first grade.

With one community service credit left and a couple weeks before my summer job, I volunteered at my wife’s alma mater. I started in the kindergarten class, but all they were doing was coloring butterflies and picking noses, so my wife (then fiancée) suggested I visit first grade.

I remember first grade. It was really quite wonderful. Rather than buying food with money, I bartered. An apple was worth a banana, two granola bars were worth a Capri Sun, and a pack of Gushers was worth an entire lunch. But better than our bartering system was our source of motivation. In college, we strive for excellence with the hope of getting into graduate school or landing a fulltime job at Starbucks or something. But in first grade, it was all about the stickers; a tangible form of affirmation.

I was reminiscing when I entered the mayhem of the first grade classroom.

“Are you Dodge’s dad?” one of them asked.

“Nope,” I replied. “I’m just hanging out with you guys for the day.”

“Sweet! Hey guys, he’s hanging out with us for the day!” he shouted to his classmates.

Instant popularity. I could feel the affirmation.

“Recess time,” the teacher said.

The chaos commenced as the first graders collected their jackets and lined up at the door.

“Are you going to come play ‘kick the ball over the wall’ with us?” one of the boys asked.

“As long as you teach me how to play,” I said.

“Ah, it’s easy. You’ll pick it up quick.”

After setting the world record for kicking the ball over the wall, (which I explained to them was actually the college record, so they still had a chance to set the elementary record), they invited me to eat lunch with them. I was almost certain that the key to affirmation was a large group of friends and illustrious invitations.

Even before we sat at the table the bartering began, and soon most of the first graders had exchanged their goods.

“Jake, you’ve got to go to the Family Fun Center. It is the best place in the world!”

“Yah, dude, you have to go! It is the funnest!”

As we continued the feast, my progressing theory of affirmation came to a screeching halt.

“So,” the boy across from me began, “how many enemies you got?”

“Um…I don’t know…” I thought for a minute. “The devil?”

“Oh,” he replied, unsatisfied. “The proof of your skills is how many enemies you’ve got.”

So much for stickers.

I Really F---ed It Up This Time, Didn't I My Dear?

For anyone still unaware of Mumford & Sons, it's time to wake up. After all, Americans have a history of becoming obsessive over bands that contain four British guys, so why stop now? While their entrance into America may not have been as spectacular as the Beatles, it certain hasn't gone unnoticed.


Since the U.S. release of their album Sign No More in February 2010 the band has received so much recognition that in December 2010 they received two Grammy nominations: Best Rock Song for "Little Lion Man" and Best New Artist, which puts them on the save level as, you guessed it, Justin Bieber.

So what's the big deal? More specifically, why should Christians care about Mumford & Sons? I offer an anecdote...


Last February a friend turned to me in class excited and nearly shouting, "Have you heard Mumford & Sons?! They are freaking amazing." So as all good college students do, I made a note in my phone to check them out. About a month past before I found the note again, and the first song I came across was their hit single "Little Lion Man." I had never heard anything like it. It was a high energy mess of acoustic guitar, banjo, upright bass, piano, accordion and kick drum. I later found out that music critics had to create a new genre because of bands like Mumford & Sons, Noah and the Whale, Johnny Flinn, and Laura Marling, all of whom are connected in the British music scene.


I was enjoying the new discovery when...yep...there it is: the f-word. As the chorus says:


But it was not your fault by mine
And it was your heart on the line
I really f---ed it up this time
Didn't I, my dear?


"Oh well," I thought. "Too bad. I like the music." And I put it away...for months.


So, what changed?


September rolled around and started hearing "Little Lion Man" on 101.9 KINK out of Portland, but this time the f-word was edited out. "Man," I thought, "I really need to give these guys another chance."


As I reevaluated Mumford & Sons, I was blown away by the Christian undertone of their album. The song that specifically impacted me was "Awake My Soul," which says,


In these bodies we will live, in these bodies we will die
Where you invest your love, you invest your life


Awake my soul, awake my soul
Awake my soul
For you were made to meet your maker


I had clearly pulled a classic Christian move. It was the "one-and-done" cuss word approach.


So, why should Christians care about a band like Mumford & Sons who explicitly throws out f-bombs? Well, one reason is because they're making people think. Just visit sites like http://www.songmeanings.net/artist/view/songs/137438984026/
and you'll find ongoing debates about grace, redemption, the after-life, and morality, all of because of songs on Sign No More.

I really wish I hadn't ditched Mumford & Sons when I did. Yep, I really f-ed it up that time. But I'm really glad I gave them a second chance. And believe me, I'll be writing a lot more about them.