'The teachings of Paul and the teachings of Jesus' and what's in a name?

I posed a question the other day on Facebook where I asked fellow Christians whether they read the books of Paul the apostle or the words of Jesus more when they read the scriptures. There were some interesting answers and I loved reading all of them. I've had this thought for a while and here are some of my own personal thoughts.

What triggered my thoughts was that many evangelicals that I know or listen to, use the word 'Christ' mostly when talking about Jesus. They talk about, 'introducing people to Christ', their life 'in Christ', giving your life to 'Christ' and 'following Christ'. What struck me is that many of them never really said the name Jesus when describing their relationship to Him. Let me say that I don't have some major problem with them so this is not some heavy criticism piece trying to change anyone. Rather, its an observation with a few thoughts, challenges and questions. Ok? :)

I was thinking that in terms of Jesus, the word 'Christ' is who He is. He is the Savior, Messiah; the Christ. But 'Christ' is not His actual name. So perhaps to say, 'my relationship with Christ' is not as correct as saying 'my relationship with 'the Christ'. Sounds a bit weird though doesn't it? I asked an evangelical preacher the other day, who uses 'Christ' most exclusively in his faith language, what name he would use to cast out a demon if he needed to. He said he would say, 'in the name of Jesus'. So I asked him why he never really said the name Jesus when speaking about him. He said he's never thought of it. So I started thinking that to say 'Christ' sort of sounds a bit impersonal and not really intimate. I guess Jesus's real name was Jesus of Nazareth or Jesus bar Joseph. Perhaps the long version that we use ' Jesus Christ' sums it all up. His name is Jesus and He is 'the Christ'.

The reason I tend to say 'Jesus' when I talk about Him or to Him is that I like to use His actual name. The Scriptures seem to be clear that it is in His name that the power lies. I also like using people's names. I mostly refer to my wife as Rebecca when I'm talking to her or about her. I don't say, 'I was speaking to wife the other day' or 'when I met wife' or 'my wife' as often as saying 'when I met Rebecca'. I find it more intimate and personal to do so.

It is definitely a little more sanitary and seemingly less confronting to say 'Christ' than it is to say Jesus. Imagine sitting on a plane with a stranger and they ask you somehow about your faith. You say 'I gave my life to Christ..' Do you think it's more confronting and more personal to say 'I follow Jesus of Nazareth' or 'I gave my life to Jesus'?

So from listening to many of my fellow Christians who use, 'Christ' more often than anything else, I wondered if they read more of Paul's teachings as he tends to talk about 'Christ' more. I find that as I tend to read more of the teachings of Jesus in Matthew, Mark, Luke ad John, I am always using the word Jesus. I tend to speak of Him as 'the Christ'. Sometimes I wonder of people think that His first name is Jesus and his last name is Christ. :) Much the same way as my name is Paul Colman. In my way of seeing these words, it would be correct to say Paul the musician and therefore Jesus the Christ. Otherwise you would have to call me 'musician' as it is my vocation. Jesus is His name and being the Christ was/is His vocation.

So there it is. Just a thought and a set of questions to ponder. I think God gets who we are talking to and He's not confused no matter what you say. I also think its wrong to harshly criticize other's language and miss the heart of what they are saying. I've done that before and don't want to do it again. My thought is that the way we talk about and communicate our relationship with Jesus does have an affect on others and also on ourselves. So perhaps of you would call on His actual name if the airplane was going down or if you're casting out an evil spirit, why not use His name rather than His vocation when you talk about Him.

Just saying'………….:)

Paul Colman Jan 28, 2010

"from the salt land to the river"

I'm beginning the planning for my next solo project. I have not released a real record for about 5 years so as you can imagine I have a lot of songs to choose from. I didn't really write any songs in 2006-7 as I was very focused on my role in the newsboys. I decided to take a break from song writing during this period as it had become kind of an obsession. This was partly due to having to write songs not just for enjoyment or self-expression but to keep us all eating. Not really the best source of inspiration! I was, and am still, very inspired by an old Scripture written by the prophet Jeremiah.

Jeremiah 17:5-8 (New International Version)

5 This is what the LORD says:
"Cursed is the one who trusts in man,
who depends on flesh for his strength
and whose heart turns away from the LORD.

6 He will be like a bush in the wastelands;
he will not see prosperity when it comes.
He will dwell in the parched places of the desert,
in a salt land where no one lives.

7 "But blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD,
whose confidence is in him.

8 He will be like a tree planted by the water
that sends out its roots by the stream.
It does not fear when heat comes;
its leaves are always green.
It has no worries in a year of drought
and never fails to bear fruit."

This idea of a journey from the desert to the river has been a rich source of inspiration for me since 2006 and has been the source of many conversations, sermons and songs. I am still making the journey Jeremiah talks about. Therefore, the working title of my new project is called "From the salt land to the river". I have about 20-24 or so songs that are inspired by this scripture and even though not at all intended, 10-12 of them seem to be really about the desert and 10-12 about coming to the river.

Nothing is set at all right now but I was thinking about a double album. 'From the salt land…..' is CD one and …To the river" is CD two. Most of the songs are written although I have writing sessions planned to finish them. So far i have co-written with Tyler Burkham, Jason Ingram, Nathan Tasker, Mark Byrd, Peter Furler, Bran White, Chad Cates, Tony Wood, Brandon Bee, Paul Mabury, Michael Neale and my wife Rebecca.

The current plan is to record the album this year in about 5 sessions of 2-4 weeks at a time. The first job is to get a template for each song with an acoustic guitar, a vocal and some sort of percussion loop. Then I want to re-visit the songs, send them out to a select group of people and re-work them where necessary. The next step then is to start to build the tracks with some more guitars, keyboards, and percussion and go through the same process of listening and critique. In session three I am planning on assembling a band to track 2-3 songs a day for 2 weeks and get the drums, bass and guitars done. Then take a break and listen. Then stage 4 is over-dubbing on the songs for about a month. Stage 5 is mixing and mastering. All throughout his process I will have the tracks in my home studio editing and recording different bits. My hope is to have it completed by Dec 2010 for a 2011 release.

A thought about performing the record live is to actually play the entire record from start to finish and call it Paul Colman 'from the salt land to the river' live. I would possibly do it in two halves as there is truly a feel change on the 2nd record.

Not sure of any of this yet but this is the current plan. Here are the working song titles: I've played a few of these live.

From the Salt Land
The end of myself (f)
Run from Love (f)
This house (f)
Someday (f)
Let me go (f)
Love is where you left it (n/f)
I miss you (f)
Rome is Burning (nf)
The Table (nf)
By the river (nf)
Religion town (nf)
Come on Love (nf)

To the River
Real (f)
Floodgate (f)
The sweetest Place (nf)
I don’t know why (nf)
He is Alive (f)
Meant to be (nf)
The Real Jesus (f)
Baby (nf)
Your Cactus Heart (f)
Who I am (nf)
Need U Tonight (nf)
Daddy (nf)
Call to me (f) *see.www.paulcolman.com for podcast of this song

(nf) = not finished
(f) = finished

I'm sure there will be changes to this list as I am currently experiencing a flurry of new inspiration.

I've also been thinking about a couple few media pieces to accompany the project.
Book: A 20 chapter book where each chapter is a song title from the CD. It would be the story of the songs and really involve a lot of back story and testimony.

CDR songbook: A CDR songbook of all the songs with videos of how i play them and chord charts for piano and guitar.

Videos: Short video clips that encapsulate the songs. Some would be on location i.e. Your Cactus Heart was literally inspired by a cactus in Texas. Check out the pic below. Have you ever been inspired by a cactus? :) Never thought I would be!



So anyway, that is what I'm thinking at this stage. I'd value your prayers. There is always a fair degree of self indulgence in creating a piece like this but I hope that there is a great deal of my motivation that is for the listener. I have found that when people share their stories it inspires me and helps me feel that I'm not alone. 'From the salt land to the river' is a story of faith, heartache, passion, disconnection, triumph and love. I guess it's all of our stories. I'm just writing from my experience.


Paul Colman
Franklin, TN, Jan 26, 2010