My friend and fellow traveler Melissa Fitzpatrick writes the most beautiful and challenging words today here and here.
Ten years ago, before transferring to Moody and moving to Chicago ever even entered my mind, I was a little sophomore at Baylor University. One fine central Texas day I went down with a friend to a place cleverly called Waco Hall to listen to an increasingly well-known “upcoming” musician. All I knew about the musician I had gleaned from the signs scattered on walls around campus: he had really good hair.
The musician was Shaun Groves. And if I remember correctly, he had just released his first big record Invitation to Eavesdrop. I knew, even then, after just a few minutes listening to Shaun sing, that he had a special voice. Something about him was unique. I sensed that he was a person who both thought and felt deeply about faith and the world. What I most certainly did not sense is that in less than a decade I would be bouncing around East India with a tiny group he was leading.
But in the third world together we were destined to be.
April 2009 to be exact.
On one of those blistering 125-degree days in Kolkata, Shaun and I got to talking. We were on the bus doing what theology nerds do best . . . taking ourselves far too seriously and talking about some Bible verses. We were throwing around phrases like “the new perspective on Paul” “the kingdom” “inaugurated eschatology” and whatnot. We discussed how necessary it is for us to have a holistic understanding of Scripture’s voice about wealth and poverty. We were ranting and complaining how it simply won’t do to quote one or two verses from the gospels; we need to understand everything we can about poverty and wealth in the entire canon. Only then could we really understand the Church’s mission concerning wealth and poverty. But then we got to talking about a couple of verses in the book of Proverbs.
Please take the time to read the rest here or here.
So well said. So transparent. So potentially perspective shifting. Please read.
Jill Foley says:
I’ve said this before, but I have loved the song Enough since I first heard it. Just a little over a year ago, I “adopted” those verses (Prov. 30:7-9) as my theme for my blog about simple living. It was just before my trip to Peru with Compassion.
Anyway, when I first heard your song, I was thankful you had written a theme song for my blog : )
On a more serious note, this is why I love your new album. These aren’t just lyrics you dreamed up. There are real stories of real people wrapped up in each word. The songs become less about me and less about Shaun and more about God and more about Kiran (and all the others behind the stories).
The more I listen to/sing this song (Enough), the scarier it becomes. I’m scared God will take me out of my wealth and plop me right down in a very uncomfortable place.
Shaun Groves says:
Sorry it’s taken me so long to respond. Life’s been nuts this week with travel and a little boy turning nine!
Thank you, Jill, for your constant encouragement. And you’re welcome for the theme song ; )
Alex says:
Love the song, love the sentiment.
Shaun Groves says:
Thanks, Alex.
RaD says:
Wow. Beautifully written.
Jason says:
Thanks for sharing. Love reading the stories behind your lyrics. Brings a deeper meaning to an already deep album.