And This, They Knew, Was A Problem

Or, GPS, deer hunters, interconnectedness, the GRAMMYS®, and Faith & Democracy

Yesterday, I read Amy Peterson's Making All Things New post here on Substack. It reminded me of an anecdote from my own life. Amy began her piece by saying, "It's the end of the ninth day without water or power at our home in Asheville." She could've stopped there—sounds like the first sentence of a memoir or novel. Thankfully, she didn't. What a story they are living—so many are living in the wake of Helene.

In closing she quoted her husband: "Scott told me this morning that a decade ago, the Navy realized that their sailors were only using GPS. They’d stopped learning how to navigate by the stars. And this, they knew, was a problem."

This is where I connected to a story of my own from last year.

Then Amy shared a wonderment and asked a profound question: "I wonder what it means to re-learn ancient languages. Who wouldn’t want to be able to navigate by the stars?"

Sadly, the answer is most people wouldn't want to. Perhaps it might poll high as "that would be cool."  In practice, though? We're dependent on our phones and their remarkable apps and computing power.

This time last year, I was working on a music docu-series. The crew was thirty years younger than me. Using my home as a hub, the day before filming, I drove them around the neighborhoods we'd be filming in (the spokes on the proverbial wheel). I did this so they'd know how the various locations fit together in relationship to one another and the center of downtown Nashville. I showed them the two main urban arteries we'd be using repeatedly to get to downtown quickly. All of it was a nod to the importance of place—of seeing it in your mind’s eye.

I was giving them what used to be called the lay of the land—a mental picture of interconnectedness, the place they were about to occupy and work within.

They found my use of the word artery especially amusing, and all held up their phones. “GPS, dude!” Indeed. Global Positioning System. As inventiveness goes—way up there, literally.

We had fun, and "artery" became a riff for the week. I took the chiding as good sport. What it revealed about changing culture didn't leave me, though. Like the Navy, I knew then, as I do now, that dependency on GPS alone is a problem.

Later yesterday, I was listening to the news on recovery efforts in North Carolina. There was a piece on city and county government working with deer hunters on ATVs. With roads washed out and mountain citizens needing food, water, medicine, and oxygen, an official said something like, "No one knows how to get around off-road in these mountains better than our deer hunters." Yep, the lay of the land—a mental picture of interconnectedness.

Which brings me back to Amy's thoughts: "I wonder what it means to re-learn ancient languages. Who wouldn’t want to be able to navigate by the stars?"

For over two years, I've been incrementally moving toward a moment of great anticipation. Metaphorically, let's call it a return to ancient languages and navigating by the stars. I have one last commitment to the world of ones and zeros—my memoir, Roots & Rhythm.

Click image for pre-order.

I have an agreement with Eerdmans Publishing to promote the book, so I will. And I want to, at least as a storyteller. I know I can be non-conformist, but even I write books with the hope that people will see they exist and read them.

But after my marketing swan song? I shall return to a list of cares and commitments that define and locate me more accurately than any human-derived, satellite-dependent GPS. More to come on this subject.

Now For The News . . .

The first phase of my website rebuild is complete. Visit HERE. Kudos to Bridget Ashworth for the good work.

EVERY KIND OF UH-OH is on the GRAMMYS® FIRST BALLOT and available for Recording Academy member advocacy and For Your Consideration. Voting is open now through October 15. Visit HERE for a list of submissions and links to music and lyrics.

Two events will be coming up quickly in the next couple weeks, one in Greensboro, NC next Sunday, and the other in Tempe, AZ on the following Sunday (Register below). Bring your questions for the panel of scholars—anything about religion and its intersection with culture, history, and public life. There will be special musical guests, inspiring conversations, and opportunities for meeting like-minded people who are connecting their faith and action to the work of strengthening democracy. You'd be hard-pressed to find two hours of this level of scholarship combined with popular music. Go get yourself some inspiration!