Delirious? – Kingdom of Comfort

There is something about theology that just has to be sung sometimes. Martin Smith and the Delirious? crew are re-writing the way the church can sound. As missionalism takes root in the garden of our congregations, there are some words that we ought to have bounce around our mouths. In the title track, Smith opens with the lyrics:

Save me Save me
From the Kingdom of Comfort where I am King
From my unhealthy lust of material things.

There’s no doubt that filling pews often times means trying to make the Kingdom of Heaven sound like the Kingdom of this song, one from which we must be saved. It echoes the thesis of Rob Bell’s new book, Jesus Wants to Save Christians. Like Brian McLaren said years ago, the church is in need of a new hymn book. A litany of sound that laments our confusion between faith and credit, Christian and American, intimacy and hypocrisy, Mission and Consumerism, us and them. Kingdom of Comfort is a step in that direction.

God is Smiling is reminiscent of Boy era U2 in which the singer howls:

So we must cross the great divide
of color, creed, of wealth and pride
Break our hearts and save us all
So we can sing a brand new song?
Where former enemies belong
in every heart and every soul.

There are two songs on the album that are just stand out “church can worship” tunes: How Sweet The Name and My Soul Sings. How Sweet The Name ends with a refrain that is a needed reminder in the charge of most congregations: “Every soul Needs A Saviour.” This is a phrase that needs to dwell on the lips of every Christian. Actually, many of the uptempo songs will work in worship, but these two stand out to me…right now.

All in all, the boys bring it on Kingdom of Comfort. The fact is, the church needs this album. Youth groups need this album. Young Adults need this album. It is the soundtrack to a tension that is already in their hearts. iTunes has made the choice to only sell this in *plus* format, but the $11.99 price tag is well worth it.

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