Breathe Deep the Breath of God

First I want to give a quick shout out to Johnny and Jonathan, a couple of church planters in Independence, Kentucky. I had coffee with them at (where else?) Starbucks yesterday and had some great conversation with them. Check out their church, Fellowship of Mercy, here.

Anyway, I've been thinking about the whole "stretchychurch" concept lately. Turns out there are more than one way in which a church can be stretchy. It can be stretchy in that it is open to trying new forms of worship.

It can also be stretchy in that it welcomes all kinds of people. It recognizes that everyone is in need of the Savior. And it opens its doors to all of them.

As I was thinking about this, I was reminded of a really great song back in the 90's by a band called The Lost Dogs. The song is called "Breathe Deep (the Breath of God)."

As you read these lyrics, you might be asking, "So are they saying that all these things are good?" Of course not. They're saying that all of these people need to "breathe deep the breath of God."

Everyone--everyone!--needs to "breathe deep the breath of God."

I'm including a YouTube video. The video itself is actually terrible in terms of quality (don't even bother watching the video), but this is an easy way to include the song right here. The lyrics are below the video.



"Breathe Deep (the Breath of God)"
music and lyrics by Terry Taylor

Politicians, morticians, Philistines, homophobes
Skinheads, Dead heads, tax evaders, street kids
Alcoholics, workaholics, wise guys, dim wits
Blue collars, white collars, war mongers, peace nicks

Breathe deep, Breathe deep the Breath of God
Breathe deep, Breathe deep the Breath of God

Suicidals, rock idols, shut-ins, drop outs
Friendless, homeless, penniless and depressed
Presidents, residents, foreigners and aliens
Dissidents, feminists, xenophobes and chauvinists

Breathe deep, Breathe deep the Breath of God
Breathe deep, Breathe deep the Breath of God

Evolutionists, creationists, perverts, slum lords
Dead-beats, athletes, Protestants and Catholics
Housewives, neophytes, pro-choice, pro-life
Misogynists, monogamists, philanthropists, blacks and whites

Breathe deep, Breathe deep the Breath of God
Breathe deep, Breathe deep the Breath of God

Police, obese, lawyers, and government
Sex offenders, tax collectors, war vets, rejects
Atheists, Scientists, racists, sadists
Photographers, biographers, artists, pornographers

Breathe deep, Breathe deep the Breath of God
Breathe deep, Breathe deep the Breath of God

Gays and lesbians, demagogues and thespians
The disabled, preachers, doctors and teachers
Meat eaters, wife beaters, judges and jurys
Long hair, no hair, everybody everywhere!

Breathe deep, Breathe deep the Breath of God
Breathe deep, Breathe deep the Breath of God