Home

For this year, I decided my time spent reading the Bible would be in books that I’d never read start-to-finish before. Last night I started in on Isaiah.

I don’t think I’ve ever read Isaiah 1 before, since verses 13-17 stopped me dead in my tracks last night. I read those verses in a few different translations and paraphrases just to make sure I was reading it right…and scarily, I was. The Message’s take on it hit me the hardest:

Quit your worship charades. I can’t stand your trivial religious games: monthly conferences, weekly Sabbaths, special meetings – meetings, meetings, meetings – I can’t stand one more! Meetings for this, meetings for that. I hate them! You’ve worn me out!

I’m sick of your religion, religion, religion, while you go right on sinning. When you put on your next prayer-performance, I’ll be looking the other way. No matter how long or loud or often you pray, I’ll not be listening.

And do you know why?

Because you’ve been tearing people to pieces, and your hands are bloody.

Go home and wash up. Clean up your act. Sweep your lives clean of your evildoings so I don’t have to look at them any longer.

Say no to wrong. Learn to do good. Work for justice. Help the down-and-out. Stand up for the homeless. Go to bat for the defenseless.

That’s some pretty harsh language from God! He says he hates our religious behaviors (conferences, meetings, church services, even prayers!) when our attitudes aren’t right. What I think God’s saying here – and what Jesus echoed when he got ticked off at the Pharisees and other religious folk – is that he hates two-faced followers. He can’t stand people who put on the act and pretend like they’ve got everything put together…because nobody, not a single one of us, does.

What does God tell us to do instead of all that religion?

Say no to wrong. Learn to do good. Work for justice. Help the down-and-out. Stand up for the homeless. Go to bat for the defenseless.

I couldn’t fall asleep for a long time last night because this passage was stuck in my head. I know I’m guilty FAR too often of that religious attitude that’s got God all worked up. I know I’m going to try my hardest to constantly keep my facade down and try to follow that command in Isaiah 1:17; I’d encourage you to challenge yourself to do the same.

I’m back!

After a few months away from WaYfm, I am very excited to be back and taking over the night show – catch it from 6:00-10:00 every weeknight!

We’ll be doing tons of talking at WaYfm’s facebook page, so make sure you ‘like’ the page so you can join in the conversation each night. And, as always, feel free to email me (zach@way.fm) any time you have a question about a song, something going on at WaYfm, or if you just want to get your two cents in. We can tweet each other, too – find me as @wayfmzach. Let’s connect!

- z

(In case you don’t recognize it, that clip’s from Independence Day – my all-time favorite cheesy movie.)

Skillet’s new song started playing on WaYfm today. It’s called “Lucy”. The song deals with the aftermath of an abortion. Here’s John Cooper, lead singer of Skillet, with the story:

I’m not ashamed to say it: I had tears in my eyes the first time I listened to this song. It’s powerful.

Here’s the lyrics:

Hey Lucy, I remember your name
I left a dozen roses on your grave today
I’m in the grass on my knees, wipe the leaves away
I just came to talk for a while
I got some things I need to say

Now that it’s over
I just wanna hold her
I’d give up all the world to see
That little piece of heaven looking back at me
Now that it’s over
I just wanna hold her
I’ve gotta live with the choices I made
And I can’t live with myself today

Hey Lucy, I remembered your birthday
They said it’d bring some closure to say your name
I know I’d do it all different if I had the chance
But all I got are these roses to give
And they can’t help me make amends

Now that it’s over
I just wanna hold her
I’d give up all the world to see
That little piece of heaven looking back at me
Now that it’s over
I just wanna hold her
I’ve gotta live with the choices I made
And I can’t live with myself today

Here we are, now you’re in my arms
I never wanted anything so bad
Here we are, for a brand new start
Living the life that we could’ve had

Me and Lucy walking hand in hand
Me and Lucy never wanna end
Just another moment in your eyes
I’ll see you in another life
In heaven where we never say goodbye

Here we are, now you’re in my arms
Here we are for a brand new start
Got to live with the choices I’ve made
And I can’t live with myself today

Me and Lucy walking hand in hand
Me and Lucy never wanna end
Got to live with the choices I’ve made
And I can’t live with myself today

Hey Lucy, I remember your name

Come Monday morning, WaYfm’s going to sound a bit different than you’re used to.

We’re incredibly excited to be bringing in a new morning show, Mornings With Brant! If I could sum up Mornings With Brant in one thing, it would be this video:

Here’s a little bit about your new morning show host:

“I’ve never felt qualified for this,” he says.  “I think there are several complex reasons for this.  The main one, of course, is that I’m actually not qualified for this.”

Brant grew up wanting to be on the radio, but as a play-by-play announcer for the St. Louis Cardinals.  One problem:  He can’t see worth a darn.  “I go to a lot of games, and I never see the baseball,” he says.  “That would’ve made for some entertaining radio:  ‘The ball is apparently hit by the bat — I just heard it !  And now some blurry guys are running around and…’”

Brant is a husband to Carolyn, a father to son, Justice, and daughter, Julia, and an inveterate nerd, who uses words like, “inveterate”.  In high school, he was President of the State of Illinois Student Librarians Association (for real) and the Captain of the Scholastic Bowl team.  He earned a letter in basketball and football — for keeping stats.

He’s originally from a lot of small towns in Illinois and Indiana, and went to high school in Assumption, Illinois — pop 1150, including dogs — before graduating from the University of Illinois.  Brant’s previous job was as a talk radio host, “Arguing about politics and stuff for three hours a day.  I miss that.”

Brant has some quirks:  He plays accordion, used to work videotaping tanks for the Army, batted .000 in eight years of playing baseball, has traveled to many of the most poverty-stricken places in the world, invented a board game that sold nationwide, was lead vocalist for an indie band in the 90s, is an expert on toast, played the flute in the marching band, has a three-legged dog named Nigel, and can’t ever find his keys, phone, or wallet.

He also is a night person, which makes being a morning radio host kind of ironic, he says.

“I know this:  God loves irony.”

Also joining Brant on the new morning show are Pablo, Katie Rose, and myself (Zach).

The rest of the day will be sounding different on WaYfm, too.

Derek is moving to middays, from 10-2. (I think he’s more than a little bit excited not to have to wake up at 3:30am anymore!)

Tom’s still on each afternoon from 2-6.

And Mike’s still here to help you wind down at the end of your day, a little bit earlier now – from 6-10.

We can’t wait for you to listen to WaYfm’s new shows and can’t wait to hear what you think. Thanks for listening!

We need to settle this thing once and for all before it gets out of hand.

The year is 2011. How are we pronouncing it? ‘Twenty-eleven’ or ‘Two-thousand-eleven’?

The Music Crew results are in…

Top 10 WaYfm songs according to you:

1. Dear X (You Don’t Own Me) / Disciple
2. Hero / Abandon
3. Forgiven / Skillet
4. Crazy Love / Hawk Nelson
5. Avalanche / Manafest
6. Way Beyond Myself / Newsboys
7. Something in Your Eyes / Shonlock
8. Remember Me / Kutless
9. What I’ve Overcome / Fireflight
10. You Are More / Tenth Avenue North

Disciple’s “Dear X” and Abandon’s “Hero” remain your two favorite songs (they’ve been on top for 10 weeks straight now) and new music from Shonlock, Fireflight, and Tenth Avenue North is moving up the chart – look to hear it more often!

We asked you a few questions, as well. Your answers:

Christmas music: it’s coming. Your thoughts?

[10%] I was ready for WaYfm to play non-stop Christmas music yesterday!
[21%] I want WaYfm to start playing non-stop Christmas music the day after Thanksgiving.
[53%] I don’t want WaYfm to play non-stop Christmas music, but I would like to start hearing it once in a while after Thanksgiving.
[13%] I don’t want WaYfm to play any Christmas music until 2 weeks before Christmas.
[3%] I don’t want WaYfm to play any Christmas music at all.

You’ve spoken, and the Christmas music will start to be sprinkled in this week Friday!

You’re listening to WaYfm and a song comes on that you don’t like and you change the station. Why?

[37%] The song is too slow.
[3%] The song is too fast.
[17%] I don’t like the lyrics.
[43%] I don’t like the song’s beat/instrumentation.

If your voice is not being heard, join up! Becoming a part of the team takes just one minute here.

This probably doesn’t come as that big of a shocker, but I’m not great at “home-making,” or whatever you’d like to call it. I don’t know my way around taking care of a house.

Case-in-point: I moved into a new apartment a few weeks ago. This particular apartment did not come with anything to cover the windows. When signing the lease, I was told to come up with a “window treatment.”

I don’t know the first thing about curtains/blinds/whatever. I’m tired of the sun waking me up at 7:30am blaring through my window (one of the benefits of doing late-night radio: sleeping in).

I need help! What do I get to cover this window? Where do I get it?

If you’re not a member of WaYfm’s Music Crew, here’s how it works: you get emailed a list of songs every two weeks and are asked to rank each song on a few criteria – first, are you familiar or unfamiliar with the song; second, how much do you like it on a scale of 1 to 5 (5 being the best score); and third, are you tired of the song?

Without further ado, here’s a quick summary of the last survey:

Your Top 10 songs are:

1. Dear X (You Don’t Own Me) / Disciple
2. Hero / Abandon
3. Crazy Love / Hawk Nelson
4. Forgiven / Skillet
5. Look Away / Thousand Foot Krutch
6. Avalanche / Manafest
7. Remember Me / Kutless
8. Something Holy / Stellar Kart
9. Way Beyond Myself / Newsboys
10. Still Here / Superchick

We also asked these questions:

How many times do you need to listen to a song before you know whether you like it or not?

[34%] I know right away
[60%] 2 or 3 listens
[6%] 4 or more listens

Which of these statements do you agree with more?

[68%] I wish WaYfm would play more new and/or independent artists.
[32%] I wish WaYfm would play less new artists and more from established artists.

If your voice is not being heard, join up! You can sign up for the Music Crew here.