This is a song about an attitude towards evangelism I’ve seen in a lot of Christians, myself included. It seems like the people we’re trying to reach cease to be people in our minds sometimes. They just become this target, or a check box that we want to fill in on our “good Christian checklist.” To me, that’s just horrible. We need to realize the beautiful humanity of everyone, whether they’re Christian, Atheist, Muslim, whatever.

It also seems like there’s this mindset going on that all you have to do to “convert” someone to Christianity is to win in some sort of theological argument against them. We stack up all our evidence against evolution, we try to come up with every defense for God, for Jesus, and for the Bible; and we forget that evangelism isn’t a duel where the winner can decide what the loser believes about Jesus.

I didn’t talk about this in the song, but sometimes I wonder if we’ve developed this mindset because we think it’s our job to change hearts when that’s the Holy Spirit’s job. We’re messengers, not heart changers. I firmly believe that any sort of belief about God requires a measure of faith, and faith involves more of the heart than we are in control of.

Well, that’s the best I can say on that without starting to get scatterbrained. If I haven’t started already. Let’s talk about things other than Notches.

Let’s see…I’m writing more material for the new album. I’ve finished the demo of one song, and I’ve written the intro and a verse for another. I’ll be re-recording the vocals for Notches with a good mic, and I’ll probably use some good studio monitors to mix it.

I’ve also been talking to my cousin about doing some collaboration with him. He’s played guitar for some post-grungy Nickelback-ish bands for awhile, and he’s been wanting to incorporate some of the electronic elements I’ve built my songs around. So we may do that and then re-mix some of my stuff with his guitar as well. So that’s pretty exciting.

Music of the month has definitely been Future of Forestry’s Travel II EP. It’s fantastic. All kinds of creative percussion and instruments involved. These guys make some great music, and they just keep getting better.

Well, that’s it for me this month. Hopefully within a month or two, there will be another EP. That would be nifty.

-T.H.

-

Carving notches in my Bible
There’s one for every sinner saved
These heathens all once acted tribal
But now they’re not depraved

Couldn’t tell you what their names are
And I would lose them in a lineup
These aren’t people I’ve been chasing
They’re just targets
I’m the sniper

Outthought a drunkard yesterday
I trapped the heathen in his words
He had no choice, no other option
But to accept what he heard

Couldn’t tell you what his name was
I would lose him in a lineup
It’s no human I’ve been hunting
He’s the target
I’m the sniper

I know every formula, and I know every argument
I know every trick to get them into our establishment
So gather round my friends and fans, and please be of good cheer
Because today, I’ll be named evangelizer of the year

The drunkard wasn’t sure he bought it
But I’d won the verbal fight
He had to bow down to my logic
I forced on him eternal life