In Depth:  Matt MacGregor

Matt MacGregor

We need to talk about Taylor Swift. Much ink has been spilled as to how appropriate her music is for Christians; I am not getting into that debate here. Instead, my attention is on the incontrovertible fact that Swift’s music is beloved by a phenomenally large number of people.

In a culture that is hallmarked by individualism and fragmentation, Taylor Swift has garnered an unprecedented popularity and ubiquity. Her impact has been compared to that of the Beatles, an impact she has sustained for 18 years, eight years more (and counting) than the Fab Four. The New Yorker goes even further, saying that she is best compared to the likes of Napoleon or Julius Caesar.

Matt MacGregor

Would you sing a hymn written by a computer? I wonder how you would back up your answer to that question. I suspect the instinctive answer of many would be ‘no.’ But why not?

The answer cannot be because a computer won’t be good at it. AI technology probably became a better songwriter than you some years ago. I took the liberty of asking ChatGPT to write a hymn in the style of Charles Wesley about penguins:

Matt MacGregor

‘I want mystery; I want weirdness; I want strangeness.’ This is what British Christianity’s favourite historian Tom Holland looks for in a church. Holland claims no Christian faith of his own, but there are many in the church who (with some genuine warrant) reckon he’s onto something.

Matt MacGregor

‘Your choice of career is the biggest ethical decision you’ll ever make.’ So says 80,000 Hours*. ‘All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us,’ says J.R.R. Tolkien in The Fellowship of the Ring. ‘A person can do nothing better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in their own toil,’ says Ecclesiastes 2:24.

Matt MacGregor

‘And in this gospel the church is one…’ (CityAlight, 2022). ‘I believe the church is holy, one communion in God’s love…’ (Emu Music, 2023)

Matt MacGregor

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August is often a month where things slow down, and we have a chance to pause and plan. Why not use this month to try and think of some creative musical ways to engage your community with the good news of Jesus?

Matt MacGregor

Picture a child first learning to write their letters, their hand clasped by their parent or a teacher, gently guiding them as they trace out the shapes. Now picture a weary, battered Christian, barely able to utter a sound from their lips, let alone direct their hearts heavenwards, surrounded by people singing prayers of desperation to God. Let me suggest the two pictures are not so different.