Nate Frederick: Old Time Christian
Nate Frederick loves the healing Christ, spontaneous artistic collaborations and producing audible grace. Since 2000, he has performed and toured with a variety of musical acts and dance troupes. He’s holds a passion for teaching African Ewe music, singing impromptu lullabies, meditating in C minor on the piano, and turning Christian Science folk songs in electronica dance tracks with the aid of Apple computers.
Nate double majored in Perennial Religion and Music Composition at Hampshire College and completed a year-long, multifaith radio documentary series on miracle experiences in 2006. After traveling around the world for a year, he made his way to Boston to work for his church, The First Church of Christ, Scientist. Three years ago, Nate helped launch the Daily Lift podcast with The Christian Science Board of Lectureship. He is also a very integral part of this podcast, The Weekly Musician.
Nate’s currently producing The It’s About Good Collective’s second album, You Can’t Escape It.
Song Title:Old Time Christian
Lyrics:The old master walked the lonely road
into thorns and the hatred of men.
Love's path isn't an easy road,
it's the unrelenting road of courage.
Chorus
I want to be an old time Christian
don't wanna buy stuff and do meaningless things.
I want to live the way the Master taught me
and he said,
"Don't be afraid."
And he said,
"I am the way, the truth, and the life."
Jesus said we're not of this world
and I imagine everyday just what he was seeing.
If heaven is here and right here with us
then, Lord, cleanse my heart and show me the kingdom.
Chorus
I want to be an old time Christian
don't wanna buy stuff and do meaningless things.
I want to live the way the Master taught me
and he said,
"Look at the birds in the sky.
They're beautiful, they shine.
And they take their wings and fly.
And they've got no clothes.
And they've got no home.
But they're not homeless.
The whole world is their own.
Let us accept our freedom
as a child of the divine light.
I’ve gotta be honest with you: this hasn’t been one of my favorite songs. Until last week. I was running and had the Weekly Musician sampler CD playing on my iPod, and I was halfway up a steep hill and just gasping. Then this song came on, with it’s unabashed praise of God and encouragement to really follow what Jesus taught.
I realized what I had been getting wrong when I was just listening to it before: I was just listening, looking for a melody I could follow and lyrics to go with a tune. But I hadn’t been HEARING the song as I, myself, was struggling. This was a breakthrough for me; to appreciate this song, I had to be really LIVING while I was hearing it. And the expansion of that: to really hear what Jesus taught, I have to get out and live it. I don’t sit around until I’m some level of Christian and THEN go. I need to breathe it.
I am so, so grateful that this song came on when it did. I realized that a hill couldn’t stop me, and nothing could stop me, and I just had this opportunity to express my devotion to God. Today when I ran again, this song came on really early, and I just RAN and sang along and smiled at everyone I saw and was smiled back at. And it was a very healing and revelatory experience, all through.
Thank you SO much for sharing this song with us!
I keep enjoying this version, guys. And Nate, the line “don’t wanna buy stuff and do meaningless things” is still my favorite.
Enjoyed this so much! Where can we hear more of your music Nate?
Katie, you can hear more of their music (2 albums of it) here:
itsaboutgood.bandcamp.com
Enjoyed this so much. Where can we hear more of your music Nate?
Great music, Nate….I am glad to see the person who introduces Daily Lift so expertly. You and your associates are doing a great service for the cause of Christian Science…Thanks…John from Trinidad
Thank you Nate and fellow musicians!
What a feeling! – heart, soul, spirit, pure love, honesty, humility
with a driving rhythm, skilled drumming, and sweet blend of your voices–
all given with simplicity…
leads into prayer.
It could be sung in a church,– any Christian church — or at a campfire. Thank you!
So – Hey, Hey Nate – it’s good to hear you on the Daily Lift, AND singing!
Hi Nate
this song made me feel so humble. Thanks so much.
Dave
Love this song! Sounds like Bob Dylan :)
So what does a new-time Christian look like? Still waiting for that track…
;p
Great music, great message. Shows how fresh and vital the message of Christ is. And I love the reflective quietness at the end. Really well done.
Wow guys… thank you so much. That was really fresh and inspiring.
What exactly is “Christian” music anyway? That might be a whole separate discussion. But I’ve always been skeptical of anything that’s labeled contemporary Christian music.
For one, good musicianship is a thing to behold in and of itself. It’s awe inspiring. And to me, inspiration is something that most of the time lifts our thought higher than what might seem like the basic thoughts of life that we think is our identity. And good musicianship can be found in many kinds of music.
When it comes to church or what I consider my personal relationship with God, I’d have to say that’s a lot different than my taste in pop music. My relationship with God is very humble, solemn, quiet, sincere, individual, searching.
Also, specifically writing music about God can be difficult because God and religion mean different things to different people, and even within Christianity, there are many different beliefs about how to be a Christian. Or at a given time in one’s life journey, their focus of emphasis on what they are drawing from religion may be different from someone else’s. So, I think it’s a delicate thing to say that music is specifically Christian, because then it’s sort of measured by what different people feel are their thoughts about Christianity, etc.
For instance, I think a lot of music played with a guitar, as much as I’ve enjoyed guitar in most of the pop music I’ve ever listened to, sounds like folk or rock music. And as much as I personally love folk music, I’m not always sure it best captures the essence of my individual journey to work out Christian Science.
I think it’s great when people are inspired to be a Christian Scientist. And music is a big part of Mrs. Eddy’s thought about the church service. The other part is holiness and the journey and the searching for God that is documented in the Scriptures, that we study and go to church to reflect on and embrace in our thought.
I’ve heard this discussion in some Christian denominations having young people play in bands during their church services. To me, a lot of that kind of music (with a band) is off-the-cuff and might be feel-good, but I don’t necessarily equate the elements in folk or rock sing-alongs with the long-enduring personal searching for God that is written in the Scriptures.
So, even if it’s “Christian” in its intent, I guess different things inspire different people, which hopefully draws them closer to their inherent oneness with God, and to a place of humility to be receptive of a higher desire for spiritual understanding. Not sure if any of that makes sense… :-)
Anyway, keep up the good work, all — it’s kind of an incredible journey to be a Christian Scientist. We’ll most likely be taken to many, many places of praise, beauty and joys — as we earn victories along the way in demonstrating our understanding of this deeply profound religion/Science. :-)
I love the backstory for this piece. It takes courage to write and perform “in your face” Christian music. Thank you for following your heart.
Thanks for the support Mar! “We should examine ourselves and learn what is the affection and purpose of the heart, for in this way only can we learn what we honestly are.” S&H p.8
Who’s the new guy? ;) Keep it coming! Thank you !
I hope we each feel new every day.
Strength. Purity. Momentum! I loved it.
I love the qualities you pinpointed for this song. So cool!
Love this a lot a lot!
Cool- were you praying there at the end for 20 seconds? I’ve never seen that and it’s sure a good idea…
Yeah, I guess we were praying at the end. Just honoring the ideas/desires in the song…
AHA! AWESOME! SMILING! IMPELLED! MOVING! GRATEFUL!
Glad you liked it Susie. It’s a fun one to sing!