What started out as Lipscomb University professor Lee Camp's "crazy idea" is turning out to be one of the hottest tickets in town. "Tokens" is becoming so popular that it had to expand to a second performance for its third outing, "The Politics of Jesus", due to a quick sellout. Another sign of the show's rapid growth is that it's also now a paid admission show (the first two shows were free admission).
Camp noted "why anyone would go and do something as stupid as talk about religion and politics in the buckle of the Bible belt while the fall conventions are in full swing is beyond me...but it sounded like a good idea when we were planning episodes." "The Politics of Jesus" took a thoughtful and often satiric look at the contrast between Christianity and politics.
The house band for Tokens expanded in name and personnel. Now referred to as "the most outstanding Sinai Mountain Boys", the band (bandleader Jeff Taylor, Buddy Greene, Aubrey Haynie, Chris Brown, Byron House, Pete Huttlinger) welcomed the addition of Bryan Cumming on sax and percussion (I also heard Bryan the previous Friday evening in Bellevue Park, playing as part of the "Wanna Beatles"). The band more than lived up to its "most outstanding" reputation throughout the evening.
Derek Webb, Buddy Greene and Odessa Settles provided the other musical highlights. Odessa in particular rocked the house with a spirited song, "Woke Up This Morning (With My Mind Stayed On Freedom)", and earned a standing ovation singing "The Lord's Prayer". The only thing missing for me musically this time out was the informal vocal groups that were a wonderful part of the last two shows...but that's a minor quibble.
The Tokens Radio Players (Lee Camp, Merri Collins, David Fleer and Barry McAllister) are academics by trade, but their characterizations and humor are as entertaining as any you'd hear on "A Prairie Home Companion". They poked gentle fun at politics and Christianity with new audience favorite segments as "Dear Preacher Man", "Adventures of Jane", and "Tales of the Ancient Near East" ("did he say the enemy peed or planted weeds on the land?").
The featured author interviewees were Randall Balmer (God in the White House), Steve Claiborne and Chris Haw (Jesus For President) and Jim Wallis (God's Politics and the Great Awakening). The full interviews are now available on the Tokens website. Other segments from the show should be posted there in a few weeks.
As I predicted in my first write up on Tokens, the show is now needing a bigger venue due to its growing popularity. "The Christmas Revolution", set for December 9, will move to the Collins Alumni Auditorium at Lipscomb University.
Lee Camp continues to bring a great mix of brilliant thinker and multi-talented entertainer to his hosting duties and vision for Tokens. Way to go, Lee--you've got a well-deserved hit on your hands and I can't wait to see how the show keeps developing.
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