It’s an intriguing story in the third chapter of John’s gospel- a teacher, Nicodemus, comes to Jesus in the night and gets his whole world view blown away. It’s exhilarating to re-look at the nature of wind and apply that to how God is moving in our souls- inviting action that I might not have thought possible- sure it’s petrifying, but what a ride! - tgz

What about Joseph? It feels good to offer another perspective of the Christmas story told over a reggae beat. We don’t know if he had any doubts about his dream, but it sure makes a fun song. Special thanks go to Cattlet Grant for her angelic soprano work. No less than nine ukuleles were used in the making of this recording and we assure the listener that none were injured. - tjz

And then my dad died in 2006. During one of my night time grief-dreams, I awoke to put a third verse to what started out as a symmetrical song about the state of having belief and unbelief at the same time. I started the song having to voice my desperate feelings about the war in Iraq and the loss of my sister-in-law, KJ to cancer. Perhaps in a nod to the ancient wisdom of Ecclesiastes (“to everything there is a season”), I decided to flip the coin and see how the same refrain “I Believe, help my unbelief” could contain joy. We performed it as a shorter two-verse song for a year or more but in the end, I am more satisfied with the flow and the pointed question of the current version. - tjz

Love and Peacemaking must engage Power, at some point, if it is to be authentic. And when it does, there has to be a political dimension. Because Jesus was perceived as a political threat, he was executed. Not only did he let himself be tortured and killed, when he rose that third day, he appeared first to the women- giants of the faith to be sure, but people perceived in that culture to be bottom-rung. I don’t think there’s enough singing about Jesus’ radical departure from traditional power and reinterpretation of kinship- it’s revolutionary- Jesus is revolutionary- and what would this world look like if more people who say they follow Christ considered themselves part of this ever evolving up-rising? - tgz

I was introduced to the incredible work of Capacitar (capacitar.org) through my home church’s new Healing Center. It’s been a powerful journey recognizing the connection of my faith to my body. Near the same time, Ghost Ranch, New Mexico invited my brother and I to teach a course during the Peace & Justice week; we decided to call it: Writing Songs of Peace in a Turbulent World; then, uh oh, that means we should probably try to write a song about peace, a subject so dear to me and yet so elusive over the years– I guess for fear of cliché; it was the visions of the Capacitar-type healing work that really opened it up for me. The song laid itself out before me after I got out of the way. - tgz

This song could not have come to be without the fruitful collaboration with Street Poets Inc., namely Chris Henrikson, Keith Jones, Chenjerai Kumanyika and Jarmell Denmon. Founded by Henrikson, Street Poets Inc. “is a poetry-based peace-making organization dedicated to the creative process as a force for individual and community transformation.” Tim and I came up with the chorus and let the others do their thing. For the record, Jarmell raps Chris’s words for verse 1, Keith wrote and raps verse 2, and Chenjerai not only wrote and raps verse 3 but also produced all the rap vocals. It was exhilarating to carve out a hip hop track from a slab of acoustic rock- with all sounds having originated from acoustic instruments. Perhaps peace is possible. - tjz

Yale Divinity School’s Faith as Way of Life project commissioned my brother and I to write this song for a conference of pastors. I was a bit intimidated to receive a working copy of the first chapter of a book that had been the result of three years of study by some incredible minds; the book would later be published, Faith As a Way of Life: A Vision for Pastoral Leadership by Dr. Christian Scharen, foreward by Miroslav Volf, Eerdmans Publishing Co., ©2008. But putting aside feelings of intellectual deficiency, I wound up connecting with the whole concept of fragmentation and compartmentalization – this tendency to separate my life and/or my faith journey into pieces too small to enjoy fully – and so that image of a river came before me. Major aspects of its nature- the movement, the roar – cannot be contained if I try to scoop it up and contain it in a little glass jar. The actual water may be captured in the jar but it ceases to be a river. How much of the practice of my faith is Faith? As much as this all can be packed into this song, I’m also heartened to let it work on many other levels. - tgz

What was it really like for those 1st Century followers of Jesus the first few days and weeks after his trial, execution, and rising? The story of the road to Emmaus had gotten some fairly deep grooves in it for me- well worn themes repeatedly trotted out; but then something struck me freshly – it was at their darkest hour of despair that a “stranger” shows them they’re on a path far different from the road they thought they were on. The church community I call home worships in an immense historically-landmarked French gothic-esque structure with more empty seats than filled on any given Sunday; but, as we’ve sung this song, in that space (as well as those like it) I get this powerful sense that all the seats, and aisles as well, are filled with generations upon generations of all the Creator’s own who’ve waited so long to sing with abandon. - tgz

We have been opening our shows and even some worship services with a drum improvisation for some years now. I remember speaking with an enthusiastic listener after an event we played at Yale University. He was hoping the CD we were selling at the time included the “first piece” we played. I was surprised to find he was referring to the short drum improv we did at the beginning. It was from him that I learned that in many African traditions, the playing of the drums calls the ancestors. Suddenly, the somewhat flippant, cool instrumental change-up took on more significance. I enjoy applying this ancestral frame to what has bubbled out of an instinctual draw to ethnic “drum-circle” jamming. - tjz

It was just a chorus called “Alleluia in 5” – and then, because I’ve always enjoyed chant and specifically, that classic “high-church” form of chorus-sung-by-all then a cantor chanting a verse recitative, I thought why not do a new version of that. As we worked on it together, we chose the familiar Psalm 23 and did our best at setting it in gender-inclusive language. We particularly enjoyed tracking this one without a metronome click. - tjz

This is an old shape-note hymn we grew up with. Aside from altering the original harmonization a bit, we decided to keep the recording as simple as possible. I have to confess being heavily influenced by the brilliant simplicity of the “O Brother, Where Art Thou” soundtrack. Having sung this one at our dad’s memorial service, it will always tug deeply. - tjz

We’ve never been fans of “praise songs.” And then we were invited to write one– specifically, we were in charge of music for a Saturday night service and leadership/participants requested more material that directly addressed God. In the process of writing, we were inspired to: one, address God from the point of view of a community rather than that of an individual; two, to acknowledge the paradox of the complete otherness of God beyond human comprehension along with the incredible intimacy God invites us to; and, three, if we’re crying out to God, to call for universals like healing and mercy is good– and, then, maybe more crucial, to call for what the whole world needs a healthy dose of: God’s economy. In these days of global economic crisis, can we sing into being God’s Jubilee, where equitable, sustainable distribution of wealth and resources rules our life together? - tgz

OK, so we were about a week away from jumping on a plane to Indianapolis, IN to play a church’s special event: they were breaking ground on a new site literally located on Promise Rd. Well, Geist Christian Church of course could not pass up the opportunity to let the weekend’s theme be around “Promise Road” and so, having just received some selected scriptures for the service, this song just rolled right on out. Sometimes basic and spontaneous can be so fulfilling! - tgz

Let you in on a secret: as much as song-writers/musicians love to complain how Muzac “destroyed” a particular popular song, it really is a dream to hear your own song made into elevator music, really! When we came up with this elevator themed CD, we just had to go here; so, it was a blast using our drummer, Mike’s, film-quality field recorder and record the actual elevator in which we had done the photo shoot. Of course if you would ever actually ride this Westinghouse elevator, you’ll realize two things: 1, it has no set of speakers for music in it; and 2, it does not “ding” when you get to the next floor; Tom put his movie-magic-soundtrack experience to good work. So, there it is, the full confession. - tgz