It’s been a rough weekend for artists whose music appears on Cephas Hour. First, Carey Womach, who was the lead singer in One Bad Pig, unexpectedly lost his mom on Saturday. Sunday saw Riki Michele from Adam Again saying goodbye to her sister after she lost her battle with illness, and as I write this Dawn Wisner-Johnson from Crumbächer is by her hospitalized daughter’s side as she deals with a ruptured appendix.

It’s encouraging to see fans as well as family rally to the side of those who have either renewed their membership in the unfortunate fellowship or are a parent trying to comfort a sick child. There is much love in the Christian music family; the faithful connecting with cherished artists and vice versa through social media. Together we share the memories of what was, support each other through what is and look forward to what will be. This is our joint heritage and common love.

It is a touch ironic how for so many of us in this family, now connected via social media, entry took place during our high school years. It was then we first encountered Christ; first heard the music that has become part of our lives. As I mentioned in the last post, the idea behind Cephas Hour isn’t a nostalgia trip. It is a reminder that we can again feel the passion and move with the purpose that characterized those heady days when we first believed.

In this light, the irony is in how, when you look at other areas of social media, the determination seems to be recreating high school by any means available. A case in point is the upcoming BlogBash at CPAC.

For the uninitiated — you haven’t missed much, believe me — BlogBash is a party thrown for political bloggers during CPAC (an annual gathering of conservatives) by one Ali Akbar, with whom my encounters have been well chronicled, and associates. It’s quite the to-do, with awards and sponsors and special guest star appearances by high rollers in conservative new media and politicians. Gaining admittance to BlogBash is the modern equivalent of trying to get into Studio 54.

Come BlogBash night, you will see scads and scores of blog posts and tweets from those in attendance hanging out with others in attendance, 99 44/100% of which will feature photos of said attendees in various states of inebriation hanging onto other attendees. Hey, whatever. Party your brains out. Nothing to me. I choose a different path, one of working on actively communicating outside the echo chamber, encouraging renewal and revitalization. As opposed to a BlogBash, which seeks to reinforce who’s in and who’s not.

I’ll take my renewal of high school experience over that one any day.

PS: You weren’t really expecting Alanis Morrisette, were you?