I think the idea of God as Storyteller is foundational to what the Bible reveals to us about the divine. I mean, what do you call an entity who is outside the narrative and creating every aspect of it? The author. The writer exists even if the story is never penned. While human authors can only dabble with the ink of a pen or the typing on a computer screen to create their worlds, God writes upon time, space and matter. Speaking effortless words, sparking the flame of life and exploding every molecule into its preordained place, the stage was set.

Now here’s something that takes it from the amazing to the fantastical: the Author, the storyteller of storytellers writes himself into the plot. The director makes a cameo in the beginning walking with Adam and Eve in the garden. He visits his friend Abraham. He burns in a bush. He guides his people through the wilderness. He is figured in prophesies hundreds of times up until the grand unveiling when the Word becomes flesh and dwells among us.

God comes down, in the person of Jesus of Nazareth, and draws to himself all of the sin and the shame, the rebellion and the hate, the sickness and the death, and swallows it whole. And he swallows it by letting it swallow him. The Dragon is crushed in the crushing of the Prince of Peace.

And here we are, written into this epic story. The 139th psalm tells us that our days have been recorded in a book before we were even born and in Scripture’s finale, we read that our names and all our works are written down. Paul tells us in Ephesians 2:10 that we are God’s poeima. His poem. His work of art. His masterpiece.

Just as characters in a story do not comprehend all the details that the Author is conveying to the reader, so we often see our emotional agony, family dramas, everyday frustrations, and disabilities, and they seem bleak and pointless from our limited vantage point. Our hope, our confidence, is that we only know a fraction of the plot points of our own lives. Our hope is that it will come together into a coherent and meaningful whole. Praise God, we have the last chapter given to us as inextinguishable fuel for this confidence.

These song selections are meant to lay bare the experiences of life. Funny and dark; sweet and bitter; sad and hopeful; lost and found. As we face the arrival of virtual worlds, may Christians be the ones who remain active participants in this divine story. May we ever strive, in our supporting roles, to bring notoriety to the lead character and to call the unwitting extras on the global set to join the cast before the credits run. We await with eager expectation the sequel. No more numbers on the page. No more chapters building to the culmination of all the loose plot lines. The glorious final cut: the red carpet event. Awards will be given and we will lay them all at the feet of the cause of all causes, the Author Himself.

These songs are not just my story. They’re also your story. And ultimately, all of our stories are His story.

We are His poiema.

Recorded and produced by: Tommy Cooper Tracks recorded at: Watershed Recording Studio, Nashville Engineers: Tommy Cooper, Joshua Keith Vocals recorded and mixed at: AFAB Studio, Nashville Mastering: Keith Compton, Nashville Graphics: McClearen Creative, Nashville Photography: Martha Pike Replication: TCA (Tape Corporation of America)

Piano/Organ/Accordions/Marxophone: Jeff Taylor Drums/Percussion: John Hammond Percussion: Ashur Peterson Electric Bass/Upright Bass: Byron House Electric Guitars: Kelly Back Acoustic Guitar/Banjo: Ron Block Background Vocals: Miles Pike, Reggie & Ladye Love Smith Orchestrations: Larry Hall Harmonica on “Promenade”: Buddy Greene Steel guitar on “Walking Her Home”: Scotty Sanders Organ on “Somebody Died For Me”: Larry Hall Piano and arrangement for “Perfectly Honest”: Martha Pike Lyrics and soundtracks are available at www.MilesPikeMusic.com

Joy Deep As Sorrow Bob Bennett

Matthew John Denver

Walking Her Home Mark Schultz

Roll Away, Troubled River Ann Ballard

Don’t Sit In My Pew Tim Lovelace

Perfectly Honest Mark Bishop

I Would Daryl Mosley

Somebody Died For Me Kyle Matthews/Christy Sutherland

What Trouble Are Giants Rich Mullins

I’m Part Of The In-Crowd Now Mark Bishop

God Didn’t Come To Save The Angels Mark Bishop

What He’s Seeing Now James Pike/Martha Pike

The Voice I Could Not Resist Rodney Griffin

Promenade Rich Mullins

If the cover hasn’t already given it away, this is a quartet album from a soloist, namely, me. This is my tongue-in-cheek answer to the question I am asked at least once a week — what style of music do I sing. Difficult to answer, considering that many Christians seem to only possess two boxes in which to place spiritual music: Southern Gospel or Contemporary. Were I to answer Southern Gospel, you might well assume the following: (1) I only sing songs that are at least 40 years old or written by Bill Gaither, (2) I only sing songs that have a predictable rhyme scheme, and (3) I only sing songs keyed at least a full step out of my vocal range. Were I to answer Contemporary, you might well assume the following: (1) I can’t afford jeans large enough, (2) I sing slow songs averaging 8 minutes long, and (3) The songs I sing will contain a minimum of 9 choruses, and certainly will not pass without mentioning some sort of destructive natural phenomenon, (hurricane, flood, fire, etc).

I refuse to pigeonhole Christian music in this manner. Each different style has its own strength, whether it be the joy of convention music, the firm doctrinal foundation of hymnody, or the call to worship within contemporary music. My intention is to take these different strengths and use them to be a litmus test for true conversion. Are you persevering in spite of temptations to waver? Is the sinful state of the world a grievous thing to you? Do you long for the coming of the Lord and the establishment of righteousness? Do you have a living and active faith? Are you trending toward Christ-likeness? Does the daily view of the cross draw you inextricably to your Lord?

This album is aptly called a casserole — you will never quite know what went into it, and sometimes you don’t know what to call it. The recipe included years of planning, a month in the studio, and fifteen songs with four parts, all sung by me.

In the third chapter of 1 Peter marriage is called “the grace of life” and Martha and I have found that to be true. The blessing of becoming one flesh with another person in body and soul is a divine gift, and above and beyond that, we have found God loves His people in a special way through a godly spouse. Our marriage has taught us that God's graces are many: grace to live by, grace to die by, grace to be saved, grace to stay saved, grace to trust, grace to hope, grace to sustain, grace to stand by, grace to fall on, grace to pardon, grace to sanctify, grace to glorify. This album is itself a marriage of sorts. It's a union of old and new songs; of piano and voice; of introspection and worship; of our two hearts and our two artistries. We pray that through these songs your hearts would cleave to these truths as ours have, so that you will fully enjoy these graces of life.

Hard - Rich Mullins 1 Corinthians 9:24-27, Galatians 5:17, Romans 7:14-25 When I came to Christ, I had an idea of what being a Christian would mean. A few changes here and there and get rid of some bad habits. I had no idea what Christ had in mind. Or how little He had to work with.

Don’t Unpack Your Bags - Steve & Annie Chapman Hosea 4:6-9, 2 Timothy 4:1-5 In the end, all the Son of God had to show for three years of ministry was perhaps 500 people. This is encouraging to me, in a round about way. Every preacher desiring to follow in Christ’s steps should consider seriously how He was received.

Would Jesus Wear A Rolex - Margaret Archer/Chet Atkins Hebrews 13:5, Matthew 8:20, 1 Timothy 6:3-12 I can get away with bringing this issue up because the song is funny. But the truth is, God’s spokesmen should have an untainted reputation. Period. Is that a tall order? You betcha.

You Love The World - Keith Green James 4:3-10, 1 John 2:15-17, Luke 9:23-26, Luke 21:34-36 Christ said loving the world means loving its security, loving its respect, loving its entertainment — simple everyday loves. And I find the love of the world hiding in the shadows of my own heart, and once again cry out for forgiveness and grace.

Why Aren’t We Waiting - Chaz Bosarge Colossians 4:2-4, Isaiah 26:8-11, 2 Peter 3:11-14, Psalms 37 “Why aren’t we waiting?” I can easily answer with a quickly manufactured theological mini sermon, but “Why am I personally not waiting?” is not so easily answered.

Brother’s Keeper - Rich Mullins/Beaker Genesis 4:9, Luke 10:25-37, Luke 6:27-42 I fail at loving the people around me more than I fail at anything. I’m forever needing to go back to the Lord to ask Him to help me do what He has given me the desire to do — make me my brother’s keeper.

Man Against Man - Buddy Greene Colossians 3:1-17, Deuteronomy 10:17-19, Leviticus 19:15, James 2:1-17 I guess there was really only one category Christ ever saw. Adam’s race, all created in God’s image, all broken, all sinful, all needing a Savior. That’s beautiful to me. I want that. But in practice, I can look at my life and see that I still base my interactions — or lack thereof — on appearance. And the cry of my heart is Lord, help me! Give me Your eyes!

Recovering Pharisee - Buddy Greene Romans 7:21-8:11 My Christian life is very similar to what I imagine rehab is like. I’m in recovery — the cure has been given and it is working. My mind is being changed to reflect the mind of Christ. But my flesh has ruts a mile deep where the wheels of old habits go round and round. I know Christ is working in me, but sometimes I wish He’d speed up the process.

Live Your Life - Tim Lovelace Proverbs 11:10, Matthew 12:33-36, Luke 6:43-49 I’ve sung at dozens of funerals and heard some whitewashed eulogies by pastors who either did not know the person or knew them and lied as big as Dallas. There were sweet funerals too where we grieved for the gaping hole they left, yet knew we’d see them again. That’s how I want my funeral to be.

Modern Man - Stephen Hill Romans 3:10-18, Isaiah 59 In the beginning of our marriage we decided to nix cable TV, and we have limited internet, living in the sticks. Gradually we reacquired the sensitivity to filth that had eroded with easy exposure to media. When we see live TV now, it’s unsettling, knowing we were ok with being entertained by that. Previous generations never dealt with these things. You can hold corruption in your hand; you can put it in your ear; it is readily accessible anywhere you go.

Hard To Get - Rich Mullins Psalm 73, Isaiah 55:8-11, Luke 22:39-46, Isaiah 53:4 What stands out most to me about the person of Christ is that He’s absolutely unpredictable. He’s full of contrasts. In every given circumstance He does exactly the right thing — but the right thing is rarely what I would have thought the right thing would be. If I had been a disciple, I’m very sure I’d have been yelling with the rest of them, “Master, wake up! Don’t you care that we’re gonna die?” Very sure, because that’s exactly the way I am now.

You Get Back Each Single Minute - Mark Bishop 2 Corinthians 4:16-5:2, 1 Peter 5:10, Romans 8:18-37 I know so many people who don’t understand the ‘why’ of their present circumstances. They look beyond with eyes of faith and know that in the end, God’s promise is, “I will restore the years that the locusts have eaten.”

Talk About The Good Times - Jerry Reed 1 Peter 1:3-9, Isaiah 65:17-25, Isaiah 11:1-9, Isaiah 2:1-5 This song reminds me of my Grandad — a man who loved Jesus, his family, and his community. The doctor told him he needed open heart surgery, so his sister got onto him for cooking eggs, bacon, biscuits, & gravy. He told her, “There’s somebody bigger than the doctor. I’m hurting, I’m tired, and I’m ready to go.” He died the next morning. I smile thinking of him seinin’ for minners in the River of Life, humming “Just a Closer Walk With Thee.” Talk about a good time.

I pray this album is convicting to the heart, maturing to the mind, and an assault on the carnal. May the truth of Christ have the platform through these songs and be perfectly candid. Paul said in 2 Corinthians 4:2 "We have renounced disgraceful ways; we refuse to deal craftily or to adulterate or handle dishonestly the Word of God, but we state the truth candidly. And so we commend ourselves in the sight and presence of God to every man's conscience."

Recorded and produced by Tommy Cooper Tracks recorded at OmniSound Studio, Nashville Engineers: Tommy Cooper, Lee Unfried, Mike Walter Vocals recorded at AFAB Studio, Nashville Mixed at AFAB Studio, Nashville Strings recorded at Little Big Sound, Nashville Orchestra Engineer: Jeff Pitzer Mastering - Keith Compton, Nashville Graphics - McClearan Design Studios Cover Art - Lorianne Hubbard Replication - TCA (Tape Corporation of America)

Piano/Organ/Keyboards: Gary Prim Drums/Percussion: Tommy Harden, John Hammond Bass: Duncan Mullins Electric Guitars: Kelly Back Acoustic Guitar/Banjo/Fiddle: Bruce Watkins Fiddle/Bouzouki: Glen Duncan Steel Guitar/Dobro: Scott Sanders Penny Whistle/Recorder: Sam Levine Accordion: Jeff Taylor Harmonica: Buddy Greene Cello: John Catchings Jug: Tommy Cooper Background Vocals: Miles Pike, Martha Pike, Angela Primm, Gale Mayes, Reggie Smith, Buddy Greene String Arrangements & Orchestrations: Milton Smith Orchestra: Violins: David Davidson, David Angell/Viola: Monisa Angell/Cello: John Catchings