RE:WORSHIP 5… and 6

Alrighty folks, here is the rundown for the two weeks preceding yesterday…

03.04.07 SET:
1. AWESOME IS THE LORD MOST HIGH – Chris Tomlin
2. EVERLASTING GOD – Brenton Brown (Vineyard)
3. EVERMORE – Hillsong United
4. SURRENDER – Brenton Brown (Vineyard)

03.11.07 SET:
1. WHAT THE WORLD WILL NEVER TAKE – Hillsong United
2. ALL WE NEED – Charlie Hall
3. MORE THAN LIFE – Hillsong United
4. TAKE ALL OF ME – Hillsong United
*Note that this week was the beginning of my seasonal sinus infection (it’s hard to sing when it feels like you’re being strangled). I hate it when your throat is closing up in the middle of a song and you just have to fight through it.

Cheers! Stay tuned for the RE:WORSHIP video for yesterday… first week of our new TRADITIONS Experience!

Putting it into perspective

So I’ve been dealing a good bit lately with who God is… who I am… and who I am not. This mainly stems from my ministry position as a worship leader. I tend to, as I know most of us lead worshipers out there can, focus on music, genres, when songs aren’t clicking, when they are, turning to someone at a rehearsal and wanting to ask them what exactly is going through your mind right now? We can tend to be so focused on music and then let that translate into what happens on the worship stage. We can become so wrapped up in that and then become wrapped up in ourselves until we forget what it’s all about… what leading worship is… and what it is, well, it’s a privilege, and a tool to lift up the name of Christ.

Now, I’m not saying don’t bring your “A” game, cause I do believe in bringing our best, but bringing our best without Him is bringing zero to the table. It’s all just an empty show without God at the center. Being prepared by rehearsing what you’re going to play is something I think is key to those involved in worship, but I’m saying don’t just rehearse and play the songs and make it empty. Don’t leave out the One who makes what we do work in the lives of others…He makes what we do dive into the hearts of those hearing and plants seeds and moves people closer to His heart.

God, Creator, Restorer, Healer, Redeemer, the Lifter of our heads… He is the One who measures the universe within the span of his hand, yet for some reason He has nominated some a us to do “the ministry”… His ministry. It stretches beyond musical worship into every facet of ministry, but today I’m focusing what I do.

I’ve been thinking about how I, look up sinner, degenerate, failure, etc., have been placed in the position I’m in. I get on a stage on Sundays and take people on a journey to the heart of God, and then throughout the week I get to lead others in the journey of faith. I’m not an expert, I’m not a professional, and I certain most of the time don’t feel qualified to do what I do given my past… Sometimes I forget what I once was, sometimes I fail to remember where I was going, sometimes I place Jesus in my “messenger bag of life”, and throw it on my side continuing thinking I’ve now got it… when in reality I wouldn’t even be where I was if it weren’t for Him. Sometimes I overlook…

I overlook that the God of the universe stepped out of time and reached down to me… to my heart… to where I was… in the state I was in and rescued me. He took away my wrongs, and He justified me. He placed within me a new heart and a renewed mind. He gave His life that I could have one… sometimes I can forget…

So these past two weeks I’ve been praying hard and renewing my focus… I want to always have the thought of “who He is, who I am, and who I am not” in my head, heart, and spirit at all times. In my waking, in sleeping and in my ministry. I’m saying this today because I want to remind everyone that what we get to do is a privilege. It’s something that God doesn’t need us to do, but He gave each the opportunity to. I just want to remember that every time I take a stage to lead others in worship that I get to do this. Even when it’s hard, even when it stretches me, even so I am being allowed to let God use me for His glory and not my own. What a thought huh? That even knowing who we are God still lays things at our feet and says “pick it up, let’s go, I’m entrusting this to you.” Wow! Think about it.

It’s important to keep our focus as worship leaders… so think about it this week…

WHO IS GOD… WHO ARE YOU… WHO ARE YOU NOT…

I hope that this will help some of you out there involved in ministry of all kinds… worship leaders, pastors, greeters, ushers, kids workers, etc…

Cheers!

Are you ready for some coffee?!

So I’m not the biggest Starbucks fan in the world (like to support local run joints), but I have to admit that I will be partaking in tomorrow’s “Starbucks’ Free Coffee Day”.

“Starbucks across the country will be giving away a free 12 oz or “tall” cup of
coffee next Thursday, March 15th, from 10am to noon.
It won’t come without a price. Expect long lines. Some people report
using up their entire lunch break just waiting for their free coffee
when Starbucks does one of these free national coffee break deals.” — BEN POPKEN

Mark it down peeps… 10:00am to 12:00pm…

Cheers!

Hey “J”… Where ya been?!

I’ll tell you where I’ve been…

1. Caught a nice little sinus infection last week

2. Caught a nice little sinus infection last week while taking a vacation with my wife

3. Caught a nice little sinus infection last week while taking a vacation with my wife and somehow still have it

4. Ahhh… I’m feeling better though

Yeah, so, apologies to everyone for my extended absence from the blogging world. It was a nice break and being sick I used what energy I could to make sure everything was taken care of for work. Other than that I was glued to the bed. I couple of things to look forward to this week:

1. RE:WORSHIP 6 and 7!

2. Some refreshing thoughts on ministry (inspired by a week of prayer and reflection)

3. Free coffee at Starbucks this Thursday!

4. More to read as I begin blogging again!

Hope yous all are well!

Cheers!

Being sick is the pits!

So today I am trying to focus while at work but it’s hard because it feels like I have a elephant squatting on my face. Nice mental picture, I know right…

Anyways, I needed a quick break so I thought I’d post a blog really quickly, and since I haven’t blogged in a few days. Stay tuned for RE:WORSHIP… if my computer doesn’t suck it up this week.

Get a rather small vacation coming Tuesday night! Nice. Hope you all are well!

 Cheers!

RE:WORSHIP 5

So apologies are in order for the time in it’s taken to get this latest post.

Due to iMovie pretty much craping out on me, my video for this week was erased… how mad do you think I am?

 Anyway, here’s a quick recap of the songs from last Sunday February 25th:

1. FREE – Hillsong United

2. I AM FREE – Desperation Band

3. THERE IS NOTHING LIKE – Hillsong United

4. ALL IN NEED IS YOU – Hillsong United

- message

5. I LOVE YOUR PRESENCE – Brenton Brown

 Sunday was great… the songs flowed and the spirit moved. God is faithful and that’s a rap!

Cheers!

Jesus: Tales From The Crypt

 

“Brace yourself. James Cameron, the man who brought you ‘The Titanic’ is back with another blockbuster. This time, the ship he’s sinking is Christianity.

In a new documentary, Producer Cameron and his director, Simcha Jacobovici, make the starting claim that Jesus wasn’t resurrected –the cornerstone of Christian faith– and that his burial cave was discovered near Jerusalem. And, get this, Jesus sired a son with Mary Magdelene.

No, it’s not a re-make of “The Da Vinci Codes’. It’s supposed to be true.

Let’s go back 27 years, when Israeli construction workers were gouging out the foundations for a new building in the industrial park in the Talpiyot, a Jerusalem suburb. of Jerusalem. The earth gave way, revealing a 2,000 year old cave with 10 stone caskets. Archaeologists were summoned, and the stone caskets carted away for examination. It took 20 years for experts to decipher the names on the ten tombs. They were: Jesua, son of Joseph, Mary, Mary, Mathew, Jofa and Judah, son of Jesua.
Israel’s prominent archeologist Professor Amos Kloner didn’t associate the crypt with the New Testament Jesus. His father, after all, was a humble carpenter who couldn’t afford a luxury crypt for his family. And all were common Jewish names.

There was also this little inconvenience that a few miles away, in the old city of Jerusalem, Christians for centuries had been worshipping the empty tomb of Christ at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. Christ’s resurrection, after all, is the main foundation of the faith, proof that a boy born to a carpenter’s wife in a manger is the Son of God.

But film-makers Cameron and Jacobovici claim to have amassed evidence through DNA tests, archaeological evidence and Biblical studies, that the 10 coffins belong to Jesus and his family.

Ever the showman, (Why does this remind me of the impresario in another movie,”King Kong”, whose hubris blinds him to the dangers of an angry and very large ape?) Cameron is holding a New York press conference on Monday at which he will reveal three coffins, supposedly those of Jesus of Nazareth, his mother Mary and Mary Magdalene. News about the film, which will be shown soon on Discovery Channel, Britain’s Channel 4, Canada’s Vision, and Israel’s Channel 8, has been a hot blog topic in the Middle East (check out a personal favorite: Israelity Bites) Here in the Holy Land, Biblical Archeology is a dangerous profession. This 90-minute documentary is bound to outrage Christians and stir up a titanic debate between believers and skeptics. Stay tuned.”

–Tim McGirk/Jerusalem (Time Magazine Blog)

It will be interesting to see what becomes of this story. I caught the NBC Today Showthis morning, interviewing the documentary’s directors. I admit, I did a double take, but my faith is far from shaken. For years people have been fighting to disprove what we as Christians believe, so why should this be that surprising then? Am I mad? No. Am I concerned for the faith? Not at all. I am just going to devote to praying, loving, and living as Jesus instructed. Plus, science has been wrong before… not all the time mind you, but I can’t see science as completely fail safe. Sometimes I wonder if things are brought up just because what we believe isn’t agreed with. Dunno… Titanic I think it won’t be.

It’s been sometime now

I think it’s been almost six days or so since my last blog… yes to those of you wondering, I’m still alive. I found myself without wi-fi this past weekend on our staff retreat in Jacksonville. If you are wondering, it was anaweomse time of vision casting and goal setting for this new year. Get readt GC, there’s some awesome stuff happening and also in the works for the future. Thanks to PB, Dr. Chambers, and all the rest of you involved in making a great weekend.

So now I’m back…

Today was a good day, amidst the rain and all, and I look forward to filling you guys in tomorrow… RE:WORSHIP is coming at yous! Hope you’ve all had a great weekend…

Peace!

HAKA!

When it comes to sports I am completely devoted to futbol(soccer here in the states) and hockey(that’s the northerner in me). It really doesn’t matter who it is, I will watch just because I love the sports… which brings me to this statement… I have found a new sport that has completely grabbed my attention. I had the pleasure of watching my first rugby match the other day. What I saw so connected with my “inner man” that it has quickly become my new fav! I owe most of the credit to my new favorite team as well… the New Zealand All Blacks… basically New Zealand’s National Team. These guys are amazing! Now to my post…

The following video is the reason why I took in the viewing of my first rugby match. This happened right before the game started. What you are now going to watch is called a “HAKA”. It stems from the culture and traditions of samoan tribes of New Zealand. A HAKA is a challenge issued from one tribe to another during a battle. It’s a declaration of victory and made to intimidate the opposing tribe. I have never seen anyone do this in any kind of sport I’ve ever seen. These guys would intimidate the ever living crap out of me.

To me this completely rocks… and here we go… 

ALL BLACKS ‘HAKA’

Who told this guy YES?

For the love of all that is good and holy… I pray that he’s better with a gun than he is at public performances…

Words begin to escape me… enjoy!