Thank You, Clover

New Greenhouse - Promo Video from Clover on Vimeo.

Amazing...

Word Wednesday .::92

Word Wednesday is posted every Wednesday. Each week I post a scripture that I've read that week that has spoken to me in a fresh way. I believe that if we read God's Word every day, He will give us at least one scripture every week that will impact us. Sharing Scripture with each other is like iron sharpening iron. Leave a comment and share a scripture that has impacted you this week.

Here's the scripture that stuck this week:

Ezra 3:11-13 The Message

^11-13 All the people boomed out hurrahs, praising God as the foundation of The Temple of God was laid. As many were noisily shouting with joy, many of the older priests, Levites, and family heads who had seen the first Temple, when they saw the foundations of this Temple laid, wept loudly for joy. People couldn't distinguish the shouting from the weeping. The sound of their voices reverberated for miles around.

Shouting, laughing, weeping...it can all be praise. It was loud, too. I love that.

What's your Word?

Album Review - Carlos Whittaker - Ragamuffin Soul

Ragamuffin Soul by Carlos Whittaker

In 2006, I went to the Saddleback Worship Conference. I was looking to get podcasting going for our church, so I went to a workshop called “Podcasting/Blogging” by Carlos Whittaker. I was disappointed, because all this guy talked about was blogging. What I didn’t know was that his blog Ragamuffinsoul.com was becoming a phenomenon, and now has a worldwide following of more than 20,000 people and was ranked "Best Ministry/Theology Blog" by COLLIDE magazine readers. It also inspired me to start my own blog, and I’ve been blogging ever since. I’m now grateful that I went to that class, because now I’m in the blogging world, connected to all kinds of people. Carlos, or @loswhit, for us on twitter, really influenced me in that.
Now, Ragamuffin Soul has a soundtrack. In the spirit of transparency, I have to admit that I wasn’t expecting much. Not because I don’t think Carlos is a talent, but because he hadn’t really put out any songs of notoriety, so there wasn’t really that much anticipation from me on that end. After listening to the album, I must say that I was pleasantly surprised.
Ragmuffin Soul has some great songs for the church, which really excites me. There’s a lot of worship albums that get released, but not a lot of realistic songs for the church to sing, and I think this is a credit to Carlos and the Integrity family.
“Rain it Down” is a great song to kick off the album. It has a very infectious melody line to it. “God of Second Chances” and “We Will Worship You” should connect in congregational worship very well. I really like the last track, “We Will Dance”. It’s a great up-tempo contribution to the church. I can see a lot of worship services pumping with that one.
My main critique of the album is probably minor. I really think the songs “Because of You” & “In Your Presence” could have been cut. Not because they’re bad songs, but because they really don’t measure up to the rest of the album. In other words, I feel this should have been a 10 track album, instead of a 12 track album. It would have really made this a more power packed CD.
All in all, though, this is a great contribution to the local church. Worship bands will have no problem bringing these tunes to their congregations. As a worship leader, I really appreciate that. Great job, Carlos & Integrity!!

Go get it on Itunes today!!!

Music Monday 20

This is a post that you can participate in on every Monday. Everyone likes music, and there are obviously many tastes in music. This is here to see what different types of music are filling everyone's lives. Chime in!

There's nothing like seeing a band or artist live in concert. It brings a whole different appreciation to their music. So...

What's the best concert you've been to?

My wife took me to see The Killers last fall, and it was hands down the best concert I've been to...given, I've been to mostly Christian concerts. The Killers was one of the shows I wanted to see before I die, so I was not disappointed.





your turn...

Worship Confessional 04.25.10

No video this week. It was a busy Sunday. We ended our series on fasting yesterday. Our pastor called the church to a corporate one day fast from Saturday to Sunday, so the majority of the church came yesterday, having fasted for 24 hours, hungry and focused on God. It was a special series. One of the best I've ever heard. The best part was to see our people soak in the principles of fasting, and then actually apply them into their life. Pastor concluded it by challenging the church to continue to make fasting a part of their life.This was also the first week I led with electric guitar. I just purchased a Fender Telecaster. I'm really more of an acoustic player, but that will be fun to lead with occasionally. Our set list was great. "Our God" has really connected with our crowd. It was the perfect song to start our morning off with. It's only the second time we've done it, and it seemed our crowd already knew the song, which is a mark of great writing. See you next week!

Setlist with itunes links:
Our God - Tomlin/Redman
Stronger - Hillsong
Healer - Hillsong
Enough - Tomlin


Flow Sheet from Planning Center

Also part of Sunday Setlist.

Worship Leading Mishaps:::Wedding Ring

Word Wednesday .::91

Word Wednesday is posted every Wednesday. Each week I post a scripture that I've read that week that has spoken to me in a fresh way. I believe that if we read God's Word every day, He will give us at least one scripture every week that will impact us. Sharing Scripture with each other is like iron sharpening iron. Leave a comment and share a scripture that has impacted you this week.

Here's the scripture that stuck this week:

II Chronicles 28:22-25 The Message

^22-25 But King Ahaz didn't learn his lesson—at the very time that everyone was turning against him, he continued to be against God! He offered sacrifices to the gods of Damascus. He had just been defeated by Damascus; he thought, "If I worship the gods who helped Damascus, those gods just might help me, too." But things only went from bad to worse: first Ahaz in ruins and then the country. He cleaned out The Temple of God of everything useful and valuable, boarded up the doors of The Temple, and then went out and set up pagan shrines for his own use all over Jerusalem. And not only in Jerusalem, but all over Judah—neighborhood shrines for worshiping any and every god on sale. And was God ever angry!

"...those gods might help me, too." Famous last words of a fool. One thing that has really been disturbing me about Christians lately is our identification of success based on the world's standards. What is wrong with us? We need to wake up. We want worldly success and that want naturally turns us to idolatry..."And was God every angry!" We need to learn that lesson from other's mistakes and not our own.


What's your Word?

Farewell Delirious

Truly, one of my favorite and most influential bands. Thank you, Delirious. You shall be missed.

Music Monday 19

This is a post that you can participate in on every Monday. Everyone likes music, and there are obviously many tastes in music. This is here to see what different types of music are filling everyone's lives. Chime in!

Being a worship leader at a church, I often hear people say, "I want you to sing "......" at my funeral. So...

What do you want to be played at your funeral?

I actually have no requests. I want them to play whatever songs they want to. I really won't be there.



your turn...

Worship Confessional 04.18.10

Setlist with itunes links:
Creation Praise - mine
All Creatures of our God and King - HYMN
Our God - Tomlin/Redman
Everlasting God - Brenton Brown




Flow Sheet from Planning Center

Also part of Sunday Setlist.

PLAYOFFS start TODAY!!

I'm not incredibly hopeful that my Celtics will win it all this year, but I'm with them, and would love to see them rally to pull off one more miracle championship run. The playoffs are going to rock this year!!

Who do you think is going to the finals?

This Politician is LOST

I think this guy has been watching a little too much LOST...if that's possible.:)

Come As You Are - Pocket Full of Rocks

This is the message that the Church needs to be sending. Wow...

Word Wednesday .::90

Word Wednesday is posted every Wednesday. Each week I post a scripture that I've read that week that has spoken to me in a fresh way. I believe that if we read God's Word every day, He will give us at least one scripture every week that will impact us. Sharing Scripture with each other is like iron sharpening iron. Leave a comment and share a scripture that has impacted you this week.

Here's the scripture that stuck this week:

II Chronicles 13:10-12 The Message

^10-11 "But for the rest of us in Judah, we're sticking with God. We have not traded him in for the latest model—we're keeping the tried-and-true priests of Aaron to lead us to God and the Levites to lead us in worship by sacrificing Whole-Burnt-Offerings and aromatic incense to at the daily morning and evening prayers, setting out fresh holy bread on a clean table, and lighting the lamps on the golden Lampstand every night. We continue doing what God told us to in the way he told us to do it; but you have rid yourselves of him.

¹² "Can't you see the obvious? God is on our side; he's our leader. And his priests with trumpets are all ready to blow the signal to battle. O Israel—don't fight against God, the God of your ancestors. You will not win this battle."

Israel has strayed and Judah has stayed. It goes on to say that Judah won the battle "hand down" because God was on their side...or actually, they were on God's side. There's nothing wrong with God or His guidance, it's our faithfulness to Him that really affects the outcome.


What's your Word?

Proof I'm not a Band-Wagon Fan

Brought to you by the tagging feature of Facebook. :)

Music Monday 18

This is a post that you can participate in on every Monday. Everyone likes music, and there are obviously many tastes in music. This is here to see what different types of music are filling everyone's lives. Chime in!

Yesterday, our worship service was pretty intense. I stated that it kinda felt like Heavenly worship. So...

What worship song can you see being sung Heaven?

There's a few for me. I can see us singing the classic hymn, "Holy, Holy, Holy", and there's a song by my friend, called "All Glory". The one that strikes me the most is a fairly new song called "Revelation Song" by Jennie Lee Riddle. Here's a video of it...





your turn...

Worship Confessional 04.11.10

Setlist with itunes links:
Open the Eyes of my Heart - Paul Baloche
Revelation Song - Gateway
Holy is the Lord - Chris Tomlin
All Glory - David Paul Regier

Flow Sheet from Planning Center

Also part of Sunday Setlist.

Word Wednesday .::89

Word Wednesday is posted every Wednesday. Each week I post a scripture that I've read that week that has spoken to me in a fresh way. I believe that if we read God's Word every day, He will give us at least one scripture every week that will impact us. Sharing Scripture with each other is like iron sharpening iron. Leave a comment and share a scripture that has impacted you this week.

Here's the scripture that stuck this week:

II Chronicles 6:33 The Message

Listen from your home in heaven
and honor the prayers of the foreigner,
So that people all over the world
will know who you are and what you're like,
And live in reverent obedience before you,
just as your own people Israel do,
So they'll know that you personally
make this Temple that I've built what it is.

For me, this painted a beautiful picture of discipleship..."live in reverent obedience before you, just as your own people Israel do."

What's your Word?

"Resurrection" by Rob Bell

Music Monday 17

This is a post that you can participate in on every Monday. Everyone likes music, and there are obviously many tastes in music. This is here to see what different types of music are filling everyone's lives. Chime in!

I love the gym. It's become part of my routine, and when working out, I usually have my ear buds in and Ipod on. So...

What is your favorite workout song(s)?

This is a weird combination, but right now, I'm enjoying "Stronger" by Kanye West, "Jesus Saves" by Tim Hughes, and "Bad Romance" by Lady GaGa. Not exactly the same genres, but I just really love these tunes right now.



your turn...

Worship Confessional 04.04.10

Setlist with itunes links:
Happy Day - Tim Hughes
Glorious Day - Todd Agnew
Mystery - Charlie Hall
I Will Rise - Chris Tomlin
Stronger - Hillsong

Flow Sheet from Planning Center

Also part of Sunday Setlist.

Stuff Christians Like

I've been following this blog for a long time, and now it's really getting some great press. It's even been developed into a book. Very humorous look at how weird Christian culture can be.

www.stuffchristianslike.net

Album Review - Vicky Beeching - Eternity Invades

Eternity Invades by Vicky Beeching

On a previous Music Monday post, I said that Eternity Invades is probably the album I most eagerly await this year. Now, after listening to it, I can say that my anticipation was well warranted.
For me, I truly feel that Vicky took a big step in the right direction with this latest release. Her songwriting is on another level from her previous releases. I also really love the production and musicality much better.
The thing I like most, though, is the obvious heart for the local church and corporate worship that comes out of the songs. All of the tunes are accessible and can be implemented into corporate worship. The songs are singable, which sadly is not a common thing to find in "worship" music lately.
The standout, of course, is "Glory to God Forever". I must confess that I wasn't totally wild about the intro. It sounded a little too choral, but after the song kicks in, I really enjoyed Vicky's version of the song, which will also be a great version for women worship leaders.
The song that really knocked me on my feet was "Deliverer". I cannot wait to teach this song to our church. A wonderful, fresh approach as a scripture song.
My other favorites were "Blessing and Honor", "Inhabit the Praise", and "Listening". But truly, I really enjoyed every track, and that is definitely a rare characteristic for any album.
Having met Vicky, I get the feeling that she's a humble "rock star". I love it when extremely gifted people don't take themselves too seriously, and I get that vibe from Vicky.
I highly recommend this album, especially if you are into worship music. This is not just another CCM album...this is good stuff. Great job, Vicky!

Make sure to grab Eternity Invades this Tuesday, April 6th.