Hymns, Thoughts, and Revelations

The Injustices That Make Me Ache

2011-01-12T09:09:00.000-08:00

I have been reading a book by John Perkins and Shane Claiborne called "Follow Me To Freedom: Leading and Following as an Ordinary Radical". At the end of the 2nd conversation in the book it asks this question: "What are some of the things that make you ache with those who suffer? Things that make you starved for justice? What are some of the things that you think break God's heart and should keep you(and all of us) up at night"? It then gives you a space to list three things, here are my three.

1. Locally, I ache with those who are financially burdened by the downed housing economy. I ache with those who are upside down on their home(s), and for those who are forced into foreclosure. I ache with those who want to payback their loans , but their lender refuses to work with them. I ache with those who this financial stress has put strains on their marriages and family life.

2. Globally, I ache for countries that are devastated by the disease HIV/AIDS. I ache for the children who are born with HIV/AIDS because of the mothers fear of having a social stigma. I also ache for the young girls who contract the disease because of rape, sexual slavery, or because they sell there bodies to earn money to go to school.

3. Personally, I ache for and with the American Christian Church. We are so blind to what really matters in life. To borrow some ideas from my friend Micah(a fighter of injustice), I think we are too busy, too distracted, and have too much stuff. We, as members of the American Church, need to wake up and come to realize that our possessions and our time commitments paralyze us from caring for and being involved with what matters most. I myself as an employee of an American Church struggle with my possessions, and my time, and need to be consistently reminded of the Churches greater purpose.

The Goal Of Christianity

2010-11-05T12:01:00.000-07:00

Check out this great video by Todd Hunter!

The Goal Of Christianity

Interview

2010-09-08T10:56:00.000-07:00

Here is a four part interview I did with Gary Zandstra from "Making Church Happen" & Parkway Electric. Enjoy!

Musical styles and the journey

Multi-Generational Worship

The Church and the surrounding community

The Future of Worship

Danger Zone

2010-08-24T09:24:00.000-07:00

Here is a video we created using only our iPod and iPhone as instruments. Even the vocals were sung through an app. Enjoy!

Is the Multi-Generational Church Possible in America, Again? Part 1

2010-08-24T05:04:00.000-07:00

Here is a thought that has been going through my mind lately about the "American Church": Is the multi-generational church possible in America again? Not only is it possible, but also can it thrive and grow in a church culture that is primarily narcissistic. Let me explain that thought a little bit.

Background
Lets start in the 1950’s. American churches in the 50’s were primarily neighborhood and culturally based. The churches pews on Sunday morning were filled with people from that neighborhood, and basically everyone knew each other. If your family was Baptist, you went to the Baptist Church. If you were Polish Catholic you went to Mass at the neighborhood Catholic Church. Whatever the denomination you were a part of, the older and younger generations worshiped together in one service, and a sense of Multi-Generational community was evident. Now lets move forward a decade or so. In the late 60’s and early 70’s a group of people disenchanted with the “Hippie Movement” started a group that was later to be known as the “Jesus People”. Like the “Hippie Movement”, the Jesus People valued ideals like simplicity, community, and love. The Jesus People saw these ideals reflected in the early Christian Church, and sought to restore them to their Christian expression. The Jesus People grew rapidly thanks to Christian and Secular Media, and soon they were influencing American Christian culture. Their biggest influence in Christian culture was the music genre they were unknowingly pioneering. Instead of using an organ and piano, and singing hymns from a hymnal. They were playing their guitars, keyboards, and drums, and writing new hymns and spiritual songs that expressed their faith. I believe that this is the starting point of the movement away from the Multi-Generational church. Here’s why. When those who identified themselves with the Jesus People wanted to play some of their new hymns and spiritual songs in church with guitar accompaniment they were met with resistance. This resistance eventually forced the identifiers to leave their home church and start a new church. With a new (insert denomination here)church in the neighborhood, people now had a choice of where to attend, and church starts to become more about my personal preferences and less about the community. Lets jump forward to the 80’s...in Part 2. Coming soon!

Over Commiting to God in Worship

2010-07-09T07:25:00.000-07:00

We have all sung worship songs that claim outrageous acts of what we will do for God. (Does anyone remember "Undignified" or "Dance in the River"???) Here is a great article from "Stuff Christians Like" that calls us out on the outrageous claims, and asks for more honesty in worship.
Enjoy!!
http://stuffchristianslike.net/2010/07/overcommitting-to-god-in-worship/?utm_source=feedburner

One Sonic Society - One

2010-06-17T08:41:00.000-07:00

In April of this year I had the opportunity to be led in worship by Jason Ingram at the Song Discovery Songwriters Conference in Nashville Tennessee. I loved his worship authenticity as he led and the songs he taught us were great! When I got home from the conference I looked up the songs he taught so that I could teach them to my church. As I was looking them up I discovered that they were part of the recording project One Sonic Society. One Sonic Society is made up of Jason Ingram, Stu G(of Delirious), Paul Mabury, and Jonathan Thatcher(also of Delirious). They have been writing songs together specifically for the churches to use in worship. Their songs are vulnerable and full of the hope of God. My favorites are "The Greatness of Our God", "Our God Will Come", and "Forever Reign". "Forever Reign" starts with the lyrics "You are good, You are good, when there's nothing good in me, You are love, You are love, on display for all to see,..." and then moves to a chorus of "oh, i'm running to your arms, i'm running to arms, the riches of your love, will always be enough, nothing compares to Your embrace, Light of the world forever reign." These songs are a great addition to the church worship hymnody, and I would encourage you to use/suggest them in your home church. One Sonic Society's first EP "One" was released on June 13th, 2010 and is available for download here or on iTunes. Check it out!

A quote by St. Julian of Norwich

2010-06-16T08:12:00.000-07:00

I love this quote on prayer!

"Prayer is asking ("beseeching"), with submission and acquiescence; or beholding, with the self forgotten, yet offered-up; it is a thanking and a praising in the heart that sometimes breaks forth into voice; or a silent joy in the sight of God as all-sufficient. And in all these ways "Prayer oneth the soul to God."

Dwelling in the Shadow

2010-05-11T13:57:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago I headed down to Nashville Tennessee to attend a one-day songwriting conference put on by Song Discovery. In the first session of the conference Steve Berger spoke about a guy in the bible who was unfamiliar to me. He spoke from Exodus 31: 1-11 about a guy named Bezalel who was commissioned and gifted by God to build the artistic elements of the temple. He designed and fashioned everything from the priestly robes and offering utensils, to the famous Ark of the Covenant. What struck me most about Bezalel was not his artistic abilities, or his amazing works of art. It was his name that inspired me the most, and his name means “Lives in the shadow of God”. What an amazing aspiration for an artist who wants to honor and glorify God with their art.

I am a visual person so I imagine it like this: You are on a dark stage in a theater. The seats are full of people and there is one spotlight shining down on stage a few feet in front of you. Imagine now that the spotlight shining down is Gods glory in its entire splendor, and you are still invisible in the dark. You hold in your hands art that you have created, it is an expression of who you are, where you have been, and it is extremely revealing. It is also a story of Gods great love, grace, and beauty poured out into your life at your darkest moment. You feel very vulnerable, you think of running off stage and not sharing your art, but you can’t move. You start to remember God’s unchanging faithfulness and love in your life and it gives you courage to step forward. You lift up your art with two hands like a shield before you and it hits the light. Your art is illuminated by God’s glory and you find yourself dwelling in the shadow.

As an artist and as a songwriter, this is where I want to live. To be filled with God’s spirit and inspired to create works of art for His honor and glory, and when the light hits them to have the humility to dwell in the shadow.

Beautiful Things

2010-04-15T08:58:00.000-07:00

On Sunday we used the song "Beautiful Things" by Gungor as the beginning and ending of our prayer time. As we began our prayer time we sang about our pain and brokenness, wondering if things could change, and if new life could spring up. We also sang of God's creating spirit, acknowledging how he makes beautiful things out of the dust and out of us. Coming out of prayer to the lyrics "You make me new, you are making me new" gave us a hope and peace that God is with us(Emmanuel), and has a plan for our lives. He is constantly molding and shaping us to be who he wants us to be, and showing us what he wants us to do. He wants to make beautiful things through us, even in our brokenness, for his glory.

The Civil Wars!

2010-04-14T08:14:00.000-07:00

The Civil Wars free live EP has been in constant rotation in my car CD player for the last couple of weeks. The Civil Wars are made up of songwriters John Paul White and Joy Williams. They have great chemistry as songwriters and there voices compliment each other perfectly. Songs like "Poison and Wine" and "Tip of My Tongue" have been stuck in my head, and they show off their refined songwriting skills. I love the simplicity of the recording and that they included the witty stage banter pre and post song. It makes you feel like you are at the show. I am looking forward to getting their studio album and hearing what they come up with next. Check them out!

Maundy Thursday and Easter Music Highlights

2010-04-10T12:04:00.000-07:00

Here are some musical highlights from Maundy Thursday & Easter. Enjoy!

Putting it out there.

2010-03-26T08:51:00.000-07:00

Off and on over the last two years I have posted entry's in a BLOG that I really haven't let anyone know about. Partly because I feel that nobody would really want to read what I write, and partly because I am "chicken" to let people know what I really think! This mentality has changed though in the last month, mostly due to a great talk I heard at the Green Room Arts Conference. Dewitt Jones was the speaker, he is an accomplished photographer with National Geographic credits, and a great celebrator of whats right with the world. There were two things that really stuck out to me in his talk. The first thing was that in order to create good art you need to "have juice in camera" so to speak. He told a long story that explains that idea, but the shortened version is; for you to be inspired, you need to have things that are inspiring you. This challenged me to really think about what "gives me life", "fills me up", or "gives me joy", and then address the harder question of; "When was the last time I did any of those things?". When was the last time I went hiking and experienced the wonder of nature? When was the last time I read a book to get lost in the story? When was the last time I was so inspired, that I felt like I need to write a song and get my feelings out before I explode. To be honest, answering those questions was very sobering to me of how little juice I had in my camera. The second thing that stuck out was really a challenge. As Dewitt spoke, I felt as if he said this directly to me, he said, "Put it(your art) out there whether it is received or not. To be honest again, I am not very good at "putting it out there". I love to create, but I have a hard time sharing. Its personal, I don't want to open myself up to criticism or praise, but the older I get(and the more wise people that speak into my life, thanks) I realize that I am being selfish with what God has given me.
So here I am sitting in a coffee shop in East Grand Rapids putting it out there. I am nervous as I type this because I know in a moment I will email this link out to friends, but at the same time I excited about taking this first step of letting go.
I want this BLOG to accomplished three things. First, I want it to be an outlet for me to share what going on in my head and heart. Second, I want this to be a place where conversation happens. Please comment on the posts and continue the conversation, or challenge my thoughts. Third, I want this to be a place where you can add "juice to your camera" and where we can "celebrate whats right with the world". So time to time I will post things that I have found that inspire me.
Well, here we go! Thanks for reading!

Behind the Music

2010-03-25T09:22:00.000-07:00

I absolutely love listening to musicians/artists talk about their music. I love to hear why they wrote a song, what they were feeling at that time, who/what inspired them, and how it all came together. I find real inspiration in other peoples artistic expressions and it moves me to create as well. Enjoy this video of She & Him’s Zooey Deschanel and The Beach Boys’ Brian Wilson interviewing each other about their music.
Artist on Artist: Brian Wilson & Zooey Deschanel

Artist on Artist | MySpace Video

St. Patricks Day Reflection

2010-03-17T08:34:00.000-07:00

St. Patrick was a Christian missionary to Ireland from 389-460 AD. He wrote this prayer in preparation to try and convert the High King Loegaire of Ireland. May these words prepare you for this day and beyond.

I arise today

Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,

Through the belief in the threeness,

Through confession of the oneness

Of the Creator of Creation.

I arise today

Through the strength of Christ's birth with his baptism,

Through the strength of his crucifixion with his burial,

Through the strength of his resurrection with his ascension,

Through the strength of his descent for the judgment of Doom.

I arise today

Through the strength of the love of Cherubim,

In obedience of angels,

In the service of archangels,

In hope of resurrection to meet with reward,

In prayers of patriarchs,

In predictions of prophets,

In preaching of apostles,

In faith of confessors,

In innocence of holy virgins,

In deeds of righteous men.

I arise today

Through the strength of heaven:

Light of sun,

Radiance of moon,

Splendor of fire,

Speed of lightning,

Swiftness of wind,

Depth of sea,

Stability of earth,

Firmness of rock.

I arise today

Through God's strength to pilot me:

God's might to uphold me,

God's wisdom to guide me,

God's eye to look before me,

God's ear to hear me,

God's word to speak for me,

God's hand to guard me,

God's way to lie before me,

God's shield to protect me,

God's host to save me

From snares of devils,

From temptations of vices,

From everyone who shall wish me ill,

Afar and anear,

Alone and in multitude.

I summon today all these powers between me and those evils,

Against every cruel merciless power that may oppose my body and soul,

Against incantations of false prophets,

Against black laws of pagandom

Against false laws of heretics,

Against craft of idolatry,

Against spells of witches and smiths and wizards,

Against every knowledge that corrupts man's body and soul.

Christ to shield me today

Against poison, against burning,

Against drowning, against wounding,

So that there may come to me abundance of reward.

Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me,

Christ in me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me,

Christ on my right, Christ on my left,

Christ when I lie down, Christ when I sit down, Christ when I arise,

Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me,

Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me,

Christ in every eye that sees me,

Christ in every ear that hears me.

I arise today

Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,

Through belief in the threeness,

Through confession of the oneness,

Of the Creator of Creation.

Beautiful Things

2010-03-11T05:49:00.000-08:00

Every couple months I receive a church resource box from Neue. In the box are books, CD's, and DVD's handpicked by the staff at Neue to stir the vision of local church leaders. This has been a great tool for me over the last few years and has introduced me to authors and artists that I may not have encountered otherwise. One such artist that has been in my playlist constantly over the last couple weeks is Gungor(formally known as The Michael Gungor Band). I received their album "Beautiful Things" in the latest Neue box, and it has been a breath of fresh air. The melodies are sweet and lyrics are thoughtful and in some places raw and vulnerable. The album walks a fine line between being over and under produced giving it a strange balance. I love that the music is very eclectic, going from a modern rock sound, to funky grooves, and then to a very acoustic feel(with banjo!) within a few tracks. I think this is a great album and encourage you to check it out!

Loose change and bottle returns

2009-04-20T10:08:00.000-07:00

Yesterday my wife and I decided to tally up all of our loose change, and return the pile of bottles and cans that have been building in our garage over the winter for their 10 cent deposit. We loaded up the car with the returnables and joined the mass of people who had the same idea we had on a rainy day in Michigan, and waged war against the return machines(If you have ever returned bottles you know what I mean). When we got back from returning the bottles and cans, we gathered up our loose change and put them in to rolls. At the end of our journey we had gathered up $98 dollars in deposits and loose change. Ninety-Eight Dollars!!

This got me thinking. I was reminded about how rich I am in comparison to the world; that I could gather up $98 dollars in a matter of two hours from piles in my garage and boxes on my dresser. I was also reminded what $98 dollars can do in this world.

$98 dollars can feed and educate a child in Africa or Haiti for 3 months.
$98 dollars can provide 98 Africans clean water for the next year.
$98 can buy five people mosquito bed nets, and help protect them from malaria.

This list could go on, but you get the point. I am thankful to live in a country of abundance, but also reminded of my responsibility to share from that abundance. I am blessed to be a blessing, not blessed to live a life of comfort, and abundance.

The Singing Thing

2009-02-18T12:35:00.000-08:00

I read "The Singing Thing" by John Bell recently and really gleaned a lot of good stuff from it. I wanted to share with you really quickly some of those things.

Reasons why we sing:
1. Because we can.
2. To create identity.
3. To express emotion.
4. To express words.
5. To revisit the past.
6. To tell stories.
7. To shape the future.
8. To enable work.(Justice!!)
9. To exercise our creativity.
10. To give of ourselves.

Reasons why we don't sing:
1. Someone told us we were bad at it./We were never taught.
2. Because we live in a performance culture.
3. The space we sing in doesn't encourage singing.
4. Bad leadership
5. Because its "not our style".

This book has made me "rethink" how we go about singing in a modern worship culture.

The Essentials

2008-12-10T08:11:00.000-08:00

...And its been a long December and theres reason to believe
Maybe this year will be better than the last
I cant remember all the times I tried to tell my myself
To hold on to these moments as they pass...
- Adam Duritz, David Bryson (Counting Crows)

I have no idea what tomorrow brings. I may have some ideas, but nothing concrete. I may have plans, but they could be altered unexpectantly. Tomorrow is always a surprise, its always an adventure.

I am being reminded of that almost daily right now by reading the paper and watching the news. Todays headline in the Holland Sentinel is "Haworth cuts 350 jobs, will close Allegan facility". The Allegan facility employs 180 people, so essentially they are cutting 530 jobs.

Thats 530 people who are losing a weekly paycheck, medical benefits, and 401k matching programs.

Thats 530 people who are going to have to alter there lifestyles dramatically, unless they find other employment.

Thats 530 people who are going to endure the physical and emotional stress of finding new employment, and trying to pay bills.

I have no idea what tomorrow brings.

Proverbs 1:1 says, "Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring forth."

James 4:13-15 says, "Now listen, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money." Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, "If it is the Lord's will, we will live and do this or that."

We are in a time of rediscovering what is important in life.
We are in a time where tomorrow is looking frightening.
We are in a time where "cutting back" is forcing us to be "looking in", and finding what is essential.

What are the essentials to life?

Matthew 6: 25-34 says,
"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? "And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

The essentials?

Seek God, remember His promises.

Simplicity

2008-08-25T05:48:00.000-07:00

I believe God has been leading me on a journey of discovering simplicity. Simplicity in my spiritual life and simplicity in my earthly life. I want to share two experiences I have had lately. First is I have been reading the book "Small Footprint Big Handprint" by Tri Robinson

This book explores how to live simply and love extravagantly. One statement that Tri makes that resounded with me was:
"When the window of the world is flung open to young people, many of them declare that their lives will be about changing the world. And for a handful, that declaration is a precursor to action. For others, it's merely a haunting reminder years later of how much time they have let slip away in pursuit of the mundane over meaning."
Personally I don't want to wake up 5 years from now with that haunting reminder, and I don't think many Christ Followers do either. I don't want to get caught up in a culture that says "Go to school, get a good paying job, get married, have children, save for retirement, retire from your job, move to a warmer climate, play golf, die". I want to experience a life that mimics Romans 12:2

"Don't copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will know what God wants you to do, and you will know how good and pleasing and perfect his will really is".

When we follow the idea of "What does God want me to do?" rather than "What do I want to do?" things get simpler. You don't have to rack your brain trying to figure out everything. You just pray "God show me your will", and then be obedient. Being obedient is the hardest part of this equation because Gods has always been ready and willing to share with us the plans he has for our life. We have to just have to choose to ask what those plans are and then follow them.

The second experience I want to share briefly is a teaching by Ed and Kent Dobson that I heard at Mars Hill Church about becoming like a child. They referenced Matthew 18 which says:

1 At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, "Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?" 2 He called a little child and had him stand among them. 3 And he said: "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 4 Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. 5 "And whoever welcomes a little child like this in my name welcomes me.

If I choose to change the way I think and become like a child, life will be simpler. If you want to check out this teaching you can find it at www.marshill.org. It was taught on August 24th 2008.