never been here before

What I'm listening to: Switchfoot's Legend of Chin You know, I hope Fleming Rose is pleased with himself. 24 killed in Nigeria religious violence He defended himself in the Washington Post last week and while he has every right to, and some of his argument is perfectly logical (albeit morally reprehensible) this appears to be simply another way our society manages to distance itself from each other. The rules for free press are different, he argues, and in doing so places him in a bubble free of accountability. Here's the problem I have in using that as your defense: We cannot live our lives as though we aren't connected. Because we are. This violent reactions to what the Danish newspaper did proves that. Here are some pull-outs from his defense: Has Jyllands-Posten insulted and disrespected Islam? It certainly didn't intend to. But what does respect mean? When I visit a mosque, I show my respect by taking off my shoes. I follow the customs, just as I do in a church...

Over the last several months I've been specifically thinking about the responsibility of a worship leader. Beyond the physical aspects of choosing music, organizing teams, planning the projection of songs, leading devotions at rehearsals, etc. I've been slightly erratic in my thought process - it seems to always be in the back of my mind, but I have yet to really sit down, write and think in a logical way. So this post is the beginning of that for me. Beyond all that I mentioned above, I've been concerned that there aren't clear, established perimeters for me in the position I'm in- when I stand up front on Sunday mornings with my guitar and lead the worship part of our service. I posted a little bit about it here and looking back I'm wondering if I haven't been taking my position a little too lightly. What is my responsibility? And the nagging question that popped into my head tonight: Is the lack of spiritual growth in a worship leader at all refle...

What I'm listening to: Charlie Peacock's Everything That's On My Mind I hate packing. Next week I'm outta here!

What I'm listening to: A mixed tape I found in the process of packing from 2001. Hee. I haven't listened to a tape in years. I came across this article: Musical Mush I've always respected Church Colson - his work, his teaching, his books, his amazing ministry work. But I disagree with him. First of all, I am infuriated with anyone who feels to need to blame a decline in intelligence on something just to blame it on something. He has no scientific fact to base his theories. Just speculation. While I wouldn’t be surprised if the decline on intelligence didn’t have something to do with media in general (after all, it’s much easier to turn the TV on and be entertained without using your mind than it is to open a book and do so). But to point to contemporary worship music as the culprit? Ridiculous. And it's ridiculous because all music at one point in time was contemporary. Second of all, I will stand with Rick Warren’s view on worship music. The simple fact is this: the b...

What I've listening to: My Restoration Mix Our pastor is asking all the leaders in the church to comes to the next ministry team meeting with these two words in mind: Effective and Intentional.He's asked us to examine the effectiveness and intentionality of the ministry we lead. All I have to say is: finally. I cannot wait to sit down and talk about this! I hope this meeting brings up some incredibly important issues that face the church today. How we tend to see "service to God" as a replacement for a "relationship with God". How sometimes we have no idea why a ministry exsists in a church, but we do it becasue it's always been done (whether or not it's effective or intentional.) Here's my list of comments (so far) about the worship ministry: Effective -Worship can only be effective (I.e. honorable to God and draws us closer to him) if the content is biblical -It’s difficult for worship to be effective for everyone because of each generation’s...

What I'm listening to: In the Name of Love: Artist United for Africa (which has a great cover of "40") I'm in the process of packing - I'm moving at the end of the month and last night I came across my old journals. And wasn't that a trip. Those of you who know me pretty well know that I'm a writer, but not really. I write copy nearly everyday at my job - press releases, ad copy and whatnot. I'm hardly a professional, nor do I aspire to be. I like to write, but I'm not great at it. The discipline it takes to be a great creative writer is something I've never taken much time with. And one of those disciplines is journal writing. But I have a few filled up from over the years. And I uncovered some I'd forgotten even existed. I've never been very regular with writing in a journal, but from 2000-2004 (missing most of 2003) I had one journal I wrote in quite a bit. Some of the entries I read now and can hardly recognize that person. Nor ca...