Can you say “Anticipation”?: Bob Kauflin’s new book “Worship Matters”

 Well, apparently it’s FINALLY DONE!  This one book I am most definitely anticipating…

Worship Matters: Leading Others to encounter the Greatness of God by Bob Kauflin, forward by Paul Baloche.

Is anyone else really looking forward to reading this?

Matthew Perryman Jones

For all of you U2 & Coldplay fans out there, my old friend Matthew Perryman Jones‘ music is FINALLY available on iTunes! He and my old band, Set on Edge, used to occasionally play together at the Bean’ry in Athens, GA, and Eddies Attic in Decatur, GA.

KNOWING GOD’S WILL (Blog Love)

Kevin Twit, an RUF Campus Minister at Bellmont in Nashville, the leader of the Indelible Grace worship team (some of the members of which are also in Jars of Clay and Caedmon’s Call), and an ordained PCA Presbyterian minister, recently gave one of the most profound teachings I have ever heard on KNOWING GOD’S WILL. Though I think he misunderstands the modern-day gift of prophecy, as most PCA Presbyterians do (I speak as a former PCA-member, who holds much love for the denomination – I should also note that not all PCA-ers agree with him), the rest of the content of his teaching is absolutely incredible.

If you find yourself challenged by this, be sure to also check out Kevin Twit’s excellent WORSHIP SEMINARS

WORSHIP TEXT-FESSIONAL, Sunday A.M. 11-25-07 – St. Simons Community Church

What a refreshing morning! I don’t know exactly what it is about leading worship – maybe the Spirit’s anointing? – but I feel so energized by mornings like this one!

John Piper on God’s Glory

This short essay – or rather, compilation of Scriptures – is so important that I chose not only to cross-post this to both of my blogs, but also to re-print it in it’s entirety here. If you’ve never read these passages back-to-back, or if you are unfamiliar with the “Christian Hedonism” espoused by such folks as Piper, Sam Storms, and even Jonathan Edwards, these verses may very well turn your world on it’s head. I know they did mine.
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“I daddy”

Yesterday, while I was on my hands and knees for several hours scrubbing the tile floor in my music studio/family room, my wife came in from outdoors where she and my 2 year old son were putting away paint cans in the shed. Actually, he was – at first – playing on our little playground in the corner of our back yard, but when he saw his pregnant momma working, he just had to join in. He ran over, picked up a hammer, and before momma knew what he was doing, he started – with as much precision as a 2 year old can muster – to hammer around the edges of the lids, securing them to the paint cans for proper storage. In amazement, my wife said, “You’re being such a big help, just like Daddy!” His response made her run straight to the house to tell me

A few of my lesser-known all-time favorite movies, and one to keep an eye on…

I do admit it: I have odd taste in movies. That’s not to say that there aren’t ‘popular’ films that I enjoy, but my very favorite are almost all foreign or ‘art-house’/'indie’ films. Why do they move me so? I think it’s because not only are their creators passionate about what they have to say, but due to low budgets they are unable to lean upon special effects to make their film work, so the story has to be compelling enough to hold a viewer’s attention. These films, my friends, are POWERFUL. Each and every one has challenged me, moved my emotions, and caused me to THINK – sometimes for weeks – in ways I hadn’t considered before. That is the power of a truly good film: a story that can shape it’s hearer.

Trying hard to remember why I sold it all…

I was really challenged by a letter I received recently from Desiring God Ministries entitled “Remember Why You Sold Everything.”

In it, Desiring God director, Jon Bloom, referenced Matthew 13:44; “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.”

Resurgence: Continuous Worship Conference on Podcast

If you’re not already subscribed to the ‘Resurgence Podcast’ what are you waiting for?! Not only have they – in the past – made available the audio on such topics as Missional Christianity and responding to post-modernism, now they’re beginning to post all of the conference sessions, and question & answer sessions, from the CONTINUOUS WORSHIP conference, featuring Worship theologian Harold Best.

Currently there’s only one session from the conference available, but if you’d like to skip subscribing to the podcast, and listen to the messages as they come available, you can visit here. The first post is a DEEP teaching by Mark Driscoll on idolatry.

Be blessed…

Christmas is fast approaching!

As I’m hard to shop for, and my friends and family read this blog, a few major hints to help you out this Christmas…

Some Sunday Funnies…

Some days I just need a good laugh… and I must say “WOW!”

So, is this the greatest practical joke ever, or what?!

Thanks to Stephen Altrogge for that one.

NEW MUSIC FRIDAY: Perimeter Church & Desperation Band

Sadly I don’t have time for an in-depth review, but I do want to give a heads-up on two new ‘worship’ releases.

First, a disappointment: I’ve long been a fan of the Desperation Band from New Life Church. Songs like “I am Free”, “Amazed”, “Beauty of the Lord”, and “Rescue” have been some of my most oft-used, and favorite corporate worship songs these past few years, and I even enjoyed their last c.d., though I didn’t end up using anything from it in our services.

The shortest Text-fessional Ever

I got to play electric guitar (the delay, wah-wah, & distorted type) on “All because of Jesus” by Steve Fee last night during walk-in music.  Yeah, other stuff happened, and we worshiped God, and had fun games, BUT…
…I got to play electric guitar last night, and if I may say so, I ripped it up!

That was SO MUCH FUN!

Discuss.

Josh & the Gospel (a sermons preached at INSIDE OUT in 2006)

I don’t get to do this often, so whenever I’m asked to teach I go through a serious crisis – what is the most important thing I can share? And honestly, I have a hundred Biblical issues running through my head that all seem important to me, and I pray, and I read, and I study and try to discern what God would have me say, and that continues until the night before when, God-willing, it all comes together in a bright flash of light, the space-time continuum splits wide open, and God personally hands me a sermon, especially designed for every one of you.