NWLC Day 4

It’s Thursday night and the National Worship Leader Conference has come to an end. It has been a marvelous week and we have taken in enormous amounts of information. I know that we will be processing this for several weeks as we comb through new resources and look back through our notes from 4 amazing days in Austin.

Kim and I have had a blast attending this conference with one of my closest friends in the world, Sam Lynn. I met Sam while I was a college student at Anderson University. We spent a summer traveling the country on behalf of the school and have been the best of friends ever since. Sam is a gifted musician and an incredible worship leader. He serves a church in my hometown of Evansville, IN and leads several thousand people in worship every weekend. Sam is a dear brother in the Lord and has been a great source of encouragement to me throughout our friendship.

Tonight was the night when they really “iced the cake” that we have been baking all week long. This was an amazing night of worship that involved Communion, Ancient songs and some of the most amazing new worship music I have ever heard. Tonight we got the chance to hear CeCe Winans with her live band. It was awesome! We also were absolutely floored by Israel Houghton and his band. He has brought us songs like “Friend of God,” “You Are Good” and “Again I Say, Rejoice.” He was amazing and it was beyond all doubt the loudest set of worship I have ever heard!

The highlight for me personally was the opening worship set led by Tommy Walker. He is a worship leader in a local church in Los Angeles and has given us some amazing worship songs (“He Knows My Name,” “That’s Why We Praise Him” and “Only A God Like You” to name a few). He used one of his new songs tonight that we will be working on at our church over the coming weeks called, “I Have A Hope.” It’s an amazing song! I’ll close this post with some of the lyrics.

It’s been a great trip and we are grateful for the chance to have been here. We are also exhausted and are looking forward to heading home tomorrow, getting some rest and a big hug from Sophie. Yes, I know that is terribly pathetic but we do miss her!

Here is a sampling of those lyrics to “I Have A Hope.” It is my hope that they will be an encouragement to you as you go about your day today! See you soon.

“I have a hope I have a future, I have a destiny that is yet awaiting me. My life’s not over. A new beginning’s just begun. I have a hope. I have this hope.

God has a plan. It’s not to harm me but it’s to prosper me and to hear me when I call. He intercedes for me, working all things for my good. Though trials may come, we have this hope.

I will yet praise Him, my great Redeemer. I will yet stand up and give Him glory with my life. He takes my darkness and He turns it into light I will yet praise Him, my Lord, my God.”

 

NWLC Day 3

This conference continues to amaze me. It continues to stretch us and challenge us in so many areas. I can also tell you that it is so hot in Austin in July. Wow….

Today, we heard some amazing worship bands. All of these happen to be some of my favorites: Lincoln Brewster (Majestic, Love The Lord, Amazed to name a few songs) was incredible! We also heard the worship team from Gateway Church (Revelation Song, New Doxology to name a few) and they rocked the house! We also had the chance to sit under the leadership and teaching of Don Moen of Integrity Music. Don is a friend of ours and has been a tremendous inspiration in the area of worship leadership.

We also attended songwriting classes taught by Tommy Walker (That’s Why We Praise Him, He Knows My Name, As We Worship You) and Chris Tomlin (Amazing Grace – My Chains Are Gone, How Great is Our God, Enough, Famous One, Made To Worship & Holy Is The Lord). It was truly an incredible experience to sit under the teaching of these two trailblazers in the area of worship! They have given the church some of our most precious songs and it was a great opportunity to get a glimpse into their writing process.

We also heard an incredible message from Gordon MacDonald about planning worship for multiple generations of people. It brought fresh insight for all of us!

We have also had many incredible meals while we have been here. Yesterday, we had lunch at Z’Tejas. It was awesome!!!!! This is an amazing chain in the Western United States serving a blend of Mexican and Southwest influenced food.

You cannot come to Texas and not sample some BBQ! So, tonight we ate at Rudy’s. This is a very unique dining experience. All Rudy’s restaurants are attached to gas stations. When you walk in you will see a long roped area that leads up to a counter where you order. Inside this roped line are iced coolers filled with drinks. When you get to the counter they want to know if you’ve ever been there before. If not, you are served a sampling of any of their BBQ so that you can make an educated choice! Tonight, Kim and I chose a sampling of Baby Back Ribs, Brisket and Smoked Sausage. All of this is served with a stack of white bread, sliced raw onions and pickles. There is a huge container of sauce as well! For sides we had creamed corn, potato salad and slaw. This place is awesome! Once you make your selections you eat at long picnic tables with everybody else. We sat next to some real Texas cowboys tonight….cowboy hats, boots and all!

If you ever make it down this way, we can highly recommend both of these great places!

NWLC Day 2

We have really enjoyed day 2 of the National Worship Leader Conference. It has been a very busy day but a day that has been filled with amazing encouragement, challenge and opportunity for growth. 

We heard some awesome music today and also had the chance to attend some wonderful classes. We were able to attend a class taught by Ross Parsley who is the Worship Pastor at New Life Church in Colorado Springs. This is a huge church that is impacting the world for Jesus. It is a church that has been in the news quite a bit recently due to some issues with their senior pastor. They also experienced a shooting at their church. All of this happened within a 13-month window. I can tell you that out of these experiences the Lord is raising up a church that numbers at more than 15,000 level in weekly attendance. 

Ross spoke to us on the subject of “The Theology of Expression in Worship.” It was a powerful class dealing with how we express ourselves as we worship God and that HE wired us for each of those expressions. He also maintains that true worship has to involve our whole selves: heart, mind, soul & strength. This was a rich class that I am still processing. I took more than 5 pages of notes!

We also had the chance to sit under Marcos Witt who serves as the Spanish service Pastor at Lakewood Church in Houston, TX, the largest church in America. Marcos spoke to us on “Character and Leadership.” In addition to being a pastor, Marcos is also a Grammy award winning musician and the founder of a Christian production company called CanZion Producciones.

Marcos had some very challenging and encouraging words for us as worship leaders and worship teams. He spoke from 1 Samuel 16:18 and talked about the things people said about David, the Psalmist. He made a parallel about how people should be saying those same things about us and our worship teams.

We are very grateful for this experience. It has already been refreshing and a tremendous time of renewal. We look forward to a great concert tonight, featuring: Leeland, Phillips, Craig & Dean and Matt Maher. Those are some of my absolute favorites!

We are grateful for your prayerful support and are looking forward to the rest of the week!

NWLC Day 1

Today I am writing from Austin, TX where Kim and I are attending the National Worship Leader Conference. This is the 2nd year for this conference and I am honored to be here for the 2nd time. Last year the conference was an amazing experience and I have really been looking forward to coming back again. I’ll work to write a post at the end of every day to share my thoughts on the conference.

The conference is held at Riverbend Church, a body of more than 6,000. One of the first things that jumps out at you about this church is the campus. There are at least 8 buildings on the campus that sits on top of a mountain overlooking the river (hence the name of the church).

This is a picture I took with my phone, which isn’t the greatest but will give you a sense of the worship space. There are nearly 2,500 worship leaders attending this conference. I don’t know that I have ever experienced worship like this before. To have this many worship leaders in one place is awesome and when they start to sing it is an amazing sound!

Tonight was all about worship and the theology behind it. The headlining worship leader was one of my favorites, Paul Baloche who is absolutely one of the best and most heart felt leaders I have ever seen. His set was very moving and really took all of us to a special place.

The thing that rocked my world tonight was the worship set led by Matt Redman. I have been familiar with Matt’s music over the years but have never had the chance to see him live. He has given the Church some real gifts in songs like “Blessed Be Your Name,” “Better Is One Day,” “Let My Words Be Few,” “Once Again” and “The Heart of Worship.” (to name just a few) He is an amazing songwriter and tonight I was blown away by his set.

Worship leaders can be guilty of saying some pretty cheesy and weak things in between songs but everything Matt said carried huge spiritual weight. There was nothing weak about it. Transitions are a crucial piece to any worship service and his were done incredibly well.

One of the songs he shared tonight is called, “You Never Let Go.” It speaks of God loving us and leading us with His steady hand. No matter what we face He is with us and will never let us go. Never. Just take a second and think about that. What a powerful spiritual truth. I would encourage you to download the song from iTunes. Find a copy of it and take a listen. 

I’ll write more tomorrow. Here are the lyrics to “You Never Let Go.”

Even though I walk through the valley 
Of the shadow of death,
Your perfect love is casting out fear.
And even when I´m caught in the middle 
Of the storms of this life,
I won´t turn back; I know You are near.

And I will fear no evil,
For my God is with me.
And if my God is with me,
Whom then shall I fear? Whom then shall I fear?

O no, You never let go,
Through the calm and through the storm
O no, You never let go,
In every high and every low
O no, You never let go, Lord You never let go of me.

And I can see a light that is coming
for the heart that holds on 
A glorious light beyond all compare.
And there will be an end to these troubles,
But until that day comes,
We´ll live to know You here on the earth.

Yes, I can see a light that is coming 
For the heart that holds on,
And there will be an end 
To these troubles, 
But until that day comes,
Still I will praise You, 
Still I will praise You.”

“You Never Let Go” by Matt & Beth Redman. (C) 2006 Thankyou Music.

Beach Sunsets Rock

One of my favorite things in the whole world is sitting on the beach. For me this is the ultimate form of relaxation. There is something about the sound of the ocean crashing against the sand and the warmth of the sun that I absolutely love. Even thinking about it as I write this, takes me to a very special place in my mind and heart. It just feels right to me.

A close second behind sitting on the beach is watching a sunset on the beach. It is truly an amazing experience. That is precisely why I chose the cover picture for this blog. There is something eerily peaceful about watching the sun set on another day. It’s like God painting on an amazing canvas for us, to remind us of the extravagant way that He loves us.

We were recently on vacation in Florida and got the chance to take part in a pretty unique sunset experience. We were sitting and watching, trying to take it all in when all of a sudden an older man stood up and began to blow a long solid note into a conch shell. At first I started laughing and then, as the moments rolled by and he continued to sustain this note all of us got inspired. He actually held it out until the sun dipped below the horizon. By the time he stopped, close to 100 people who had gathered around him began to clap and cheer. It was awesome.

For Kim and me the beach holds a very special place and this “sunset moment” holds a lot of memories for us. Some of the most important and exciting decisions of our life have been made watching these sunsets. Some of our most meaningful connections have also taken place there.

Watching this majestic transformation unfold before us is simply incredible.

I hope that as you read this you might be taken to whatever that special place is for you…..a place of peace and calm that allows you to feel connected to God and helps to bring clarity to His voice in your mind and heart. Every month or so, I try to spend a few moments looking at these sunset pics from our Florida vacation so that I can be reminded of God’s incredible love for us and that I have to remember to never become to busy to stop and watch the sunset.

Food & Fun – 7.16.08

You can spend less than 5 minutes reading my blog and understand that Kim and I love to eat. We really enjoy trying new places and making sure that all our friends know about the good ones we’ve found. There are lots of places out there and some of them are not that enjoyable. So, when we find a good one we work to pass it on to everybody. 

On the northside of Indy, we are blessed with some great restaurants. One of my newer favorites for a quick meal is 96th Street Steakburgers. If you haven’t tried this place, wow. Get ready to enjoy a great burger! It’s a casual place to enjoy a good meal. If you are looking for chicken or pizza try someplace else. All they serve is burgers, fries and shakes. The burgers are cooked to order and boy can you tell the difference. Everything is always fresh! 

In addition to the standard singles & doubles, they also offer some unique styles of burgers. For the carb-conscious, you can get your burger wrapped in lettuce instead of a bun. Mustard style involves grilling your bun in mustard. Monster style adds grilled onions to the mustard bun.

The fries are great and plentiful as well. And, did I mention the shakes? You have got to try one. They were voted the best in Indy.

One of these days I’ll get around to posting something healthy. For now, just enjoy the ride and trust me that these burgers are something you will enjoy!

Worship Matters – 7.13.08

This past Sunday we used a song that has quickly become one of my favorites. “Alive Forever Amen” is an awesome anthem of worship. It took a few times for our congregation to catch it….especially the bridge section, which has a lot of words. But I will say that at this point this song has become a part of the life of our church. I love the energy that it brings. I also love that as we sing it, we really take on an attitude of defiance toward the enemy. I love that….a song of declaration that Jesus is alive and that He has set us free!

God’s desire to set us free is something that Kim and I talk about quite a lot in our traveling ministry (Tabor Ministries) and songs like this remind me of what an important message this is. Pastor Troy spoke this weekend on God’s desire to set us free and it was an awesome reminder to us!

These lyrics from “Alive Forever Amen” really tell the story of why it is such a powerful song of declaration:

(verse 1) “Let the children sing a song of liberation; the God of our salvation set us free; death where is thy sting the curse of sin is broken, the empty tomb stands open come and see.”

(verse 2) “Let my heart sing out for Christ, the One and only, so powerful and holy rescued me. Death won’t hurt me now because He has redeemed me. No grave will ever keep me from my King!

I’m alive, alive, alive Hallelujah! Alive, praise and glory to the Lamb. Alive, alive, alive Hallelujah! Alive, forever amen!”

That is just awesome! I’m going to post audio from this past weekend here. First you will hear us doing “That’s Why We Praise Him” which will then move into “Alive Forever Amen.” Enjoy!

01-thats-why-we-praise_alive-forever-fcn

My Thoughts – 7.10.08

Random thoughts on a summer day in Indiana.

I still think that my wife Kim is the most amazing woman. (1) She tolerates the silly stuff that I do; (2) She still makes my heart skip a beat when she walks into a room; (3) When she sings I still get chills; and, (4) She loves to experience life and I love that about her.

I think it is very humid.

I think that adults should get summer vacation. Wouldn’t that be awesome? Three months off….I want to find every student I can and tell them to take advantage while they can!

I think that the Indiana Pacers are on the right track with the moves they have made. I also think they need to make a few more deals. It’s time that these grown men who are being paid unbelievable sums of money had to stand up and account for their behavior.

I think that toasted ravioli could quite possibly be the perfect food.

I think that people attempt to do way too many things while driving. As I drive to work it appears that for many folks, driving their car is maybe #3 or 4 on the priority list.

I think that this time of transition at church is effecting my ability to sleep at night. I’m working to trust but it is simply a very unsettling time.

 I think that directing our church choir is a total blast!

 I think that we are blessed to get to sing some amazing worship songs these days. There are some really gifted writers out there that are working on their craft in amazing ways. People like Paul Baloche, Brenton Brown, Lincoln Brewster, Travis Cottrell and many others. It’s an exciting time to be in worship ministry.

I think grilling steaks is an awesome experience. The other night I grilled filets and topped them with crumbled bacon and blue cheese. It rocked.

I think that Indianapolis is a very cool place to live. I especially enjoy living in Hamilton County and more specifically, Fishers. Great shopping, parks and restaurants. It feels like home to me.

I think that the Lord has GREAT plans for our friends Troy and Shari Hochstetler (pictured here with their daughter Kyla). They have tremendous gifts in ministry and I have thoroughly enjoyed working with them. Working with Troy has been a real highlight for me. He brings tremendous insight and creativity to preaching, teaching and ministry. God has great things in store for this special couple and I look forward to seeing countless lives impacted by their ministry. As they leave to lead another body of believers our prayers go with them.

I think that it’s time to end!

Something To Shoot For

I really value our team. We have come so far together over these last couple of years. I am grateful that they have embraced this new vision for worship at FCN. It has required some different things of them and they have jumped in with both feet. I am seeing them grow as artists and it blesses my heart. I am grateful for them and proud to serve with them. Plus, they rock!!!!!

I am always trying to give our team recordings of those teams that are a few steps further down the path than we are. It has been really helpful and productive so far. It gives us something to shoot for and to be challenged by. I really believe it’s important to always measure yourself against someone who is further along than you are. Kim always says, “If you want to be a faster runner, then spend time running with someone who is faster than you. In my arena, it’s important for me to sing with those people who are further along than I am. It challenges and inspires me to work harder and reach further with my craft.”

I think that as a worship team we need to do the same thing. Right around the corner from us is a great church with a tremendous worship team. Calvary Temple is an Assembly of God church with a tremendous team and worship leader, my friend Pastor Vernon Piercey.

Every time I have the chance to worship at Calvary I am simply amazed by their passion and sound. They do an amazing job of ushering people into the presence of God and at the same time they offer an excellent gift to the Lord. It encourages me, it refreshes me and it challenges me as a worship leader.

If you are a member of the team and are reading this, my hope is that we will never stop learning, growing and reaching for more. We have only scratched the surface of what God can do here and I hope that we continue to become better artists and leaders.

I really admire that Calvary’s team is made up of volunteers, as is ours. I think that there is something especially rewarding to seeing God do something incredible in and through the same group of people who regularly serve together. 

Here is the audio of the Calvary team leading “You Are Good.” I hope that you enjoy it and I hope that it also encourages and challenges each of you! Be Blessed!

On The Third Day

As a worship leader many songs come across my desk. Most fall into that bottomless category of “Man, I just don’t get that!” Occasionally I listen to a song that absolutely captures my heart and that happened about a year ago with the song, “On The Third Day” by Matt Maher. 

This song takes an amazing lyric and tells uses word pictures of nature to tell the story of our need to die to ourselves in the act of ultimate worship unto the Lord. There is a line in the song that says, “For everything must die to rise again.”

The song really speaks to the condition of our hearts and our need to respond to God as HE offers us new life. I need to warn you that there is a good chance that you won’t get it after just 1 listen. I encourage you to spend some time listening and working to visualize the scenes that are described by the lyrics of the song.

Creation brings an offering as autumn leaves turn to gold. The trees bow down in highest praise now made bare before Your throne. The western sky an amber blaze, at the end of the day for everything must die to rise again.

The winters chill a bitter cold as sin and shame leave us to fall. The clouds now full of newborn snow, for grace to come and save us all. Within the darkest night of man was found Your saving hand, for everything must die to rise again.

On the third day behold the King, on the third day death has no sting, on the third day, we’re forgiven and reconciled.

The earth it groans in labor pains as flowers stretch to heaven above. Your creatures sing the prophet’s song to be a gift of selfless love. The sun is rising in the east and Your Spirit is unleashed for everything must die to rise again.

On the third day behold the King, on the third day death has no sting, on the third day, we’re forgiven and reconciled.

And so we wait in joyous hope for You to come and take us home. And so we join beneath the cross in suffering from whence we go. The greatest act of sovereign grace in the universe displayed, for everything must die to rise again.

On the third day behold the King, on the third day death has no sting, on the third day, we’re forgiven and reconciled. On the third day the saints rejoice on the third day we lift our voice on the third day we’re united and glorified.

This song is really a poem set to music. It’s an amazing expression of our desperate need for God and the love and grace that only HE can offer as we experience true life in Him!

Here’s a video of Matt explaining the meaning behind the song and him actually playing the song. It has some instructional stuff at the end but you can get a feel for the song with his explanation before that. Enjoy.