I love the art of music!

A Poetic Testimony To Our God

for those who love to tweet!

This week is Youtube week! In just a few days I am going to ask you to help me as we enter the creative zone together as I plan for Christmas!  Details later but until then enjoy some of my latest favorites on YouTube!

Sunday Recap

With Me - Chris Tomlin

Here Is Our King - David Crowder

Glory to God Forever - Steve Fee

All Creatures #2 - David Crowder Band

It’s You

Aaron Hodges

Desert Song - Hillsong

Grace Greater Than Our Sin - Carl Cartee

Waiting

Wow! It has been a long day. I have been sitting in a waiting room, patiently ( I know you believe that) waiting for the arrival of Brantley Soong. At the time of this writing, she is still hanging out in the room (wait I mean womb), of one of my best friends Megan Soong. Megan and her husband Eric are having their first baby and I am pumped for them. I was able to see them through college, watch them grow as a couple, perform their wedding, and now be with them as they eagerly await their first child. It is indeed an exciting time!

But back to this waiting thing. If I ran the universe, baby deliveries would be scheduled. You would put in a request with the Doctor for a time that would work for everyone (you could pay extra for prime-time slots), the Doc would text God for an approval, and then He would work out the details. Right on queue the baby would show up, be run through the baby wash, and you would be home within two hours. Oh yeah and the little tyke would automatically be on a predetermined sleep schedule ordered by the parentals. Don’t you agree?

But if that happened I would not be able to learn the things I so desperately need to learn.

Things like…..

1. God is not on my timetable and His timing is perfect.

2. I need to be content in His provision.

3. Trying to move ahead of God does not work very well.

4. God has got it ALL!

5. I need to find joy in the waiting.

6. It is not about me!

So I wait…..and I learn. Hopefully I will be a little wiser because of this day in the waiting room!

I do know the outcome was worth the wait!

11:31pm Brantley arrives.

Words Matter

What words have crept into your conversations that just do not honor God or uplift others. What cultural slang do you now routinely use, especially those of us called as pastors, that just needs to stop because it makes others stumble and smacks of our lazy use of the English language.
I have some and with God’s grace I am going to stop! If you hear one from me, just say “hey Steve James 1:26!”. No I am not going to tell you what it says. Go read it and then go do it. Be excellent my brothers and sisters!

Why Do I Love “America’s Got Talent”?

Okay, I am going to make this big confession today. I love America’s Got Talent and that really disturbs me!

Let’s be honest here. Most of these people really do not have star quality talent. They are not going to get recording deals, they are not going to have their own shows in prime-time, and they are not going to join the rich and famous. If they follow their dreams after the show, they are going to perform at county fairs, sing in church, and entertain at grand openings and Bar Mitzvahs. They are in truth better than most of us watching, but only good enough to get on one of those obscure cable channels that you find when you accidentally sit on the remote. So why do I, and apparently a lot of other people watch it?

I think I watch it for the stories. Stories move us. A mediocre singer channeling Garth Brooks is not worth my time, but a down on his luck country boy who rounds up chickens for a living and cries at the drop of a hat, captures my heart. Three kids who sing together, wow, never seen that! But three kids who sang to their mom who was in a coma after a car accident, and to top it off they bring the mom on stage. Now I think they are the best singers ever!

The Power is in the story, and there is a lot we in the Church can learn from that fact.

I have a story, you have a story. In fact we all have a story and it is the sharing of those stories that create community. Community is birthed when we can share one another’s triumphs and tragedies, our dreams and heartaches. When we open up to one another, when we take the time to listen to each others stories, we connect. With that connection comes the possibility of real fellowship, doing life together. God is good in that space! He can turn a group of disjointed individual threads of experiences into an intrically woven tapestry of community called the Church. That body, diverse and yet as one, can radically change a culture. It can heal wounds, lift up the fallen, cheer the underdog, and ultimately introduce people to the King.

How do I know? Consider these stories.

A height challenged tax collector dines with the Messiah.

An accessory to murder is struck blind by a light on the road to Damascus and comes out a missionary for Gospel.

A small kid sees his 5 loaves and two fish feed 5,000

I could go on for days……

Stories matter. Go share yours. Listen to one. They can make our seemingly ordinary existence, extraordinary and they bring us together as One.

And I’ll keep watching America’s Got Talent where so-so entertainers teach me a thing or two about life!

Why We Are Here!

I stumbled across this book yesterday while browsing at the bookstore.

At first I was angry! Why in the world would anyone be so crass and cavalier toward a subject that is so serious and eternal? I got even madder as I picked up the book and read how this “man” spends an entire book talking about his demeaning attitudes toward women, abuse of alcohol, and all of his juvenile exploits that are now making him a fortune. What a joke I thought to myself.

Then, it hit me. It was like Christ was whispering in my ear, “this is why you are here, to be my ambassador to this young man and the thousands like him”. If I am honest I really don’t want to do that. To be completely honest I would like this guy to get to hell so he can find out there is not only no beer in hell, but there is nothing but torment and pain for eternity. That thought forces me to the mirror to see another guy who deserves nothing less himself.

For you see, my mission is to be the very reflection of Christ to this troubled young man. We who are called Christ’s disciples are to appeal to those without Him, to be reconciled to Him. It is easy for me to dislike Tucker Max. It is not difficult for me to let this tragedy play out and watch justice roll in. What makes our role so hard is that we are to go to Tucker Max and the millions like him and preach the gospel of Christ in both Word and deed. We are to understand that we deserve the same fate he does. It is to humbly remember that Christ’s love and grace is what makes our standing in Him possible, not anything we have done to deserve it.

We are called by Christ to be aliens in this world and yet commanded to share the grace, love, and mercy that we have found in Him. We are not to run from the world but instead we are commissioned to run to the world. It is a command that leads with  “go and tell” in a Christian culture that has deluded us into thinking it is about “come and see”.

Thanks Tucker Max. I will never read your book but the cover reminded me of my mission!

A couple of books worth reading!

I love to read!

On vacation a few weeks ago I was able to polish off  4 easy reads and I want to recommend two of them to you today.

First, there is Tribes by Seth Godin. If you work with people in any way,  you need to read this book. I am a huge fan of Seth’s work, but this is in my opinion his best. I will be sharing more in the future out of this book but get it now.

Second, check out Sway. It is a wonderful read on how we make decisions and why so may of them are irrational. This was a fun, intriguing book.

What are you reading?

Sunday Music Recap

Everywhere I Go - Lincoln Brewster

Salvation Is Here - Lincoln Brewster

Bless His Name - Jeremy Riddle

How He Loves - David Crowder (Download Only)

Mighty To Save - Hillsong

Give Me Your Eyes - Brandon Heath

Hungry - Vineyard