Lists

I’ve been busy working on a series of lists to post for next week. Here is a sneak peak:

Top Books of 2010
Favorite iPad Apps
Top 10 Favorite Podcasts
Favorite Ministry & Leadership Resources

I love making lists. My wife laughs at me and believes that my Top 10 song list must include at least 100 songs or more. Hopefully these lists can be helpful for you and I hope that you enjoy them. look for the first list to be posted tomorrow morning. See you then!

Songs of Joy

This week’s sermon will look at 3 Songs of Joy that accompany the birth of Jesus found in Luke 1 and 2. Try making one of the songs your prayer this week.

The Magnificat – Luke 1:46-55
“And Mary said:
My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant.
From now on all generations will call me blessed,
for the Mighty One has done great things for me—
holy is his name.

His mercy extends to those who fear him, from generation to generation.
He has performed mighty deeds with his arm;
he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts.
He has brought down rulers from their thrones
but has lifted up the humble.
He has filled the hungry with good things
but has sent the rich away empty.
He has helped his servant Israel,
remembering to be merciful to Abraham and his descendants forever,
just as he promised our ancestors.”

The Bendictus – Luke 1:68-79
Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel,
because he has come to his people and redeemed them.
He has raised up a horn of salvation for us
in the house of his servant David (as he said through his holy prophets of long ago),
salvation from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us—
to show mercy to our ancestors and to remember his holy covenant,
the oath he swore to our father Abraham:
to rescue us from the hand of our enemies,
and to enable us to serve him without fear in holiness
and righteousness before him all our days.

And you, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High;
for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him,
to give his people the knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins,
because of the tender mercy of our God,
by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven
to shine on those living in darkness and in the shadow of death,
to guide our feet into the path of peace.”

The Nun Dimittis – Luke 2:29-32
“Sovereign Lord, as you have promised,
you may now dismiss your servant in peace.
For my eyes have seen your salvation,
which you have prepared in the sight of all nations:
a light for revelation to the Gentiles,
and the glory of your people Israel.”

Blindsided

When I was a Senior in High School, I was injured during a football game and had to endure a few weeks of physical therapy in order to even walk without pain. The day I was cleared to return back to football was a Friday afternoon. Even though I knew I wouldn’t get to play that night I was so excited about being able to be on the sidelines, dressed in my gear, with my teammates. I couldn’t have been happier. That’s when it happened.

As I was driving to the game, I lady in a giant Cadillac t-boned me. She just decided that  she might try to cross 4 lanes of traffic by sliding under my Chevy pick-up. The back end of my truck popped up and I would have flipped or landed on my side but “luckily” the nose of my truck came down on the back end of an Infinity Q45.

I was disoriented. “What happened?”
I was angry at the lady. “Are you SERIOUS!!!”
I was confused. “Why did this happen to me?”
I was angry at God. “Why did YOU let this happen?!?!”

I had been blindsided. Things were looking up for me. Then out of nowhere… this. I had been enduring pain and frustration for so long. Now that I was better and things were getting back to normal how could this have happened? What’s the purpose? Why?

Have you been blindsided by life? I know you have because all of us have experienced a moment where everything changes in an instant.

The phone call with the test results.
When he told you that this isn’t working out and would like the ring back.
The heartbeat isn’t on the ultrasound.
A parent having to move in with you so you care care for them.
The scholarship that never materialized.
The rumors swirling around the break room about the cutbacks.

As I’ve been studying a preparing for my sermon this week I have been thinking about what our response to these moments should be. As children of God and as disciples of Jesus our response to pain, suffering, frustration, and disorientation is directly related to what we believe about God and His Son, Jesus Christ.

I wrote this down: In all things do not fret and do not fear, take courage and know that God is near.

God is with you. Jesus is here. That’s the underlying message of the Incarnation. God became flesh and dwelt among us.

Do you believe that? I hope you do. May that belief- the belief that God is with you- sustain you the next time the Cadillac of life decides to plow into you.

Do not fret and do not fear, take courage and know that God is near.

Do You Hear? Christmas Series

This year, I am preaching for the entire month of December so I decided to do a Christmas series and I am so excited about it. As I have been preparing I felt like we needed to hear what God is saying to us through the birth of his Son, Jesus. God is speaking some powerful truths to us. The question is, “Through the rush of this Christmas season, do you hear what He is saying?”

After I wrote down some notes on which direction to go I came across some great artwork from Elevation Church that captured my thoughts exactly. I ran it through Photoshop and put together this promotional poster for the series.

What do you think?
DYH1-Christmas 2010

I am so thankful for Elevation Church for making promotional materials and artwork available to other churches. Way to go!

He Is Good & He Does Good

This post is about Thankfulness.

Three weeks ago, our family suffered a miscarriage.

I am still sifting through my thoughts and feelings about what has happened to us. I don’t yet have the words to explain it all. What I do know is that I have a profound sense of thankfulness and a desire to express my love and gratitude to everyone who has cared for us over these last three weeks. It is hard to believe but, even in the midst of incredible sadness and loss, we have much to be thankful for.

I’m thankful that I have a God who is good and does good. The day before the miscarriage I read an article about Pastor Matt Chandler and the 1 year anniversary of his battle with a brain tumor. The picture that accompanied the article showed Matt surrounded in prayer. His head is bowed- his bald and scarred head– and his hands raised. The author asked him how theology sustained him through the suffering of the past year. He answered:

“There were at least 3 meetings with my doctors early on where I felt like I got punched in the soul. In those moments when I was discombobulated and things felt like they were spinning out of control, my theology and the Spirit were there to remind me that “He is good and He does good”—to remind me that God has a plan for His glory and my joy that He is working.

I am thankful that, even in the midst of questions, loss, and pain, ultimately God is good and does good. That perspective has been my rock over the last few weeks.

I am thankful for our Family. Our immediate family members have been supportive and loving throughout this whole ordeal. I am thankful for their love and care.

I am thankful for our Church Family. One of the axioms that we live by is that we do “life” with our church family. We want to celebrate with them and we need to mourn with them. When we went to the emergency room, our church family took care of our son for the day. While we waited to hear from the doctor, we were surrounded in prayer by many people. Phone calls and text messages flooded my phone throughout the day and didn’t stop 24 hrs after. People engaged us and cared for us. And food… oh was there food. We have seen the blessing of “Doing Life” with our congregation. We wouldn’t have it any other way.

I am thankful for my wife. The strongest, most beautiful woman in the world somehow agreed to marry me. We will celebrate our tenth wedding anniversary in August 2011 and I am very thankful that God saw fit to bless me with this woman.

Study Buddies

We are visiting the in-laws in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia. I took a little time on Sunday to do some studying on their front porch. I snapped this picture of my gorgeous would-be office and my study buddies.

When I study these are my close companions:

  1. Big Drink- Sometimes it is a Coca-Cola and sometimes it is a Sweet Tea. I love having a big ol’ ice cold drink while I’m studying.
  2. Moleskine- I love taking notes in my Moleskine.
  3. iPod w/ My Beats by Dre headphones- Usually when I read I listen to either “Mozart for Your Mind” or my Chillax playlist of chill music. The headphones are as much of a defense study weapon as they are offensive. The headphones say, “I can’t hear you. I’m busy. Keep moving.”
  4. Kindle- My wife took it upon herself to sell my Kindle 2 and surprise me with the smaller, faster, sleeker Kindle 3. I love studying with my Kindle. My entire library in my hand- it doesn’t get much better than that.

Who do you study with?

My Big Red Chair

This is my big red chair.

IMG_0597

Since we have moved into this new house I have found this red chair to be the perfect afternoon companion. At around 2:30pm each afternoon, our back porch begins to be shaded from direct sunlight. As soon I get home I usually pour myself a tall glass of Sweet Tea, grab something to read, and sit outside for a few hours. As hectic and as crazy as our lives have been over the past few months being able to sit outside and be still for a few hours has been an incredible blessing.

In this chair, the concerns of the day are paused. In this chair, tomorrow is planned.

In this chair, life is good.

Music Friday: Couples Slow Dance Playlist

Looking for that perfect song to request for the Couple’s Skate? Maybe you want to sway back and forth with that girl that is your friend at the Junior High dance? You want to burn your wife a love song mix? Look no further than my Couples Slow Dance Mix for your inspiration. Enjoy and have a great weekend!

  1. End of the Road by BoyzIIMen
  2. The Dance by Garth Brooks
  3. Take My Breath Away by Berlin
  4. I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing by Aerosmith
  5. Come Away With Me by Norah Jones
  6. Wicked Game by Chris Issac
  7. Un-thinkable by Alicia Keys
  8. In My Life by The Beatles
  9. No Ordinary Love by Sade
  10. Hallelujah by Jeff Buckley
  11. Drive by The Cars
  12. The Blower’s Daughter by Damien Rice
  13. Flame Turns Blue by David Gray
  14. When The Stars Go Blue by Ryan Adams
  15. She’s Got A Way by Billy Joel
  16. God Only Knows by The Beach Boys
  17. (Everything I Do) I Do It For You by Bryan Adams

The Morning Prayer

From Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Psalms: The Prayer Book of the Bible-

The morning prayer determines the day. Squandered time of which we are ashamed, temptations to which we succumb, weaknesses and lack of discipline in our thoughts and in our conversation with other men, all have their origin most often in the neglect of morning prayer. Order and distribution of your time become more firm where they originate in prayer. Temptations which accompany the working day will be conquered on the basis of the morning breakthrough to God. Decisions demanded by work become easier and simpler where they are made not in fear of men but only in the sight of God. “Whatever your task, work heartily, as serving the Lord and not men” (Colossians 3:23). Even mechanical work is done in a more patient way if it arises from the recognition of God and his command. The powers to work take hold, therefore, at the place where we have prayed to God. He wants to give us today the power which we need for our work.

Music Friday: Failure?

Last week, a friend contacted me to ask about my thoughts on an interview published in the Irish Times with producer, Steve Lillywhite. In the article Lillywhite states explicitly that U2’s No Line on the Horizon album was a out-in-out failure. Of course you know that I have my own opinion on this but let’s take a look at Lillywhite’s statement and see what he has to say.

Legendary U2 producer Steve Lillywhite has said the band’s latest album No Line on the Horizon did not achieve what it set out to achieve and its relative failure had affected them.

The album, released last year, sold a fraction of its predecessors and received mostly lukewarm reviews though it did get a five-star rating in Rolling Stone magazine. Lillywhite, who was its co-producer along with Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois, said No Line on the Horizon lacked a big song and the North African ambience that it tried to recreate did not work.

“At the end of the day, the public are always right especially when you have a platform as big as U2,” he said. “Of course it affects them. They are only human. They put their heart and soul into everything they do, but the sales were not what they expected because they did not have the one song that ignited peoples imaginations.

“It’s a pity because the whole idea of Morocco as a big idea was great. When the big idea for U2 is good, that is when they succeed the most, but I don’t think the spirit of what they set out to achieve was translated. Something happened that meant it did not come across on the record.”

First, let’s acknowledge that Steve Lillywhite has had a long and storied career producing some of the greatest artists and albums in music history. I want to engage his comments not throw them out completely. There is a great deal of nuance in these three paragraphs.

The question is, “Was NLOTH a failure?”

If we are judging by the criteria set forth by Lillywhite in this interview then the answer is Yes. No Line on the Horizon was a failure. However, the easy answer isn’t always the correct answer. Let’s unpack this.

NLOTH sold a fraction of its predecessor and received mostly lukewarm reviews. Sort of. In reality, NLOTH debuted in the Number 1 spot in thirty different countries and received 5 star ratings from RS, Blender, and Q. NME rated it at 7 out of 10 and Entertainment Weekly gave it an A-. While actual units sold may not have lived up to U2 numbers (whatever that means) the album was received well both commercially and critically. Could it be that Lillywhite has the bar set pretty high when it comes to album sales and reviews? I think so.

NLOTH lacked a big song. Let’s take a look at the U2/Lillywhite history books shall we. Lillywhite has worked with U2 on the following projects:

Albums: Boy, October, War, Achtung Baby, How To Dismantle an Atomic Bomb (Album of the Year 2006)
Songs: I Will Follow, Sunday Bloody Sunday, One, Beautiful Day, Walk On, Vertigo

Lacking a big song is a pretty vague excuse for failure. By “lacking a big song” do you mean failing to have a song that rocks the airwaves, becomes part of the cultural consciousness, and wins awards? If that is what you mean than, yeah, NLOTH failed. No doubt, Get on Your Boots was no Vertigo.

Let me ask you a question though? In your city, what station does U2 get played on? What station was playing “Get on Your Boots” or “Magnificent” in your town? The Dallas/Ft Worth radio market is the 5th largest in the nation and when I want to hear U2- old stuff and new- I have to tune into the classic rock stations. Unfortunately, nothing on the classic rock stations- old or new- will have the opportunity to compete for listeners of Lady Gaga and Justin Beiber. While LittleMonsters and those with BeiberFever can have quick and regular access to new tracks those fans of artists like U2 have to go searching. New listeners are harder to come by because their listening habits are subject to a high turnover rate. You put Magnificent on heavy rotation on a Top 40 program and you’ll get that “big hit” you’re looking for. Guaranteed.

The North African ambience that NLOTH tried to recreate did not work. I’ll simply say this- 3 songs with Moroccan drums does not a North African album make.

As a fan of U2 I can understand why someone would feel that NLOTH fell short of its predecessors. I can understand why the producer and the band might feel a sense of disappointment. However, to say that something is a failure because it isn’t larger than life is silly. To come out a full 20 months after an album’s release and then judge it by previously unknown criteria is frustrating and an exercise in futility. Songs from this album served as the soundtrack to the World Cup and it has gone on to support the largest and highest grossing concert tour in recent history.

While NLOTH is not my favorite U2 album… I do like it. There are some strong tracks on here- Magnificent, Breathe, Moment of Surrender, Crazy. It may not be perfect  but it isn’t a failure by any stretch of the imagination.

You can’t judge the present by your past. You present your gift, knowing that you did everything possible to deliver your best effort. You give it away and then you get back into the studio or hit the road or pound the pavement eager to work on your next offering.

The Goal Is Soul