Music Mondays

Lecrae is represents the present and the future of Christian music. He's a Christian hip-hop artist originally from Houston who emerged from a talented group of artists named 116 Clique.

Those links describe his story, and the following video is a great sample of what he does.
Because most people from my part of the country probably aren't familiar with a lot of Christian hip-hop, let me first strongly encourage you do get familiar with it. Let me also explain that this song is essentially pointing out the hypocrisy of people who reject Christ because of the hypocrisy of Christians.

It doesn't let Christian hypocrites off the hook, but it has a smart way of calling out everyone involved.

Sermon Snippets: Truly Amazing Grace - Mark 2:1-3:6

Grace can easily become commonplace.
We can mindlessly mouth the words to that classic hymn, "Amazing Grace".
We can celebrate God's grace on an bi-annual basis during Christmas and Easter as we commemorate Jesus' arrival and ultimate sacrifice.
We can attend a church or school with 'Grace' prominently featured.
We can name our daughters after it or buy a piece of artwork to hang on our walls.

We can also let it revolutionize our lives.

Music Mondays

Many of the best worship songs do not just simply adore God. Many of the best worship songs adore God and declare truths about Him. The Psalms do this constantly but it is true for the older hymns like "A Mighty Fortress is Our God" as well as newer songs like "Mighty to Save".

This song is not too well-known within the Church, but it's a classic that has a perfect blend of adoration and delaration.

I had worked for less that two months at Grace in admissions when I got to go promote our Seminary at a Pastors Conference at Harvest Bible Chapel in suburban Chicago. It remains one of the best highlights of my time in admissions because I got to hear a bunch of the best preachers in the country and participate in some incredible worship led by, among others, Meredith Andrews. This song hadn't been written yet, but it clued me into one of the best church-based worship teams in the world.

Sermon Snippets: Mark 1:16-45

Mankind is desperate for heroes.

Throughout history, we have made idols out of scientists, gladiators, philosophers, and soldiers. In the present day, we put athletes, musicians, and actors on the same high pedastal.

This week has reminded us "idols always break the hearts of their worshippers." (C.S. Lewis via Matt Niemier). Sure, many have been suspicious of Lance Armstrong for a while now, but the fact that he finally admitted destroys almost any admiration that can still be held for that man. While the Manti Te'o story is still unraveling, it's revealed that at least part of his public persona was a facade.

When our real-life heroes fail us, we create them out of our own imaginations and give them super-human abilities. We label them Ironman, the Hulk, and Captain America.

I celebrate great athletes like most people. I enjoy the escape of a two-hour blockbuster movie that details the epic adventures of these superheroes.

But it all falls apart eventually. Even the best movies end, and all real-life men and women are flawed and will eventually fail to live up to the perfect expectations we've set for them.

It speaks to the depth of our hero-need that we are so quick to prop up another when one falls. The process is never ending.

Worship - Failure - Discard - Replace - Repeat

Thankfully the process can end when we turn our attention to the One who never fails. Jesus is the Hero Worth Following and He proves it by His authoritative words and powerful deeds. Mark 1 makes the case and presents the evidence.

See you Sunday.

Music Mondays

I was late on the "Delirious?" train. They were a British Christian Rock band that found radio play on Christian stations here in the States. I liked what I heard, but never really "got into them", even when they started churning out worship hits like "Did You Feel the Mountains Tremble?" and "I Could Sing of Your Love Forever".

I knew worship leader friends of mine who liked them and used their songs in chapel band in college and in their youth groups. I'm not sure if it was because their name confused me - was it 'Delirious', 'Deliriou5?', or 'Delirous?'  (it was the latter). Or maybe it was because their radio songs didn't strike me as super-profound, but I wasn't a real big fan.

Turns out, it was my loss. I pride myself on having good musical tastes, but I missed the boat on this one. And the song that changed my mind was this one:

 

 

Majesty! Your grace has found me just as I am.
Empty-handed but alive in your hands.

Sermon Snippet: Getting Ready, Mark 1:1-13

Each week, I will try to give a quick preview of this week's sermon. I decided to name in the incredibly creative "Sermon Snippet".

This week, we are starting a series on the Gospel of Mark. Mark is pretty much my favorite book of the Bible because of a class I took in seminary called "Exegesis and Theology of the Gospels". It was an advanced Greek class taught by the incredibly-tough Dr. Bateman who was also an incredible teacher. Through the combination of great research and his sheer enthusiasm, he taught our class the nuances and the overall message of this Gospel.

It dramatically molded how I viewed discipleship and following Christ. It opened my eyes to the beauty of literary structure that the biblical authors (in cooperation with the Holy Spirit) used over 2000 years ago. It also revealed to me how mistaken and flawed the original 12 disciples were, which is encouraging when I find myself struggling to grow, understand, and live out my faith.

And of course, it reminds me of our incredible Savior, Jesus the Messiah and the beautiful plan of redemption God the Father orchastrated through His Son.

The above information has little to do with my sermon directly, but I offer it to explain why we are headed to this particular Gospel, and why I am so excited about this series.

Music Mondays (or Tuesday in this case)

For most people, their high school years are formidable times in the sense that we make choices that strongly affect the direction of our lives and form our own personal character.

Hobbies, movies, friends, and families all have strong influences on us during our teen years. And of course there is music. The music we listen to can both reflect and impact our attitudes and perspectives.

One song that affected me in these ways was "Jesus Freak" by my all-time favorite band, dc Talk. It was released at the perfect time as it's message and my own personal commitment to unreservedly follow Christ converged.
So I offer it as my first 'Music Monday', I offer to you my favorite song of all-time by my favorite group of all-time:

At the risk of over-doing it, let me offer some additional explanation and analysis. The lyrics explicitly ask the questions that were in the back of our minds growing up in a high school culture that was heavy on peer-pressure and conformity:

What will people think if they hear that I'm a Jesus Freak?
What will people do if they find out it's true?
I don't really care if they label me a Jesus Freak, there ain't no disguising the truth!

Turning a term of derision on it's head, making it a label to be proud of. Thank you dc Talk.
-----------------------
*These Music Monday selections are the author's own personal preferences and are not intended to reflect on the preferences of my ministry, my family, or anything else I am associated with.

Skitch...how'd we get here?

God had been giving me a stronger and stronger thrist for full-time ministry for about a year. I knew I was headed in that direction long-term, but I was probably too hung up on the "tyranny of the urgent" to make a serious move in that direction.

So God took care of that.

My position at my former employer was eliminated due to late-discovered budget cuts. So I figured that was God's indication it was time to look for ministry positions.

One I was aware of already because of my previous job was at Milford 1st Brethren Church. I applied and sent in my resume, unsure if a senior pastor position was the right fit.

But discovering who the people were and what they were looking for, it was clear it would be a great fit. So after surviving the candidating process, I was hired.

I think I know what I am doing in some ways, and in others, I readily admit I have no clue. 

But I had grown a bit complacent in my previous position. Now I have to actively trust the Lord for this adventure.

This blog will reflect that. I plan to post previews to my sermons, random thoughts about life, and a weekly "Song of the Week" that will highlight various Christian musicians and songs that I really like.

I hope you enjoy the ride with me as we focus on our ministry and mission here in Milford, Indiana!