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I really, really like it. I predict it will sell millions of copies, not get played on Christian radio, and ‘worship bands’ will do ’special music’ numbers with the songs. That’s what I predict.
-Brant Hansen on the new U2 album, from “Shocking News: Idealistic Middle-Aged Guy Likes New U2 Album” from Letters From Kamp Krusty
Day 3
Morning worship with 10th Avenue North. Young guys with a passion for worship…
The morning session was led by cre:ate creator, Randy Elrod. Let me just say this talk wonderfully ruined me. Probably one of the best talks I’ve EVER heard on leadership. My big takeaway again, much like Ian’s talk the day before, was not so much what Randy said, but what he modeled: in order to speak into people’s lives, you have to go deep with God. Randy lives a deeply “inventoried” life. I will no doubt do a blog series on it in the near future. Wowsers…
Lunch was my favorite meal of the week: cajun-boiled shrimp, onions + summer sausage, red potatoes, + salad.
The afternoon session was led by comedian Ken Davis. We cried and laughed at the same time. My big takeaway is that God loves me. Sounds simple but I needed to hear it. Ken is a master communicator. As Randy has said, comedy is one of the highest art forms and Ken has the gift.
The afternoon was closed out with the most impacting Eucharist I’ve ever been a part of. Ian led us in a modern liturgy and communion. His insights on the subtleties of this time was priceless. My new friend, Mark Roach, who is worship pastor at Fellowship in O’Fallon, MO, literally right down the road from me (I’m looking forward to hooking up with him back in St. Louis), led the worship and did a phenomenal job.
Sidenote: I’ve heard people say that as you get older, the more you walk with Jesus, the less you feel you know about Him. He becomes more mysterious and Other, which I think is actually a really good thing because He is. The more I think about worship – I teach it after all – I realize that I have less figured out than I think. This is a interesting time of convergence with the continuing influence of the modern worship music industry, the resurgence of the liturgical, the glocalization of the world via the internet, etc. My mind is racing with possibilities. I am a futurist. It’s a blessing and a curse.
The conference day was closed out with dinner at Saffire at The Factory in Franklin. Had the best prime rib I’ve ever had in my life. We were led in concert by Carl Cartee, Travis Cottrell, + Chris Sligh.
The highlight of Day 3 happened at the very end of the day. Randy and his wife, Chris, invited me over to their house to take part in a scotch “tour,” led by the venerable John Voelz, a new friend I’ve followed virtually for a while (he is the Coriolis:Experience leader @ Westwinds Church in Jackson, MI). John walked us through three different types of scotch: 1) the Glenlivet – mild, approachable, honey-tinged, 2) the Talisker – smokey, peaty, and 3) the Balrenie – a desert scotch. Not sure I’ll become a scotch connoisseur but I could do the Talisker again. What a great time of fellowship! Thanks John for teaching me about a finer thing in life!
At the Elrod’s, I spent a lot of my time hanging with Matthew Ward, who I mentioned yesterday is a huge pioneer of the CCM industry with 2nd Chapter of Acts. He shared with me about his favorite session players, studios, producers, and solo albums from his past. Matthew may come and speak at MBU sometime soon. How cool would that be?
Day 3 was the highlight of the week for me. Touched beyond measure…
Day 4
Morning worship was led by one of Sparrow’s new signees, Sarah Reeves. Genuine heart and great songs…
The morning session was led by Anne Jackson, author of Mad Church Disease and blogger at flowerdust.net. She shared her testimony of how her father’s burnout in ministry led her to think about what the church asks of people. The book is a reflection of this journey for her. Great session. Authentic and real…
Lunch was at Stoveworks at The Factory. Southern cooking at its finest: chicken in a cream sauce over cornbread and apple cobbler…
I had to steal away for the afternoon to meet with my friend and missional crony, Ed Stetzer. We are conspiring on a couple of big projects connected to the current missional conversation that I am really excited about. Stay tuned…
I actually was so bushed from the week, I decided to spend the evening with my wife. I had missed Lost the night before so we chilled, reconnected, and got our Lost on…
Day 5
Yesterday morning, I joined about 40 other songwriters at EMI/CMG Publishing Company in Brentwood for a great time of conversation on the issue of worship songwriting. We heard from staff writer Audray Assad and again from the Sparrow roster, Sarah Reeves, as well as a forum of some of the EMI/CMG music publishing staff on the 5/5: the five elements of a great song and the five traps for songwriters…
It was a bit surreal because we met in a room right next to a rehearsal room that I played my original music for Brad O’Donnell of Sparrow Records, which ultimately led to a showcase a local club called The Basement in June of 2002. It was cool to be back there and reminisce. I definitely got the itch to start writing again. Yikes…
We had lunch catered in and before I left, I had the chance to speak with Randy and tell him about his influence on my life and what this week meant to me. It was a sweet time of conversation…
In all, this was such a refreshing week for my soul….
One of my favorite bloggers is Brant Hansen, a radio DJ down in sunny Florida. If you know Brant, you know he hates sarcasm. Okay, I’m being sarcastic…
He has a recurring feature on his blog in which he becomes the “Krusty Sage” and gives “ancient wisdom for no one in particular.” It is pure genius. Biting social commentary with a satiric veneer in the third person.
Though it may be painful, you must make your way through all of these. I’ve aggregated them for your convenience:
Your Kids Don’t Need a Stupid College Fund
You Don’t NEED a Stupid New Car
Your Kids Don’t Need Your Stupid Success Track
Get All Exorcised Over Halloween
Quit Buying Crap You Can’t Afford Just “Because It’s Christmas.” Sheesh.
I had the privilege to travel with with Ed Stetzer last week to and from a conference on church revitalization in Johnson City, TN. It was a great conference – much of it was drawn from his excellent book, Comeback Churches: How 300 Churches Turned Around and Yours Can, Too, co-written with Mike Dodson.
As for our hang time, as Ed ‘tweeted,’ we talked Newbigin, Guder, and the missio Dei. Before the conference, we had breakfast together and Ed took this picture. Only you missional ‘nerds’ will appreciate this:
Brant Hansen has got to have THE most genius categories on his blog. Hands down. Here are some of my faves:
*Artwork That Could Only Be Produced by “Windows Paint”
*Cries for Help
*Dep’t of Things You Saw Coming
*Entries that Directly Confront My Readership and Essentially Put It in Their Face
*Entries that Will Amuse Me Because No One Else Will “Get”
*General Essays on Futile Attempts to Coach Flag Football in Palm Beach Gardens
*Help for Visionary Leaders of Leading Leaders
*Ironically, This Will be Widely Misunderstood
*Lists that Unfairly Exclude Sufjan Stevens
*Maybe if I Say It THIS Way, You’ll Finally See I’m Exactly Right
*Misguided Analyses
*Polls that Give the Naive the Belief that I Care
*Posts I’m Just as Offended By as You
*Posts Regarding Otters, and the Little Way They Hold Paws Like That
*Posts that Accidentally Veer into Being Helpful
*Posts that Will Cost Me Future Jobs at the ACLU
*Posts that Will Cost Me the Democratic Nomination
*Scholars Will be Hosting Symposia to Unpack the Meaning of this Post
*Stolen from Chesterton, But He’s Dead So What’s He Going to Do
*Stolen from Richard John Neuhaus, Who’s Alive but is Too Nice to Sue Probably
*Stuff Alasdair MacIntyre Probably Hasn’t Written About Yet
*Stuff I Posted Without Fully Understanding
*Supposed to Be Funny, But Isn’t, Really, If You Think About It
*Things I Should Have Edited Better
*Things Written With the Benefit of Drugs
*Things Somehow Written Without the Benefit of Drugs
*Things Someone Will Forward to Homeland Security
*Things that Amply Demonstrate Why I’m Not Writing fro Relevant Magazine
*Things That Will Be Used Against Me Later
*Unhelpful Sarcasm
If you want to know what my morning was like driving to Clinton, MS with Ed Stetzer, it can be summed up in three words:
Via Ed’s Twitpics on Twitter:
Of course if you asked Ed, it could be summed up in the fact that he thinks I have the bladder of a six-year old. This morning, he was absolutely right…
I was skeptical but this is pretty darn funny:
“I won’t hide the fact that I come at the whole thing with more than a bit of skepticism. And that’s not helped when your ministry website (and this is a tip to anyone in ministry out there) seems to be mostly about you and asks people (with huge blazing graphics) to “sow into revival.” If your revival needs funding something ain’t right.”-Bob Hyatt, lead pastor of Evergreen Community in Portland, from his blog entry “nu-charismania”
David Bosch .::. Transforming Mission: Paradigm Shifts in Theology of Mission
Dan Kimball .::. The Emerging Church: Vintage Christianity for New Generations
Tim Chester/Steve Timmis .::. Total Church: A Radical Reshaping Around Gospel and Community
Alan Hirsch .::. The Forgotten Ways: Reactivating the Missional Church
John Piper .::. Desiring God: Meditations of a Christian Hedonist
