in His Name and to His glory

Easter: Stories and Songs

2011-04-05T17:00:00.007-04:00

Yesterday, Mark and I walked through St. John's Cathedral in downtown Knoxville. Why? Because on Good Friday (April 22) at 8:00pm we will be there performing 'Easter: Stories and Songs'.

It is gorgeous, as you can see from the picture above.

We performed 'Easter: Stories and Songs' (which you can read more about HERE) at the Knoxville Botanical Gardens last year and it was an unbelievably beautiful night. This year we wanted to move locations to a place that was equally beautiful...but indoors. St. John's was the first place we thought of. We contacted them and they were gracious enough to allow us to use their Cathedral. Such amazing people at St. John's.

The band will again be comprised of my good friends, who also happen to be some of the best musicians I know:

drums - Terry Mahnken
accessory percussion - Taylor Brown
bass - Carl Smith
acoustic/dobro/vox - Chris Dorsten
mandolin/vox - Emilee Cook
piano/hammered dulcimer/accordion/penny whistle/etc. - Adam Whipple
organ/piano - Greg Adkins
upright bass - Matthew Nelson
cello - Rich Brinke

We will even have a guest vocalist, a friend of Betsy and I's, who is extremely busy with her own music, Jill Andrews.

So, for all those who live in Knoxville...you should come downtown and celebrate the Easter story with us on Good Friday.

(And for those of you who live in Indiana, Illinois and Ohio. We are actually going to be traveling next weekend...April 14-17th...through those states performing at various churches. Click HERE for dates and locations.)

all my favorite people

2011-04-04T06:06:00.003-04:00

Yesterday, we talked about Authenticity at Crossings. We were blessed to have Jenna Weaver and her father, Brent, doing a simply fantastic rendition of Over the Rhine's song All My Favorite People.

If you think, "Yeah, no one can sing like Karin"...you may be right. But dang...Jenna sounded absolutely amazing (Brent wasn't half bad himself). So, so talented.

To accompany the song, we came up with an idea during our Creative Planning Meeting last Monday to take pictures of people on the street holding cardboard signs with the lyrics to the song written on them with a sharpie. Huge kudos to Chris Dorsten, Carol Reeve and Andy Vandergriff for some unbelievable pics.

Here is the video. It is great! Unfortunately, its set to Karin's version and not Jenna's. That's too bad, but I think you'll survive.

rich rambling

2011-01-01T15:39:00.002-05:00

Below is a video of Rich Mullins in concert 4 weeks before his death. The clip is 9 minutes of Rich just kind of rambling. There is no clear cut Big Idea that he is trying to get across...no consistent theme to it, he is just rambling. But like all things Rich, it is deep and prophetic and totally worth your 9 minutes of time.

There is really nothing left to be said about Rich Mullins that hasn't been said. But as I was watching the video below, and others with Rich in it, my son was sitting next to me at my desk watching too...and he was riveted. And I know it had everything to do with the hammered dulcimers and mandolins and drums...but he sat and watched as Rich talked too, for 9 minutes or more.

As good as his music was...and it was...I really hope at some point Jude will be able to equally appreciate the truth of Rich's words and work.

songwriting and child-rearing

2010-12-28T08:59:00.006-05:00

Songwriting is kind of like child-rearing.

A song idea is birthed. At first, your immediate and constant attention is necessary. I have lost many an idea because I left it unattended for too long and upon returning to it, I found that I had forgotten the melody or the hook or the chord progression and whatever life it had was gone.

But if given the proper attention and care, at some point, the idea matures into its own song. You can take it out into public and show it off. Your friends and family will tell you its beautiful. Most other people are too busy with their own lives to really care, though generally they are polite. But at this point, it still cannot exist with out you. It is completely dependent on you...until you record it.

The recording process is a bit like adolescence. It is awkward. It is trying. The song, as it begins to become its own entity apart from you, goes through changes. A lot of changes. Its voice lowers as the bass is added. As the drums are added, it begins to move to its own beat and the rhythm of you and your acoustic is no longer needed. It starts to get strings in weird places. Other people begin to influence it and your opinion isn't the only one in its life anymore. You know how it used to sound, and during the recording process, there are many times you think, "Can't we just go back to the way it was before? I don't know if I like what it is turning into." But you are patient, you give it the benefit of the doubt. Through all the un-EQed, un-compressed, un-mixed parts that have been added, you can still hear your favorite parts about it...even if no one else can. Other people may misunderstand it or not appreciate it the way you do, and that hurts...because it will always be your song.

Near the end of the recording process, you can see the song really begin to mature. It grows into all the abrupt and awkward changes that it went through during the eye of its adolescent storm. It is EQed and compressed and mixed, and you can hear it settle into what it will become. Hopefully, hopefully...it becomes what you wanted for it all along. Sometimes it becomes something infinitely better than you could have ever imagined.

Of course, now comes the hard part. Exciting...but hard. Once the song is recorded, it can go off on its own completely without you. It leaves from the merchandise table, or iTunes, or your websites, and it goes with people you've never met before. It gets in their car with them, goes home with them and you have absolutely no control anymore. You have no control over how they will interact with your song or how your song will interact with them.

It is theirs now as much as it is yours.

It is exciting, because it can do things and say things that it never could have had it remained completely dependent on you. It can go places and touch lives you never could. But it is a weird feeling, because you have zero control over it. It has its own identity. It doesn't need you anymore. It feels like the best you can do is just try and keep up with it.

But...overall...it just an unbelievable blessing to watch it go. And truth be told, it is way better for it to go then for it to be one of those songs that never leaves home.

I say all of this because this past summer a song that I had written called 'A Baby Will Come' was featured in Worship Leader Magazine. It is a Christmas song and for the last few months it seems that a number of churches have performed the song during the Advent/Christmas season. I have received encouraging emails from worship pastors at other churches and various people in their congregations who have been touched by the song. I have received texts and Facebook messages (by way of Betsy) from friends who had recently heard it or found out that I had written it. There are even a handful of churches who have put their version of the song on youtube.

One church in particular I think did a fantastic job with it. The video is below.

I hesitated writing this post. I don't want to seem self-promoting or braggadocios. The truth is...it absolutely boggles my mind. It is so, so humbling. I am not sure I completely understand it, but it is such an unbelievable blessing to see people I don't know choose to rehearse and perform a song that I wrote and then to be told that it blessed them in some way and brought glory to God.

Much like child-rearing, I really have no idea what I am doing when it comes to songwriting. There is no manual. You kind have to just do what you think is best and hope it turns out okay in the end.

And when it does, you feel blessed...but you don't feel like you can take any credit, because truth be told: you are not sure you really had anything to do with it in the first place.

Behold the Lamb of God recap

2010-12-23T07:21:00.002-05:00

This past Sunday at Crossings, we entered into the story of Christmas by way of our final performance (...of this year) of Andrew Peterson’s “Behold the Lamb of God." It was such a blast, more fun and more powerful than I could have imagined. It was also an honor to work with such an incredible team of talented musicians from all over Knoxville.

Greg Adkins captured the whole thing on video and edited each individual song. To view his thoughts on the show and the first song (Gather Round Ye Children Come) click HERE. To view the rest of the show click HERE.

Also, here is the complete list of musicians and singers in alphabetical order:

Adam Adkins - shakers, tamborines, congas, djembe, percussion
Greg Adkins - piano, organ, acoustic guitar, hammered dulcimer, vocals
Kevin Bower - vocals
Chad Covert - drums
Craig Covert - vocals
Burt Elmore - electric guitars, mandolin
Angela Hemrick - vocals
Robyn James - viola
Sarah McAffry - vocals
Grayson Mynatt - violin
Matthew Nelson - electric bass, upright bass
Patricia Peacock - cello
Nathan Sharp - acoustic guitar, vocals, washboard
Andy Vandergriff - vocals
Mandy Watson - vocals
Adam Whipple - acoustic guitar, piano, organ, pennywhistle, lap steel, accordion
Bill Wolf - acoustic guitar, banjo, accordion, vocals

leadership community

2010-12-13T17:05:00.011-05:00

Each month we meet one Saturday morning with all our Crossings leaders. Anyone who serves in any capacity we consider a leader. There are usually 60 or so in attendance at any given Leadership Community.

This past Saturday, we had a special Christmas Leadership Community. They are always the best. We ate pancakes, shared 'wins' and then played a game that involved people getting into teams, acting out scenes from famous Christmas movies, taking pictures and texting those pictures to me. We then displayed the pictures and had the teams guess eachother's scenes. Sound like fun? Maybe, maybe not...but check out the small sampling of pictures below and I think you can see that it absolutely was.

Behold the Lamb of God

2010-12-09T16:01:00.005-05:00

A large and diverse group of local musicians headed up by Greg Adkins, Adam Whipple, and myself have been working these past couple of months to prepare 4 special performances of Andrew Peterson’s fantastic folk-rock Christmas program “Behold the Lamb of God - The True Tall Tale of the Coming of Christ”. The group we have is fantastic and I really think the show is going to be great. Maybe not as great as when Andrew and his Nashville friends perform it but it will still be pretty solid.

If you would like to come, all 4 performances are free and here is the schedule:

Sunday, December 12th
West Towne Christian Church
9300 Middlebrook Pike, 37931
9:00 and 10:30 am

Sunday, December 19th
Crossings Church
The Square Room in Market Square
9:00 and 10:30 am

We had our first full rehearsal last night and it was so much fun. Several goose-bump inducing moments to be sure. The show features great instrumentation including accordions, banjos, mandolins, hammered dulcimers, pennywhistle, and a fantastic string section.

Hope some of you can make it.

(And yes...I copied and pasted this post from Greg's blog. What?)

so...

2010-12-01T17:30:00.003-05:00

Basil Marceaux didn't win. Dang it. Well, you can't say my blog didn't do its part. Apparently, some dude named Haslem will be our next governor. He probably is a bit more lax on traffic lights than Marceaux...but I bet his diction is much better.

Anyway, I apologize for the long haitus. Kind of. I realize I didn't mention it here, but I did intend to take a few months off from blogging...mostly because I wanted to aim all my extra energies at school work.

Why?

Well, here's the math. From August 1st to December 1st:

Blog Posts: 0
Pages of Required Reading Read: 2,820 (does not include any reference material)
Pages of Analysis, Exegesis and/or Review Written: 151 (does not include bibliographies or title pages)

I just handed in my second to last assignment of the semester. And not knowing exactly how much work it would be, I did know it would require sacrifice. I promised myself it would not affect my family or my ministry. So, that left my leisure time. I have not read any books outside of what is required for school and for ministry; I suck at fantasy football (which, at least I have an excuse this year); I watch a heck of a lot less TV; I have abandoned my weekly basketball game...and I haven't blogged since Basil Marceaux was still considered a shoe-in for Governor of the great state of Tennessee.

So that is where I have been. And that is what I have been doing. School work. Oh...and Betsy and I gave Jude a sister.

vote marceaux

2010-07-31T07:48:00.002-04:00

The video below is real. So is his website (which is equally amazing).

This is our next governor, state of Tennessee...well, with your help at the polls. So, watch the video below (as well as the Stephen Colbert video below it) and go place your vote with the candidate you know will take the hardest stance against things like traffic stops and gold fringe on American Flags.

The Colbert Report

Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c

Republican Gubernatorial Primary Battle Watch '010 - Tennessee

www.colbertnation.com

Colbert Report Full Episodes

2010 Election

Fox News

2010-07-01T10:42:00.004-04:00

'A Baby Will Come' is featured on the Song DISCovery CD for the July/August issue of Worship Leader Magazine. It is the third track, sandwiched between a song written by Ed Cash and MercyMe's newest single.

HERE is a link.

It is pretty stinking cool and I am pretty stinking excited. This is the biggest compliment any song I have written has ever received.

I gave up a long time ago trying to guess what these kinds of things mean. All I know is that it is a huge honor and I am very humbled.

manute bol's radical christianity

2010-06-29T09:34:00.004-04:00

As a basketball fan, I have always liked Manute Bol. Admittedly, in junior high it was because he was freakishly tall; in high school, it was because he was freakishly tall and had a propensity for chucking up 3-pointers...which was always funny to me.

But this article, written after his death last week, makes me like him on a brand new level. Read it HERE.

Better than a Hallelujah Sometimes...

2010-06-17T10:28:00.000-04:00

This song made me cry when Amy Grant sang it live and then again just hearing it on the radio...sometimes things just hit you when you need them and today I needed to hear this:

God love a lulluby
In a mother's tears at night
Better than a Hallelujah sometimes

God love the drunkard's cry
The soldier's plea not to let him die
Better than a Hallelujah sometimes

We pour out our miseries
God just hears a melody
Beautiful, the mess we are
The honest cries of breaking hearts
Are better than a Hallelujah

The woman holding on for life
The dying man giving up the fight
Are better than a Hallelujah sometimes

The tears of shame for what's been done
The silence when the words won't come
Are better than a Hallelujah sometimes

We pour out our miseries
God just hears a melody
Beautiful the mess we are
The honest cries of breaking hearts
Are better than a Hallelujah

Better than a church bell ringing
Better than a choir singing out, singing out

We pour out out miseries
God just hears a melody
Beautiful, the mess we are
The honest cries of breaking hearts
Are better than a Hallelujah

We pour out our miseries
God just hears a melody
Beautiful, the mess we are
The honest cries of breaking hearts
Are better than a Hallelujah

LOST finale

2010-05-26T13:10:00.003-04:00

Betsy and I both loved the finale of LOST. I felt like the series was first and foremost a show about characters; redemption, forgiveness, transformation, etc. All the mystery and mythology was more the stage than the plot line. Granted, I am the furthest thing from a sci-fi fan, so my enjoyment and expectations of the show will certainly differ greatly from anyone who is.

But, even though I liked the way the series ended, I still feel a little like this:

a concert and an elevator ride

2010-04-17T00:06:00.004-04:00

Tonight I got to hear the song that I sang for my first ever solo (in 7th grade) by its original artist: El Shaddai by Amy Grant. Betsy and I got FREE tickets to her charity concert in The Square Room. I won't tell you how much the actual tickets prices were, I'll just say it was a ridiculous amount. But its for charity, so there you go.

The highlight of the night, however, was not El Shaddai. It was after the concert, when we got to share an elevator with Amy Grant and her drummer. They were doing a "Meet & Greet" with her after the concert, and for reasons still unknown to me, they wanted to do it upstairs in Crossings office. So, with the lobby packed, we opted to take the elevator up to the third floor to clean up the office a little before everyone got there.

We press the button. Elevator doors open. Amy Grant is standing there staring back at us.

We stepped in and I said, "Great job tonight." Betsy said, "I cried."

Anyway, here is a video I took with my phone of El Shaddai (sorry no video of the elevator ride...that'd be creepy).

good friday at the botanical gardens

2010-04-07T13:17:00.008-04:00

Last Friday night we had a Good Friday concert at the Knoxville Botanical Gardens. I can not tell you how amazing the night went.

The highlights for me (in no particular order) were:

1) The weather. Literally COULD NOT have been better. It was perfect.
2) The people who helped with set-up and tear-down. That was some of the hardest manual labor I have ever asked of anyone and it seemed as though everyone really enjoyed themselves. It was actually a lot of fun.
3) The view, from the gardens, of the city after the sun went down. The lights of the city looked like Christmas lights. I didn't realize it until I stepped off stage and turned around.
4) The band. I am so lucky to get to play with such talented musicians.
5) Tony Sabota's artwork. It is absolutely gorgeous. Tony is one of the most gifted artists I have ever seen. I'll share pictures of his work on here soon.
6) The turn-out. There were over 150 people who showed up. That was really cool.
7) Getting to sing with my wife. She originally was going to be on stage for only one song, but in filling in for someone who couldn't make it...she ended up singing every song with me. I underestimated how special that was going to be. I love that she got to be such a big part of the night.
8) Greg, Andy and Taylor doing a Writers-in-the-Round to start out the night. Three of my favorite song-writers and good friends.
9) Getting to hear a NEW song from Greg Adkins. A lullaby for his new daughter, Claire. I was in tears before the first chorus. Beautiful.
10) Seeing this night come to fruition. These are stories and songs that I have been wrestling with for a few years now. I could not have imagined a more humbling or meaningful way to get to share them with my church community. Thank you all.

Here are some pictures of us setting up (taken with my phone, so don't judge the quality of the pictures too harshly). Sidenote: Anyone who took pictures of anything else that night...please send them to me. I would love to have them.

....AND breathe out....

2010-03-28T15:51:00.002-04:00

Right now I have a sense of relaxation and wanting to just breathe out. For the past 3 months Bill has been working on his Easter Stories and Songs book and cd. It has been a project that's taken up countless hours, evenings, and days off and this Friday, Good Friday, it finally makes its debut at the Botanical Gardens for Crossings Good Friday service. We'll only hear the first 7 songs and we'll finish up with the last three songs and the good news of it all on Sunday morning. I'm very excited for him! It's not exactly the end of the "going going going" that has been "us" for the past few months because there is some traveling on the horizon throughout April and the beginning of some special and new community partnerships for Crossings and us, but there is still a sense of that feeling you get when you've been on your feet all day and you finally get to sit down and put your feet up. Sigh.

I hope you all love the cd project as much as I do, I think it's his best work lyrically and it's really neat to read along and hear the stories behind the songs. it's good stuff.

Sale!

2010-03-18T01:48:00.002-04:00

Oh my, I just found this site with Simple Shoes on sale!! If you are a guy and into buying eco friendly stuff, you can't beat their prices! oh and they have these boots on there that i've been coveting forever, but of course they are $80 on sale so I'm still passing.

Rain Gutter Bookshelves

2010-03-15T19:40:00.003-04:00

This is a dramatically different post from the last one that Bill posted, but I saw these cute "rain gutter book shelves" on another site and thought I'd pass along the idea. Supposedly they encourage reading because the children can see the covers and not just the spines of the books:

Find the tutorial here.

worship

2010-01-18T15:39:00.002-05:00

I tried to find a fitting adjective to place in the title of this blog before the word "worship", but there is no fitting adjective. I think the video above is simply the definition of the word "worship", no adjective needed.

It comes from a friend, Jonathan Schoonover, who works with orphans and impoverished families in Haiti for a living. The name of the organization he works with is Harvest Field Ministries. He lives in the states, but has been put in charge of coordinating their relief efforts. Needless to say, he is extremely tired. If you would like to follow their efforts or donate to their relief, HERE is the link.

The stories coming from Haiti are literally unimaginable; 99.9% of them, because we cannot imagine the horror of what we are told. But let me share with you one story that is hard to imagine for a totally different reason. It comes from the Haiti Relief Blog I just mentioned...

"We finally made it to Belloc. As we had been told, both the orphanage building (no kids were in there) and the church/school building are a complete loss. Pastor Beauillere and his family escaped unhurt.

Get ready for this...immediately after the quake Pastor Beaulliere went to the field across from the church and started preaching. People just started showing up to listen and 21 people accepted Christ!!! When I arrived yesterday he was carrying buckets of water to fill up a neighbor's cistern so they could baptize all 21 of them."

Here it is, the newest web sensation, we promise.

2010-01-13T22:12:00.001-05:00

and this coming from two haters...

team conan

2010-01-12T19:43:00.002-05:00

happy holidays

2009-12-18T11:33:00.004-05:00

Nothing makes me long for the simple days of our youth like knowing that once upon a time Mr. T carried enough clout to have the First Lady of the United States of America sit atop his lap...or that the Hoff would from time to time stand outside our windows during the holiday season with a nothing but a gift and a candle.

Merry Christmas...

2009-12-17T10:36:00.004-05:00

I can not explain this picture. Nor do I want to. No, I am quite content to allow it to brighten my holiday season with no questions asked. My hope is that you allow it to do the same.

Ignorance is bliss, or so they say. And never more so than not knowing why Nancy Reagan is perched upon the muscular knee, not to mention kissing the mo-hawked forehead, of a Santa-clad Mr. T.

greg is tweeting hilarious...

2009-12-10T08:58:00.004-05:00

Greg Adkins is one of the funniest people I know. Exhibit A...

In light of THIS story about The University of Tennessee's football team and their use of "hostesses", I tweeted this question yesterday:

"So what does "hostess" really mean? Cause pretty girls holding signs is one thing; but pretty girls doing other stuff could be really bad."

Greg's response:

"I can tell you that "hostess" under the previous coaching staff meant one thing and one thing only. Cupcakes."

Well played, Mr. Adkins. Well played.

Devenney's

2009-11-29T14:34:00.008-05:00

Last night one of my (Betsy's) life long dreams was fulfilled when Bill and I sang "Always" by Atlantic Starr at a Karaoke Pub in Orlando. We went expecting to find a bar to just sit and chat and catch up with one of Clint Darrah's high school friends, but what we found instead was an Irish family restaurant/bar/game room/karaoke explosion that only British people frequent. It. was. so. fun.

It ended with a rousing rendition of "Chasing Cars" and all of us standing arm in arm in front of the Karaoke hostess/woman who sang every other song:

excellent.

Happy Thanksgiving

2009-11-26T18:55:00.005-05:00

Jude enjoying his first turkey-induced coma while watching football with his daddy. I'm sure there will be many more.

just glad he wears his helmet

2009-11-20T15:58:00.004-05:00

I saw this video this past summer at the Poets, Prophets and Preachers conference. My friend Lyle just emailed it to me and I watched it again.

Um...yeah.

Happy Halloween

2009-10-31T22:37:00.007-04:00

...from our band (Jude & I) and our roadie (Bill).

please listen to my demo

2009-10-30T08:39:00.006-04:00

I try not to be cynical when it comes to the "Worship Music Industry". I really do. But when I read things like this...well, I lose that battle.

Below is a description of an actual break-out session from an actual conference that a friend of mine recently attended. I saw the conference schedule/booklet-thingy on his table yesterday, so I picked it up and started thumbing through it. It looked pretty much like every other Christian conference I have ever attended, nothing too out of the ordinary. And then I came across this break-out session (taught by two guys...a marketing guy and an artist development guy...from a major Christian record label):

"Please Listen to My Demo"
11:30am - Room 2
Description:
How to engage and maximize a record label relationship. Walk through the process of developing your music ministry from a local to an international ministry. What you should be doing today. How to get attention. What a fan base means. The process of finding the right relationships and developing them to maximize the impact God has for your ministry.

Cynical or not, I am almost at a total loss for words. What I want to say is that anyone who walked into Room 2 at 11:30am that day should no longer be in Worship Ministry; that anyone who is concerned with those things needs to take a long look in the mirror...or maybe they need to step back from the mirror for awhile; that a record label talking about worship music is about as appropriate as Liberace talking about moderation.

That is what I want to say, however I know that I am over-reacting.

But I will say that every single sentence of their description is wrong. It is just dead wrong. And the fact that its not a joke makes me sick to my stomach.

peyton's language

2009-10-28T10:08:00.008-04:00

I love Kenny Mayne. And I love Peyton Manning. I saw the video below on Sportscenter this morning. It is Kenny Mayne and Peyton Manning at their best.

Enjoy...

Imagination Movers

2009-10-15T07:45:00.012-04:00

This past Tuesday afternoon was like a dream come true...for Betsy. For Jude, on the other hand, it was really more like just a regular dream, being that he slept through most of it.

Disney's Imagination Movers (Jude's favorite show and literally the only show on TV he pays attention to...thus, it has often been his parent's favorite show, too) came to Knoxville and the Tennessee Theater on their national tour.

It was Jude's first concert.

Now, we realized it was as much for us as it was for Jude and that he probably wouldn't remember the concert. What we did not expect, however, was for him to sleep through it. But he did.

The show was about 90 minutes long. For us, it broke down like this...

First 5 minutes: Jude cried (and seeminly, not tears of joy).
Next 25 minutes: He watched...though it was obvious he would've rather not.
Next 30 minutes: He sprawled across both Betsy and I, and took the most expensive nap of his short life.
Final 30 minutes: He woke up and actually seemed to enjoy the remainder of the show.

All in all, it was a fun family outing. And to their credit, the Movers did put on a good show (all the other kids seemed to enjoy it, at least).

My personal favorite moment was during the last number. With no attention brought to it and no mention made of it...a miniature Stonehenge megalith (about 18 inches high) was slowly lowered from the ceiling. Seriously, they did nothing with it. But for Spinal Tap fans that were there (a.k.a the dads) they didn't have to.

So, there was a little something for all three of us: for me - a Spinal Tap reference; for Betsy - songs that she had long ago memorized; and for Jude - a nap.

a good week at 4 Market Square

2009-10-12T09:13:00.008-04:00

In reverse order...

Sunday - Service was great. It was our second week in the 'What a God' section of Romans (we've broken down our 15 week study of the Book of Romans into 4 parts: 'What a Mess'...'What a God'...'What a Story'...'What a Difference'). Also, for the first time at Crossings, I threw a song at the band that we had not prepared, literally, as we walked onto stage. They nailed it.

Saturday - Leadership Community. Mark was gone; attendance was down; we watched a Rick Warren video...we had everything working against us. But it was actually a good day. We shared wins, discussed how Crossings does 'discipleship' & awarded a new 'Golden BVD Award' winner.

Here's a picture of two grown men with a pair of little boy's underpants...

Friday - Played on WDVX's Blue Plate Special with Jill Andrews. I was a bit nervous; it was only the third time we had played together and it was broadcast live to the world. But it went well. My favorite part, though, was when Jude yelled, "Dada! Dadadada!" as soon as we finished. I guess he didn't realize I was there until he saw me stand up from the piano. Or...he wanted to be on the radio, too.

Wednesday - Despite being alternates AND the MC's not knowing Taylor's name (they announced, "Up next...John Brown and Company!"), we won Round One of the Square Room's 'Sound-Off'. What exactly does that mean? It means we will be one of five bands in the Finals. What exactly does that mean? It means we have a 20% chance of playing Sundown in the City this spring! Seriously, that is the grand-prize. Pretty ridiculous, huh?

So...busy week. But a good week. The end.

blue plate special

2009-10-06T07:34:00.009-04:00

This Friday at noon, I again have the opportunity to play the 'Blue Plate Special' on WDVX. This is the fourth or fifth time that I have been on Blue Plate, but Friday will be my first time not playing with Taylor Brown.

This time around, I am going to be backing up Jill Andrews.

Jill is formerly of The Everybodyfields, and currently is touring the Southeast as a solo artist. She will be releasing an EP of brand new material later this month. You can go to her website and read much more well-written reviews of her music and her talent than anything I could write, but I will say...she truly, truly is gifted. As a songwriter and as a singer, she is just absolutely remarkable.

Her usual piano/harmony guy is unable to make a handful of her tour dates, so I was asked to fill in. (Why was I asked? Shhh....I don't want anyone pulling at that thread.) My first show joining Jill and her band is the Blue Plate Special this Friday.

So, if you can, Friday at noon...click this link and listen in.

Dr. Roman, Theologian #2

2009-10-01T10:57:00.002-04:00

Another installment of the archival, educational film we are using on Sunday mornings to help us define some of the big, theological words in the book of Romans.

This week's word: Circumcision.

(sidenote: Anyone want to guess what song Dr. Roman is whistling at the beginning and end of the video?)

All Wrath and No Grace...

2009-09-28T08:01:00.005-04:00

If you know Mark Nelson, then you know he loves to talk about grace. Well, unfortunately for him, we have spent the last three weeks in Romans 1:18-3:20. In that particular section of Romans, Paul writes very little about grace. He mostly talks about our sin and God's judgment...and God's wrath.

Talking too much about God's wrath and not enough about His grace I think has made Mark go a little crazy. It has been quite scary around the office the past week...

(by the way, turn up your computer's volume...the audio is a little low)

If you've seen 'The Shining', when it starts this way...it doesn't end well. In fact, here is the actual scene from 'The Shining'.

Crossings Baptisms

2009-09-23T13:23:00.002-04:00

Below is a video that we put together highlighting some of the people who have been baptized at Crossings over the past 2 1/2 years. It is set to Andrew Peterson's "The Good Confession", which is just an incredible song. I teared up on a number of occasions just editing the video. Anyhoo, enjoy...

10 years in prison for checking Facebook?

2009-09-17T14:05:00.004-04:00

Let this be a warning to you all: There is a very real danger in being addicted to Facebook. And THIS guy knows exactly what I'm talking about (granted, being a robber doesn't help).

random sports thoughts...

2009-09-15T10:32:00.003-04:00

1. I hate how lucky the Patriots are. And don't quote Billy Zane from 'Titanic' and tell me that "real men make their own luck". No they don't, Billy. The Patriots got lucky. They got outplayed and they got lucky. Again.

2. Adrian Peterson is the best running back I have seen since Barry Sanders. I have always said that you can't simply judge a running back by his statistics. I think much more important, when deciding how good a running back is, is his highlight reel. That is why Emmitt Smith wasn't half the running back that Barry Sanders was. Ever see Emmitt Smith's highlight reel? It is shot after shot of him running through huge, gaping holes and not getting touched. I don't care how good your offense line is; I want to know how explosive you are, how elusive you are, how athletic you are. I want to know how talented of a runner you are. And the best way of judging that...watching the highlight reel.

Anyway, with all of that said...Adrian Peterson, barring injuries, is going to be an all-time great when its all said and done. That play on Sunday was insane.

3. I was honestly okay with the Bears loss on Sunday night...at the time. I really think Green Bay is going to be one of the best teams in the NFC; their defense is ridiculous. And I wasn't disappointed with Cutler. Okay, scratch that. I was...but I can give him the benefit of the doubt. The Bears couldn't get anywhere on the ground, so he had to air it out; his receivers gave him no help, and again...the Packers' defense is just very good.

But, when I found out yesterday that we also lost Urlacher for the season...well, now I am discouraged about that loss. That really sucks.

4. I watched Michael Jordan's Hall of Fame speech yesterday on youtube. I have heard a lot of negative comments about it, but honestly, I don't understand why. I mean, it was extremely arrogant and self-centered. But...that is who he is. I thought it was funny and a kinda cool look into his career. I don't know what people expected.

5. I really, really feel sorry for Serena Williams right now because of how she's being treated (mostly by Mark Nelson).

Okay, that's it. I know its not the most interesting or insightful of blog posts. Sorry. But my guess is that only you, Jason Edelen, have made it this far anyway. So with that in mind...Hey Jason. You should really start blogging again.

Dr. Roman, Theologian

2009-09-08T07:57:00.003-04:00

How do you define the word "Righteousness"? It is one of those big, church-y words that seems to have a million different definitions. At Crossings, this past Sunday, we did our best to define what we think it means.

While helping Mark do some research for his teaching, Taylor and I found this old archival film that was apparently used for educational purposes, and it gives one definition. I'm not sure it's definition is correct, though. Judge for yourself.

Interesting Story and Doubt

2009-09-06T00:12:00.005-04:00

As I (Betsy) was checking out at Wal-Mart today the thought occurred to me that my wallet was in Jude's bag. At home. Mortified, I told the very friendly cashier what had happened and that it would be about 15 minutes and then I would be back to pay. He told me he'd hold all of it for me. I went out to the car and realized on the way that Bill had left his wallet in the car and I was too lazy to bring it back into the house as I was leaving. So I got the wallet, paid for my groceries and was outta there in about 5 minutes.

I got home, walked in and told Bill what happened. His response was, "That is so weird. I fell asleep on the couch and had a dream that I lost my wallet."

I don't know what the moral of this story is, but I thought I would share it because it is a cool story.

I have experienced a few things like this recently. Sometimes I wonder if God is showing off; as though he's saying, "If you think this is cool, you just wait until you see what else is in store." It makes me wonder why I would ever doubt.

Along these lines-are you guys familiar with the song "Doubting Thomas" by Nickel Creek? It's old but one of our favorites. We find it very easy to relate to, maybe everybody does. But still, I am in love with a God who does not forsake me in my greatest times of doubt. In case you are interested, here are those lyrics:

What will be left when I've drawn my last breath,
Besides the folks I've met and the folks who know me,
Will I discover a soul saving love,
Or just the dirt above and below me,

I'm a doubting thomas,
I took a promise,
But I do not feel safe,
Oh me of little faith,

Sometimes I pray for a slap in the face,
Then I beg to be spared 'cause I'm a coward,
If there's a master of death I'll bet he's holding his breath,
As I show the blind and tell the deaf about his power,

I'm a doubting thomas,
I can't keep my promises,
'Cause i don't know what's safe,
oh me of little faith

Can I be used to help others find truth,
When I'm scared I'll find proof that its a lie,
Can I be lead down a trail dropping bread crumbs,
That prove I'm not ready to die,

Please give me time to decipher the signs,
Please forgive me for time that I've wasted,
I'm a doubting thomas,
I'll take your promise,
Though I know nothin's safe,
Oh me of little faith

I especially relate to, "Sometimes I pray for a slap in the face, Then I beg to be spared 'cause I'm a coward." How many times have I begged God to change me, knowing if I let Him that he would, but instead I chose to remain as I was?

My prayer today: More of You, less of me.

Caravaggio's painting, "Doubting Thomas" or
"Saint Thomas Putting his Finger in Christ's Wound"

um...Elijah?

2009-09-03T12:16:00.002-04:00

Betsy and I saw the clip below when Elijah Wood appeared on Conan O'Brien earlier this week. We both found it extremely funny and have watched it numerous times since.

Conan's response: "When I saw that I thought, 'Wow. Elijah Wood must really love kids. Or...gambling debt.'"

crossings new logo...

2009-09-01T09:02:00.007-04:00

Mark and I designed this logo yesterday. What do you think? It certainly limits who we will attract, but you know...I think it might be truer to who we really are.

No. Actually, we just had our 2nd Annual Crossings Fantasy Football Draft last night. With our picks displayed on a 72 inch plasma screen, we went to almost 11:00pm trying to decide which 3rd string running back is going to produce best sitting on our bench for three weeks before being dropped for whatever defense is playing the Detroit Lions.

I'm almost positive I did not draft well. But we'll see. You never can tell.

Though this is its second year of existence, this is my first year playing in the league and I'm really excited. I'm always up for losing to new people.

Betsy: Poem?

2009-08-25T00:42:00.002-04:00

Just ran across this poem. Maybe it's something you've all heard before. Anyone know where it's from? That's not a trick question. I really don't know. Here goes:

two hearts beat within my breast
one is evil one is blessed
one I love and one I hate
the one I feed will dominate

i am not okay with this...

2009-08-10T13:18:00.006-04:00

Apparently, someone named Dana Brown decided, without my permission, to make a movie based on the music from my most recent album. And as you would expect...it is all about dirt-bike racing.

New job(s) and Arts Academy Video

2009-08-09T23:47:00.004-04:00

Hi! Betsy here. Bill, Jude and I just returned from a fantastic vacation with his side of the fam. For once I don't feel like I need a vacation after my vacation. I was able to have fun with family, eat lots of carbs and finish a wonderful book (Father Joe, by Tony Hendra---please read it!!!!).

I accepted a position as a part-time women's minister at the Christian Student Fellowship on the University of Tennessee Campus. I can't wait to begin meeting the students and working with the girls. Since accepting the position I have been reminded of the dream I had in high school to go into ministry. I graduated with a Media degree at JBC but I actually also completed the entire youth ministry degree too, just for fun, including two youth ministry internships. I loved working with the college students in the Admissions Office and had the best experience in my Crossings small group made up of college girls. All of these student relationships have been so very important to me and I am so excited to start working with students as a vocation. I'll start meeting students next weekend!

Finally, here is a video that Taylor Brown put together with images and video from the first Arts Academy done in conjunction with Tribe One. He did a great job with it. I watch it and miss them! Enjoy.

'my most important question' promo

2009-07-20T12:40:00.004-04:00

At Crossings we are starting a new project where individuals in our community can film themselves discussing their most important question of faith and life. Below is a video Taylor and I shot to promote it and explain it further. Enjoy...

By the way, almost the first minute of the video is Taylor sitting on a couch...it gets better from there. I promise.

wow...

2009-07-17T07:19:00.002-04:00

I love simple, understated church websites...like THIS, for example.

our friend Chad at his best (bill's blog title)

2009-07-15T21:20:00.003-04:00

The one that got away and what he's up to now (Taylor's blog title)

Hysterical Video by our friend chad promoting the CIY Move Film Festival (betsy's blog title)

This video is actually from last year and the festival has past, we just saw it for the first time and laughed a lot.

Oooo...so close

2009-07-15T11:35:00.005-04:00

Man...apparently this hotel is just a step away from being as good a place as Appalachian State University.

poets, prophets & preachers

2009-07-09T14:48:00.001-04:00

I got back yesterday from Grand Rapids, MI where I attended the Poets, Prophets & Preachers convention. The tag line of the conference was "recalling the lost art of the sermon" and that really was the entire focus. The whole thing was absolutely top-notch.

I won't bore you with all the details. I'll just bullet point some of the things I took away.

~ Grand Rapids has a pretty stinking cool downtown. Who knew?

~ If you do not know who Peter Rollins is, you should. He was by far the highlight of the conference for me. I can't wait to read his book How Not to Speak of God.

~ It was great spending a few days with some dear friends (Jeph & Kayla, Tim & Courtney, & Tim Sutherland).

~ I don't understand why people so passionately hate Rob Bell. I understand some of the criticism against him. I understand people not liking him. I understand people strongly disagreeing with certain parts of this theology. But I don't understand the intensity and the zeal with which people attack him. It boggles my mind.

A gentlemen who attended the conference got a call while he was there from one of the elders at his church informing him that he had been fired merely for his attendance at the conference. Apparently, Rob Bell is a dangerous heretic leading everyone astray and any association with him will send you and your flock straight to hell. Really...I don't understand it at all.

~ Finally, here is my favorite quote from the conference. It is a meaty one, so it may take you awhile to chew on it. It is from the aforementioned Peter Rollins. Here you go...

"God is not the patch of meaning we place over the wound of our lack of understanding. He IS the wound...over which we attempt to place our patches of meaning."

Absolutely beautiful isn't it?

arts academy

2009-07-02T14:27:00.004-04:00

Crossings held our first Arts Academy this morning. For three Thursdays this month, a group of artists are going downtown to Tribe One to teach song-writing, sculpting, dance, and poetry to "at risk" inner-city kids. It is a big need and an incredible opportunity to help these kids find outlets to express their thoughts and feelings, and to do so in a positive and constructive way.

And, based on this morning, it is going to be a big blessing for our artists, too.

My role is to teach the art of song-writing. Which may sound easy enough, but (and this is a big "but"), to a bunch of inner-city kids, 'song' means only one thing: rap. So, yes, laugh if you will (and you probably should)...but I am instructing at risk, inner-city kids how to rap.

Now, keep in mind that I am not actually rapping; I am simply helping them construct lyrics and rhymes. So, its not quite as bad as it sounds. But I was a bit nervous, to say the least.

However, here is what I found: these kids have talent. A lot of talent.

And more than that...they have a story to tell. Their language may be coarse, and certainly not every student was into it, but I was blown away at how much these kids opened up this morning. And on the first day!

One young man, within a matter of 5 minutes, wrote this...

When I was ten years old was when my life really began
I could feel the pain through my veins like a sting

I tried to be nice to my mom but she was real mean
My dad was never there for me,

He left me to be a man
and I had to try the best I can

Now its been five and I feel like I'm stuck in a beehive
I've tried to go to church and they say I've got to strive to survive

But I don't see why I've got to strive
when nobody's helping me get out of this beehive

did you hear about this story?

2009-06-30T11:40:00.009-04:00

Apparently, there was a plane crash yesterday involving 153 people. The plane was flying over the Indian Ocean when it hit bad weather and went down. Among the wreckage rescue workers actually found a survivor. And it was a toddler!

Isn't that incredible?!

The toddler's name...John Locke. (Not really. But how cool would that be?)

Where were you?

2009-06-25T20:27:00.002-04:00

I'm sure there will be many a post dedicated to the King of Pop. I, Betsy, thought I'd just ask for your memory.

Where do you picture yourself when you think about Michael Jackson? When I think of him, I think of all the rides in the car listening to his tapes while my mom was driving. I remember the day Bad came out and going to the store to buy it, opening it and reading the inside while we listened. I also think about dancing slow and meaningfully to Man in the Mirror on our driveway with my fisher price cassette player, and the many times Bill and I have played and sang it in the car. Lastly, I think of decorating posters for cheerleading camp in my friend Heather's garage in high school but stopping because HIStory was just released and the world premiere of Scream was going to be on MTV. After watching that we went back to the garage and tried to remember all the moves to Thriller. There are so many memories of his music and videos. I just can't think there can be another pop star of his caliber, at least as long as music is done the way it is today. An icon falls, and it's hard to believe.

bill's confession time...

2009-06-23T15:05:00.005-04:00

Okay. I need to get a few things off my chest. Here goes...

1) I now tweet. I know, I know. I don't even have Facebook, but I have Twitter. Well, Crossings has entered the world of Twitter, and I feel like its now kind of a staff requirement for us to join. And I, like Jesus, always do as a I'm told.

It gets worse...

2) Betsy and I watched High School Musical on Disney Channel Sunday night. And I liked it. Kind of a lot.

3) Betsy and I watched High School Musical 2 on Disney Channel last night. And I liked it, too. Not nearly as much as the first. But it was good.

Listen, I know its unbelievably cheesy...but I don't care. I like the songs. I like the dancing. I like the fact that it depicts high school students who aren't whores. Granted...they are high school students who are incredibly campy and not in any way believable. But its refreshing to watch a movie in which the most risque scene is a shirtless Troy Bolton in the locker room getting ready for the big game.

Well, there you go. Judge me if you will. But I now tweet. And I also now 'heart' Troy Bolton. So, apparently I am a 12 year old girl.

tweedle dee, tweedle dum

2009-06-17T14:37:00.002-04:00

I, Betsy, succumbed to Twitter temptation. I like it. follow me!

whoa

2009-06-11T22:43:00.005-04:00

First of all, the Fiction Family show was amazing. Sara Watkins opened and was perfect. She played the entire show which I didn't expect. Very cool. I love Jon Foreman, his songwriting has been walking me through life since high school. Speaking of high school, remember what it was like to say "when I was in high school" and actually mean that it was just a few years ago? I realized on May 22nd, that I graduated 10 years ago. That, my friends, is crazy. I do not feel that old. Anyway, seeing Jon with the Watkins (formerly of Nickel Creek, in case you didn't know) was uplifting and inspiring. All of them play their instruments in a way that made me feel like I needed to be in a much bigger venue then the Square Room. Another side note-I LOVE the square room. It really is a great addition to Knoxville. How blessed is Crossings to be a part of it?! Back to my story, Bill and I were third row, right in the center, watching some masters of their trade play and enjoy what they do.

Secondly, I was over the moon about the NKOTB reunion, and now Zack Morris on Jimmy Fallon?!?! Can you even believe how incredibly cool it was of Mark Paul Gosselaar to do that? I was so in love with him growing up but I heard he was kind of a jerk. Now, he has won my favor once again. I will give it to the writers too; they touched on a lot of the best Saved by the Bell trivia! You MUST see this clip, taken from Hulu since they've been removing it from youtube.... GO HERE.

I like yard work!

2009-06-04T21:10:00.003-04:00

Tonight I left Bill with Jude and went to Lowe's to get some little shrubs to plant in front of the house. I planted them tonight and put in the little solar yard lamps along the front walk. There is still a whole lot to do when it comes to our yard. The woman who lived here before us loved flowers and worked in the yard regularly. We just don't always have time for that so it's been hard keeping up with some of it. Tonight was a good start though. I also decided that I love mowing the lawn so that's going to be my job from here on out. Bill loves mowing too, but I asked him if I could take it over since he gets exercise more regularly than I do throughout the week. I am just praying that if I keep doing the yard work Bill will decide he loves laundry.

That's all. Night!

yes virginia, there is a...

2009-05-26T23:22:00.005-04:00

Santa Claus...kneeling before Baby Jesus statue. Actually, there's two.

Betsy, Jude and I saw these two statues in Pigeon Forge over the weekend. I know its May, but these are classy regardless of the season.

Where to begin?

2009-05-23T21:42:00.004-04:00

Betsy here again. Yes, it's been quite some time since the last post. Neither of us have been able to decide what to blog! Most of my update is internal. And most of you are probably way ahead of me in this, so bear with me. This may be a long post, so I'll put it into categories.

SPIRITUAL: The Word

A fellow blogger and christian author, Joanne Heim, finished her latest book, "Misplacing God: And Finding Him Again". I've been reading Joanne's blog for a couple of years now and really like her a lot. She asked us to answer a question about our "quiet times" several months back, saying that if we respond, we'll be in her book. She also said that if we would review the book that we would get free copies! Sure enough, I got my copy about a month and a half ago! It was well timed. Reading it has helped me view the Word of God in a renewed way. I thought it could be another uninspired book with checklists to follow daily to meet my God quota, but it was so much more personal, passionate and encouraging then that. Joanne's open and honest personality shine through and as one who has been following her day to day for a couple of years, I know that it's the real deal. I highly recommend this if you are feeling like your well has run dry!

Around the same time I received that book, we had that dinner at 4MS with the Sara Groves concert. I had forgotten how much I loved Sara because it had been years since I'd sat down and listened. Scripture, truth and life intertwine so well in her music and, as Boyz II Men would say, it's like food to my soul. I'd also had a good conversation with a friend over how challenging it was for me to read the Bible regularly.

I took all of those things happening together as a challenge to do better. I have been setting aside the time of Jude's first morning nap to sit quietly and read and pray. As is usually the case when we choose to do something that's so important, it was exactly what I have needed. Just like in any exercise, I am seeing results! It's so silly that I've kept God at arms length. Now I see it was only hurting me. It wasn't like I was any less of a believer, it's just that I've been trying to make it all happen on my own. I was only holding back from the true life and peace that I can now see I was missing. Ah, I'm stubborn sometimes.

PHYSICAL: Walk the Walk

This new practice is spilling over into my physical life. I started walking regularly. Our subdivision is exactly half a mile around so I try to get in at least a mile and a half. I know some of you could run or walk circles around me, but I am taking my time and just trying to be regular at it. Slow and steady wins the race, and I am definitely slow and steady! I haven't exercised much since my last knee surgery and I have to build up the strength in my legs if I am going to do anything athletic again!

FAMILY: Hey Jude

Jude is approaching the 9th month of life outside the womb. He has 4 teeth (2 are just coming in). He has the cutest crooked smile in the world. He learned how to give kisses that make our hearts melt. He is focused on walking. He can take a step and then he'll try for another and fall. All of this is on his own, we haven't been pushing it because we heard that babies who crawl for a while have good hand eye coordination. He's been crawling since 6 months so I think he'll be okay. He walks along the couch facing it and inching along, but he just started turning and walking one foot in front of the other, barely holding on with one hand. It's an adventure watching his changes and I want to go wake him up and cuddle him right now, but I won't.

That's quite an update, I hope you made it through, and if not, that's ok. I hate to talk about myself so much in a post, but like I said, most of my goings on have been internal. The external has been mainly watching Jude, a trip to Indiana with my sister, and catching up with Crossings family and other friends over many dinners. It's been a good month.

God Bless.

Ok, so this really is a thing.

2009-05-04T13:52:00.005-04:00

Last night Bill and I were bored to tears with what was on tv. Bill suggested we check out what was On Demand. I told him we didn't get that anymore. Turns out, we do have On Demand! So I skimmed through the latest music videos, almost watched a show called "Cool Jew Author", looked to see if anything from tv was on there, but ended up watching "Cardioke" on the fitness category. Yes, Cardioke is a thing!

Don't believe me?

AND it's a GREAT workout. However, you feel absolutely ridiculous doing it. Especially if you're the only one doing it and Bill is sitting on the couch laughing. But I did about 25 minutes worth of it. The muscles in the back of my head hurt from smiling so hard and I was sweating.

Only negative thing (besides the silliness) is this song Billy Blanks Jr's wife wrote that closes the whole thing out about how we are enough just the way we are. I see where they are coming from, but it could also be the anthem of complacency. I will do this again. It's like I'm on concert in my own living room. I don't have to try out for Making the Band, after all!

dinner with the mayor

2009-05-01T08:09:00.017-04:00

So, Betsy and I had the nicest dinner of our entire lives last week.

It was a banquet thanking the individuals and organizations who donated money to bring to life what is now known as 4 Market Square, INC; which includes Cafe 4, The Fellows Program, The Square Room, etc. It is also where Crossings has our office space and meets for worship on Sunday mornings.

Since Mark and Monica were out of town, Betsy and I got to go as the representatives of Crossings. We dined privately with about 20 people, including city councilmen, CEOs, owners of banks...not to mention the friggin' mayor. Basically, we were hobnobbing with the movers and shakers of Knoxville.

It was a 5 course meal with h'ordeurves and all the fine wine we could handle. The menu include more items that I could not pronounce than items that I could; but it was all unbelievably good. The main course was Steak and Lobster.

The center-pieces on the tables were huge assortments of fresh sugar-coated fruit; we were given gifts and the parking was valet. It was like prom...but with less dancing and more millionaires.

Needless to say, Betsy and I were a little out of our league. Want proof? In the car on the way to dinner, hair done and all dressed up, looking like maybe we will fit in...Betsy saw a truck with a interesting business name, got extremely excited and took the picture below.

How classy are we?

(click the picture to enlarge the photo if you can't read the name of the business)

EDIT: Betsy would like to add that there was a surprise private Sara Groves concert after the dinner! It was very good! She may have met Sara and told her that she was having "a moment". The end of the edit.

Jude's first baseball game

2009-04-24T08:22:00.009-04:00

Last Thursday night the Crossings staff attended a Tennessee Smokies game.

My all-time favorite player (Ryne Sandberg) from my all-time favorite team (Chicago Cubs) is now the Smokies' manager. The weather was absolutely perfect, the Smokies came from behind to win and we sat in the front row on the third base line (which means we were a mere 10 feet from Sandberg while the Smokies were at bat).

So all in all, it was a fantastic night.

But the best part of the night, the part that had me in eager anticipation all week long, was that this was Jude's first baseball game. Now, I realize that he is only 7 1/2 months old and will retain no memory of this event as he gets older. But it is a pretty stinking cool experience, as a father, to take your son to his first baseball game.

I remember my first Cubs game. I was 5 or 6. Ryne Sandberg was on the field for that game, too.

Jude made it through all 9 innings; an impressive feat, considering the game started past his regular bedtime. He was in a good mood all night and we had an absolute blast as a family.

Here's to many, many more innings together, son.

a random (and pointless) quandary

2009-04-22T10:35:00.008-04:00

I have neither Twitter nor Facebook, though I'm pretty sure I understand the purpose of both. One thing I do not understand, however, is this: if you have both Twitter and Facebook, how do you differentiate between updating your Facebook status and "tweeting"?

It seems to me a "tweet" and a status update are the exact same thing, clever and/or informative quips about where you are at or what you are doing?

I promise I am not knocking either. I really am curious. I know a lot of my friends have both, so for those you who do...any help?

You Give and You Take Away

2009-04-20T09:26:00.004-04:00

Last week, I wrote and recorded a new song.

Click HERE to listen and read the story behind the song. You can also download the mp3 and the chord chart (I have no earthly idea why anyone would want the chord chart, but its there).

With demo stuff, I am just not that concerned with recording quality any more. I would love to spend more time on it and polish it up, add other instrumentation, etc. But...well, I simply have no time to do that now that I have a baby. Jude is either awake and I want to play with him, or asleep and I don't want to wake him up.

But either way, home-recording is no longer much of an option.

So, about the only way I can record anything is to do it at the office when I have a quiet moment and no one is around. And if you've spent any amount of time in our offices, you know how little that happens.

But the other day, I got the chance. No time to plug stuff in, or check levels...I just opened up garageband, used the internal mic and hit record. I got it in one take. Its not perfect...I hit a couple of sour notes and it sounds like I was in an old elevator shaft (which, of course, I was). You can even hear the people in the offices above mine banging away on something with a hammer. But despite all of that, I think it still captures the song.

So...again, if you want to check it out...click the link above. And enjoy.

chart of the day

2009-04-15T16:04:00.009-04:00

everything a youth minister shouldn't be

2009-04-10T10:18:00.002-04:00

(this video is long, but I promise it is totally worth it)

Listen, People.

2009-04-01T20:32:00.003-04:00

I told you the past few posts that life is busy! I wasn't playin around. So that's why it's been awhile since we updated. This week is no exception!

Bill has been traveling to different conferences pretty much every weekend for the past month and a half and then returning and leading at Crossings, except for 2 weekends ago when his family came in for a visit. We had a really great time with them! I went to the Christmas Place in Pigeon Forge for the first time in all my years of living here! Besides the figurine of Santa looking at baby Jesus in a manger, it was really fun. There are also these little plasma car things that are the most fun things ever. My mom was also visiting and helping my sister secure her future housing situation and she took us out to eat at Ye Olde Steakhouse which is always crazy good.

Other than that, I've been taking care of two sick boys. Bill's been sick on and off for about a month and a half (of course during the busiest part of his year when he's singing for weeks on end) and Jude must have caught it!

Speaking of Jude, he's 7 months old now and has been crawling and pulling himself up and standing for over a month. He's recognizing that Da-Da is not just what he constantly repeats to himself all the time, but that it's also Bill. Bill loves this. I think it's just ok. Now when he figures out Ma-ma, it will be an entirely different story.

More to come soon. We're off to another retreat for Crossings and looking forward to it, but I'm hoping that the ladies in my Bejeweled bracket on Facebook don't take advantage of my absence and rock my face.

spent!

2009-03-14T23:19:00.003-04:00

Betsy here. I'm sitting in the living room. Bill and Jude and Harley are all cuddled up asleep on the couch. We just got home from the CIY Discipleship Retreat in Cincy. It was a great weekend. Highlights:

-They were short one female staff and one of my dear friends volunteered to come and surprised me! I was walking out to the car and heard "Bwolf!". I knew that no one calls me by my jbc e-mail address except the amazing Teri Foreman! Happy CIY Discipleship to me!!

-I had a great road trip with Emilee. The boy part of the band rode with Bill and the girl and baby part of the band rode with me. I think we had better music and Emilee laughs at my jokes so it's a win!

-The speaker was supposed to be Jim Johnson (whom I love to hear), but because of an airline mix up (Delta's fault) we had my old youth intern and former senior minister and current friend, Danny Curry, as a speaker.

-My parents decided to make a quick trip over today to see the little man.

-Red Robin. Yummmmm. (I know certain people reading this have a pet peeve when people repeatedly type the wrong letter to emphasize like I did with "Yum", but I think I used the correct letter.)

-Getting to see Chad Brown for our second weekend in a row! and Tim Fair for our second time in a month! And Nathan McConnaughhay! It's a good month to see all of them twice! And Blake three times!

-I was also really happy that Jess and Nick Rider got to come visit for a little bit. I wish I could be up there again soon to meet their baby boy after he arrives.

So basically, it was a great weekend! We also really enjoyed last weekend's, but I'm too tired to continue. Bill's show at JBC went very well. It's been a good week. This busy time is not over for us yet, but I feel overwhelmed with love for all of the friends I've been able to see in such a tightly packed amount of time. I pray for the adventures to continue. God is good.

What are you doing Thursday night?

2009-03-09T12:34:00.004-04:00

Come to Bill's show at Johnson Bible College! He will be performing his original music. Emilee Cook will be joining him. His newest cd will be on sale there too!

This Thursday, March 12th.

8-10pm

FREE

Downstairs in the Eubanks Activities Center on the JBC Campus.

The Activities Center is the 2nd main building to your right on campus. JBC has a great coffee shop down there with delicious fair trade specialty coffee!

I linked directions when I typed the college's name up there, so just click on it and come see us Thursday!

"There's never any time!" -Jesse Spano

2009-03-03T22:44:00.002-05:00

Funny story-when Bill first asked me to just join his blog I said, "No. This is what will happen: I will actually take time to update it and then the very next day you will post something and no one will ever see what I posted." Fast forward to the day after my first post, when Bill posted that amusing and true video, and then noticed that I had JUST updated. Because he's a good man, he removed it and waited anxiously for a few days to share that with you.

Since my last post where I updated you on our lives, I have been blessed with an opportunity to help out a local project by doing some research here from home. That has definitely added some busy-ness to our schedule but I am really enjoying it and learning a lot about Knoxville. More details to come at a later time!

The past week and a half have flown by. We had some very close friends in last week. They stayed here with us during the week and more friends came in over the weekend. It was like a mini reunion and it was great to re-connect. Bill led worship for Johnson Bible College's homecoming rally and was so tired and kind of sick all week, but God worked through him and we've heard a lot of very positive feedback. It's amazing to hear because honestly, he had no voice or strength by the time he got home every night last week and we just prayed that God would overcome! He did!

This is all I can think of to update you with right now. If I think of more, I'll update...in the meantime, Bill will probably update tomorrow and you won't read this post! Oh, I hope you like the flowers I added to the sidebar...just a touch of Betsy-ness for you.

i think this is awesome...

2009-02-26T05:11:00.006-05:00

Below is a clip from Conan O'Brien. He is interviewing comedian Louis C.K. I think it is both funny...and pretty stinking accurate. Anyhoo...enjoy.

Tag team back again, check it direct it and let's begin!

2009-02-24T00:20:00.003-05:00

Betsy here. Bill had the idea that between the two of us, if we shared a blog, that our posts would be more frequent. We'll see about that! I feel that if I am going to share a blog that I need to put some of my own touches on it somewhere. Like there need to be flowers or something. I also don't write pretty like him, or write songs. I really just blog about what's going on in life. But I suppose most of you know that because you probably already read my xanga. So anyway, here is what life is like in the Wolf house right now:

-This week is homecoming at JBC. Bill is leading worship and has been fighting a bug for over a week now...please pray that he makes it through this week and gets stronger despite his lack of rest! Along with homecoming, so many friends who are near and dear to us are visiting...weirdly enough, most of them aren't going to homecoming!
-Bill is teaching this weekend at Crossings
-Next weekend and the weekend after that we are going to CIY Discipleship Retreats and Bill is leading worship for them and also at Crossings
-The following week Bill has a show at JBC where he will play his original music (We would LOVE Crossings people to come too!!!). I think it's March 12th. I'll get back to you on that.
-Bill's parents and sisters and kiddos are visiting for several days (CAN NOT WAIT!)
-Lastly, a trip to West Virginia with Taylor where they will lead worship for another teen convention

As you can see, life is hectic! That definitely should explain a lack of posts. Still, we are enjoying life. Jude is getting his first tooth and moving all around and getting into everything. I am trying to keep both of those boys healthy and take care of the house. I'm also still enjoying having energy and time to cook more. I made some white chocolate and almond biscotti tonight and have eaten way too much of it already.

So there's your first update from the female third of the wolf pack.

Biscotti, anybody?

2009-02-06T23:09:00.000-05:00

come to the table

2009-01-26T08:00:00.004-05:00

Yesterday was our second week of a 4 week teaching series called "Come to the Table".

We have been studying the book of Genesis since the beginning of September. But, because we have changed our Sunday morning location, we thought we should take a short break to talk a little about our values and about grace; that way, anyone who might be checking us out because we are the new kids on the block will know what we are all about. We'll jump back into Genesis in a couple weeks.

Last week, we had two guys from our community who happen to know a thing or two about the art of carpentry build us a table, right off stage, during the service. It was a pretty cool visual.

This week we took that same table out into Knoxville and shot a short video. Last week was about God bringing us to the table. This week was about us bringing others to the table. Here is the video...

communion with natalya

2009-01-20T15:56:00.004-05:00

As I mentioned a couple posts ago...there is a big part of me that misses Crossings meeting at Downtown West Theater for worship. Obviously, The Square Room is freaking spectacular and such a blessing. But I do miss the theater a little. For multiple reasons.

One reason is the prayer chapel.

Yes, there is a prayer chapel at 4MS and it probably is nicer than what we had at Downtown West. The prayer chapel there was just a long entry way into one of the unused theaters. It really was nothing special. Yet, with little more than a kneeling bench and some drapery, we somehow turned it into a sacred space each week.

Every Sunday morning, I would walk into the prayer chapel, past the drapery and into the dark theater to pray for a few minutes before service started. It was my one moment of stillness and quiet in what usually ended up as otherwise chaotic mornings. It didn't matter if sound systems weren't working or drummers were an hour late, I would find time to steal off and make my way into the theater to sit with God alone in silence.

That time meant so, so much to me.

But you know what meant more? When that time was interrupted.

Sitting in the theater, I would hear people as they entered the prayer chapel and began to pray. I know, I know...it sounds a little voyeuristic. Sometimes it was the Kids' City volunteers; other times it was Stucco (Student Community).

But the best was when Nate and Natalya came in.

Natalya is 5 years old. Nate is her daddy. And each week before dropping her off in Kids' City, Nate would bring Natalya into the prayer chapel and they would take communion together. Nate would ask her if she understood what it was they were doing. She would say "yes" and then proceed to explain it (and better than most Bible college students I know, but that is another topic). They would continue to talk about Jesus and ask each other questions, and then pray. It was always simple and always deep.

And then they would take communion together. Father and daughter.

Now, that is beautiful. That is good parenting.

Betsy and I are so lucky to be in community with so many couples who exemplify what it means to raise your children well. People in all stages of life; some with kids only a year or two older than Jude, others with kids in college and beyond. I know that I will never know how...but I fully believe Jude's life is being impacted by the example that these couples are to us.

Like most first time parents, we don't have a clue what we are doing. Well, Betsy kind of does. But I certainly don't. We are lacking in experience and knowledge. We have a need. And these couples are meeting our need, in a very real sense. And they don't even know it.

Isn't that what community is supposed to be like? Isn't that what the Kingdom of God is supposed to be like?

I miss Downtown West; I miss the prayer chapel; I miss communion with Natalya. But whether in an old movie theater or the newest, hippest concert venue in town, I am so thankful for this small community of people who are such a huge blessing to Betsy and I...and now Jude.

pictures from 4 Market Square

2009-01-15T10:03:00.016-05:00

Below is proof that Crossings now occupies space that is WAY hipper than we are.

This is pretty much what it looks like when someone spends millions of dollars renovating an old downtown building, turning it into, among other things, a top notch music venue and then says, "Hey...you wanna meet here for church and use all our cool, expensive stuff? It'll cost you less than the theater you are currently meeting in."

This past Sunday was the culmination of conversations and dreams that started almost 4 1/2 years ago. If I had the time and space on this blog, I would try and recount it all to you. Unfortunately I have neither. And even if I did, I can't imagine all the things God has been doing behind the scenes that we'll never be aware of.

So I'll just post the pictures...and tell you that it's humbling. It's exciting. And it's just stinking cool.

back from my unoffical hiatus

2009-01-14T23:54:00.006-05:00

...and alot has changed.

--I have finished my second CD.

--I have created a new website to go along with my new CD. Actually, I have no freaking clue how to make websites, so I did the whole thing in blogger. Don't laugh. Okay, laugh. Each page of the website is technically its own blog. So when I say "I created A new website", what I really mean is "I created 46 new blogs". Seriously. 46. It was a bit time-consuming. Hence the unofficial hiatus from this blog.

--We had our last Sunday at the movie theater. It was sad. A large part of me kind of prefers that theater to our new place. But that part of me is probably dumb.

--Betsy is pregnant again.

--No she isn't.

--And we had a first Sunday in The Square Room at 4MS. It was awesome. That room is so much cooler than we are. I will hopefully post pictures soon.

Anyhoo, I've got lots more to say about each of those subjects. But for now, I simply wanted to reassure you that I am alive and that I have not given up on this here blog.

So, til next time...

public service announcement

2008-12-29T07:29:00.003-05:00

This is a Public Service Announcement we have shown the last couple weeks at Crossings. Our hope is that it would raise awareness for something we believe is very important...

a baby will come

2008-12-19T08:27:00.003-05:00

(right click here to download)

(verse 1)
The kings of this world
Have torn it apart
But we can take heart
A baby will come

(verse 2)
To the hungry and meek
To those who grieve
To the broken, in need
A baby will come

(verse 3)
We have known pain
We’ve felt death’s sting
God, help us believe
This baby will come

(verse 4)
The angel appeared
Said do not fear
For peace is here
A baby has come

(verse 5)
The advent of life
Let hope arise
We’ve our King and our Christ
The Baby has come

(verse 6)
We’ve waited so long
God, for Your mighty arm
May our doubts ever calm
For the Baby has come

(verse 7)
The proud will be low
The humble will know
They’re valued and loved
For the Baby has come

(verse 8)
Cause the kings of this world
Won’t have the last word
That, God, is Yours
For the Baby has come

This is a live recording (which should be obvious), and it is not me singing (which should be even more obvious). Emilee Cook has once again made my music sound way better than it is.

This past Sunday, I taught on Mary's Magnificat in Luke 1. As I was researching the social climate of that time and place, I realized just how dire the lives of the Israelites would've been. Between the brutal conquests of the Roman Empire under Caesar Augustus and the obscene taxation of Herod, King of Judea...they found themselves enslaved once again, but this time it was in their very own backyard.

The Promised Land no longer felt like the Promised Land.

And into that climate, a young adolescent Jewish girl was visited by an angel of God and told that she would give birth to a baby boy and His name would be "Salvation"; his very name would "Liberation" for her and her people.

In a moment of joy and restraint, Mary sat down and wrote her Magnificat; a poem that is on one hand personal and introspective, but on the other hand is charged with social and political revolutionary language.

'A Baby Will Come' is more than anything my commentary on Mary's poem.

jude's political thoughts

2008-12-09T22:32:00.003-05:00

I know very little about politics. In fact, I know so little that I would never dare make public my political opinions, for fear of looking like a complete and utter fool.

My 3 month old apparently has no such scruples...

my new favorite commercial...

2008-11-30T23:51:00.003-05:00

ESPN has been running this commercial for the last week. It features Greg Oden...and it makes me laugh out loud every time I see it. I don't know if you've seen it or not, but I think its hilarious.

Enjoy...

potty training time

2008-11-18T11:38:00.005-05:00

No...Jude is not ready to potty train yet. Now, he is the brightest and most gifted baby I know, so maybe he'll be ready soon. But regardless, whenever it is, I have found the video that Betsy and I will use to train him. This is a REAL Japanese potty training video (complete with English subtitles). Enjoy...

i apologize...

2008-11-16T19:44:00.007-05:00

I hate to do this; I hate to bring your attention to something that I wish I, myself, could ignore. But the person in the picture to the right is pregnant. Again. With that said...

SHE IS A WOMAN! Why is this a story?

Granted, she is a woman that looks like a dude. She is a woman that pretends to be a dude. But she is a woman. She has woman parts. Not man parts, woman parts. Woman parts.

She is a woman.

The end.

thinking in progress

2008-11-13T10:50:00.005-05:00

My friend Greg shared this blog posting with me.

It comes from a blog called "Thinking in Progress", and speaks to some of the issues I am currently struggling with, regarding certain aspects of the "missional"/"incarnational" movement in the church today. I posted some of my thoughts a few weeks ago and a pretty good conversation followed in the comment section.

I'm not familiar with the "Thinking in Progress" blog or its author, but I certainly appreciate this specific post. He does a great job articulating the ideals of the missional church and clarifying some of the misconceptions that have emerged.

Thanks for the link Greg.

its halloween

2008-10-31T08:07:00.008-04:00

and I do not have a costume.

So as a way of honoring today without dressing up, I thought I would share with you pictures showing how my appearance has changed in each of the last six decades. Here we go...

1940's

1950's

1960's

1970's

1980's

1990's

(Thanks Jeph for introducing me to this website)

wait a second...what?

2008-10-27T23:30:00.003-04:00

“Our Sunday gathering is a time of worship and celebration but in the scope of things, it should be the least of what we do.”
(a quote taken directly from a church website I recently visited)

“Because I want myself and our people to have time to be incarnational in the world, we don’t take up their time working on the church service. We don’t have a worship practice, and I spend only a few hours a week planning our time together, which includes sermon preparation.”
(from Tangible Kingdom by Hugh Halter)

These two statements are indicative of, what I believe to be, a very dangerous belief that has crept into many of our churches: the belief that our corporate worship gatherings are of little importance.

Let me be clear: I strongly disagree with that.

Where did we get the idea that the only thing that matters is being individually “missional” and “incarnational”? And where in the heck did we get the idea that by valuing our corporate worship gatherings we are, in some way, hindering our ability to be missional and incarnational?

Seriously, where is that coming from? Certainly not from the Bible.

No, I actually believe we are simply reacting to the perception that “the Church” has historically cared too much about corporate worship gatherings and not enough about being missional and incarnational.

And while I certainly agree that it is foolish and tragic to spend too much of our time and energy on our corporate worship gatherings, you know what is equally as foolish and tragic? Swinging all the way to the other side of the pendulum out of some reactionary, idealistic belief that we have a figured out faith and the mission of Jesus better than our parents and grandparents.

Sunday mornings should not be the least important thing we do. That is ridiculous. You can put forth effort in planning and preparing for Sunday mornings without sacrificing your ability to incarnate Jesus to the world around you. And believe it or not, you can care about the mission of Jesus AND spend time preparing your sermons. Again, where are we getting this idea that we must sacrifice one for the other?

I think we are going to wake up in 10…15…25 years from now and realize that we have spent more time cultivating our Facebook communities than we have our faith communities. And that will only be to our detriment.

In devaluing our corporate worship gatherings we are actually making ourselves less able to incarnate Christ; we are actually sacrificing an intricate and vital portion of the mission.

And in NOT putting forth any effort towards preparing our congregations to regularly dive into the Bible together with any depth, we are castrating ourselves and creating a generation of limp and ill-equipped Christians.

Please guys, PLEASE, in our pursuit of all things missional and incarnational, let us not miss the responsibility, the power and the gift of our corporate worship gatherings.

smelly people - teachers

2008-10-22T14:32:00.005-04:00

And now...

Our second installment of "Smelly People"; the series of short, news-piece...ish videos telling the stories of individuals in the Crossings Community who are "looking like, acting like and smelling like Jesus."

We have a large number of teachers that are a part of our little faith community. This is just a small sampling of them, but it shows the unique opportunity teachers have each day to be Jesus in their schools.

my new toy

2008-10-14T17:50:00.005-04:00

If you have spent any time around me in last two years, you have probably picked up on the fact that I have really wanted an iphone. And I promise its not just because its hip, or because all my friends seem to have one. Okay, its mostly not because of those things.

There are actually four legitimate reasons I have wanted an iphone:

1) to always have access to the internet. everywhere.
2) to always have a camera handy.
3) to be able to have my music in one place...instead of 8 different CD storage cases sprawled out between the back seats of two different cars.
4) to have my pictures on me at all times, especially now that I have a son to proudly show off.

Now, with that said...I got a new phone over the weekend. And it wasn't an iphone. Nope. Instead I purchased a Blackberry Pearl. And I love it. The phone fulfills all four of the requirements above...AND it was much cheaper.

My old phone had died and it wasn't coming back. Betsy's phone was one of the oldest things we owned and had been chewed up years ago by our dog when she was still a puppy. So, since our contract was done...we decided to re-up and get two really nice phones for very little money. Phone companies love to do that. But whatever, now I have a new toy to play with it.

I can already feel my thumb getting bigger.

seriously?

2008-10-08T15:19:00.002-04:00

Um. Yeah, I'm all about giving people the benefit of the doubt, but...this just ain't right. I have a hard time believing this is even real. Yet, I know it is.

just looking around

2008-09-23T00:13:00.004-04:00

hmmm...

2008-09-22T23:48:00.004-04:00

As I sat today outside of Old Navy trying to calm down my hungry son as Betsy shopped for clothing that does not start with the word "maternity", a number of questions began popping up in my mind.

Here they are, in no particular order...

--Why have Betsy and I spent hundreds of dollars on seats and swings and cribs and bassinets and 'pack'n plays' and all those fancy things, when Jude refuses to sit or sleep anywhere but our laps?

--If neither Jude nor my torso change their position in any way, why does he start crying as soon as I sit down and stop as soon as I stand up? How can he possibly tell the difference?

--Is it just me, or does he really get excited when he sees me for the first time after I've been gone all day? I know that newborns supposedly do not yet possess that ability, but it sure seems like he does.

--Why has a month of day and night constant reps of 9-10lbs not added any definition to my upper body?

--How is it possible for the smallest person in the house to have, by far, the loudest gas?

--Why is that when we were waiting for Jude to arrive, a month seemed like an eternity...but now that he is here, the past month has seemed to fly by?

just one fantasy at a time please

2008-09-09T08:37:00.002-04:00

After the first official weekend of the 2008 National Football League season, I am happy to report that I am 1-0 in my Fantasy Football League.

The best part of that is...I was actually able to follow my team. I could watch a game and know who to root for and who to root against. It was fantastic.

Last year, I was in four different leagues. In case you are wondering, four is too many. At least it was for me. Every week, my quarterback in one league would be going against my defense in another league...or my wide receiver in one league would have a huge day, but I would be bummed because my opponent in another league would be starting him too.

It wasn't that I couldn't keep up with it all, it was simply that I didn't enjoy it.

So, I promised myself that I would only be in one league this year. And in order to do that, I had to disappoint close friends; I had to say "no" to people, which I am horrible at. But I did it, it really was not easy...but I did it.

And I am so glad that I did.

On a total side note, even though I am in only one official fantasy football league...after the first quarter of the New England/Kansas City game on Sunday, I kinda feel like the whole NFL season is going to be bit like fantasy football this year.

meet jude

2008-09-01T11:18:00.003-04:00

on the eve of everything changing...

2008-08-26T12:48:00.006-04:00

At some point tomorrow, everything Betsy and I have ever known will be different. And I have no words to describe how it feels knowing that.

There simply is no fitting metaphor. The best I can do is this:

Do you remember that feeling you had as a child when you woke up on Christmas morning hours before your parents did? Do you remember the excitement and anxiety that filled your little body so full that you felt like you could choke on it if you weren't careful? Do you remember lying in the dark, counting down the minutes and the seconds, if for no other reason than to remind yourself that...yes, time was still moving?

Do you remember that?

Now imagine also knowing that as soon as you got your hands on that little present that it was going to change EVERYTHING about you...FOREVER.

Well, this is kind like that. Only totally different.

please allow me to clarify...

2008-08-23T23:45:00.017-04:00

I feel it necessary to clarify the harsh words in my previous post. I usually don’t choose to write something SO opinionated and mean spirited. I prefer to temper my cynicism and bitterness, at least a little, before publishing it for the whole world to see.

But I wrote the last post in about 20 seconds. I wrote exactly what I felt…not what I thought I should feel.

I had just watched the music video for the song “Healer”; a video in which the gentlemen I referred to in my previous post is standing on stage, in front of thousands of teenagers, with oxygen tubes up his nose, eyes closed, singing…to God, “Nothing is impossible for You. I believe it. I believe it. Nothing is impossible for You”. He was singing those words to God while pretending to be dying of cancer. And everyone in attendance was crying because of the power of seeing such astounding faith. My guess is, God was crying too, but for an entirely different reason.

So, yeah…I was angry. I was upset. I was absolutely sick to my stomach.

But my issue isn’t with this guy. I mean, he is a total d-bag. I don’t apologize for calling him that. He is. But I am, too. I am no better than he is, and I’m not pretending to be. No. My issue is with the current culture of “worship music”.

And by “worship music”, I am specifically referring to songs that are written for the purpose of being sung congregationally during church or worship services.

What made me sick, watching that video, is that I wasn’t all that surprised.

His story is absolutely indicative of the culture surrounding worship music today; a culture in which marketing and imaging reign supreme; a culture in which a guy feels like he has to wear the right pair of jeans or have the right product in his hair in order for people to sing his songs; a culture in which scores of people are financially dependent on the radio play and CD sales of songs written to God, and supposedly for God.

It is an industry. It is a business. The bottom-line is “moving product”. The bottom line is making money. And it’s not the fault of Chris Tomlin or Matt Redman or Darlene Zschech. I don’t question anyone’s sincerity in the worship songs they write. I don’t. But the fact is, there are a number of people who need Chris Tomlin, Matt Redman and Darlene Zschech's next CDs to sell; they need them to write the next big worship anthems; they need their names and their images and their brands to stay front and center in the worship scene. It is a business.

You might be thinking, “Bill, you are just bitter because you never got a record deal.” But I promise that is not the case.

I am bitter because I wanted one.

I am bitter because I have bought the right pair of jeans, and I have put the right product in my hair. I am bitter because I bought the lie that I had to have the right image in order for people to sing my songs. I had to have a cool website and press photos and throngs of adoring fans on Myspace. My songs had to be radio friendly and catchy.

And I know that I am not the only one who has fallen into that trap. How unhealthy is that for the church? How unhealthy is it for the writers of the songs we sing to have their own names in mind and not God’s?

Listen…there are amazing songs of worship out there. There are songs that are both inspired and inspiring. But there are also many songs that are neither.

Just because a song is sing-along-able and refers to God in the second person doesn’t mean it is a worship song. And there are plenty of songs out there like that. I know, cause I’ve written some.

I used to want a record deal. I used to dream about it. But now I have a different dream. Now, my dream is that my son might stumble upon my songbook one day and know that his old man really did love Jesus.

Would I take a record deal if one was offered? I’d like to pretend that I am truer to my convictions than I probably am. But in all honesty, I am human and I enjoy writing songs; and if told that I could support my family and earn a living by writing songs…yeah, I don’t know what I’d say.

But I do know that I don’t want to be the next Chris Tomlin anymore. I don’t even want to be the next Matt Redman. If anyone, I want to be the next Jane Crewdson.

“Who?”…you might ask. Exactly.

I actually know very little about Jane Crewdson, other than the fact that she was a poet and lyricist that lived from 1809-1863 in Manchester, England. I came across a number of her songs online this past year and was absolutely blown away. I posted about her back in March.

As I said, I do not know much about Jane Crewdson, but I do know one thing. I know that she wrote many of her songs in the midst of dying a very long and painful death. And the knowledge of that adds another level of depth and beauty to her words.

The gentlemen from my previous post pretended to do the same thing, in a self-centered attempt to garner fame, money and success.

And the saddest part of that is: it isn’t the only fraudulent thing in the culture surrounding worship music today…it simply is the most obvious.

healer fraud

2008-08-22T14:26:00.007-04:00

Read this story.

The Good News: He doesn't have cancer.

The Bad News: He's a d-bag. But at least he is a d-bag with a hit worship song, which is apparently all he wanted in the first place. So congrats...d-bag.

Now, can we all stop trying to write "hit worship songs" and actually try writing songs that just glorify God?

smelly people - jens juhl

2008-08-13T18:54:00.002-04:00

I have mentioned before that, at Crossings, we want to look like, act like, sound like and even smell like Jesus.

And, knowing that there are many individuals in our little faith community who are already "redolent with the aroma of Christ" (doing things, big...small...whatever, that make Jesus' presence real and tangible to those around them every day), we decided to create a video series to highlight them. The series is called "Smelly People".

Our first Smelly Person is Jens Juhl. Here is his story...

sunday setlist 8-10-08

2008-08-11T17:31:00.002-04:00

pre-teaching:
"O for a Thousand Tongues to Sing" - traditional
"Remedy" - David Crowder

post-teaching:
"This is My Father's World" - traditional
"Father, Let Me Dedicate" - traditional
"Hosanna" - Hillsong

sunday setlist 8-3-08

2008-08-11T17:24:00.004-04:00

pre-teaching:
"Your Grace is Enough" - Chris Tomlin
"Mighty to Save" - Hillsong
"Indescribable" - Laura Story

post-teaching:
"Enough" - Chris Tomlin
"All We Need" - Charlie Hall

(worship leader - Matt Bullard)

sunday setlist 7-27-08

2008-08-11T16:37:00.005-04:00

pre-teaching:
"O Worship the King" - traditional

teaching song:
"Hard to Get" - Rich Mullins

post-teaching:
"Big Enough to Hold Me" - Waterdeep
"Blessed be Your Name" - The Matt Redman
"Never Let Go" - The Matt Redman