Live Love Richmond

We had a great weekend in Richmond at Parkway Baptist Church. This was my first weekend to have the privilege of traveling with Dr. Alvin Reid, Professor of Evangelism at Southeastern Seminary. Dr. Reid and I had some great fellowship on the drive home from Richmond. That guy is a wealth of knowledge and passion for Christ all wrapped up into one ADD energy ball and I was blessed to soak it up like a sponge for a few hours in the car.

Parkway launched as a church-plant back in 2002 with 12 families. Now they are running over 700 on the weekends and are doing a killer job of reaching west Richmond with the Gospel. Pastor Brian Autry has a tremendous heart for Christ and to see his community reached with the Gospel.

On Friday night, three young teenage girls committed their lives to Christ after Dr. Reid gave the students an opportunity to receive Christ. It was an incredible moment. One of the girls shot her hand up as a sign of her commitment to follow Christ before Dr. Reid even had time to ask. She was pumped up and ready to charge hell with a water gun.

The theme of the weekend was "Live Love Richmond," with the emphasis on being intentionally missional in the city of Richmond. So on Saturday afternoon, with Student Pastor Mike Camire at the helm, the students went out into the city of Richmond and performed various service projects such as raking leaves for the elderly, collecting canned goods for the local food bank, passing out bottles of water in the name of Christ in local parks and much more. Check out all the canned goods these guys collected!

It was a blast to share the stage with Josh Reid (drums) and Ben Nieman (bass). These two guys have a tremendous love for Christ and it's always a blessing to worship with them.

Songs throughout the weekend:

1. The Time Has Come (H.S.)

2. Glory to God Forever (Fee)

3. From the Inside Out (H.S.)

4. The Wonder of This Sight (Via's)

5. Amazing Grace/Chains 'R Gone (Tomlin)

6. God of This City (BlueTree version)

7. Marvelous Light (Hall)

8. O, Praise Him (Crowder)

9. No One Higher/The Stand (Fee/H.S.)

10. The Solid Rock (Charlie Hall version)

11. Send Us Out (Via's)

12. Mighty to Save

3.14.10

Great kickoff to the new Journey Church series "Forgotten God"--a series on the Holy Spirit. It's gonna be a killer series. One of the best highlights of Pastor Jimmy's message:

• The Holy Spirit is a person, not a thing. So, you don't receive Him in installments!

We worshiped to:

1. Freedom is Here (Hillsong)

2. Let Praise Be Heard (Journey Worship)

3. Fall in This Place (Planetshakers)

4. Sweep Me Away (Charlie Hall)

Weekend in Greenwood

We had an amazing weekend in Greenwood, SC at Northside Baptist Church with my good friend Travis Agnew, the worship pastor. Tasha and I met Travis while we were in college at North Greenville, and I knew from Day 1 that this guy was a man after God's heart. He's one of the smartest, most talented, and most creative guys on the planet. And yet he's also one of the most humble guys you'll ever meet.

(Go check out Travis' book Freshman 15 and his amazing worship CDs. Order some for yourself and your friends. Not only will you be blessed, but it will help Travis and his wife with the cost of their adoption. They are adopting a little 2-year-old boy from Ethiopia. And they could really use your support!)

We were privileged when he gave us an invite last Fall to be a part of their student ministry D-Now weekend and then to lead worship for their Sunday AM services.

By all accounts, you would think Northside to be a fairly young church, with their state-of-the-art facilities and excellence in harnessing media for the purpose of advancing the Gospel. But Northside is an older established church. They're just one of the few in the U.S. who are not content with business as usual. They are reaching people with the life-changing message of the Gospel, without watering it down in the least bit. Pastor Jeff Lethco, who's been there for around 11 years, preaches the Word passionately and without apology. Yesterday he began a new series called "Who Are The People In Your Neighborhood?"--a series about evangelism in the 21st century.

It was a blessing to experience what God is doing at Northside. Thanks for the invite guys.

We worshiped to:

1. O For 1000 Tongues - Crowder

2. Everlasting God - Lincoln Brewster

3. God Be Praised - Via's

4. Jesus Messiah - Tomlin

5. King on His Way - Via's

2.28.10

Yesterday we continued our Testify series at Journey Church. Our tech team has put together some ridiculous testimony videos of ordinary folks in our church who have told their extraordinary accounts of God's faithfulness in their lives. Check out the sermon videos (in HD) and see what God is doing.

The music side of our worship consisted of:

1. I'm Not Ashamed (HS)

2. Freedom is Here (HS United)

3. How He Loves (McMillan, Kim Walker version)

Week in Review

Wednesday we led worship at Raleigh Road Baptist Church in Wilson, NC for a missions banquet. Had a blast leading with guys who love Jesus and are all worship leaders in their own right--Alex Anders, Jordan Leino, Will Hughes, and Patrick Downing.

We tried to gear the set with a salvation/redemption theme. So many great songs. It was hard to narrow them down.

We played:

1. Everlasting God (B. Brown)

2. Mighty to Save (Hillsong)

3. Tear Down the Walls (Hillsong United)

4. God of This City (BlueTree)

5. Send Us Out (Via's)

Friday and Saturday we headed up to Virginia to celebrate the life of my late great Uncle Mayo Adams who passed away last week at the age of 93. He was an incredible man who m

odeled godly Christian character, a faithful and loving husband, and an honorable citizen. He flew a B-17 bomber in WW-II. On one mission out of his 31 (most pilots only averaged about 12 missions), he was shot down and crash-landed him and his entire crew in a corn field in England, only about 30 feet from a small English cottage. His crew was saved.

On another occasion, a bomb blew up in front of his cockpit and shrapnel exploded through his body. His co-pilot landed the plane and got him to a doctor. Days later, he was back flying his B-17 and earned the purple heart. He loved Jesus with all of his heart and was a man's man. It was an amazing experience to see how he was honored and to be a part of his funeral.

After the funeral Saturday we loaded up the Trooper and headed to Charlotte. Today we had the privilege of leading back at Ridge Church. Had a great day leading with Scott Spruill, Adam Wilson, Brett Banks, and Patrick Trombley. Great bunch of guys. It was good to see several old friends in the crowd who came to say hello. Always love that.

Also, a Happy B-Day shout-out to Rusty Burchard, one of the most creative service programmers I know. Thanks for letting us crash with you guys last night.

We played:

1. 1,2,3,4 (Plain White Ts - V-Day cover/opener)

2. Glory to God Forever (Fee)

3. No One Higher/The Stand (Fee)

4. How He Loves (John Marc)

After lunch, we went to the park with the Burchards where Rusty caught some great shots of our kids. Man, I love my family. Enjoy.

2.7.10

Highlights from Journey today - week 4 of "Jump" series:

• If I believe in who He says He is, then I must believe He will do what He says He will do.
• We are fearful of moments that don't make sense; we shy away from things that we think will cause pain.
• God will sometimes give you a glimpse of the future, but He rarely throws you right into it. He has to prepare you first.
• Faith is not so much about my destination as it is my destiny.
• He does a work in you, so He can do a work through you.
• Sometimes He'll take you the long way home ... to prepare you.
• The Promised Land was less about the land, and more about the relationship.
• Most people want the victory without the fight.
• Doubt is a partner of fear.
• A life of faith is a life of testing. Biblical examples: 1) Shadrach, Meshach and Ebednego, 2) Gideon and his army of 300, 3) Jesus sleeping in the boat on the stormy sea
• Desperation breeds dependence.

Worship Set:

1. Freedom is Here (Hillsong United)

2. You Hold Me Now (Hillsong United)

3. I Exalt Thee (Jesus Culture version)

4. Overcome/This is My Story (New Life Worship)

A Snowy Winter Retreat

Our snowy weekend winter retreat at Grace Community Baptist Church in Richmond, VA was not anything like it was planned to be, but it turned out to be a great weekend of spiritual renewal and commitment with around 70 students involved. Due to the weather, Grace made the last-minute decision to host the weekend on their church campus rather than chartering a bus down to Camp Willow Run on Lake Gaston in NC. Tasha and I and the band that we had lined up were also on pins and needles just hours leading up to the event, trying to decide what to do.

In less than a 24-hour period of time, I had 3 different bands lined up to go with us, but each one canceled right after the next with concern for the weather. The last band I had lined up was actually from Richmond--contacts I got through a mutual friend. But with just minutes to go before the first session Friday night, they were forced to back out being stuck in traffic and weather in Richmond.

Obviously, as I've already indicated, Tasha and I and the kids decided that we would go ahead and make the trip in our 4-wheel-drive Isuzu Trooper, though Richmond was projected to get a foot of snow (and a foot of snow is exactly what came). We planned for the worst and headed out on our adventure.

The weekend actually turned out exceptionally well. The parents and volunteers at Grace are a rare breed, for sure. They sacrifice, plan and prepare unlike anywhere else we've ever been. And through the leadership of my buddy, Ed Martin, their fearless student pastor, they managed to pull off one of the most organized audibles that we've ever been a part of.

My good friend, Wes McMurray, came and brought the Word in a powerful way, as he always does. Tasha and I love getting the opportunity to partner with long-time friends like Wes and Ed. It's always a blast and never a dull moment. Many of the students were challenged and encouraged in their faith through the weekend as each session sought to answer six "What if" questions:

1. What if we were all here for a reason?

2. What if we finally understood the Gospel?

3. What if we lived like we were possessed?

4. What if we made decisions based on eternity?

5. What if we considered others better than ourselves?

6. What if we were desperate for the Word?

Needless to say, we made it back home safely Sunday evening before the ice had time to re-freeze. And now it's Monday afternoon, and it feels good to do nothing but study the Word, veg, and hang with my awesome family.

Thanks Grace for taking great care of us. We had a blast. Love your students!!

1.24.10

We had another great weekend at Journey Church. Our good friend Sara Scott came in from Charlotte for a visit and co-lead with me. It brought back some old memories of some great worship experiences in Charlotte via CharlotteONE, Southbrook Church, Ridge Church, etc.

Broke 2 strings this weekend in 2 separate services. What is going on? Backups are a good idea. Our sound techs gave me a hard time before the weekend about my diva setup of multiple guitars on stage ... but who's laughing now?

Paul Callaghan, our Creative Arts Pastor, brought a great follow-up message to Pastor Jimmy's talk last week on living a life of faith--that faith is a gift of God that is given and then developed. And that living a life of surrender is a daily process--not a one-time thing. It's about waking up every day like a soldier in a battle ready to receive that days marching orders. And then going and doing them. Great message. Love that guy! Incredible heart for the Lord and has a sincere love for people.

We played:

1. No Reason to Hide (Hillsong)

2. All Because of Jesus (Fee)

3. Revelation Song (Gateway Worship)

4. His Glory Appears (Hillsong)

1.03.10

Loved being with my friend, Jason Lang, at South End Baptist Church in Frederick, MD yesterday for the first Sunday of the new year. Jason is the Associate Pastor of Family Ministries and he and I grew up together in the same church in Roanoke, VA where my Dad pastored for 15 years. It was awesome to reconnect with him. At one point in his sermon yesterday he quoted J.I. Packer from his book Knowing God. It one for the journal, to be sure. His text was 1 Corinthians 10:31 and he made the point that, by our very nature, we (people/humanity) like to receive glory. But we do a horrible job at bringing glory to God. Packer says,

"We are a modern people. And though we have, as a rule, great thoughts about ourselves, we have small thoughts about God."

On the way home from church we passed this hotel sign and I stared looking puzzled, trying to make sense of it. Zoom in and see if you can make some sense of it. Are the church and the love chapel one in the same? Hmmm....what kinda church is this???!!

We kicked an old-school set, but had a blast doing it:

1. Holy is the Lord (Tomlin)

2. The Solid Rock (Hall version)

3. When I Survey (Passion

version)

4. Mighty to Save

we also did a few of our own:

5. Altar Call (Keith Green)

6. God Be Praised (Via's)

7. Grace Greater Than Our Sin (Via's version)

12.11-13.09

Fantastic, exhausting weekend. Friday and Saturday I took two of my buddies, Ben Niemann and Josh Reid down to Fayetteville, NC for a youth event at Green Springs Baptist Church. My good friend, Clif Williams, is the youth pastor there and has a huge desire to reach his community with the gospel. So on Saturday afternoon we hit the streets inviting students at the local mall to the event on Saturday night. It turned out well. Having just the three-piece band was kinda fun, although I greatly missed my bride standing alongside me. With Micaiah on breathing treatments for bronchiolitis and the rest of us still getting over sinus infections and colds, we thought it best that I fly alone on this one. But all in all, it turned out really well.

We Played:

1. Happy Day (of course ... it was a youth event)

2. Song of Hope (Robbie Seay)

3. From the Inside Out (Hillsong)

4. God Be Praised (Via's - on the new Journey Live Worship CD out later this week!)

5. Center (Charlie Hall)

This morning, we were back at The Creek Church in Cary, NC. Had a great day. Will Hughes and Scott Pearce accompanied us and did a killer job. Today was our last day at The Creek for awhile but I'm sure it won't be the last. Excited to see how the Lord continues to use Matt Rice and his first class crew of Christ followers.

We Played:

1. Joy to the World (Via's version)

2. Song of Hope

3. O, Come Let Us Adore Him (Passion version)

4. From the Inside Out (Hillsong)

5. The Wonder of This Sight (Via's)

12.6.09

We had a great day back at Ridge Church in Matthews, NC this morning. Today began their 3-part Christmas series called "Nights Before Christmas." Check out Chris Brown's blog for a little taste of the opener. Who played that ridiculously crazy violin part anyway?

Setlist:

1. God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen (Mercy Me version)

2. Angels We Have Heard on High (Tomlin version)

3. Song of Hope (Robbie Seay Band)

4. Immanuel (J & T)

God Be Praised - Recap

Well, it's about time I brought you up-to-speed with the live recording last Friday night. It was an amazing night of worship with Journey Church of Raleigh, NC at The Worship Center in Durham, NC. The theme of the night, "God Be Praised" was more than a theme, it was a reality that we all experienced. It was more than a recording or an event. It was a night where hurting people came to experience the overwhelming love of God and to worship the everlasting Creator of the universe, the One who reigns forever.

One young man came up to me after the night was over and told me how much he needed that. He came in broken and with the baggage of sin in his life, and he said that from the first strum of the first chord he felt the Lord's presence and felt His forgiveness, restoration, mercy and grace in a such a fresh way. It was indeed a night to remember and a night for which we give God all the praise and glory. God Be Praised!



Watch for the CD to be released in just a few short months.

The worship set included:
1. I'm Not Ashamed (Hillsong)
2. Yours Forever (Hillsong)
3. King on His Way (Via's - Journey original)
4. God of Our Salvation (Adam Neal - Journey original)
5. Overcome (New Life Worship)
6. The Stand (Hillsong)
7. Arms Open Wide/In Your Freedom (Hillsong)
8. God Be Praised (Via's - Journey original)
9. With Everything (Hillsong)
10. We Shine (Fee)
11. Sing, Sing, Sing (Tomlin)

11.1.09

We had a great day yesterday here in Hampstead, MD. I'm here all week with my Dad at Hampstead Baptist Church. Sunday morning I led worship for their second campus on the other end of town - "The Mount." The building itself must be at least a hundred years old with beautiful gothic architecture and amazing acoustics on the inside. For leading with acoustic guitar, this place was perfect! Loved it. Had a really great time with their people. Tasha stayed home from this trip due to all the craziness in our lives right now. I miss her.



We sang:
1. Victory in Jesus
2. Worthy of My Priase (Passion)
3. How Great is Our God (Tomlin)
4. From the Inside Out (Hillsong)
5. The Wonder (J & T)

I'll try to recap the Live Worship Recording from Journey possibly tomorrow. But in a nutshell, the Lord met with us!

9.27.09

Yesterday was a great day at Journey Church northwest campus.  This was our first time at the NW campus.  And I have to say, the first impressions team absolutely rocked it!  Tasha didn't play, so she came in as an ordinary guest just in time for the service, so I asked her how her experience was.  She said it was awesome.  Several people greeted her before she ever got through the front door.  The signage was great, so she knew exactly where to take the kids, which is a huge deal for us since we're in so many new churches all the time.  No problems whatsoever! 

And it was a great day of worship as well.  Pastor Jimmy preached a great message out of Matthew 23 clearly and concisely explaining the difference between religion and a relationship with Christ.  It was a great day.  The band did awesome as always.  It was basically a Hillsong day.

We played:

1. I'm Not Ashamed (Hillsong)

2. Search Me (Journey original)

3. Arms Open Wide (Hillsong)

4. Tear Down the Walls (Hillsong) - Lovin' this tune lately.  So, so, good. 

9-20-09

Had a great day this past Sunday at South Pointe Fellowship in Pageland, SC. It's been almost 2 years since we began helping them out during their in-between time without a worship leader. The last time we were there was a year-and-a-half ago, and they are continuing to do a great work down in Pageland. Rev Kev continues to preach the Word without apology and they are seeing lives transformed through the power of the gospel. Great work South Pointe! One of the coolest elements of the morning was witnessing Rev Kev baptize his youngest son, Ben. As a Dad, I was totally engrossed in that moment. My prayer is that one day I'll be in his shoes baptizing my own children.

We had the pleasure of having Zach Griffin along with us. Zach has an amazing heart for worship and for the Lord and is super-talented to say the least.

We played:
1. Everlasting God (Brown, Tomlin)
2. Send Us Out (J & T)
3. Draw Me Close (Zach lead)
4. Holy Is The Lord (Tomlin)
5. I Stand Amazed/How Marvelous

Graham Parker, the next Tomlin

Just got back from Round Oak Baptist Church in Fredricksburg, VA with my dad. Had a great week of ministry. We finished up last night with a bang. Dad and I did "All That Glitters" live. It turned out pretty good, although I knew what the songs should sound like with the full band. But the acoustic version sufficed I guess. (Apart from the guy doing the singing :) But the Lord used it nonetheless and there were about 6 young people who committed their lives to Christ. It was a great way to finish up the week.

One of the highlights of the week for me came in the most unexpected way by a 10-year old boy named Graham. Graham was one of the boys saved last night. But earlier in the week he approached me with a sheet of paper in his hand, explaining that he had written a song for me. Here's what he said:

Dear Josh,
During your song tonight, you said everyone should have a song. Here's my song that I wrote after revival tonight:

"The Everlasting God"
By Graham Parker, age 10

The Everlasting God in heaven will defeat Satan at the end of the earth;
During our time on the earth, we shall rejoice God's name.
The Everlasting God will never end and He shall win the war against Satan.
Jesus will come back down to the earth and it will end;
But the Christian life will never end.
And the Mega Almighty will never, ever end;
And the Mega Almighty will never, ever end.

Love,
Graham

Thanks so much Graham. Keep your eyes on Jesus, and I hope you write hundreds more of these.

8.30.09

Great day today at Journey Church here in Raleigh. Pastor Jimmy finished up a 4-part series called "The Sickness Within." He challenged us from James 1 regarding temptation--that we've got to separate ourselves from temptation and saturate ourselves in Scripture. It was a great reminder.

Well, in a matter of months this will be our new home church, and I'm pretty stoked. Great worship. Solid biblical teaching. Commitment to the Gospel. Family already here. The Lord is obviously at work--genuine life-change happening all the time. And yes, you did hear correctly. We've got our house on the market in Charlotte and will be making the Triangle the new base of operation for our ministry and Journey our new home church. I'm excited to jump in and be a part of the team here at Journey. Not much will change in terms of our ministry focus. But Journey will act as the new launching pad for our ministry--and it's exciting because we've already developed a great relationship with Journey in the past 2 years through our visits here. And having my brother, Smooth, on staff here as the student pastor helps it feel like home as well.

So pray for our family as we make the move to Raleigh and as we deal with the other multitude of life changes that seem to always come at the exact same time. But ... isn't that the way it always is?!
--------------
We played:
1. Yours Forever (Hillsong U)
2. In Wonder (Newsboys)
3. God of Our Salvation (Journey original by Adam Neal)
4. God be Praised (Josh and Tasha new one)

Limestone College

Saturday we played at Limestone College in Gaffney during their new student orientation. It was fun to do mostly all original tunes for a change. Andy Cherry did some of his originals as well. Fun times were had by all.

Oasis Pics

Here are some pics from Oasis Camp '09. We got to hang with the guys from Tenth Avenue North for a little while on Saturday evening. They're great guys who really love Jesus and have some pretty great music as well.

Oasis Camp '09 Recap

The sporadically inconsistent blogger is back. We just arrived back into Charlotte last night after an extended weekend youth camp in Myrtle Beach, SC. And oh, how we've been suffering for the Lord! Right!

Anyway, it was an awesome weekend. We took the whole band, Andy Cherry, Tim Morrison, and Nate Proczak, and led worship for the student ministry of Ingleside Baptist Church. Andy, Tim, and Nate are some of my best friends, and I always love getting to partner with them.

This was the first time Ingleside has done their own camp, and they knocked it out of the park. It rivaled any Student Life camp I've ever been to. Fred and Scooter, the student pastors, put together a solid week for their 180 + students.

Bill Stanley, from Coco Beach, Florida brought the Word every session and did a great job connecting with students. Tasha and I enjoyed getting to know him and his wife for what will certainly not be the last time we do ministry together.

As we were leaving camp yesterday, the students surrounded our van for last minute pics and high-fives. And as we stood there with these students whom we had built a relationship with over the past 4 days, I just watched them. I watched them interact with my buddies in the band. I watched them hang on every word that the guys would say. I observed these young, impressionable students as they observed us, watched us, studied us. And as a result, I've been reminded of the incredible responsibility we have as older believers, as teachers, as worship leaders, as parents and mentors, to model our sincere faith in front of them--to live consistently what we believe in front of them, because they are watching us. Yes, a lost world is watching us, but so is the younger generation of Christ-followers. They want a model to follow. And they are looking for it in us. How incredibly humbling a truth that is. It reminds me of the words Paul encouraged Timothy with:

I have been reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also. (2 Tim. 1:5).

Let's live that sincere faith, because they're watching.

Check back for some pics from the weekend coming soon.