Church history in our back yard

Yesterday on our way into Baltimore to visit someone at Johns Hopkins Hospital, Pastor Chris took us by the oldest church in Maryland, Sater's Church. Established in 1742 by some of the earliest American settlers, Sater's Church seeps with history. Call me old, but I love history, especially church history. Walking through the cemetery was one of the coolest things I've done in a long time--reading what was written on the tomb stones and imagining what it must have been like to have been a follower of Christ in those early unsettled days of our country--imagining what it must have been like to step foot on a country that granted religious freedom. That's a pretty awesome thought.



















The vault of a Revolutionary War soldier































How awesome to be remembered this way!

Die With Us!

This morning I was reminded of this story, and it shook me to the core ... again.

Haim and his family
Cambodia
1970s

All during the night, the members of Haim's family comforted each other. They knew they only had a few more hours to live on this earth. The Cambodian Communist soldiers had tied them all together and forced them to lie down on the grass.

Earlier that day, Haim's whole family had been rounded up for execution. Because they were all Christians, the Communists considered them "bad blood" and "enemies of the glorious revolution." In the morning, they were made to dig their own graves.

The killers were generous. They allowed their victims a moment of prayer to prepare themselves for death. Parents and children held hands and knelt together near the open grave. After his family finished their prayers, Haim exhorted the Communists and all those looking on to repent and to receive Jesus as Savior.

Suddenly, one of Haim's young sons leapt to his feet, bolted to the nearby forest and disappeared. Haim was amazingly calm as he persuaded the soldiers not to chase the boy but to allow him to call the boy back. While the family knelt, the father pleaded with his son to return and die with his family.

"Think my son," he shouted, "Can stealing a few more days of life, as a fugitive in that forest, compare to soon joining your family forever free in paradise?" Weeping, the boy walked back to his father, as his father comfortably wrapped him in his arms and walked him back to their waiting family.

Haim said to the executioners, "Now we are ready to go." But none of the soldiers would kill them. Finally, an officer who had not witnessed the scene came and shot the Christians.

(Taken from Jesus Freaks, by the Voice of the Martyrs)

Easter '09 Recap

Easter Sunday at Southbrook Church was amazing, exhausting, humbling, exciting ... you get the picture. Over 100 people raised their hands indicating that they were commiting their lives to Jesus Christ. Tasha and I are blessed to partner with such great churches and shepherds who are committed to declaring the truth of the Gospel without apology. Thanks, Rob, for doing just that.

I am also a very proud son right now. My hero and father, , is in the nation of Cuba this week declaring the truth of the Gospel with this hurting nation. He's encouraging the underground churches, training pastors and leaders, sharing the Gospel with whomever or whatever will listen, and giving it his best attempt at speaking Spanish.
(although by the end of his greeting, he's spilled out every Spanish word he knows, while the person to whom he's speaking is thinking, "Wow, he speaks Spanish" and thus begins to rattle off Spanish sentences at 100 mph while my dad has to stop him and say, "No, no, no hablo espanol. Lo siento." Well, good try anyway, Dad.) Pray for my Dad and his team with Macedonian Call Ministries that the Lord will be glorified and honored through their visit.




----------------------------
Easter Setlist
1. Opener: Bittersweet Symphony w/ Amazing Grace (our attempt at Hillsong's conference opener a few years ago)
2. Jesus Messiah (Tomlin)
3. Jesus Paid It All (Stanfill version)
4. True Love (Phil Wickham)
5. Stronger (Hillsong)

Tozer on Worship and Entertainment

I just finished a book by A. W. Tozer called Tozer on Worship and Entertainment. Tozer is one of my favorite writers of another generation. He pastored Southside Alliance Church in Chicago for 31 years in the early to mid 1900s. He was a prolific writer and self-taught theologian. One of my favorite books of Tozer's is Knowledge of the Holy, a Christian classic on the attributes of God.

Worship and Entertainment is a compilation of sermon quotes and other Tozer writings surrounding this issue. The title says it all--what Tozer felt about the embracing and harnessing of culture within the local church. He was adamently against it. And though Tozer takes a dogmatic stance, (many of his points I found hard to accept and had to filter some of his conclusions with my own interpretation of Scripture and the believer's role within culture) you have to appreciate his consistency of thought on this issue throughout all of his writings and sermons. In spite of my disagreement on some conclusions, there are countless treasures and takeaways in this book that caused me to reevaluate much of what I believe and practice--particularly as it involves my primary contribution to the local church, namely, worship leading. And even though Tozer went to be with the Lord nearly 50 years ago, the prophetic truths he preached to his generation have never been more applicable. Indeed, it's as if he was writing to the American church in 2009. This needs to be the next book you read.

Here are a few takeaways:

• The #1 Gem: "Christianity has been watered down until the solution is so weak that if it were poison it would not hurt anyone, and if it were medicine it would not cure anyone!" (p.170)
  
• "For multitudes of professed Christians today the Holy Spirit is not a necessity. They have learned to cheer their hearts and warm their hands at other fires." (p. 106)
• "What we need more than we need anything else is a restoration of the vision of the Most High God. The honor of God has been lost to men and the God of today's Christianity is a weakling--a little cheap, palsy God that you can run and pal around with. He's 'the man upstairs.' He's the fellow that can help you when you're in difficulty and not bother you too much when you're not." (p. 54)
• "Why should believing Christians want everything pre-cooked, pre-digested, sliced and salted, and expect that God must come and help us eat and hold the food to our baby lips while we pound the table and splash--and we think that is Christianity! Brethren, it is not. It is a degenerate bastard breed that has no right to be called Christianity." (p. 116)
  
• "When the Church joins up with the world it is the true Church no longer but only a pitiful hybrid thing, an object of smiling contempt to the world and an abomination to the Lord." (p. 171)
• "It is scarcely possible in most places to get anyone to attend a meeting where the only attraction is God. One can only conclude that God's professed children are bored with Him, for they must be wooed to meeting with a stick of striped candy in the form of religious movies, games and refreshments." (p. 120)
• "I don't mind telling you that most of the people we say we are trying to reach will never come to a church to see a lot of amateur actors putting on a home-talent show." (p. 110)
  

Guest Blogger: Tasha Via - Why I Love This Man

Okay, so I'm not technically a guest blogger today, I sort of confiscated his blog without him knowing it but I just couldn't help myself! I just wanted to share with the world about this man, my husband, my best friend...

Just A Few Reasons Why I Love This Man

*He truly loves the Lord with all his heart, soul, strength and mind
*Because he somehow ends up with all the covers by the end of the night
*He lives out what he believes
*The way he gets the kids wound up for bed=)
*He knows he is NOT above any temptation, therefore he lives a cautious life in constant communion with the Lord
*He isn't afraid to say "I'm Sorry"
*He is slow to anger

*His laugh when he really gets going!
*The way he taught Areyna to give me a "courtesy flush" when she's in the bathroom because smells are killing me this pregnancy=)

*His knowledge of the Word

*His sensitivity to me

*The way he always seems to find a quick little project to do right before we walk out the door. Example: replacing a doorknob while we're supposed to be packing up the car for a winter conference...

*This guy can go through some jeans because he constantly wrestles, crawls and plays in forts with the kids. He's just an awesome dad!

*The way I always have to get his attention by going right up to his face, making eye contact and stating his name before saying something very important. (otherwise he may respond without even knowing what I just said=))

*The way he makes me want to know our Lord more personally myself

*The way he leaves just one more bite in the box or a tiny little sip in the OJ container=) Well, maybe I don't love this one so much, but it reminds me of the man I married and I fall in love with him all over again.

Thank you God for blessing me with this man.

Josh, I love you baby. You are my favorite=)

The Deaf Need the Gospel

This morning a deaf missionary named Steve James shared about his recent experience battling leukemia. Steve serves among the deaf population in Hungary, and was diagnosed about 3 years ago with the disease. Steve had to come off the mission field for treatment in the states, and was determined to get back on the field. After months of blood transfusions and finally a stem cell transplant, the Lord has fully restored Steve and he's now 3 days back onto the field with his wife serving again in the country they love among the deaf population who also desperately need to hear, or rather see, the Gospel. Thanks, Steve, for being so faithful to the calling of God on your life.

Basketball and Blood Clots

When I was in seminary, I had several classes with a guy named Steve Brown. Steve was one of the many guys that I would see almost everyday, but just never really interacted with--probably due to laziness on my part, but definitely not due to a lack of coolness on his. Steve's a sharp guy. Witty and hilarious. Loves his family. And definitely loves Jesus.

When we arrived here in Hungary on Friday night, I immediately recognized him. We talked and caught up and I soon discovered that he is ministering and church planting in the Czech Republic. Steve and his wife, April, have 3 kids (soon to have four through a Czech adoption) and have been serving Christ among the Czech people for about 4 years now. Steve shared a little bit of his story yesterday.

A year ago, he blew out his knee playing basketball. They immediately left town to seek better treatment. During surgery, a blood clot developed and moved to his lung. The doctors were not hopeful. In fact, they put Steve on blood thinners to ease their conscience and told him to prepare his will. Before going to bed that night, Steve and April had the most difficult conversation of their marriage--about organ doaning, arrangements for their family, and all the rest. He told me it was one of the toughest nights he had ever had, not knowing if he would wake up the next morning. But he did. And he and April were convinced that God was not through with him.

Upon leaving for the hospital, he told his Czech people that he would return on such-and-such a date to continue ministering. About 6 months later, after three excruciating surgeries and weeks of rehabilitation, Steve and April returned to their city and to their people on the very day that they said they would, attesting to the amazing mercy and kindness of their all-powerful God. Steve and April haven't looked back. Almost a year since the accident, they are more resolved than ever to continue the work God has for them in the Czech Republic as they truly give of their lives in service to Christ and for the sake of the Gospel.

Leaving the Delta Dream Behind

I've been a slacker since we arrived here in Hungary. We do have an internet connection, albeit slow at times. I simply have not pulled away to write. Tasha is doing much better about writing on her blog. Nonetheless, here we go:

It's been an amazing trip so far here in Budapest, Hungary. We're actually about an hour and a half outside of the city (not sure exactly where), at a little place called Villapark. We're here with missionaries who are scattered abroad all over Eastern Europe with the International Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention. This is one week out of the year they all really look forward to, to come together, have fellowship, give testimonies of what God is doing in their respective cities, to sit under some biblical training and teaching (by my good friend, Jeff Long) and to worship together in English, which they never get to do--a small commodity I take for granted back home.

We met one couple, Wes and Tamara Banks, who gave up a comfortable lifestyle in Atlanta, Georgia to come to the mission field of Eastern Europe to interface with the gypsies of southern Romania. Wes left his job with Delta after 16 years of climbing the ladder, and gave it all up for the cause of Christ, to answer God's calling on their lives. They have 2 little boys, Wesley and Colter (8 and 6), whom they are seeking to raise in the admonition of the Lord, and with the understanding that the American Dream is just that--nothing more than a dream--fleeting--a chasing after the wind that only leaves you more empty than when you first began the chase.

The gypsy culture that Wes and Tamara are working in is unique, to say the least. Gypsies have a culture within a culture. They are drifters--roamers. They have their own hodge-podge of religious belief borrowed from numerous currents of religious thought mixed together with superstition and family tradition. But nonetheless in need of the light of the Gospel. They are loyal and committed to their family traditions, whether it be circus bear trainers, musicians, metal workers ... whatever. They stay true to their traditions. The Light of the Gospel is the only hope for gypsies. Pray for Wes and Tamara as they seek to find in-roads for the Gospel.

I'm doing a study of 1 John while I'm here in Hungary. Here's some things the Lord has shown me so far.

Chapter 1

1. THE REASON - v. 4 - "...that our joy may be complete..." - The world is looking for sincere joy - not fabricated.

2. THE MESSAGE - v. 5 -

A) God is Light

B) There is no Darkness in Him

Cross-Reference - Ps. 119:105 - "Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path."

3. THE WARNING - vv. 6, 8, 10 - "If we say we have fellowship with Him and walk in darkness, we are lying ... If we say we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves ... we make Him a liar."

I would never make these claims verbally, but I think sometimes I speak them with my lifestyle. My actions take the place of my mouth. Actions become words.

4. THE REWARD - vv. 7, 9 -

A) Fellowship - (koinonia) - this is not coffee and doughnuts fellowship - this is genuine fellowship. Fellowship that holds each other accountable. Walking in the light means exposing the truth to one another in love. It means sin confrontation, weeping with each other, etc. It involves holding the blacklight of the Word of God over our lives and exposing the nasty sin that is hidden.

B) Cleansing/Forgiveness - means genuine change - Isaiah 1:18 - "though your sins are as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow." Ps. 103:12 - "As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us."

“Go After Them!”

Matthew 28:18-20 and Mark 16:15 are often referred to as the Great Commission passages – “great” because they weighed heavily on the obedience of his followers to perform a task impossible through human effort alone – “commission” because He was sending them out into the world as “sheep among wolves” (Matt. 10:16). But these words apply not only to his followers at that particular time, but also they carry over and require the obedience of His followers in the 21^st century. Jesus said, “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Matt. 28:19).

Perhaps no one fulfilled this command more than William and Catherine Booth, founders of The Salvation Army. For years they toiled and labored in the darkest, foulest slums of 19^th century London, meeting the physical needs of the homeless and battered while sharing with them the beautiful life-changing message of Christ (a beautiful marriage of orthodoxy and social justice). Thousands of men, women, children and prostitutes were rescued off the streets of London and born again into the family of God because of the unwavering obedience of William and Catherine, often in the face of persecution and rejection.

In what was to be her last public address before succumbing to the ravages of cancer, Catherine spoke these strong words to a missionary conference June 21, 1888:

Look at the world again for a minute. Here are the millions of men entrenched in their wickedness; entrenched behind all manner of refuges of lies, enamored of their sins – some gaiety, some drink, some impurity, some ambition, some money, some learning, some one thing, and some another. There they are, satisfied with their sin so far, because poor things, they will not allow themselves to think. They are not inclined to think. Oh, if a man would only shake himself up for an hour, and face God and eternity, he would not rest in his sins; but their great desire, and the great object of the Devil, is to keep these things from them; so he keeps them always preoccupied – always busy. How are you going to get them down from their tower of self-satisfaction, sin, and pleasure? Do you think they are coming down by your saying, “Here, come along; hear me; let me preach to you. Come and be converted”? Oh no! The Christian Church has been trying that game too long. The people are far too busy. They turn around and tell you so. They say, “I am doing a great work; I cannot come to you.”

Listen to what Jesus Christ commissioned his disciples to do. Not to ensconce (entrench) themselves in comfortable buildings and invite the people to come, and then, if they would not come, leave them alone to be damned. No, no! He said: “Go ye,” which means, “Go after them.” Where, Lord? “Into all the world.” What to do? “Preach the Gospel to every creature.” Where, Lord? “Where the creatures are. Follow them!” If ever you are to get this work done it will be by pressing God’s truth upon the attention of men, and making them hear, and think, and feel; and it must be done by men and women who have themselves experienced and are living in the practice of what they preach.[i]

Catherine’s challenge echoes the words of Christ the day He ascended back into heaven. Catherine’s challenge spilled forth from a life of total commitment to that commission. We must go forth. We must help people understand and realize this prison of sin in which they are confined. Their eyes are blind, just like yours and mine were. So, must go to them. We cannot expect blind people to make their way to us. They are preoccupied with their own blind condition. We must go to them.

I often hear the response, “But how do I do it? What do I say to people?” This is a legitimate question. My response? Simply live the life God has created you to live. Love sinners. Eat with sinners as Jesus did. Build relationships. Find a physical need and meet it. Let His love flow out of you into their lives in the most natural of ways. And then tell them about Him. Speak his truth at every opportunity. People are looking for something real and something genuine, and we have it.

What are some preoccupations (busyness) that you see people deal with who are far from Jesus Christ?

Think of one person in your sphere of influence who needs Jesus Christ. What are some practical ways you can begin to reach them with the love of Christ?

---

[i] Catherine Booth, “The Challenge,” quoted in Trevor Yaxley, William and Catherine: A New Biography (Minneapolis, MN: Bethany House, 2003), p. 263-64.

Devotion or Devotions?

Many of you know by now the incredible impact that Keith Green had on my life as a young man. As a teenager, I lived on his music and read and re-read his biography, No Compromise. Keith was a Christian musician during a time when it wasn't the "popular" thing to do. Throughout the 70s and early 80s, Keith paved the way for the modern Christian music industry as well as the modern worship movement in many ways. He was a prophet. No, he didn’t foretell the future. But he did do a lot of forth-telling—truth-telling. Saying what was unpopular because he had a burning passion to speak the truth that the modern American church needed so desperately to hear. He made a lot of enemies. But more than that, he brought countless souls to a saving faith in Jesus Christ because of his strong convicting message. He was blunt. He was straight to the point. And he didn’t water it down. His lyrics cut hard, penetrating through the fluff of common Christianity.

Recently I ran across a series of 8 videos posted on YouTube of a lecture that Keith Green gave at Dallas Theological Seminary sometime just before he boarded the small plane with his two children that would end all three of their short lives. In this lecture, Keith borrows and elaborates on ideas from a man named Charles Finney, a great evangelist of another generation. Toward the end of his life, Finney began writing more frequently than he preached. He began publishing his own paper entitled, The Oberlin Evangelist. The one particular letter that caught Keith’s attention was simply called “Devotion.” For Keith’s purposes, he retitled it “Devotions or Devotion?” In his talk, Keith expanded on some of Finney’s ideas, the basis premise being that often, in Christian circles, we speak of “having our devotions” or “having our quiet time” as if it’s simply something we check off of our list so that we can move on with the rest of our day. Both Finney and Green detested such a notion of Christian spirituality. And as I read Finney’s article for myself and listened to Keith’s encouragement on the subject, I began to realize the hypocrisy in my own life. Bear with me as I pull from a few of Finney’s thoughts:

“I am to show what is true devotion. It is a state of the mind or of the heart. It is that state of the will in which every thing—our whole life, and being, and possessions, are a continual offering to God; i.e. are continually devoted to God. True devotion, so far from consisting in any individual act, or feelings, must, of necessity, be the supreme devotion of the will, extending to all we have and are—to all times, places, employments, thoughts, and feelings.”

And further he says,

“Devotion is that state of the will in which the mind is swallowed up in God, as the object of supreme affection, in which we not only live and move in God, but for God. In other words, devotion is that state of mind in which the attention is diverted from self, and self-seeking, and is directed to God; the thougths, and purposes, and desires, and affections, and emotions, all hanging upon, and devoted to him.”

In other words, devotion to God involves setting our mind and heart upon Him at all times. That means that anything done without this motivation in our lives is sin. Elaborating on this point, Keith quoted Romans 14:23, “…and everything that does not come from faith is sin.”

As I sat there in front of my computer, watching Keith share in front of a bunch of seminary students, and myself being reminded of this verse, I began to think and wonder about the common things that make up my day—the things that are neither right nor wrong in and of themselves, but the way that I go about them, without a conscious choice of my will to do them in such a way that my mind is “swallowed up in God.” And I began to wonder how sick I must make God. How sinful I really am. That I don’t often eat to the glory of God (1 Cor. 10:31). That I don’t often play volleyball to the glory of God (one of Keith’s examples). That I don’t often send e-mail, or chat with my wife, or check the mail, or get my oil changed for the glory of God. But I MUST! I MUST, OR IT IS SIN!

See, Christian spirituality is not about checking off our “time with God” first thing in the morning. It’s not about our checklist. It’s not about punching the God-clock and then moving on to other things. God must be all in all. Our primary joy. The One to whom belongs all things and to whom we do all things. The One to whom we direct all of our devotion, all of our affection, all of our attention with a conscious state of the will and of the mind. It’s a conscious choice we make when we get out of bed. When we brush our teeth. When we commute to work. When we eat lunch in the break room. When we tuck our kids in bed at night. We consciously decide to give God the praise due His name in those moments—many of them typical and uneventful—but that’s when God wants our hearts the most, I believe. In the mundane. In the common. That’s why Paul said what he said in 1 Corinthians 10. So that we might eat and drink to the glory of God. What does that mean? That we might bring God glory in the routine stuff of life. The common-place. The typical. The unglamorous. This is what God desires from us, but so often what we refuse to give Him.

As I reflected on Charles Finney’s words translated and adapted through Keith Green’s words, both whom have now gone to be with the Lord, I mused at how these two men of God lived out what they preached to the very end of their lives. Two men who loved their families. Two men who loved Jesus. But two men who were both simply men, like me. Men who changed diapers. Men who brushed their teeth. Men who read books, and played kick-ball with their kids. But men who chose, in those routine, common-place moments of life, to live them out for the glory of God. To make a consious choice of the will to bring glory to God in all of their actions and deeds, no matter how insignificant they may have seemed at the time.

The Last Song

Today in church history marks the death of Philip Bliss (December 29, 1876), a hymn writer and evangelist of the 19th century. He died at the age of 38 when his train derailed in Ashtabula, Ohio and plunged 60 feet into the icy waters below. He died alongside his wife and 92 other passengers.

He was famous for writing such hymns as "Wonderful Words of Life, "Let the Lower Lights Be Burning," "I Will Sing of My Redeemer" and "I Gave My Life for Thee." The lyrics to his brand-new hymn "I Will Sing of My Redeemer" were found among his belongings following the train catastrophe. They essentially became his last words and epitaph.

I will sing of my Redeemer,
And His wondrous love to me;
On the cruel cross He suffered,
From the curse to set me free.

Sing, oh, sing of my Redeemer,
With His blood He purchased me,
On the cross He sealed my pardon,
Paid the debt, and made me free.

I will tell the wondrous story,
How my lost estate to save,
In His boundless love and mercy,
He the ransom freely gave.

I will praise my dear Redeemer,
His triumphant pow'r I'll tell,
How the victory He giveth
Over sin, and death, and hell.

I will sing of my Redeemer,
And His heav'nly love to me;
He from death to life hath brought me,
Son of God with Him to be.

Bliss died with the praises of God on His lips. The Redeemer to which he had just finished writing and singing became his heavenly audience moments later.

And I can't think of a better way to meet my Savior than to have just composed my last song of praise to Him - singing of my Redeemer.

The Thundering Scot

Today in church history marks the death of John Knox (11-24-1572). Knox was instrumental in the Protestant Reformation, particularly among Scottish churches. He was deemed "The Thundering Scot" as he boldly preached the truth of the Gospel in the face of corrupt officials in the Catholic church as well as in public office. If he were alive today, he would most certainly show up on CNN being guilty of intolerance and bigotry. But Knox teaches us what it means to stand for truth when it falls contrary to popular opinion.

Upon his death, Richart Bannatyne, Knox's secretary, honored Knox with these words: Knox was "the mirror of godliness, and patrone and example of all true ministers, in puritie of lyfe, soundness in doctrine, and boldness in reproving of wickitness" (www.opc.org).

Guest Blogger: Charles Spurgeon

I really needed this today. God never fails to bring an appropriate word right when we need it - sometimes we just don't listen for it. Maybe you need this today as well.

"The thought of David's heart at this time was a false thought, because he certainly had no ground for thinking that God's anointing him by Samuel was intended to be left as an empty unmeaning act. On no one occasion had the Lord deserted His servant; he had been placed in perilous positions very often, but not one instance had occurred in which divine interposition had not delivered him. The trials to which he had been exposed had been varied; they had not assumed one form only, but many--yet in every case He who sent the trial had also graciously ordained a way of escape. David could not put his finger upon any entry in his diary, and say of it, "Here is evidence that the Lord will forsake me," for the entire tenor of his past life proved the very reverse. He should have argued from what God had done for him, that God would be his defender still. But is it not just in the same way that we doubt God's help? Is it not mistrust without a cause? Have we ever had the shadow of a reason to doubt our Father's goodness? Have not His lovingkindnesses been marvellous? Has He once failed to justify our trust? Ah, no! our God has not left us at any time. We have had dark nights, but the star of love has shone forth amid the blackness; we have been in stern conflicts, but over our head He has held aloft the shield of our defence. We have gone through many trials, but never to our detriment, always to our advantage; and the conclusion from our past experience is, that He who has been with us in six troubles, will not forsake us in the seventh. What we have known of our faithful God, proves that He will keep us to the end. Let us not, then, reason contrary to evidence. How can we ever be so ungenerous as to doubt our God? Lord, throw down the Jezebel of our unbelief, and let the dogs devour it."

—Morning and Evening, October 17, Charles Spurgeon

A Tragedy, A Legacy, and a Ragamuffin's Commitment

Today, September 19, is the 10-year anniversary of the tragic death of Rich Mullins. It probably seems random that I know that, but Rich’s music had such an enormous impact on my life as a young Christian musician, it’s hard for me to forget details like that. Rich helped to shape the landscape of the early Contemporary Christian Music industry in a profound way. He defied and challenged traditional taboos, often playing concerts barefooted wearing simply a t-shirt and torn jeans. His lyrics were passionate, frank and honest, openly describing personal and spiritual struggles in his search to know God more intimately.

What I love most about Rich’s legacy was the fact that, in the midst of all of his success and accomplishments, he never ceased to keep Jesus Christ, the Gospel and the Bible his central focus. He once commented,

Sometimes it concerns me, the number of people who can quote my songs, or they can quote the songs of several people, but they can’t quote the Scriptures – as if anything a musician might have to say would be worth listening to . . . If you want entertainment, I suggest Christian entertainment, because I think it’s good. But if you want spiritual nourishment, I suggest you go to church or read your Bible (Creation Festival Radio Special, Mt. Union, PA, June 27, 1996).

Rich never wavered in preaching the fundamentals of the Christian faith through his music. Scripture was the most important thing to Rich. In one of his most famous and powerful songs, “Creed,” Rich took the Apostles’ Creed, the most fundamentally orthodox statement of the Christian faith, and put it to music. In this song he drew a line in the sand.

I believe in God the Father,
Almighty Maker of Heaven and Maker of Earth,
And in Jesus Christ His only begotten Son, our Lord
He was conceived of the Holy Spirit,
Born of the Virgin Mary, Suffered under Pontius Pilate,
He was crucified and dead and buried.

And I believe what I believe is what makes me what I am,
I did not make it, no it is making me,
It is the very truth of God and not the invention of any man.

Rich was committed to the basic truths of Christianity – the truth about Jesus Christ – that He came as the Messiah of the world to live, to die, to atone for sin and to rise again conquering death and offering new life. It never gets old to me – the fact that Christ came to this earth for helpless, sinful human beings. That’s the only message that will last through eternity. That’s the only message that ultimately matters. Thanks for your legacy, Rich.

Use Them

Lord Jesus, I pray for all of my friends in ministry today - that You will fill them with Your Holy Spirit. Use them as they preach and teach Your inspired Word, and as they lead Your people in the worship of You, the only Living God. In Jesus' Name. Amen.

Experiencing Billy's Library

Yesterday was one of those days that will be hard for me to forget. I took our family to visit the new Billy Graham Library here in Charlotte. Not to sound mystical, but it was a spiritual experience. I have more respect for Billy Graham than I've ever had before. Some might simply call it a museum about one man. But it was more than that. It was a testimony of the faithfulness of God in one man's life - a spiritual giant who was so careful to give all the glory back to Jesus Christ. It was a monument to the Gospel, not to a man. If you're in Charlotte this summer, go see it! It's well worth it.



The Progression of a Strong Witness for Christ

"I am only one in a chain of men and women God has raised up through the centuries to build Christ's Church and to take the Gospel everywhere." - B.G.

1. Sunday School Teacher named Edward Kimball won a shoe clerk to Jesus - D.L. Moody
2. D.L. Moody traveled to England and awakened the heart of a young pastor: F.B. Meyer
3. F.B. Meyer became one of the great Bible expositors, came to USA and preached on college campuses and was used to lead a student to Christ - Wilbur Chapman
4. Wilbur Chapman attended one of Moody's meetings in Chicago and became Moody's co-worker.
5. Chapman employed an ex-baseball player as his assistant, his name, Billy Sunday
6. Billy Sunday became a great evangelist and preached in Charlotte, NC, organized the Billy Sunday Layman's Evangelistic Club (renamed Christian Business Men's Committee CBMC)
7. CBMC invited an evangelist to Charlotte, his name Mordecai Ham
8. Mordecai Ham preached in the tent meeting where Billy Graham was saved

Arthur "Guitar Boogie" Smith

We're in the studio this week. We have been privileged to be a small part of a new worship CD with the Southbrook Worship Band from Southbrook Church here in Charlotte.
And we're having a stellar time. There's some amazing song writers and musicians all having their hand in this project, and the Lord is going to be magnified through it.

The studio we're in is called Studioeast. It was one of the first recording studios in Charlotte, built and managed by none other than Arthur "Guitar Boogie" Smith.
You may know Arthur better as the man who wrote "Duelin' Banjos" that first appeared in the 70's flick "Deliverance." Arthur still comes around the studio and is having a hand in the production of the CD. Tasha and I got to meet him on Monday. What a cool guy. At 87 years of age, he's got impeccable hearing. The whole band would be playing wide open and he'd say something like, "The third G accented note on the acoustic guitar on the fourth bar of the second verse is flat." And that's only a slight exaggeration.

Today we've got a break from being in the studio, so I'm spending some time in the sun with the kids in our above ground pool. Gotta run.

Poetry Only Goes So Far

This will be one of those posts that only a small percentage of you will care anything about – namely, the songwriters and musically inclined. But it’s worth sharing as it’s been on my heart for a few days. I’m currently reading The Birth of a Hymn, a compilation of short biographies of hymn writers and the stories behind some of their hymns. In so reading I came across a quote by Robert Lowry that has resonated with me. Robert Lowry was a Baptist preacher and hymn writer of the 19th century. He authored more than 500 hymns such as "Nothing But the Blood," "Shall We Gather At The River?," and "How Can I Keep From Singing?" (no, he didn’t borrow from Chris Tomlin).

Here’s what he said about hymn writing that immediately struck a chord with me:

“Not even the highest grade of poetry will secure a fixed place in the service of praise if it be lacking in spiritual quality. There must be in a hymn something which is readily apprehended by the Christian consciousness, coming forth from the experience of the writer, and clothed in strong and inspiring words, if it would hold its place as a permanent factor in Christian worship.”

My translation: Without spiritual depth and personal passion, a song is just a bunch of poetic garbage that won’t stand the test of time.

My conviction is that we have a bunch of “hymn writing” in the church today that doesn’t fit this criteria. We have songs with lyrics, but no passion. We have songs with words, but no Scripture. We have songs with lyrics and melody but no spiritual depth or affections to which the soul can relate and attach itself in meaningful worship of the Creator.

Fellow hymn writers, let’s put our pens to the task of being a prophetic voice, not just a flowery poetic voice.

Thirsty '07

So, I’m pretty jacked up right now. I just returned from Thirsty ’07 over the weekend with some of the worship team from Southbrook Church. What an awesome experience. I got to see all of my worship leader heroes (Charlie Hall, Chris Tomlin, David Crowder, and Matt Redman) do what they do best. One of the highlights for me was a breakout session led by Matt Redman. Here’s some tidbits I picked up about worship song writing from Redman that might be of some benefit to someone out there in the blogosphere.

“Innovating and Excavating: Learning from the past to move into the Future”

· “Without tradition, art is a flock without a shepherd. Without innovation, art is a corpse.” – Winston Churchill

· Focus Scripture: Matthew 13:52 – He said to them, "Therefore every teacher of the law who has been instructed about the kingdom of heaven is like the owner of a house who brings out of his storeroom new treasures as well as old."

· Check out Cyberhymnal.org

· The worshipping church is like a building. We build on the past - the ceiling of one generation is the floor of another.

· Hymn writers were purposeful in their writing – they weren’t all over the place.

· Be conscious that your songwriting plays into people’s view of God.

· “You can have a thousand ideas, but unless you capture an emotion, it’s just an essay.” – Bono

· Bruce Springsteen could take something ordinary and write about it and make it sound extraordinary – but we often do the very opposite in our songwriting about God.

· Paint a big picture of God:
o Fanny Crosby: “healing stream”
o Isaac Watts: “thorns compose so rich a crown”

· Find a balance between being “meaty” while at the same time being digestible.

· Inhale – Exhale concept
o Inhale: Breathing in profound truth and doctrine on the verses (i.e. “He wraps Himself in light and darkness tries to hide and trembles at his voice”
o Exhale: Breathing out a simple expression of worship on the chorus (i.e. “How great is our God, sing with me, how great is our God . . .”

50 Souls and a Test Drive

Tonight I witnessed a miracle of God. Over 50 souls committed their lives to Jesus Christ at Southbrook Church in Weddington, NC. God's hand is all over Clayton King, the evangelist in for this weekend of special services. The Lord is using his ministry in a mighty way all over the country as he sows the seeds of the gospel and reaps a tremendous harvest.

Tasha and I have known Clayton for many years, though we're only acquaintances. But we did get to talk just briefly before the service. We told him about our new ministry and this new direction and the new CD. I told him it was called "The End to Which I Strive" and with all the noise in the hallway he thought I said, "The End to a Test Drive." He looked puzzled and gave the courteous smile and nodd thing that you do when you don't know what to say, and you don't want to laugh in the person's face. It was pretty funny. I repeated the title to him, and then we had a hearty laugh. He said it would have made a good emo title. I agreed.

Speaking of a test drive, Clayton was really clear to communicate that the Christian life is not something you simply try out for a while to see if you like it. It's not something you take for a spin. It requires taking up your cross, taking up the electric chair - sharing in the sufferings of Christ. Not a seeker-friendly sermon, by any stretch, and yet God moved. Ironic, I guess. Not surprising though. God honors His Word and people want to hear the truth.

Tomorrow's gonna be awesome still with three more services to go and tons more lost people coming with their friends.