Return Hits Tonight

Tonight's the big night for Southbrook Church's first CD release. If you're in the Charlotte area tonight or tomorrow, come on out to Southbrook for the CD release party (tonight 6:30pm, tomorrow, 8:30am, 10:00 and 11:30). It's gonna be a phenomenal night of praise and worship.
Click here for directions.

Windy Gap

The week with Gaston Christian School turned out awesome. We just returned this afternoon from a few days' getaway at Young Life's Windy Gap Camp just north of Asheville, NC. Had an awesome time. The first night Tasha and I found a rubber python under our pillows. No one would fess up. I thought it was a pretty sweet prank. Tasha didn't much care for it.

The Lord did some really cool things in the lives of the students. Over 200 high school students were there ready for God to speak. Austin Rammell, pastor of Hardin Baptist Church, one of the fastest growing churches in Gaston County, was the speaker for the week. It was awesome to renew the friendship Austin and I had back in Virginia when we were students at Liberty University.

Last night was definitely a major highlight. After a powerful message by Austin dealing with pride and humility, many of the students stayed around for at least another hour dealing with sin in their lives on their knees in prayer as we led in an unsolicited and unplanned time of extended worship. The Lord was gracious and worked mightily in many of the students.

Thanks to all of the staff, parents and students at GCC for an awesome week. And thanks Wes for having us back.

Currently Listening To: Chronicles of Narnia on CD. We listened to Books 1-3 on the way up to and back from Windy Gap. Holy Sweet Goodness, Jack Lewis was a genius!

Toys Lie Still and What about Election?

Magic Motion Mondays takes a back seat when we don't have the kiddos. Tasha and I head out tomorrow for Weaverville, NC at the Young Life camp out there. We'll be ministering to a group of high school students from Gaston Christian School - should be an awesome week. Pray for us if you get the chance. All that to say that the kids are in Virginia with my parents this week terrorizing the Via house. Thanks for taking care of them, Mom. I suppose Tasha and I could video us sitting around staring at their toys lying deathly still, but how truly sad that would be indeed!

On another note. I'm currently reading the journals of Jim Elliot (Dad, I stole it off your shelf while you were out preaching last night).

I love his comments on 2 Timothy 2.

"And those who are arguing about foreknowledge, election, and such - read those verses 14-26 and then look how the apostle is willing to leave it a paradox (vv. 25, 26). 'God gives repentance' and 'they recover themselves.' Yes, yes, I'm naive and glad to be so in such a case" (January 19, 1948).

I stand naive with Jim. I'd rather be out telling people about Christ than joining in endless theological debate at Showmars. Or worse, wondering who the elect are and whether it would be a waste of my time to tell, seeing as Mr. so-and-so couldn't possibly be one of them anyway - another form of debate - a debate of the mind that I always lose when the debate begins. Forget the debate. Be naive.

Linking

I'm new to this whole technorati thing, so apparently, if you have me as a link on your blog, make sure you link it as joshvia.com, NOT joshvia.blogspot.com.
Somehow they can't work together, and having the .blogspot.com on the end makes it not show up as a claimed blog. I'm not sure why. It seems to be interfering with my old MySpace blog posts?! Maybe someone out there can give me the skinny. Hugs and Kisses.

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.

Powered Big Wheels will soon be Obsolete!

Well, Magical Motion Monday has turned into Wednesday. I knew this would happen eventually. Oh well. Here it is. The much anticipated most recent episode of family fun improv!

music - Mat Kearney, "Crashing Down"

Sleeping and Drowning

Today is the birthday of Ivan Pavlov. Remember him from Psychology 101? His famous salivating dog experiment helped to solidify the theory of classical conditioning - that we are conditioned to certain responses as we experience them over and over again. For some extended period of time Pavlov submitted his dogs to a conditioning test. Before every meal, he would ring a loud bell. Then he would bring out the food, the dogs would see it, begin to salivate and Ivan would feed them. After awhile, the dogs would salivate simply from hearing the bell. They were conditioned to know that the food would always follow the bell.

As irony would have it, I rescued a drowning puppy this morning from my neighbor's swimming pool. I heard him splashing and carrying on next door so I peaked through the fence to see for myself what the raucous was. My neighbors were still sound asleep, not realizing the danger their pup was in. So I jumped the fence and came to the rescue.

True story. It wasn't like the movies though. There was no pomp and circumstance to follow. No slow motion. No thematic score from James Horner and the London Symphony Orchestra. Just the chirping of birds and the loud panting of the puppy. Kind of a letdown. But I saved him. I called my neighbors and woke them up and told them what happened and they were grateful. Relieved. Stunned. Overwhelmed. Motivated.

I think many times in our Christian walk we are as Keith Green said, "asleep in the light." We have the truth of the gospel, the greatest news the world needs to hear, and we casually and comfortably sleep while the rest of the world drowns in the sickness of their own sin. We, the children of God, the only ones who have the life-saving devices, stay asleep in our cozy beds oblivious to the death surrounding us. And sadly we've conditioned ourselves to this. The habit of sleeping in the light has become such a part of us that as soon as we hear the screams of a panicky drowning world, we fall asleep. As soon as the bell rings, we salivate.

Would to God that He would awaken us from this stupor and find us grateful. Relieved. Stunned. Overwhelmed. Motivated. Grateful for His grace to bear with us. Relieved to have open eyes. Stunned at the condition of the world and the condition we were in. Overwhelmed at the enormous task in front of us. But motivated to get started again.

Awaken us, O God, from our sleeping state that we might see through Your eyes the world drowning in front of our faces.

"Asleep in the Light"
Do you see, do you see
All the people sinking down?
Don't you care, don't you care
Are you gonna let them drown?
How can you be so numb
Not to care if they come
You close your eyes
And pretend the job's done
Oh bless me Lord, bless me Lord
You know it's all I ever hear
No one aches, no one hurts
No one even sheds one tear
But He cries, He weeps, He bleeds
And He cares for your needs
And you just lay back
And keep soaking it in,
Oh, can't you see it's such a sin?
Cause He brings people to your door,
And you turn them away
As you smile and say,
God bless you, be at peace
And all heaven just weeps
Cause Jesus came to your door
You've left Him out on the streets
Open up, open up
And give yourself away
You see the need, you hear the cries
So how can you delay?
God's calling and you're the one
But like Jonah you run
He's told you to speak
But you keep holding it in,
Oh can't you see it's such a sin?
The world is sleeping in the dark
That the church just can't fight
Cause it's asleep in the light
How can you be so dead
When you've been so well fed

Jesus rose from the grave
And you, you can't even get out of bed

Oh, Jesus rose from the dead
Come on, get out of your bed
How can you be so numb
Not to care if they come
You close your eyes
And pretend the job's done
You close your eyes
And pretend the job's done
Don't close your eyes
Don't pretend the job's done
Come away, come away, come away with Me, my love
Come away, from this mess, come away with Me, my love.

-Keith Green

What It Must Have Been Like for Nebuchadnezzar

Here's another biblical reenactment for your Magical Motion Monday. This one is from Daniel 5 - how Nebuchadnezzar went crazy and had a mind like a wild animal. My kids really seemed to have an easy time with this one! Enjoy!

Playlist 9.9.07

Ridge Church kickoff service was amazing last night.
The Levine Center was packed out. Really exciting stuff.

Our band played:
1. The Time is Now/All Because of Jesus (Steve Fee)
2. Let the Praises Ring (Lincoln Brewster)
3. Hosanna (Hillsong United)
4. At the Cross (Pocket Full of Rocks)

Magical Motion Mondays

I decided that Mondays would be a good day to post a weekly video clip. So be looking for more to come on Magical Motion Mondays!
This is a dramatic retelling of Joshua 6. Watch and be totally amazed!

Night of Worship 8-29-07

Playlist for Southbrook Night of Worship

1. Sanctify (Return Worship - Josh Via, Dan Rutty, Andy Cherry)
2. Sing to the King (Billy Foote)
3. Yearn (Shane and Shane)
4. Lord, You Are (Traditional)
5. Carried to the Table (Leeland Mooring)
6. Grace Flows Down (Passion)
7. Just Fall (Via)
8. King on His Way (Return Worship - Via)
9. Mighty to Save (Hillsong)

Civil Wars and Fights in the Produce Section

Ah, yes, the “C” word. Conflict. We all deal with it. Some of us run from it. Some of us thrive on it. Some of us deny it. Some of us love it. We all handle it differently. We all share in that unique human experience in some way.

My wife and I have different ways of handling conflict. When the conflict involves both of us, one of a few things happen. One, we’ll shut the door to our room until we work it out. That’s usually the least exciting of the options. Two, we’ll both go jogging and forget the whole thing exists. Three, I’ll turn on the T.V., bake some chocolate chip cookies, brew some Starbucks Sumatra blend, and totally check out. Meanwhile, she’s in the kitchen trying to make sense of my behavior while steam pours from every orifice in her body, wondering if I’ll ever notice that she’s the reason the smoke alarm is going off. Well, that might be a bit exaggerated, but you get the idea.

Recently I was reading the book of Joshua and I came across a passage that is all about conflict resolution. Just from a very peripheral reading of it, I was able to pick out about 6 really basic observations and principles of conflict resolution that might help you the next time conflict is breathing down your throat.

It’s found in Joshua 22. Here’s the story in a large nutshell. The 12 tribes of Israel had just received their allotted portions of the land of Israel. 3 of the tribes had land on the eastern side of the Jordan River - Gad, Reuben, and the half tribe of Manasseh. To make for easier reading we’ll call them GRM, add a few letters just for fun and we get GRaMps. The other 9 tribes had land west of the Jordan. These other nine, Simeon, Asher, Naphtali, Dan, Issachar, Benjamin, Ephraim, Judah and Zebulun, we’ll call SANDI BEJZ, like a license plate which reads “Sandy Beaches” (I should write my own Bible Code). Anyway, so after helping Sandy Beaches get their land, GRaMps returned home to claim their part. This sets the stage for the conflict. Which brings us to the first observation.

Observation 1: Conflict will often happen following a great victory.

It’s like clockwork! So, be ready for it. Joshua had just led God’s people through months of fierce battles in order to claim the land that God had given them. They were basking in the thrill of victory and just around the corner conflict was waiting.

As GRaMps was returning, they decided to erect an altar to the Lord as a memorial to what He had done. They figured that it would be a good way to remind their children later on about what the Lord had done and how they belong to Him (v. 24) – a noble thing, no doubt.

However, when word reached Sandy Beaches, things went south. Their translation of the event went something like this: “GRaMps has erected an altar. I’ll bet your sweet bippy that they’re offering sacrifices to idols and false gods” (or something to that effect). In short, they had a misunderstanding on their hands.

So, Sandy Beaches immediately armed themselves for battle (v.12) and marched against GRaMps intending to wipe them off the map for their apparent rebellion. Come again?! Yea, they were about to have a civil war on their hands. They were about to enter a Middle Eastern conflict of astronomical proportions. This wasn’t your grandma’s conflict with the produce manager at Harris Teeter. This was huge. This thing was dangling over the chasm of civil war. This thing was like a Porterhouse in the cave of bad news bears. It was about to be bad. So, as soon as Sandy Beaches had marched up to GRaMps, they immediately brought their accusation.

Observation #2: Don’t jump to conclusions.

Verses 16-20 would have been completely obsolete had Sandy Beaches just allowed GRaMps to speak first. Jumping to conclusions usually means that #3 is also true.

Observation #3: Even the purest of motives can be misunderstood.

Throughout their accusation, Sandy Beaches used words such as “treachery”, “rebellion”, and “unfaithful” to describe what they thought of GRaMps. They assumed that wrong motives were involved, when in reality, nothing could have been further from the truth. GRaMps was acting out their faith in Yahweh through the only avenue that seemed appropriate at that time and they were still misunderstood. Sandy Beaches assumed there was a heart condition that needed fixing. They assumed wrong.

Observation #4: Hear Out Both Sides.

Finally, GRaMps was given the chance to explain what was really going on. Beginning in verse 21, GRaMPs explained their true intentions – that they were simply building an altar to the Lord as a memorial.

Observation #5: The motives of the accuser may be pure as well.

What’s interesting about this story is that we don’t find anywhere that Sandy Beaches was necessarily in sin for a wrongful accusation against GRaMps. Their motives seem to have been pure as well. Verse 33 says that the Israelites “were pleased with the report, and they praised God.” You can almost hear the relief in their voices. They were thrilled that their brothers were still walking in faithfulness to the Lord. And that’s exactly what they wanted to hear.

Observation #6: Retaliation should never be an option.

If GRaMps were more like me, verses 21-22 would read something like, “The Reubenites, Gadites, and half the tribe of Manasseh answered the leaders of the Israelite clans by raising their fists in the air and crashing them down hard upon the faces of the Israelites all the while hurling horrific vulgarities and calling down curses upon them and their children and their children’s children and their children’s children’s children . . .” You get the point.

But that’s not at all what happened. In fact, their response in verse 22 so totally contradicts the realm of reason, that you may have to do a double take like I did. The first words out of their mouths were, “The Lord is the God of gods! The Lord is the God of gods! He knows, and may Israel also know.” What!? Did I read that right? There was no “Shut up and let us talk!?” Or “You’ve got the wrong freakin’ idea so get your oozy out of my face!?” Nope. None of that. They simply opened their mouths and glorified God as the only true God. They opened their mouths and recognized God’s omniscience in the situation. And by acknowledging his all-knowing mind, they were in effect saying that God was their vindicator. He would exonerate them. He knew their hearts. He knew their motives. He knew their intentions. And He knew where their loyalty lay.

Remember that God is your vindicator. Psalm 26:1 says,

Vindicate me, O LORD,
for I have led a blameless life;
I have trusted in the LORD
without wavering.

And Psalm 72:4 says,

He will vindicate the afflicted among the people . . .

So, the next time an army of several hundred thousand soldiers knocks at your door with guns pointed at your face, just remember what 3 small tribes did in the face of 9. And pray a lot.

Playlist 8-26-07

Southbrook Worship Set

1. God is Great (Hillsong)
2. Glorious One (Steve Fee)
3. King on His Way (Josh Via - look for it on the new "Return" worship CD. Stay tuned for more details.)
4. Indescribable (Laura Story)

Advice For Worship Leaders

Here's some advice that my 2-year old daughter gave today for other worship leaders. No, I didn't prompt her.

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.

Playlist 8-19-07

The band was tight last night at Ridge. You guys sounded great. Brandi Martin rocked out "Hosanna." Rusty, the sound was the best yet. Chris, awesome message, bro.
Highlight verse: "...for I will not offer to the Lord my God burnt offerings that cost [me] nothing.”
2 Sam 24:24 (HCSB)

We played:
1. All Because of Jesus (Steve Fee)
2. Let the Praises Ring (Lincoln Brewster)
3. Hosanna (Hillsong United)
4. Carried to the Table (Leeland) *Note to worship leaders: That darn Leeland has a range like the Rocky Mountains. You might want to consider dropping it down a full step or have an alto do it! I didn't do either, but should have!
5. At the Cross (Pocket Full of Rocks)

Playlists 8-12-07

Playlists from this past Sunday (late, I know)

AM Southbrook Church
1. Take It to the Streets (Redman)
2. Sing to the King (Billy Foote)
3. Sweetly Broken (Jeremy Riddle)
4. You Never Let Go (Redman)

PM Ridge Church
1. God is Great (Hillsong)
2. He is Exalted (Shane and Shane version)
3. At the Cross (Pocket Full of Rocks)
4. Sweetly Broken
5. It is You (Newsboys)

God Has Toys

What man among you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask Him! Therefore, whatever you want others to do for you, do also the same for them—this is the Law and the Prophets.
Matt 7:9-12 (HCSB)

[12:32 pm – Josh slowly creaps across the yard, sweat dripping from every pore. He looks as if he’s been ravaged by a wild beast.]

Today I was weed-eating my yard in 104-degree heat – the hottest day of the year so far. I’m not sure why I waited until today. It seemed like a good idea at the time. No, actually it never seemed like a good idea. I don't know what I'm talking about.

[12:33 - The weed-eater begins humming softer in a neutral holding pattern. Josh is seen gazing intently at a small toy dump truck, looking as if he might pummel the unsuspecting 4x4.]

During one of many hallucinations throughout the process, my thoughts quickly went to my family, as they often do. As I was trying to maneuver my weed-eater in and out of the Fisher Price yard ornaments left so meticulously by my children, I resisted the urge to wipe them out of existence and get them out of my way. In so doing, I quickly realized what was happening. I was losing the respect and care for my kids' stuff, even though I still expected it from them.

[12:34 – Josh’s gaze moves from the ground toward the sky. Still clinging to the sputtering weed-eater, he nearly obliterates his sweaty afro in the process.]

So, my thoughts then went upward. I imagined God giving me toys. Actually, He has. He’s given me precious gifts. And He’s given you precious gifts. And they’re not just precious to me or you, they’re precious to Him. In the grand scheme of God’s economy, He’s got tons of toys and tons of children, so they may seem insignificant. But they’re not. They’re important to Him. His children are important to Him. So, the two shouldn’t be separated. He likes giving good gifts to His children. And once He gives them, He doesn’t kick them around the yard. None of God’s gifts are insignificant. None of them are unimportant. None of them lose their value after the rains of life weather the paint. No, He’s a good gift-giver. Because He’s good and because He loves His children.

[12:35 – Josh gently and carefully moves the Little Tykes dump truck out of the way and continues weed-eating.]

Madness in Marietta

It's difficult to put into words what we saw God do this week. We led worship for the RFBC Student Camp at Camp Awanita in Marietta, SC. I've never seen the Holy Spirit move and work in a group of high school students like I witnessed this week. Church kids were getting saved. Kids with no church background were getting saved. Kids were getting right with each other. Kids were getting a passion for their lost friends back home. The Lord was moving so mightily that on the final night of camp, the worship had to be extended for several hours as kids were getting saved and weeping over lost friends.

I've seen God do some pretty insane things over the years, especially on overseas mission trips, but this week I saw something I've never seen before. As we were kicking off the last worship set, one girl on the front row couldn't take it anymore. Totally unprovoked and unsolicited, she literally ran out of the room. I thought maybe she was about to pee in her pants or something. I wasn't sure. It wasn't until later that I found out what had happened. Weeping under conviction, she found Jay Richards, her youth pastor and prayed to receive Christ.

One of the coolest things during the week was to see how God used particular worship songs to connect with students in unique ways. I had this conversation with a friend the other day about worship songs that God seems to use more mightily than others. We both wondered whether a song can be "anointed." I'm not sure, but I do know that there are, no doubt, songs that the Holy Spirit greatly uses to grip people's hearts. Two generations ago, God used "Just As I Am" in Billy Graham crusades all across the world to penetrate the gospel into hearts and elicit a call to repentance. There's no doubt that that song had a huge part to play in Graham's ministry.

Now, I wonder if "Sweetly Broken" could possibly be one of those songs that God is using today in a unique way. I don't mean to sound mystical, but there's definitely something about this song written by Jeremy Riddle, a worship leader from California, that God is using and blessing. As we sang it this week at camp, the Holy Spirit seemed to make the words come alive in our hearts. We were broken over our sin. We were weeping over the thought of Christ crucified in our place. We were all amazed and stunned in His presence.

You can check out Sweetly Broken in the post below.

Thanks so much to all of you who prayed for the Lord to unleash His presence at Camp Awanita this week. He certainly did.

Thanks to Jay Richards and all you guys at RFBC for letting us join you this week. We love you guys.

"Sweetly Broken" - by Jeremy Riddle

To the cross I look, to the cross I cling
Of its suffering I do drink
Of its work I do sing

For on it my Savior both bruised and crushed
Showed that God is love
And God is just

Chorus:
At the cross You beckon me
You draw me gently to my knees, and I am
Lost for words, so lost in love,
I’m sweetly broken, wholly surrendered

What a priceless gift, undeserved life
Have I been given
Through Christ crucified

You’ve called me out of death
You’ve called me into life
And I was under Your wrath
Now through the cross I’m reconciled

Bridge:
In awe of the cross I must confess
How wondrous Your redeeming love and
How great is Your faithfulness