You probably don’t remember me, but to this day I remember you. Well, I remember a few things about you. Your name’s Matt and you decided to spend a week with me and a bunch of other young nerds at Space Camp in Cape Canaveral, Florida back in the summer of 1995.

This won’t help you much, but I had just finished 5th grade and I knew without a shadow of a doubt that I was going to be an astronaut when I grew up. I was part of the Young Astronauts club in elementary school, I was an expert model rocket builder, and I had even watched Flight of the Navigator. I was positive that if there wasn’t an age restriction I would’ve gone up in the next shuttle launch. No joke.

Truth is, I never became an astronaut and I will probably never man a space flight. But I did learn about something even better than space travel and why people don’t throw up in one of these — the world of Dave Matthews Band. I remember those afternoons spent listening to your copy of Under The Table And Dreaming on my Discman and being blown away by it. That album marked a huge shift in my appreciation of music and musicians.

You’re probably wondering why I’m writing this to you some 15 years later. Well, here’s the deal. I married an amazing woman and it turns out that she really enjoys DMB
too. We are going to our first ever DMB concert tonight and I wanted to express to you my gratitude for sharing DMB with me. Know that there was one little kid who was grateful for the time you spent with them that week and that it is one of the most memorable parts of his childhood.

Sincerely,
Allan

P.S. – Thanks Mom & Dad for making Space Camp a reality for your young astronaut!

http://elevation-worship.com/blog/?p=1985

How To Play

• Chord chart
• Instructional video

I feel like there is something stirring not just inside of me but inside Christianity as a whole. It’s funny to write that though because I’m sure that believers throughout the ages have always felt like they were on the verge of something. Truth is, God is infinitely greater than we are and there is always something stirring around us. We just need the faith to believe that God is at work, the eyes to see how He is moving, and the willingness to go where He leads.

Lord, please give us the faith, eyes, and willingness to follow your lead. Let us trust in you with all that we are and not lean on our own understanding. May our worship of you be done in spirit and truth and may all the distractions of this world fade away as we fix our eyes on you.

A couple links worth checking out:

• Fence Painters or Culture Changers?
• Could Your Church Survive if There Were no Sermons?
• The Great Emergence

Go check them out. Refreshing, worshipful, and engaging.

Highlights of the album Beautiful Things are definitely Dry Bones, Beautiful Things and The Earth is Yours.

After getting a really, really, really good laugh from this video, I was left with the stinging sensation that it’s all too true of a reflection of Western/American church services and what we call worship.

I keep thinking about…

• what God thinks about our weekly services.
• what else God has in store for His followers that we’re missing out on.
• what it means to worship in spirit and in truth.
• what our responsibility is in all of this is.
• what the long-term repercussions of what we’re doing today are.

You know, Donald Miller may be onto something though.

What do you think about after seeing this video?

Warning: This song will get stuck in your head.

I feel like I may be a little late to the John Mark McMillan fan pool, but better late than never. First caught wind of this singer/songwriter after learning about David Crowder‘s cover of his song “How He Loves” but never spent the money on buying his album, The Medicine. After 6 months, I finally caved and it’s been in pretty heavy rotation ever since. Definitely a worthwhile purchase and welcomed addition to the music library. His raw and honest lyrics are a welcomed change from some of the cliched stuff floating around these days. I really enjoy the recent music video version of “Skeleton Bones” (seen above). It has an incredible intimacy and warmth to it. Props to the Calnin Brothers for doing such a great job capturing a memorable moment in the studio.

Fee‘s new album, Hope Rising, drops on October 6^th but they’ve already released “Glory To God Forever” as their first single off the record. The song was written by Steve Fee and Vicky Beeching.

I first saw/heard this song earlier this year on their blog while they were in the studio. I instantly connected with it and have been playing it ever since.

Lyrics

Verse 1

Before the world was made
before you spoke it to be

You were the King of Kings
yeah you were, yeah you were

And now you’re reigning still
enthroned above all things
Angels and saints cry out
we join them as we sing

Chorus

Glory to God, Glory to God
Glory to God, Forever

Verse 2

Creator God you gave
me breath so I could praise
Your great and matchless name
all my days, all my days

So let my whole life be
a blazing offering
A life that shouts and sings
the greatness of the King

Bridge

Take my life and let it be
All for you and for your glory
Take my life and let it be yours

Audio

• iTunes
• Amazon

How To Play

Fee has a chord/lyric chart posted on their site here. It’s pretty straightforward. The song is in “B”, but sounds best played capo 4 in “G” like the chord chart says. Biggest things to watch for are tempo (82bpm) and the beat changes between the verses, chorus, and bridge. You gotta keep the verse and bridge straight and syncopate the chorus.

Congregations pick up on the chorus and bridge pretty quickly, verses take a little getting used to. The melody is simple yet captivating and the theology of the song is rich and accurate. It’s a great congregational song. It’s like being in the throne room with the angels when people are singing this one out – simply beautiful and humbling.

Let me know if you have any questions. Hope you enjoy worshipping the Lord with this one!

Every couple of years, I eagerly look forward to the release and consequent purchase of an album from none other than the creative powerhouse known as the David Crowder* Band. This past Tuesday marked one of those fateful days that I embrace with anticipation and worry. Anticipation to hear the new music, but worried that they might not live up to the hype and expectations I have. It never seems to fail though, DC*B always pushes the envelope a little bit farther and crafts a new masterpiece that marks a new era in worship music. Few albums in my collection receive the title of masterpiece, but Church Music provides a seamless listening experience that has such a deep current of truth and theme (lyrically and musically) that it can only be revered as a true masterpiece.

Get the album and take some time to do the following (in no specific order):

1. show your ears some new sonic goodness
2. let your heart and mind soak in the rich lyrics
3. challenge your thoughts on what church music is and can be
4. revel in God’s glory and love

You can get it at iTunes, Amazon (cheapest as of today), the DC*B store, and just about anywhere else music is sold.

Check out TheJointReview.com for a thorough review.

Sound off in the comments with your favorite song(s) and what you like most about the album!

Our Senior Pastor was out of town doing a wedding for a family in our church, so he asked Michelle (my wife) and I to team up and handle last night’s evening service in his absence. We decided to use the Just Stop and Think video from Francis Chan for the teaching. The scripture reading for the night was 1 John 2:1-6. Michelle handled the congregational prayer and intro/outro for the video. I’m probably a little bias (ok, really bias) but she did a great job tying the scripture and video together and challenging the congregation to live like Christ. In the video, Francis Chan provides an approachable and comprehensive challenge to embrace the message that Christ died for us and that our lives should be lived out as a response to His love and grace. Definitely a great video for both believers and non-believers.

Check out the video and let me know what you think!

Order of Service

• Meet With Me
• Welcome & Greeting Time
• Unchanging
• Enough
• Prayer & Scripture (1 John 2:1-6)
• Just Stop and Think video
• Short talk connecting video and scripture
• Everlasting God
• Benediction

Music

We were running a little lighter than usual for the band (3-piece instead of the typical 5-piece). We went for a softer approach and did drums, acoustic, and bass guitar for most of the set. Changed it up on Enough and did 2 acoustics with brushes on drums. Overall, it was a nice change of pace and had some good energy to it despite missing the electric and keys.

Check out the Sunday Setlists blog entry on Fred McKinnon’s blog for more worship service recaps from this past weekend.