Ministry

Jailhouse Religion

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We had the privilege last night to lead worship at Leath Correctional Institute.  It’s one of the South Carolina women’s prisons that is stationed here in Greenwood.  For many of our band, this was the first experience like this.

And it was one of the most memorable times of leading worship I have ever experienced.

We led the “Knowing Jesus” presentation and I did a sermonette towards the end.  It was intended to be a mere couple of minutes, but they were giving me too much response for me not to go on a little bit longer.

We originally were supposed to go Wednesday night, but the storm kicked us out because they didn’t want 200 inmates in an open room if the power went out.  When I told the workers that it’s all good and we were there to serve them, they said that was a unique attitude.  Many that come into the prison to minister or to help have shown a little arrogance.  That’s just not so wonderful to hear.  So we decided to really change the vibe in there as much as we could.

Many people claim what we saw last night was “jailhouse religion” that is just an escape from reality. It is a crutch to get through. It is a safe assurance that won’t last longer until they get back on the streets.

The reality?  Some of their spiritual maturity in prison makes so many of ours seem shallow and empty outside these walls.  Shame on us who walk in spiritual and physical freedom and yet never live a life that beams gratitude.

Here are just some of the highlights from the evening:

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“Wisdom & Stature” – Storytellers

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As we composed the music for “Knowing Jesus,” there were some time gaps that deserved a song, but you didn’t want to force lyrics upon the situation.  Some of the moments could be better suited instrumentally than trying to come up with forced lyrics.

One example is the time after Jesus’ birth until his entrance into ministry.  This time covers from an infant until he is 30 years old.  It’s a large gap of time.  It’s the biggest timeframe of his life, but there is little biblical material on the timeframe.  We know the magi came to visit, he stayed around in the temple as a young boy, and we are told that he grew in wisdom and stature.

That’s about it.

So, I asked our very own Eric Bryant if he had or could compose some finger-picking acoustic music that would sound like a boy growing into a man.

He said he’d work on it.

That’s why I love this team.

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Keep His Commandments

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The above picture is a shot of my sermon notes today.  1 John 2:3-6 is so plain, there isn’t a ton to unpack there.  It’s pretty simple.  If you really know Jesus, you will keep his commandments.

There really wasn’t a lot to add to that Scripture, so I didn’t try to add a bunch to it.  God’s Word is sufficient.  It doesn’t need frills, it just needs to be heard.

So that’s what we did.  We ended my message early and let God speak.

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The Peace that Surpasses All Comprehension

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The picture above was taken during the funeral for Eric Petrus.  Eric was a friend of mine for many years.  We’re the same age.  Eric battled cancer for over a 3rd of his life.

And he won.

He has finally been healed by God.  The struggle is over, and cancer will never cause an ounce of pain or grief for him ever again.  He is home.

As I sat through his funeral, I watched the most vivid example of the “peace that surpasses all comprehension” displayed through Ken Petrus at his son’s funeral.  That is Ken on the right side of the picture praying over the hundreds of people in attendance.  For those in attendance, it was a remarkable display of composure and peace.

It’s much more than he didn’t break out into weeping like most people would.  That wouldn’t have made his message a failure.  Grieving is not evil.  It was his honesty and hope that spoke volumes.

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“It Is Finished” – Storytellers

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“Twisted crown of thorns upon Your head.”

When we got together to begin the process of writing “Knowing Jesus” – a chronological worship project focusing on the life of Christ – the above lines were the first ones penned.  I had put a group of 4 in our living room to work on the crucifixion song, and 4 of them were in the playroom working on the resurrection song.  The task was to study all 4 gospel accounts on the event for a good while before writing anything down.

The groups studied the Word for a long while.  After I went back and forth between each room, I eventually allowed them to start writing the song.  It was so incredible to watch Woody, Evan, Peggy, and Michael work.  The line that served as a catalyst for this group was John 19:2 as it described a twisted crown of thorns placed upon the head of Jesus.  If you are familiar with the artwork, you also see how this line played a big part in the big picture.

This one took a long while for it to be finished (kinda ironic).

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Walk in the Light

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I’ve tried to make the biblical text of the day always guide our services, but recently I’ve felt the need to take it a step further.  As a worship leader, I sometimes feel like I need to state the obvious.  I don’t pick out songs based on what songs I would like to sing.  I design a service to set the table for the Word to be proclaimed.  I love it when the Word has already been proclaimed before the preacher gets on the platform.

So, today, I stated the obvious.  Since 1 John 1:5-2:2 was the focal text in which the service was designed, I read different passages as we went through the service.  Since the 1st section came from the 1st section of the service, I tried to connect the dots for the worshipers.  Same thing for the 2nd part and following.  Hopefully, our church is able to see the biblical intentionality that we take for every single thing that goes in a service.

Today, we worshiped to:

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The Secret to College Ministry

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My first job out of college was college and missions pastor at North Side.  Dual responsibilities are always challenging in a church, but I loved both of them. I thought I had figured out college ministry pretty early on.  We began to do a “cutting-edge” worship service away from a church building, because doing it in an established church would …

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“Our Father” – Storytellers

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“Our Father” was the song written for “Knowing Jesus” to capture the essence of Jesus’ prayer life.  In studying the gospels, you can’t escape from the fact that Jesus prayed a lot.  And when Jesus prayed, stuff happened.

Unfortunately, for many of us, our prayer life can be characterized by the statement: “All we have left to do now is pray.”  Can you imagine the Almighty God hearing such pathetic pleas as if He is a last resort?  Prayer is not a spare tire.  Prayer is not a last ditched effort.  Prayer – communion with God – shakes heaven and earth.

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The Truth About Jesus

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  There is something so strong when church worship is centered around the Word of God and not ourselves.  While a commitment to and a love for the Bible has always been present at North Side, it just seems as if it grows in intensity each week.  I am so thrilled with what is going on at North Side! In …

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Fantasy Football Champs (& How It Misguides the Church)

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I am the Fantasy Football champion.  Well, at least for my league.  The guys in my community group created a league for the 2nd year, and after being blown out in the 1st round of the playoffs last year, I was able to withstand some serious close calls to pull out for a championship victory.

I have so arrived.

What’s interesting about fantasy football is your attention becomes solely on the players instead of the teams.  I didn’t care if the Vikings or the Panthers won, I just wanted Adrian Peterson and Cam Newton to rack up points.  I was more concerned with the success of one than the victory of the team.

And the majority of the Church in America is operating out of the same perspective.

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“Gloria” – Storytellers

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Over Christmas, we led the song “Gloria” at North Side a few times.  This song is included on the “Knowing Jesus” project and covers the incarnation part of Jesus’ life.  It’s the Christmas song.  Jesus came to us.

Back at our songwriting day at our house last year, Strutton, Evan, Linda, and Nancy had a small session to work on this song.  They had gotten stumped on parts of the song, but they came before the larger group with a 4-part choral arrangement of simply singing the word “Gloria.”  While it wasn’t long in length, I absolutely loved the beauty of it and knew that would be the foundation of the song.  The main melody became the instrumental hook at the beginning and throughout the song, and it also was the bridge of the song.  The final sounded very much like what was sung in my living room.

The chorus was written on the plane while I was traveling to Africa.  I was reading Luke 2 and just heard this escalating line in my head: “Glory to God in the highest.”  I recorded it on my phone while my traveling companions were sleeping so I wouldn’t forget it.  When I returned to the States, I opened up Luke 2 again and simply began to sing.  The majority of the song could be sung straight out of the ESV Bible with little variation to that text.  Love it when the Word takes over.  The remainder of the song was written in about 15 minutes as the Word and the music just kinda collided together.

Since the song would be a turnaround from the dramatic opener, we needed something to grab attention at the beginning.

I never thought I would find the beginning of the song sitting with my wife in the doctor’s office.

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Knowing That You Know Jesus

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New year.  New series.  New book.  We started our 3-monthish focus of 1 John this morning with a series entitled: “Knowing That You Know Jesus.”  If you recall, we studied the Gospel of John and it was called “Knowing Jesus,” but this focus is really settling on testing to see if you are in the faith or not.  How can one be sure that he or she is saved?

Today was one of our most packed and energetic Sundays I can ever remember.  Both services were hopping, and there was a real eagerness to encounter Jesus today.  I was so thankful to Cole, Patrick, Julio, and Sam for sharing about their time at Passion 2013.  So great to hear how God was using them and how God is leading them for their next steps.  Can’t wait to see what he does through these students and the many others who went with our church.

Today, we worshiped to:

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58 Tracks

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At the beginning of 2012, I huddled our worship team together to dream a bit.  I started with the slide above.  As worship leaders, I wanted us all to grow a bit.  I wanted us to respond to God’s revelation through worship, but I also wanted us to begin to really pray how we could apply Colossians 3:16 in our church.  How could our worship team better disciple and teach our church the truths of God’s Word?

Part of the answer?

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Peacemakers

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Wonderful Sunday to wrap up 2012 at North Side.  Being the week between Christmas and New Year’s, I gave the band the week off for practice, and then we had 2 ladies call in sick this morning unable to sing.  So we had to do some major scrambling and changing of the setlist this morning, but this worship team never ceases to amaze me with their ability to be flexible when I have to call some audibles.

Today was the first time I have ever led worship with the banjo.  I got to play that on one song, the hammered duclimer on one, and guitar on others.  It was a definite bluegrass kinda morning.  The fellas did a great job!  It was wonderful to hear an update on Project Love Christmas Bash today as well as pray for our West Africa team which just landed earlier.  The gospel in Greenwood and beyond.  Love being a church committed to the Great Commission!

Today, we worshiped to:

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You Promised Us Peace on Earth

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Almost didn’t write this song.  Definitely close to finishing project and not recording it.  Didn’t want an album full of bluegrass Christmas songs to be interrupted by an original that didn’t connect. Surprisingly, the song “Peace on Earth” has meant so much to our congregation in light of personal struggles and in light of national events like the shooting in …

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Peace Kept

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If you have ever wondered who is the media mastermind behind our services, look no further.  My son, Eli, is the technological guru behind all things AVL during our services.  Well, he at least likes to act like he is.  Honestly, he’s so smart and skilled in these areas, it won’t be long.

I always love the Sundays before Christmas.  Today was a little different.  The worship was great.  Message was powerful.  Great services full of eager worshipers, but so much stuff happening before, during, and after services that it is hard to process.  Watching families work on reconciliation in our midst.  Unemployed fathers trying to find assistance to provide for their family this year.  Single moms trying to find hope.  Families unable to attend worship because they are beside hospital beds.  And so much more.  It’s the Body of  Christ.  It’s church.  It’s not usually glamorous, but it’s real life, and I’m honored I get to alongside these people as Christ draws them closer.

Today, we worshiped to:

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A Bluegrass Christmas

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Personally, I have been overwhelmed and humbled by the encouraging amount of feedback we have received about our 4th 2012 worship album: “Peace on Earth: A Bluegrass Christmas.”  What started as a neat idea to have a small EP turned into something a little larger and more thematic.  We have sold out of our original run, and have been refilling stock as often as we can.  Many of our members have given theirs away and needed another one.

There are some random stories and interesting facts from each track.  If you like knowing some of the behind the scenes stuff, read below:

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What Could Have Stopped the Newtown Massacre?

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Like the rest of the country, I’m attempting to obtain some sense of normalcy since the Newtown shooting.  When Adam Lanza barged into an elementary school and killed 26 unsuspecting children and adults, the country is taken to a rightful standstill.  The only person not engaged in the conversation in America is the one we would like to receive answers from – Adam Lanza.

In the ensuing moments, our minds linger elsewhere.  For some of us, we thought of our children.  For some of us, we thought of policy changes.  For all of us, we naturally went to what what have fixed this situation.

Well, what could have stopped the Newtown Massacre?

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Peace Made

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We had a wonderful time being the church today.  Whenever the service starts out with Jeff getting on the banjo, you know it is going to be a special day!

We actually sold out of our “Peace on Earth” CDs today, but we will have some more copies available for tomorrow night at the mall.  So thankful for the encouraging response we have received.  The time of worship was powerful, and I never knew how God was orchestrating the details of the service together.

We had a powerful time of worship and intercession over the people of Newtown, CT.  And what I loved about it was the order of service was in play before the tragedy occurred.  We had planned to sing the new song “Peace on Earth” during the service as a lead into the message, and was the song ever timely with our congregation yesterday.  Pictures from Newtown filled the back wall as we sang, “There are wars in the streets, there are wars where we sleep, o, the wreckage it grows by the day.  My soul can only take so much of this heartache, help me, Jesus, please don’t delay.”

As we sang, you could tell the amount of prayers going up in the room hoping that the people devastated by this tragedy will realize that the peace on Earth Jesus promised can be found in him even among such horrible times.

Today, we worshiped to:

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Bluegrass at the Mall

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Wanted to invite you and your family to join the North Side family at the Greenwood Mall Monday night.  A bunch of things are happening and we would love for you to join us!

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Peace Lost

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By the time I left the church house this afternoon, I was exhausted, but it was that good kind of exhausted.

I still can’t wrap my head around all that happened this morning.

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Peace on Earth: A Bluegrass Christmas

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This collection of bluegrass Christmas songs was released December 9, 2012. Hark the Herald Angels Sing Angels from the Realms of Glory O Little Town of Bethlehem Away in a Manger In the Bleak Midwinter O Come O Come Emmanuel God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen Peace on Earth Wonderful Peace Gesu Bambino Go Tell It on the Mountain Download Chord …

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Bad Church Sign: Get Off Your Donkey

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Received this church sign from a friend recently.  Too thought-provoking not too share.  This week’s bad church sign of the week says:

SERMON OCT. 14

GET OFF YOUR DONKEY

LUKE 10:25-37

And if you are like me, you automatically see the insinuation with the replacement word for donkey leaping into your mind.  The passage is of the Good Samaritan.  Don’t avoid needs when you see them, get off of your literally donkey or your figurative donkey and get up to help somebody.  That’s the point of the message.

It’s funny.  It’s clever.  But is it right?  Where is the line between being engaging and being crude?

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“Prologue” & “Come Lord Jesus” – Storytellers

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To begin the “Knowing Jesus” album and event, we needed something dramatic.

We needed something to display the numerous prophetic scriptures referring to the Messiah.

We needed something to sound dark with light bursting forth.

We needed something that sounded like 400 years of divine silence from God to Israel.

We needed something to create the space between Malachi and Matthew.

We needed something to sound like a supernatural battle going on where a baby was going to be born and the great dragon was trying to stop it.

And we needed it all in about 4 minutes.

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Peace on Earth: A Bluegrass Christmas

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We shared some music yesterday morning of our upcoming Christmas recording project entitled “Peace on Earth: A Bluegrass Christmas.”  Knees were a jerking for sure.

Available on iTunes!

We shared some bluegrass arrangements of some Christmas music we have worked on and we also shared an original song we wrote for the current series, “Peace on Earth.”  Since it was the first country/bluegrass song I had ever written, I was glad to know that those experts in this genre approved kindly.  Tracey did a fantastic job of singing it.  I have had many church members say they were going to sell it to a country artist.  Jeff thinks Brad and Dolly needs to cover it.  We’ll see ;).

The CD will be available this Sunday!  We are so excited to share this 11-track disc with you.  Here is the track listing:

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Perfect Peace

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We kicked off the Christmas season in a very special way today at North Side!  Celebrating baptisms, diving into some bluegrass goodness, and soaking in Isaiah 26:3: “The steadfast mind You will keep in perfect peace because he trusts in You.”

Just 1 week away from our Bluegrass Christmas release, we got to share some hoedown Christmas goodness.  I was impressed with all the clapping on the chuck instead of the boom.  And I loved the singing out and the expressions of joy as we worshiped to a very lively church body.  Love, love, love what God is doing among our church these days.  I love how church spills out after our service.  We had some special students hang with the Agnews and our time together was as rich as our time worshiping together.  It was such a reminder that church is much more than a service (and that’s coming from a guy who loves good services).

Today, we worshiped to:

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“Woe to You” – Storytellers

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It happened again last night.  I was moments away from pulling the song “Woe to You.”  We were leading the “Knowing Jesus” worship event at FBC Moncks Corner, and as I looked out at the congregation, I felt the same way 1st time we sang it at North Side – people aren’t going to like this one.

In fact, it may be too much.  It’s too edgy.  Very confrontational.  I kinda have to scream some.  Maybe we shouldn’t do it.

But each time, I went ahead with it, I sang the truth of Jesus’ words and let him handle the results.  I have been overwhelmed at the response of the song “Woe to You.”

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Thankful – Week 3

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What a great day of worship as we concluded our Thankful series.  We were honored to have our students lead us in worship this Sunday.  These guys lead at the Peak each week, and they do a fantastic job when they lead for the old people too!

Today, we worshiped to:

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Thankful – Week 2

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Today’s worship was all about flexibility today.  I sprung 1 unplanned song on the band at 9:30, 3 at 11:00.  I just told them they should be thankful we didn’t have a 3rd service ;)!

As we continued in our “Thankful” series, we also had Ben Davis, President of Connie Maxwell Children’s Home, come and update us on our partnership with this wonderful ministry.  It was so great to hear him speak, and you can tell his passion for taking care of these children.

We also reminded everyone about our Adoption Workshop coming up.  You can get details here.

Today, we worshiped to:

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Bad Church Sign: Tomlin

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Bad Church Sign of the Week:

“OUR WORSHIP LEADER WAS CONTEMPORARY WHEN CHRIS TOMLIN WAS IN JR HIGH”

Red Sea Church, you win.  I don’t know what you win, but you definitely have it wrapped up.

So what is it that your church boasts about?  

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“I Will Follow” – Storytellers

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This week’s storyteller song is “I Will Follow” from “Knowing Jesus.”  This song was written to describe Jesus’ calling of the disciples and their willingness to follow him.  As our church has been engaging in the Great Commission more than ever, this song has been a very special song for us.

The song was written a few days before I left for West Africa this summer.  I huddled up some of our worship leaders on a Tuesday and we got a lot of writing done.  The 1st song we focused on was this one.  Strutton, Kennerly, Nivens, and myself got into the Word, hopped on some instruments and began writing this song out.  The first line that came out: “The very thought is overwhelming, almost too good to be true, that someone so undeserving would be chosen by someone like you.”  It turned into a ballad that starts very low key but then erupts towards the middle with some fun minor 4ths and large crescendos.

The first time I led it I was with some pretty special people and there was a pretty special response:

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Thankful – Week 1

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We started a 3-week series today at North Side entitled “Thankful.”  We will be studying Colossians 1 and it is such a great passage and I thought today was full of powerful services.  Starting each service out with baptism is always a great way to begin.  Always so humbled to be a part of these moments as Christ changes lives among us!

I came into the 2nd service still dripping to help lead in worship, but it was worth every bit of it!

Today, we worshiped to:

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Bad Church Sign: 50 Shades

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This week’s bad church sign of the week reads…uhmm…well…here we go:

“Fifty Shades of Old Testament Sex”

Wow.  In the last year, the book, Fifty Shades of Grey, took America by storm.  This story on sexuality had many giving it rave reviews and others claiming it was down right evil.  And so what does this church do?  Use this controversial title to lure passerbys into their church to hear how Old Testament sex is like the book?  Better than the book?  Not sure exactly.

What’s the problem?

The problem is that so many churches today borrow so much material from culture and then try to spiritualize it.

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“Go” – Storytellers

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We sang “Go” this Sunday at North Side and it is the final song on our “Knowing Jesus” album.  On the album, it goes right into the 21st track, “Epilogue” which continues the song and also reprises two musical themes from “I Will Follow” and “Come Lord Jesus.” The song is written in an African-type of call and response.  It …

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Feed My Sheep

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Over a year in the study of the Book of John, we finally came to the conclusion in chapter 21.  This study has been amazing in my life and for our church.  Time spent on Jesus is never wasted!

I was amazed yet again at how the Holy Spirit united so many elements of the service.  From the worship songs, to the testimonies, to the message, to the invitation, I love it when He brings everything together.

We had Edgar give us a report from his seminary and missionary work in Mexico.  I was overwhelmed with joy as I thought how so many people at North Side had invested in Edgar and how many people had been impacted by him.  To see him using all that God has done in his life over the year was incredible!

Today, we worshiped to:

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“Friend of Sinners” – Storytellers

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On Sunday, we sang a song entitled “Friend of Sinners” that, based upon our worshipers, is becoming one of North Side’s favorites.  The song is included on the “Knowing Jesus” project and was written to summarize the relationship between Jesus and sinners (it originally was next to “Woe to You” to show the vast gap between Jesus’ relationship with sinners and the most religious of the day).

If you can tell by the picture above, this song was written differently than most songs I write.  If you ever see my handwriting, you must know that there wasn’t an electronic medium to use – I can barely read my handwriting!  If you can read the top right, you have a clue to where I wrote this.

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Come to Jesus

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Today was the next to last Sunday of “Knowing Jesus” series, and it was one of my favorite Sundays ever.  We concluded our “Ni Zan Je” testimonies from this summer in a pretty special way.  As we took up the offering, we watched an International Mission Board video talking about the connection between financial support and our foreign missionaries.  And who was feature in the video?  Our very own partner, Greg, in West Africa!

Kara gave her testimony after that.  It was powerful to hear all that she learned and all that she did over the summer.  When she concluded, another one of our missionaries, Heather led worship with the choir to the song “He’s Always Been Faithful.”  As they sang, we played a video of our mission teams in West Africa.  There could not be a more appropriate song!  It honestly was one of the most powerful moments for me as a worship leader as I stood in the back of the auditorium worshiping along.

Today, we worshiped to:

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Bad Church Van Sign of the Week: Whoremongers

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This week’s bad church sign is actually a bad church van sign.

Can you imagine riding by this vehicle on your way to work?  I have been trying to imagine the driver’s face as he pulls by people.  He is definitely not embarrassed.  Maybe he turns a glance at every passing car in a judgmental, arrogant stare.  Maybe he thrives on getting people upset.  Who knows?

The sign says:

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“Words of Life” – Storytellers

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The song “Words of Life” focuses on the teaching ministry of Jesus.  As we developed the “Knowing Jesus” project, we knew that we needed to designate one sone specifically to display the power of Jesus’ preaching.  He was known as teaching with authority, and His lessons are still discussed 2000 years later after their origination.  That is something unique!

We wrote this song in a different way than the others.

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