Ministry

If I Was in the Presidential Debate

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I am not debating in the presidential debate tonight.  I am not running for office.  But you have to give credit to two men who desire the job of POTUS given the status of our country.  Whether you believe one or both of these men to be egotistical maniacs, gluttons for punishment, or eager ambassadors, they both want this job badly.

So badly that the 2nd debate was unnerving for many Americans.  The constant interruptions.  The disregard for boundaries.  The snide comments.

And now, we arrive at the 3rd debate tonight.  I already have my mind made up concerning how I am voting.  And so have you.  And so has the rest of America.  Tonight’s debate is likely not to change many minds as much as it will fire up both camps to blitz Facebook and Twitter with everyone’s biased review of the men’s performances.

I tried to imagine how I would respond if I was being portrayed by my opponent as a liar to millions of people.  Sure, I would want to interrupt and set the record straight.  I wouldn’t want to be characterized by something I am not.

And so, it made me wonder: “If I was in the presidential debate tonight, how would I close out my argument?”  Here’s a shot:

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Jesus & Thomas

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Wonderful time of worship at North Side today!  We are nearing the end of our “Knowing Jesus” CD as we studied the Gospel of John for over a year.  The message on Thomas was great.  I loved how Jeff said that the church needs to stop defining people by their past.  So true!

McFadden did a great monologue from Thomas’ perspective.  As he spoke of that moment when Jesus appeared in the disciples’ midst, he led in worship with “I stand amazed in the presence of Jesus the Nazarene, and wonder how He could love me, a sinner, condemned, unclean.”  The song worked out so well between the monologue and the message, it was almost as if Thomas himself wrote it!

Today, we worshiped to:

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Bad Church Sign: No, Luke, I Am Your Father

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Thankful to Karen Erskine for sending this sign to me.  This week’s bad church sign of the week has the Jesus character telling Luke Skywalker that, in fact, Darth Vader is not his father.  Instead, he is. This one isn’t that bad per se, but is quite hilarious on one side.  On the other side, I really wish I knew …

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“Risen” – Storytellers

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The song “Risen” off of our “Knowing Jesus” project was 1 of the 2 original group writing sessions we did.  John, Jamie, Laura, and Phillip camped out in my playroom and studied the 4 gospel accounts of Jesus’ resurrection.  After a while, they had a pre-chorus section and a few different chorus ideas.  The “come and see, the tomb is empty, He is risen” was the first section written.

We knew we wanted minor verses, major choruses.  We also decided that we wanted the mood to carry over from “It Is Finished” before it.  We wanted to convey at the beginning a sense of hopelessness and confusion.  So the song starts out with just pad and vocal.  Was the cross the end?  Now what?  We wanted people to experience what the disciples must have felt.

The rest of the song is a rowdy celebration of the power over death found in Jesus’ resurrection.

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Knowing Jesus Recap (And What’s Next)

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I know I am two weeks behind to give you a “Knowing Jesus” recap, but things have been a tad busy as of late.  In short, the event exceeded my expectations which were very large.  After all the prayer, study, work, and preparation into this event and resource, I set the bar high in my mind.  I never imagined what would happen that night.

I thought the entire roof was about to blow off the building.  When God’s people responded to the revelation of Jesus Christ, it was beyond intense.  As the storyline unfolded as we told the life and ministry of Christ through song, genuine, passionate worship erupted among us.

I had many comments (some of them were very sup rising), and here are the most repeated ones:

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Risen

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Focusing on missions and the power of the resurrection – what a Sunday!

Samantha Vickers did a fantastic job sharing her “Ni Zan Je” testimony and showing what faithfulness to the call looks like.  It was great for her to commission our mission team leaving out this Saturday in Hausa.  “I will follow Jesus anywhere no matter the roughness of the road.”

Today, we worshiped to:

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It Is Finished

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What a wonderful day to be a part of North Side!  I got the privilege to lead worship and preach today.  It is always a humbling thing to be in the room when God saves people.  We got to be in His presence when He did just that for a good crew of people at the 9:30 and 11:00 services.  I got to speak with some wonderful people and received some great emails today of people who Jesus saved today.  Absolutely amazing to see how God is transforming lives!

I preached from John 19 on the crucifixion of Jesus and the 3 greatest words I ever heard: it is finished.  We do not need to keep fighting a battle that has already been won by Christ.  He has offered the final sacrifice and has sat down at the right hand of God – it is finished!

Hebrews 10:11Every priest stands daily ministering and offering time after time the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins; 12but He, having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, SAT DOWN AT THE RIGHT HAND OF GOD

Today, we worshiped to:

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Pilate’s Judgment

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Powerful time of worship this morning at North Side.  The above picture was a pretty special moment as Jeff served as both pastor and father to some missionaries we commissioned.  Jeff’s daughter, Emily, Scott, and Baby Lucy are leaving this week to serve as missionaries in Africa.  It has been amazing to watch this father be so proud of his family for a decision that will keep them far from the comforts that we take for granted and yet so much closer to Jesus through their obedience.  It was an honor to pray for them – will continue to do so!  We have some prayer cards at the church for you!

Today, we worshiped to:

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Knowing Jesus

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Jesus changed everything. The world has yet to recover since the moment the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. As North Side Baptist Church studied through the Gospel of John, our worship team studied the life of Christ and wrote songs about some of the pivotal moments in His life and ministry. We wanted to tell the story chronologically …

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21 Tracks

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“Knowing Jesus” album is available on Sunday night at North Side.  We are hosting our “Knowing Jesus ” worship event at 6pm and would love to have you join us for worship!

The album is 21 tracks.  We would have done more, but we were seconds away from having to go double-disc.  We have so much music, we aren’t doing it all on Sunday night, but I have listed a track list to give you an idea on what each of these songs are.

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If An Album is Played in the Forest, Does Anyone Hear It?

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Last night, I had the privilege of listening through the “Knowing Jesus” album with our band at our home.  They had each contributed in the writing, arranging, recording of the process, but none of them knew until last night that this project is 21 tracks.  It is as close to 80 minutes that the disc will allow.

Why that much music?  Why 21-tracks?

The end of John gives us a hint:

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Jesus & Pilate

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In addition to some powerful worship time, we were honored to have a Courageous Resolution ceremony for some men in our church who went through the study “Honor Begins at Home.”  It was powerful watching these men make these commitments in front of their church and beside their families.  It is even more amazing watching these guys live out the change.  If you are interested in joining us for the next Sunday starting in 2 weeks, click here for more info.

We continue in our “Knowing Jesus” study.  Jeff’s message was powerful.  The entire service kept showing Jesus on display.  Love hearing our worshipers get after it!

Today, we worshiped to:

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“Knowing Jesus” Wordle

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You can tell a lot about something based on what words are used the most.

“Wordle” is a program that you can copy a section of text and it highlights the most used words by making them larger.  The more the word is used, the larger it is displayed.

So, do you know where this wordle is from?

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Peter’s Denial

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Great, impacting, insightful, honest worship today at North Side.  I took this picture on my phone during Cole’s soundcheck and it looked like the heavens were opening up!  Cole Strickland did a fantastic job on a Peter monologue to setup the message on Peter’s denial perfectly.

In addition, we heard a powerful testimony about mission work in West Africa this summer.  She did such a great job making the passage of the day go along with her testimony.  It was incredible to hear how someone who followed Christ across the world still struggled with denying Christ but saw him move anyway.  So wonderful that 2 of our main worship leaders today were our college students.  So great to see so many of these students not waiting until they graduate to serve, they get it now!

Today, we worshiped to:

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The Arrest of Jesus

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What a wonderful day to be the church!  In addition to our exciting things happening, we were so honored to have to roll out more tables for our college lunch with 100 students hanging out after services today.  It was so great connecting with these wonderful students from Erskine, Lander, Piedmont Tech, and Presbyterian College.  Just a reminder for you college students to join us on the City and get your free tunes!

Today was such a great worship service to be a part of.  Wonderful stories of those being baptized.  Worship centered on the cross.  New song from the “Knowing Jesus” project.  Incredible message on the arrest of Jesus – wow – Jesus is control.  He doesn’t need our help.  Jesus is the Great I AM.  I felt like shouting today!

Today, we worshiped to:

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Women’s Rights

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With all the political conversation going on these days, there is plenty to argue about.  I don’t want to argue.  I don’t want to debate.  Our country is in trouble, and no political leader can fix what is truly broken. There are so many issues, but you must decide what THE ISSUE is going to be for your this election …

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Jesus & the Church (Make Them One)

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What a great day to be a part of North Side!  We celebrated a bunch of family dedications, communion, worship, wonderful teaching, and so much more!

It was great to have the local colleges back in session and to have so many rows filled with our college students again!  We missed you and can’t wait to disciple you again!

Today, we worshiped to:

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Knowing Jesus – Night of Worship

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I am excited to announce the details for our “Knowing Jesus” Night of Worship.  Mark your calendars for Sunday, September 30th at 6:00pm for an incredible night of Worship entitled “Knowing Jesus.” Get ready for a unique worship experience where we walk through the life of Christ and worship Him at every turn. We will also be releasing a new album with songs you will hear on this worshipful night. Invite your family and friends, and we’ll see you there (you can get more info on the City and also help us get the word out on Facebook).

Back in January, our worship team began studying Scripture and writing songs around pivotal moments in the life and ministry of Christ.  Since that time, we have shared 4 songs from this upcoming project (It is Finished, Risen, All Things Are Possible, and I Will Follow; with more to come this Sunday and in coming weeks).  We start with the anticipation of the Messiah, go to the incarnation, Jesus’ baptism, the temptation, and so much more.  We eventually end up at the cross, the empty tomb, and the giving of the Great Commission.

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“May Your Life Be” – Storytellers

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I wanted to share another story behind the song from one of the tracks off of our “Enter His Gates” album (You can get your copy of the album at the church or on iTunes).  “May Your Life Be” is the 16th (!) and final track off the album we released in June.  It is such a wonderful prayer with which to end the entire worship project.

John Kennerly wrote this song and we included it on “The Time is Now” project with an acoustic feel.  The vocals on this song are some smooth and open, I wanted to take a different approach to really open it up.  We went to a pad being the primary instrument for the song, and besides a few piano parts and timpani hits at the end, that’s all you hear from instruments.  Vocally, John and Angela changed up some of the parts, but once again, the congregation on this song sounds amazing.

Since the song is a prayer for lifestyle worship, we needed all of our singers on this one, so North Side is singing their hearts out.  Sometimes, I walk into our worship center during the week and see the empty seats and imagine the worship that might be going on all over the city while we are scattered.  We want Jesus’ life to be alive in us!

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We Can’t Hear THE Name Because All We Hear is YOUR Name

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We live in a very interesting time in American Christianity.  In some ways, so much incredible Kingdom stuff is happening.  In other ways, I feel like we can’t hear THE name because all we hear is YOUR name.

Translation: many Christian leaders and Christian ministries are focused more on building their kingdoms than they are on building God’s Kingdom.

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Jesus & the Disciples

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What a special day as we celebrated the fact that Jesus prays for his disciples!  In today’s service, we tried to connect the original disciples with current disciples.  The call of Jesus is the same.  The prayers of Jesus are the same.  The goal is the same!

We were blessed to have Cassandra Erickson give us our 2nd installment of “Ni Zan Je” today as we continue to hear about our partnership with the unreached in West Africa.  Her story was powerful.  It was great to follow up her story with a new worship song our team has written called “I Will Follow.”  The song was written for our upcoming “Knowing Jesus” worship album which highlights portions of the life of Christ.  This song deals with Jesus calling of the disciples.

I played this song for Cassandra and some of the others this summer while we were in Africa during a power outage.  It was such a unique time as we sang this feeling connected with Jesus calling us just as He called the first disciples.  It was great to be able to share this song with the church as a whole today!

Today, we worshiped to:

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“No Greater Love” – Storytellers

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“Oh, what joy could make You stay?  Enduring the cross, despising it’s shame…”

I wanted to share another story behind the song from one of the tracks off of our “Enter His Gates” album (You can get your copy of the album at the church or on iTunes).  Track #15 is “No Greater Love.”  I originally released this song on a solo project that was a fundraiser for our adoption.  We had used it often at our church, and so it seemed a good fit to include it on this project.

We also decided to do this semi-live.  In the worship world, all live recordings are semi-live.  Elements are recorded live, but overdubs are done on every project because of bad notes played or off-tone elements.  We don’t have the capabilities at the church to produce a high-quality live recording, but so much of what happens special with our team is when our congregation is in the room with us.  So we played along with a click-track to make sure our tempo was correct and set out to record live congregational singing more than anything else.

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Jesus & the Father

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Loved being back with North Side this morning as we dove into John 17 and the High Priestly Prayer.  We focused the entire service on Jesus and the Father.  The key thought was giving glory to Jesus for His life and work on this earth.

We were blessed to have our first installment of “Ni Zan Je” (“I Will Go”) as Lacy Little shared with us some of the work Jesus did around her and through her in West Africa this summer.  I appreciated her honesty so much as she shared the roughness of the road Jesus called them to this summer.

Today, we worshiped to:

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“It’s You” & “Selah #3” – Storytellers

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“If there’s one thing I can’t get over, it’s You.”

I wanted to share another story behind the song from one of the tracks off of our “Enter His Gates” album (You can get your copy of the album at the church or on iTunes).  Track 13-14 is the “It’s You” suite.

This song was originally written for our “Submerge” student camp years ago.  An in-house band, “Brannon,” recorded this song on an EP.  We never used it with the church as a whole, but with much of the teaching we have been focused upon in John, I felt like we needed to bring it back.

The song was basically written as a commitment to the sufficiency of Christ in a prosperity-focused American Christianity.  So much of people’s faith nowadays is based upon Jesus plus something else.  While Christ blesses us in so many ways, if all of them were taken away, we would still have more than what we deserve.

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Ask and You Will Receive

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At North Side, we focused on prayer this Sunday.  Instead of talking about prayer, we wanted to actually pray.  So the service was built around prayer.

We studied in John 16 as Christ taught to pray in his name, so our worship time focused on the name above all names.

Today, we worshiped to:

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“Worship Your Name” – Storytellers

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I wanted to share another story behind the song from one of the tracks off of our “Enter His Gates” album (You can get your copy of the album at the church or on iTunes).  This song, “Worship Your Name,” was penned by our very own John Kennerly years ago, and I felt the need to bring it back.

The song was recorded on the first live album North Side recorded probably in 2003.  John had written the song earlier than that, and it was a special call to worship song for our church.

In this recording, we took a very acoustic, folksy turn on the song.  John is a singer-songwriter.  He is great in a coffeehouse setting telling a story and singing and playing his heart out.  I wanted to create the feeling on the track that there were a few guitars, voices, and percussion pieces sitting around a circle in a room.  We were very pleased to say it feels that way.

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No Matter the Roughness of the Road

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When we were in Africa, we got the privilege to be a part of Hausa Church one Sunday morning.  As we sat on the dusty porch with flies swarming us, I would hum along to whatever song our worship leader sang.  I knew one of the songs before I came, but the rest I just enjoyed listening and praying along.

One song they began to sing in Hausa, then they sang in English.  These were the words:

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Joy Comes in the Morning

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“Your presence is heaven to me.”

What a wonderful day to be the church.  I loved our time together as we focused on John 16 and Jesus’ promise that joy will come from sorrow.  As we worshiped today, I was so moved worshiping with our church family and seeing the authenticity in the room.  As a church, we share life together.  And so when one hurts, we all hurt.

As our worship service (songs, message, video, prayers, etc.) all focused on finding our joy in Jesus even during hard times, watching those who were hurting worship from the depths is an impacting thing.  Even in hard times, Jesus is good.

Today, we worshiped to:

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“My Portion” – Storytellers

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“You can take all the pleasures of this world, for You are my portion.”

I wanted to share another story behind the song from one of the tracks off of our “Enter His Gates” album (You can get your copy of the album at the church or on iTunes).  Track #11 is entitled “My Portion” and was birthed out of a United Youth Worship event we were having at North Side.

I was gathering together a collective of worship leaders from different churches to form a band for the event.  As we prayed about songs, I felt led that a message needed to be sung that we couldn’t find the perfect song for, so we wrote it.

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Summer Mission Legends

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We are so excited to welcome our summer missionaries back today!  Their flight will be landing this afternoon and heading back this way by this evening.

These six girls have been prayed for so much by the North Side family.  While members have been praying for each ones, one morning we also gave all worshipers the name of one girl that they were specifically supposed to pray for.  It’s been neat to have different people ask me how one of the girls was doing and if there was anything specific to pray for.

A few weeks ago, I drove through miles of farm in West Africa to a medium-sized village.  The road was incredibly rough as we navigated through crops.  As we approached the village, I saw a sight that would have been worth the entire trip.

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The Spirit & Salvation

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What a passionate and eclectic day of worship today.  We went everywhere from gospel to a capella and about everything in between.  Last week, we had nothing but an acoustic set from the floor, this week, we had about everything else!

We were very blessed to have One Heart help lead us in worship this Sunday.  Peggy is a part of our normal worship team, but she also sings with an a cappella group called One Heart.  Becky and Beth were gracious enough to join us for our worship this Sunday.  As we focused on the Holy Spirit, I asked them to do a medley of Spirit songs.  I don’t think they had ever sang that arrangement until this morning, and it was so fantastic.  What a way to welcome the Spirit’s presence.

Got to see some sights from last week’s Shake-n-Shine camp and hear stories from Jeff.  Such an incredible mission-focused summer (Africa girls get back tomorrow).  Jeff’s message on the Spirit was so refreshing.  Baptists need to “remember” the Holy Spirit.  Unfortunately, he is the often neglected member of the Trinity.  This message was a powerful reminder of the Spirit’s work in salvation.

Today, we worshiped to:

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Never Been More Helpless

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While we were in Africa, we were busy sharing the gospel.  Even if we were meeting needs, we didn’t do it without sharing the gospel.  Why?  Because that’s what Jesus did.  Yes, Jesus met physical needs, but he always addressed the greater spiritual need.  He never gave people a handout that would last for a day, he offered them words that could change their lives.

On one day, we held a gospel/medical clinic.  We would let people enter the courtyard in groups of 15 that later would turn into groups of about 100 at a time.  We would share the gospel with them, we would pray over them, and then we would try to address medical concerns.

In that day, I have never helped more people in my life and felt more helpless all at the same time.

As I rushed from person to person, some conditions could be treated with a simple Tylenol, Tums, or Neosporin.  Some of the other conditions were too great for the country to handle.  From 8-6 that day, I served as a medical assistant to some of the following conditions:

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“However Whenever Wherever” – Storytellers

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“Till You come, we will go, to the world, till all may know.”

I wanted to share another story behind the song from one of the tracks off of our “Enter His Gates” album (You can get your copy of the album at the church or on iTunes).  Track #10 is entitled “However Whenever Wherever” and is a missional commitment song.

I wrote this song as we prepared to go to Ethiopia to adopt Eli.  While the activities may be different, God calls each of us to follow him in unexpected ways.  This song was a commitment of mine to follow Christ wherever he called.  I didn’t want anything to sway me from obedience.

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“No One Else is Willing to Come Out Here”

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I’m still processing all God did among us in West Africa.  In some ways, this was the hardest mission trip I have ever been on in the fact of the conditions and what it takes to get there.  In other ways, it was the easiest in that it was very simple in theory.  Our primary objective was to share the gospel.

When speaking to our partnering missionary, I told him how difficult it was to get to him.  I had to fly across the world.  Then drive across the country.  Then walk across the desert.  Then, I was where he wanted me.  He said, “This is frontline missions.  There’s a reason your church was the last one to visit me months ago.  No one else is willing to come out here.  It’s too far.  Too hard.”

It was interesting to find out that out of the 18 summer volunteers serving with them this summer, 6 of them are from North Side, 3 are from Brook Hills (David Platt’s church), and the rest are from different locations.  Out of all the Southern Baptist churches, only 2 “radical” churches (sorry for the pun) are willing to encourage their students to go there.  And that is the reason why we must continue to go.

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The Hatred of the World

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Today was such a special day at North Side after 2 weeks away.  I was overwhelmed at our church on mission.  The whole day was intertwined with God’s activity with our people as they reach others for Christ.

We started with celebrating Suzanna Edwards, a rising freshman at North Greenville, who displays a heart for missions.  We then got to hear and see our collegiate missionaries speak to us in 2 different languages – so proud of them!  Ben and I then led worship from the floor with nothing but what we had last week as we led worship in West Africa for a bunch of missionaries.  The acoustic, djembe, and congregation were so wonderful as we celebrated Jesus and connected with His Church around the world.  As we commissioned our Shake-n-Shine missionaries, we had Aubin Payne, a former Shake-n-Shine camper pray over our counselors and the impact they will have on children this week.

And we were just getting started!

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Back from Africa

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I got back last night with these 3 fine gentlemen from a 10-day excursion to Africa. There is so much to say. Where do I even begin? Here’s the short of it:

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“Psalm 117” & “Selah #2” – Storytellers

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“Praise the Lord, all the nations, exalt Him all peoples.  For His lovingkindess is great towards us, and the truth of the Lord is everlasting.  Praise the Lord.”  -Psalm 117

I wanted to share another story behind the song from one of the tracks off of our “Enter His Gates” album (You can get your copy of the album at the church or on iTunes).  Tracks 8-9 are the “Psalm 117” suite.  My torn up guitar got a beating on this track as we had a great time arranging and recording this song.

It’s titled “Psalm 117” because it is completely taken from Scripture.  All songs I write are based on Scripture, when it works, I like to just sing Scripture without any extra (how could I say it any better?!).

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Friends of God

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We planned today’s worship service all around the idea of being a friend of God and all that entails.  In addition to some great worship songs that share that truth, we were thrilled to have Jeff’s son-in-law, Scott Hill, in town to preach for us.  They are in the prep stage of serving as IMB missionaries.

Today’s worship list:

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“King of Kings” – Storytellers

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“King of kings and Lord of lords, You reign, every creature in heaven and earth will proclaim the greatness of our God.”

I wanted to share another story behind the song from one of the tracks off of our “Enter His Gates” album (You can get your copy of the album at the church or on iTunes).  Track #7 is “King of Kings” and my lovely bride sang the lead on this song.

The reason why the image for this post is the back of Amanda’s head with Baby Gloria draped over her shoulder is because this is how she recorded the majority of her vocal.

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The Vine

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As we planned for today’s worship, we studied the passage of John 15 concerning our need to stay connected to Christ to accomplish anything.  So what we planned to highlight is to see the fruit of those who are accomplishing great things here in our church.

We highlighted some children’s and student ministry leaders.  We wanted to hear them talk about their commitment and the reward of service.

We then wanted to be led in some of the “fruit” of their work.  We had our student band lead worship for part of the service, and we also had some of our children lead us in worship.  They sang one of the songs from this year’s VBS.  When I heard them do it at VBS, I knew we had to use them.  Such a beautiful expression of worship.

Today’s worship list:

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