October 2007

series: reverb

opening worship set:
“o worship the king” trad. arr by chris tomlin (cd “passion: hymns ancient and modern”)
“rooftops” by desperation band (cd “from the rooftops”)
“love the lord” by lincoln brewster (cd “all to you…live”)

communion:
“breathing the breath” by matt redman (cd “facedown”)
“we are hungry” by brad kilman (lots of people have recorded this one…)

closing song:
“all because of jesus” by steve fee (cd “burn for you”)

jonathan’s message was a reminder that we’re not about converting people to the Christian religion, but rather helping people pursue God himself. one requires formulas and sales techniques, while the other just requires us to share the story of what God’s done for us. his final thought has stuck with me…..”for God” vs. “with God”. is it possible to get so involved in doing stuff for God that we neglect to do things with God?

i’m not a very prolific songwriter by any means, but it has been a very meaningful creative outlet for me from time to time. something about the process is cathartic. even if the finished song doesn’t completely convey what’s on my mind or heart, there’s usually a very warm sense of satisfaction and a peace that comes from having followed through and “birthed” the song.

but music can be a lonely endeavor. writing is a private affair. you lock yourself in a room and wrestle with thoughts, melodies and harmonies until something sparks. then you go to work. crafting. constructing. deconstructing. editing. finally, you end up with a song. but once the song is born, then what? it’s difficult to find outlets. songs need to be heard.

my friend nathan and i have experimented in the past with a songwriting forum. sort of an open mic concept, but also with an opportunity to dialogue with the writer after/between the songs about inspiration, technique, etc. we’re talking again about bringing it back, better than ever. maybe a blog to promote the events as well as some of the songs presented at the events.

it’s early for new year’s resolutions, but this is definitely on my list for 2008.

foy vance is an irish singer-songwriter who writes incredibly heartfelt and introspective songs. the simplicity and beauty contained in his cd “hope” is inspiring.

i’ve found his willingness to write the plain truth about pain and hope to be refreshing. nothing about this record seems to contain any pretense. certainly not lyrically. even the way that he recorded it is very straightforward, stripped down, live.

i’m currently stuck on the song, “two shades of hope”. it expresses so artfully the way that it can sometimes hurt to have hope.

if there’s one thing that i know
it is the two shades of hope
one, the enlightening soul
and the other is more like a hangman’s rope
it’s true, you may reap what you sow
but not that despair is the all-time low
baby, hope deals the hardest blows

–from “two shades of hope” by foy vance

today was crosspointe’s 10th birthday celebration!

worship songs:
“let the praises ring” by lincoln brewster (cd “all to you…live”)
“forever” by chris tomlin (cd “the noise we make”)
“your grace is enough” by chris tomlin (cd “arriving”)
“mighty to save” by hillsong (cd “mighty to save”)
“all over the world” by matt redman (cd “passion 06: everything glorious”)

performance song:
“all for you” by sister hazel (cd “somewhere more familiar”)

today was a fun day. we looked back and celebrated 10 years of god’s faithfulness and his work in and through the diverse and rag-tag group of people called crosspointe church. we highlighted several personal stories, interviewed the 3 families that founded the church in 1997, and just generally had a good time.

chris rocked out on the sister hazel song. those were fun vocal harmonies. we wanted to do a top 10 song from 1997. some other front runners were: “mmmbop” by hansen, “lovefool” by the cardigans, “semi-charmed life” by third eye blind.

“majestic” by linclon brewster (cd “all to you…live”)
“beautiful one” by tim hughes (cd “when silence falls”)

today we had a guest speaker: gary thomas. gary was in for the weekend to do a marriage conference at crosspointe on saturday. he stayed over to speak this morning. gary is about to publish his new book, “the beautiful fight.” he spoke from this book for the first time this morning.

probably what stuck with me most from the talk was a challenge to abandon the “what would jesus do?” question in favor of a different one: “what is jesus doing now?” we seem to forget that jesus is alive and well, living and working through his body, the church.

no comment.

well……it’s just that…..

nope.

let me introduce to you: Pull Your Pants Up Mission (TM)

(ht: doxologist)

i’m excited about playing a coffeehouse gig in november with several of my friends from crosspointe. kristi daugherty is the mastermind. the gig will benefit the haitian children’s home in jacmel.

we’re doing about 25 songs - all covers. very eclectic mix of songs, from alisson krauss to led zeppelin and a bit of everything in between…

“gimme one reason” - tracy chapman
“shame on you” - indigo girls
“come to jesus” - mindy smith
“piece of my heart” - faith hill
“don’t dream it’s over” - sixpence none the richer
“dare you to move” - switchfoot
“dreams” - cranberries
“a little more you” - little big town
“immigrant song” - led zeppelin
“killing me softly” - fugees
“lucky one” - alisson krauss
“kind and generous” - natalie merchant
“leave the pieces” - the wreckers
“the ocean” - led zeppelin
“say won’t you say” - jennifer knapp
“put your records on” - corrine bailey rae
“solace” - plumb
“summertime” - the sundays
“unwritten” - natasha bedingfield
“where the streets have no name” - u2
“waiting on the world to change” - john mayer
“if i ain’t got you” - alicia keys
“breathe (2am)” - anna nalick
“clocks” - coldplay
“black horse and a cherry tree” - k.t. tunstall

the show is scheduled for 7:00 to 10:00pm, november 10th, at pheasant creek coffee & tea in apex.

come on out for good music for a great cause!

series: above ground
message: self-control

opening worship set:
“sing to the king” by billy foote (various recordings)
“love the lord” by lincoln brewster (cd “all to you…live”)
“the highest and the greatest” by tim hughes (cd “holding nothing back”)
“beautiful news” by matt redman (cd “beautiful news”)

post-message set:
“surrender” by marc james (cd “vineyard UK: surrender”)
“all because of jesus” by steve fee (cd “burn for you”)

today was an awesome celebration. jonathan wrapped up the “above ground” series - it’s been a challenging series based on the “fruit of the spirit” from galatians 5.

the highlight of today was easily the baptism celebrations after each service. in all, [correction: 20!] people took the plunge to publicly declare their trust in jesus and desire to follow him. woohooo!

unfortunately, robbie seay band has had a horrendous time on the road this week including their van breaking down twice and a bout of pneumonia. they’re going to recoup for a few days at home.

the concert at crosspointe will be rescheduled for next time they’re in the area. robbie feels horrible about having to cancel. apparently this is the first time they’ve cancelled a show in 10 years.

i’ll definitely post info on the show as soon as we can make it happen.

crosspointe jumped on a last minute opportunity to host robbie seay band in concert this coming tuesday night, october 9. 7pm. $8.00.

it’s going to be a great show. RSB’s new cd, “give yourself away” is brilliant! great songs, excellent musicianship. this is a band’s band.

if you’re anywhere close to raleigh-durham, nc, you should definitely come check it out!

series: above ground
message: gentleness

worship set:
“all over the world” by matt redman (cd “passion 05: how great is our god”)
“how great thou art” by charlie hall (cd “passion hymns: ancient and modern”)
“surrender” by marc james (cd “vineyard: surrender”)
“satisfy” by desperation band (cd “from the rooftops”)