| [..who i am..] |
|---|
| I am trying to be the best husband to Jessica and father to Connor I can possibly be. In the daytime (and after they go to sleep) I am the Innovative Creative Arts Pastor at Powell Church in Knoxville, TN. I love songwriting, creating stupid videos, apple computers, and pie. |
| [..blogs that i read..] |
| journey to claire |
| real live preacher |
| bill wolf |
| cult of mac |
| adam mayfield |
| bob carlton |
| adam feldman |
| futility closet |
| jeph hurst |
| jason edelen |
| jon reid |
| church marketing sucks |
| kem meyer |
| anthony coppedge |
| betsy wolf |
| mark nelson |
| multi-site arts |
| [..graphic & video resources..] |
| sxc.hu |
| igniter media |
| sermon spice |
| highway video |
| worship house |
| digital juice |
| church marketing lab |
| [..music & artists..] |
| gregadkinsmusic.com |
| greg on Myspace |
| new city cafe |
| bill mallonee |
| the innocence mission |
| andrew peterson |
| andrew osenga |
| over the rhine |
| nickel creek |
| david wilcox |
| rich mullins |
| hem |
| andy gullahorn |
| jill phillips |
| arthur alligood |
| dave potts |
| [..my so called music career..] |
|
| [..52 songs in 52 weeks..] |
|
| [..where i serve..] |
| powell church |
| [..disclaimer..] |
| I am on staff at Powell Church in Knoxville, TN but the opinions, thoughts, comments, and humor on this page are solely my own. Wade in at your own risk and be warned, I'm a bit of a goofball. |
| [..my site feed..] |
| RSS |
| [..archive..] |
Not enough thought...
Okay, so I didn't really think out the whole lingo deathmatch thing that well. It's all good. I guess we can keep them both, although for the record, I still hate the phrase "straight and narrow". I mean, I understand the meaning, but think when we use it in any form of evangelizing it tends to be misunderstood (or perhaps negatively associated with "narrow minded"). Then again, we don't want to err too far on the side of "deep and wide" either. In other news. I'm leaving for New York City in a few hours and will be off of blogging for a week. I'll be leading worship at a church in Queens Saturday night and Sunday morning and sight-seeing the rest of the time. We're going to try and catch "Movin' Out" on Friday night... being a old school Billy Joel fan, I'm really looking forward to it. See you'ins on the flizzip side. (I like mixing redneck speak with snoop speak. Like "y'all come back now, ya hizzear?" or "shoot fizzire!")Church Lingo Death Match!!!
Okay gang... here's the challenge. In the comments below state your case for the winner of this "church lingo Death match"!"Deep and Wide"
Vs.
"Straight and Narrow"
Song #31 is now online
Song #31, "The Best that I Can" is now up on my 52 songs page. Listen to it right here. If you're going to comment though, please do that on the 52 songs page if you don't mind. I like to keep all the song comments in one place.In other song news, I tried out Talkin' Church of the Future Blues at open mic night the other night and it worked out really well. Saved me from a bad outing really because I tried a new one first (North Carolina, 1987 is the name of it) and it kind of bombed. Probably because I kept forgetting the words...
Great Games!
My wife and I have been playing the games at FerryHalim / Orinsal now for a week or so and are hooked. They are all simple but very well crafted with an especially excellent use of music. Check 'em out!Song #30 is now online
Yo yo yo... Song #30 is now up on my 52 songs page. Listen to it right here. It's called "Bright Angel". Also, don't forget about Song #29 - Talkin' Church of the Future Blues, as I think most of you emerging church folks will enjoy it. Or not.Orphans
As a songwriter with basically no career and little ambition for one, I have always thought of my songs as orphans... I work hard on them knowing that very few people will ever hear them but there are always hopes for more.I'm on the email list for a songwriter named Bill Mallonee (who some may know as Vigilantes of Love). He is getting ready to release a new album called "Dear Life," and wrote the following passage in an email to fans:
Me? I'll hope that "Dear Life," will have a nice birthday. Most of the time, I find myself thinking that there's no place for this type of "kid" in today's "nursery." And if there isn't, well, that's nothing new to me. She'll be like all those other orphan kids (I've fathered) that got dropped off in a basket with a blanket; Dropped off with a knock at some stranger's door late one night. You know, like they portray in the old movies. And you? You'll rise from your easy chair and say: "Now who could that be at such late hour? Oh, look, Marge, it's another one......of bill mallonee's babies!"
And if that's the case, (to wax slightly sentimental) I'll be content to stand by a streetlight, in the shadows, and watch. And no doubt I'll say a prayer as that thin sliver of doorway light disappears and she's taken in her new home. And I'll shuffle home kinda slowly, but more or less, deliberately. And I'll dream. I'll dream that she'll grow up to be holy and strong and wise and beautiful. And I'll dream that she'll become an immense blessing to those that took a big chance on her that night. And I'll hope she'll bring as much hope and joy to that household, and to her friends, present and future, as she brought to me when she was "conceived" and then brought into the world."
Pop worship?
There's a great article on Relevant today talking about Pop Worship. I'd love to see what some of you think of this... although I suspect most of us will agree. Give it a read and comment below.Also, please don't forget to check out >Song #29... it's one of my favorites and is VERY different from anything else I've done.
Updated Blog roll...
Added Jamie and Tres to the blog roll... welcome!Song #29 is now Online
Okay, this one's off the wall! It's in the style of "talking blues" which goes way back... I've posted a Bob Dylan example of a great talking blues to listen to first, then you can hear mine. Mine's called "Talkin' Church of the Future Blues". Enjoy...This is funny in a sick way...
Check out this video! What's funny is not the person being injured... it's the anchorpeople's response to it.Eyes Wide Open
We began a new book this week in Eyes Wide Open, our Tuesday morning book group. We just finished "A New Kind of Christian" by Brian McLaren (a must read if you haven't) and are now reading "Traveling Mercies" by Anne Lamott, another must read. I had forgotten just how great this book is... as I'm rereading it I'm amazed by the beauty and honesty of Lamott's writing. We had an interesting discussion in our first meeting on this book wondering why it is that stories of people coming to faith can only be found in Christian bookstores (TM) if they are sanitized and cleaned up first. Lamott's story is absolutely a warts and all account, documenting drug use, alcoholism, sexual struggles, and more. In recounting her past, she doesn't try to clean it up or always put a positive spin on things... the language is rough because that's how it really was... the detail is graphic because her life in bondage to sin involved some rough and graphic things.
It seems to me that when we attempt to sanitize our history for mass consumption by Christian consumers, we rob our stories of much of their power. Let's be honest, brutally honest if necessary... thoughs?
New Guitar!
Well, many will say that I am a confused individual but I am now the owner of both a Taylor and a Martin guitar. I've had a Taylor 414 for almost 3 years and absolute love it. But, about 6 months ago a crack appeared in the back and I'm going to have to send it off to Taylor for repairs which was going to leave me without a guitar for about 3 months. As a worship leader who plays guitar every week, I had to have a guitar. So, I went down to the guitar center with my beat up old yamaha guitar and my ADAT recorder I never use and swapped 'em for a new Martin. It's not a high end Martin... it's a Road Series DM but it plays and feels like a much more expensive guitar than it is. You guitar players out there... you know how some guitars just have that feel about them... this one does. It isn't flashy or expensive, but it plays and sounds great!
I don't understand why some folks are so slanted towards either one guitar or the other. So many people either swear by Martin's and hate Taylor's or vice versa... in my book it's apples and oranges. They are totally different, sound totally different, and feel totally different. And they both are really great if you ask me.
What else is new...
So once again I've been very busy and not having much time to blog. The sanctuary makeover went extremely well. I wish I could post before / after pictures but you'd really have to see it to appreciate it. If you're ever in Knoxville, look me up. I'm also very busy with moving offices down the hall (to get more shelf space) and revamping our video ministry. With new projection screens, we're trying to have video every week now instead of just sometimes. That of course, takes a lot of work! On top of that, and most importantly, I'm trying to spend as much time as possible with my wife and son... there just aren't enough hours in the day sometimes. Things at church are better than they've ever been... God is working and moving here and the excitement level is sky-high. With some of the things on the horizon, I'm just kind of holding on waiting to see what's next and expecting big things. It's going to be a very cool next year! I promise I'll get back to posting more often very soon.
