Thank You, Lark News!

Christian Clown Training I found at Lark News. (Such a great site!)

This show is amazing. Absolutely one of the best written shows of late. No, it's not reality TV, no it's not a season-long countdown to see how many way Jack knows how to maim and murder, and no, it's not the insane story-arcs of the twisted mind of J.J. Abrams. It's just good writing - plain and simple.

NBC is running new episodes in summer, partly because the show hasn't put up the numbers that it has in order to stay alive.

I also think it's a really important show for Christians to be aware of. So far, Studio 60 has proved to be one of the most fair and balanced shows with regard to issues of Christianity in a long, long time. They don't sugarcoat anything, and there's plenty of God-arguments going on, but it's a great thing to see Christians represented honestly and respect.

Thursdays at 9pm, NBC.


Check it out. It won't disappoint.

Long Story, but if you'll oblige...

Jonah, our five-year old, is a very smart child. He's been doing a lot of reading this past year - memorizing sight words and learning how to sound things out. In addition to reading, he's also been playing video games and paying closer attention to TV shows and music that he sees and hears. This inquisitive nature, coupled with the culture in which we live, has forced us to start having discussions about "bad words."

So far, he's been very good and very respectful as we've talked about language with him. We've done our best to be honest and gracious as we've discussed these issues.

The other night, Jonah was eating and

I was running through my little blog list. I'm over at Hale's site, and Jonah says, "What's that word?"

"That's 'Hale,'" I say.
"Hale Yeah," Jonah says and walks off.

My mind then speeds to the next family gathering where Jonah will naturally feel the need to utter "Hale Yeah" in some sort of public gathering. (Because God likes to play jokes like that on me and Kristen.)

So, I take him aside and we talk about the word, "hell." I'm trying to be honest and I tell him that some people use the word "hell" in a bad way. I give him a few examples, because I want him to be able to recognize what I'm talking about. I tell him that some people might say, "Oh, hell!" when they're mad or even "Hell, yeah!."

Then we talked about Brian Hale's name sounds like "hell," so it might not be best to walk around saying "Hale, yeah!"

As I'm talking, I can see in his eyes that he's thinking of something.

"Hey, Dad. If you ever want to say 'Aw, hell!' you can just say 'Aw, jellybeans!'"

Thank you, Brian Hale for creating one of those conversations that can only happen with a five-year old!

How Do You Feel?

A. So glad she's out! Yay, Paris!

B. Don't buy it. She hasn't changed one bit.

C. Make it stop. This is a waste of my time.

Bad boys...

I love COPS. (You know, it's filmed with the real men and women of law enforcement.)
But here's what I don't get - why do I have to hear every story four times.
Here's how it goes down.
One
Cop is driving down street. We hear dispatch come over the radio with something like, "Domestic disturbance call, man with knife in the 1600 block of Jameson Boulevard." Along with this, we see a graphic at the bottom of the screen that reads: "Domestic Disturbance."

Two
Cop turns on lights and flies down highway. As he drives, he talks:
"Okay, uh, we're headed to a domestic disturbance call. Apparently, there's a man with a knife, so we're gonna' go check it out."

The cops show up and either A) Calm the situation down, realize it's all a big misunderstanding B) Quietly take the man into custody or C) Chase him down, beat him to a pulp and sling him in the backseat

Three
Other cops gather around, usually with some sort of supervisor or Captain/Lt./Commander/etc. At this point, "our cop" recounts everything that's just happened, maybe with few additional details.
"I showed up and I says, 'Hey, man,' and then he bolts! We chase him down and apparently, he and the wife got into it tonight over the tax check. But, he's off the streets tonight."

Four
The cop recounts AGAIN everything we've seen as he drives away from the scene:
"Call came in about 9:15 regarding a subject in possession of a knife. We were close to the scene, so we approached the subject. Hate that it happened that way tonight, but...he....he needed to be in jail tonight."

Anybody else ever noticed this? I think it has now ruined COPS for me. I can't watch it now because it drives me crazy!

Bad news, guys...

I went over to the Breakaway website and looked around a bit. Apparently, there's some sort of criteria regarding leading worship there. As best as I can tell, here's what I need to do to get the gig...

1. Wear extremely tight, short t-shirts, preferably with some sort of odd, antiquated logo design, jeans and flip-flops.

2. Have either wild, crazy, puffy hair (or) a shaved head.

3. Play a custom-built guitar.

4. Play a lot of Matt Redman songs.

Okay, well, I'm off to www.randomtshirts.com, then off to the gym. Oh yeah, I've got to go shave my head and then order a Goodall guitar. Do I even own any Matt Redman CDs?

16

Did a video for our Sunday night church picnic. Decided to give Finley a little cameo at the end. Jonah's in there, too, except he's moving way too fast to see!

Tuesday Tavin

Dear Breakaway Ministries!



Greetings! My name is Todd Wright and I am a singer/songwriter/worship leader and I would like to offer my services for your upcoming ministry season.

If you'll allow me, I'd like to give you a list of reason why you should allow me to lead at Breakaway.



1. I'm awesome. I mean, really. I know lots of guitar chords and none of them are with cut-capo. I have a beautiful singing voice. I'm a charismatic working in a Methodist Church, so I've got it covered. No matter who's at the arena on Tuesday night, they're gonna' get a dose of Holy Ghost Reverence.

2. I write songs. Good ones. They're easy to sing and include no "la-la's." They don't string together lots of phrases that make no sense.

3. I do not perform songs by UNITED.

4. I like to mix up my set. We can rock (a la U2) and bring the room down too (a la Shane and Shane.)

5. My band will include: John Simmons on drums, Robert Conn on percussion, Adam Fischer on electric guitar, Dino on piano and Ross King on bass.

6. I'm really cheap.

Anybody want to help me out with this before I mail it in?

Finally got around to listening to The Choir's latest record. Man, I love this band.

Rage Against the (Worship) Machine

Remember Rage Against the Machine? Political issues aside, they were a fantastic band. What I always liked about the band was the disclaimer on the CD's. It read something like this:

"All the sounds made on this record were made by actual human beings."

Okay, that sounds a little silly. But that's essentially the point. And it made them cool, in my opinion - to hear all of these really weird, cool sounds coming from the speakers and realizing that it wasn't the product of loops or samples.

I think we're going to start having to use these disclaimers with worship. The advent of loops (drums and synth) in live worship is quickly turning a set played by all humans a rarity. Listen, I like programming on records, but in my experience, I cannot find one good reason to use loops in a live setting.

I've tried it. I've had by guys build stuff in Reason or some other looping software and we've kicked it up in our in-ears to stay on tempo and worked our tails off to stay with the loop so the song sounds like it's supposed to.

You know what's happened every time I've used loops?

Nothing.

I'm serious. Nothing. In every single situation where I've used loops, my crowds didn't act like they even knew it was happening. It was a ton of work and stress for a musical texture that didn't work. Now, compare that to the option of using a percussionist to do that same loop on some sort of hand-drum? Which works? Which is cooler? That's in the eye of the beholder, I guess, but the live music fan in me finds it way better to hear an amazing song produced by humans and not computers.

It's a little different for synth applications. In some situations, with smaller musical combos, I think worship has benefited from having a small midi controller or even a dedicated keyboard setup to hold some cool, ambient droning notes.

But for me personally, the loop thing's never paid off. Maybe I don't play cool enough places, but it's always seemed really lame. (Hey, y'all, we got us a computer playin' drums!)

What do you think of loops? Like 'em? Hate 'em? Think they're cool but also find they rarely do anything in live setups?

This record is really, really good.

Dang it.

Just watched this and loved it! Just right!

Summer Wish List

Must see these movies as soon as possible!

What are you waitin' to see?

Upon discussing "the picture" with Clay and Daniel, I realized that there might have been some confusion as to Kristen's age when this picture was taken.

So...how old do YOU think she is in this picture.

(I would ask that Clay and Daniel not respond to this post. I love both of you guys a great deal, but let's give everybody a fair shot, okay?)

Lord have mercy / Todd have mercy

Well, my little updating of the link list last week caused quite a stir. While there was only one public "comment" regarding the link list change, there were a few other experiences that spoke of the potential stress I caused.

-One fellow blogger refused to sit by me at lunch.
-One fellow blogger claimed that he was going to start his own blog-community and I "would never know anything about it."
-Many fellow bloggers immediately began posting.

If I remember correctly, I removed the following names from my link list:
1. Lance Burch
2. Danielle Beck
3. Blake Stewart
4. Andrew Osenga
5. Angela Janisch

At this time, I would like to open up a dialogue regarding the possibility of reinstating the aforementioned bloggers.

If you think I should bring these folks back to the party, please respond with your vote and why I should get them back on the list.

I also haven't had Jonathan Martin linked for some time and I am aware that he is not blogging frequently. Jonathan's connection to both this local and web-community is well known, and so, I am willing to also consider bringing him back onto the link list.

If you care, share...

All of this talk about worship...let's watch a little, eh?

Please, please wait for the guitar solo halfway through the tune. You watching this, Forrest?

What I'd Say...

In Hope for the Future, Part II, I asked all of you to submit what exactly you'd say to a young worship leader/musician/minister-of-any-sort who happen to serve in your same field.

We got some good comments, and I wanted to add one of my own, but after typing for about four minutes solid, I figured that would be way too long for a comment. Then I thought, "Hey, this is my blog. I'll just make a REAL post out of it!"

The one thing I'd say to a young worship leader is actually something I DID say to a young worship leader. My friend, Sean Caho, is the worship leader for the student ministry over at FBC Sanger, Texas. Sean and I try to email each other on a pretty regular basis.

A week or so ago, Sean emailed me to talk about "following the Spirit" during worship. One reason I love talking to Sean is that he's always talking about stuff I'm dealing with, too!

To me, leading worship often falls in between vain attempts at psuedo-rock-stardom and true God-inhabited times of praise. The hardest thing for me as a worship leader has been the struggle to figure how much of what I do is Spirit-led or just rock and roll manipulation.

Let me share an example:

When I was twenty-years old, I was a rhythm guitarist for a very good praise band at a very popular church. ('Cause I'm good like that.) One one particular Wednesday night, the world leader stepped down to pray with some kids and asked me to lead in his place.

I stepped up and we rocked through Andy Park's "In the Secret." It went great. As we neared the end of the song, I really felt like God was calling me to simply sing a new song to Him. Something individual and honest and simple.

The band ended the tune and began singing as I picked my guitar:

"So much more, so much more, more than ever before."

Yeah, it's not the strongest line theologically speaking. Just humor me, okay? Suddenly, the room came alive. The whole crowd started singing this line. It was powerful and truly God-honoring. At the end of the service, I got hugs, thank-you's, pats on the back, etc. It felt good and it felt right.

Three weeks later, I was asked to do "In the Secret" again. We played through the song and as we got ready to finish, the voice inside my head said something like this:

"Hey, Todd! Remember last month when you did that improv thing? That killed! Do it again! Do it again!"

So I did it. Think it worked?

No, it didn't. Not at all. It fell flat.

Why? Because it wasn't sincere. I had taken that God-moment and packed it away in my bag of worship-tricks. And it backfired big.

And that's what Sean and I talked about. We talked about the struggle to appreciate the God-moments when they come without making a mockery of them by using them to manipulate crowds. It happens all the time, guys.

I'm not talking about arrangement issues necessarily (stops, breakdowns, intros,) but I am talking about when we take spontaneous things that God initiates and turn them into set-in-stone parts of the songs themselves.

That's the one thing I'd say to young worship leaders: Be bold, take the risks, but when God shows up, don't think you can add it to your toolkit.

Anybody agree with me? Anybody think I'm the biggest idiot to strap on a guitar and sing songs about Jesus?

Okay...You've Got My Attention

Years and years and years ago, I subscribed to Worship Leader Magazine and their special songDISCovery program. If you're unfamiliar, it essentially works like this: every two months you get a magazine about worship and a CD of 12-14 songs for worship (usually new songs, many of which have been independently released.) The CD comes with .pdf chord charts and PowerPoint slides, all sorts of good stuff.

For what it's worth, songDISCovery was a good purchase way back when. During my first subscription, I learned a whole lot from the magazine and added quite a few songs to my church worship catalog. But after awhile, I wasn't really gaining anything by getting the CD and the articles had lost a bit of their zing. (Add to that the fact that I was paying for this out of pocket, and you understand why I cancelled my membership.)

Enter full-time church! That's right, once I was on staff, I signed right back up with songDISCovery and started getting the magazine somewhere close to February of 2007. So far, I've really enjoyed the magazine - sometimes it can come off at a Christian-music version of Teen-Beat magazine wherein a majority of the articles focus on the smart, beautiful and coolest of the worship world. But for the most part, it's been a good resource. Especially some of the smaller articles about songwriting, service planning. (Their record reviews drive me crazy because they never give a bad review!) I've done record reviews before and I understand the desire to be diplomatic, but some WL magazine gushes just a bit much for me.

The songs, though, have not been good. It's okay - I realize that their trying to pick 13 songs that will fit the intricacies of probably thousands of churches. I know the CD's a gamble, okay.

But today, I get this very clever advertising package. They mail me a magazine and a CD. Except it's not a CD. It's an ad for the songDISovery community. This is a new aspect of their website where worship leaders can post profiles, leave comments for each other, blog, post original music....think Worship mySpace. Or better yet, Worship VIRB.

So, I signed up. I think you check it out at http://www.songdiscovery.com/ by clicking the community button. I'm new to the thing, but we'll see. I'm interested. It might be cool.

(Who knows what will happen when I start posting all this anti-establishment worship blogs! I AM SO INDIE!)

Hope for the Future, Part II

Man, I love reading all the stuff you guys are saying about this idea of "event worship." I was pretty encouraged by the comment Ross made with regard to posting these more serious, worship-related items. Point taken, Mr. King. You are fanning a very dangerous flame, my friend! Now, to the main reason I even starting writing this thing.

If you'll scroll down, you'll see that I kicked this thing off talking about young worship leaders. I started leading worship at the age of 14. It might be more accurately termed "song-leading," but I was making the attempt at least. During that time in my life, in East Texas, there was little in the way of worship training. Occasionally, a seminar might come close to town or I'd get my hands on a book or two. I was desperate for anything worship-related. To be honest, I wanted worship that rocked quite a bit harder than the old school hymns we sang in my childhood church. (Now, of course, I find myself singing those old hymns more and more.)

After two or three years, the worship revolution made its way to Texas and finally, I was able to see "contemporary worship." I devoured it. I swallowed whatever the Christian-market-machine wanted to feed me. And the truth is that I got some good stuff. While the Christian entertainment industry gets taken to task quite often, I must say that I learned a great deal of good, helpful information from Christian marketing.

But as worship got bigger, better and sexier, I started learning things that weren't good for me. I learned that to have true celebration, you had to do songs that commanded people to jump. I learned that I should learn the top 5 most popular songs and do them in the same order of every set. I learned to judge the success or failure of my sets based on how many people closed their eyes or lifted their hands. I'm sad to say that I thought this for way too long.

But, the plain truth is that I had nobody standing alongside me saying things like...
"You know, Todd, that lyric doesn't really even make sense."
"That melody is way too high for people to sing."
Or...
"You don't have to do all your own songs, big guy."

I've been privileged that in my small bit of musical-travels, I've come into contact with lots of young worship leaders, and I must say that I am continually encouraged. I see kids struggling to understand how to use their music, their minds and their Bible in worship! Sure, there are going to be glorified Christian cover bands - who knows, maybe we need them? But I'm here to tell you that things look good for the ministry of worship. But it's not gonna' happen without you or me.

I don't care if you run sound or lead worship or play drums or write poetry or whatever. Those of us who've done this for a long time have got to carve out time to find young ministers and invest our lives into them. We've got to be careful as we attempt to be honest without becoming condescending.

So...if you had a young bass player/drummer/singer/worship leader/writer/sound engineer in front of you, what would you say to them?

Hope For The Future, Part I

In a post over at worshipnotes (which you all should still be reading!) I talked a bit about connecting with young worship leaders as I occasionally travel to lead worship at various church events. Granted, I'm not "on the road" a lot, but I have been blessed that my limited gigging often puts me in contact with students and young adults that also share my passion for worship.

Lately, I have come into contact with some young worship leaders that, through our meetings/discussions/meals, have blessed me as they've talked about what they're learning about worship. It truly does inspire hope...

Let me first explain my thoughts on the general idea of "worship." There are essentially two perspectives that people think of when worship, and specifically musical worship, is mentioned.

The first perspective is that of the local church. In other words, when you talk about worship time, I imagine my own church and my experiences as both congregant and leader.

The second perspective is entirely different, because many many many people across the world will think of worship in large-event terms. They might think of the music of Joel Osteen's church or the Passion conference or some other distributed CD/DVD.

While both types of worship have their place, I think that the advent of the 2nd perspective (the "event" worship) has often proved itself to be detrimental to the growth and maturity of young worship leaders.

Event worship has slowly, but surely, taught us some things. Now, we didn't necessarily think we were being "taught" - we were just enjoying worship. But some ideas and concepts have seeped into our minds and hearts. I come across lots of worship leaders that exhibit signs of this "programming" rather frequently. (Truth be told - I exhibit these signs frequently. Although I'm trying to kill them.)

For example, event worship has killed the importance of the lyric. (At this point, all of my friends who read this thing are thinking, Here he goes about linear lyrics again. So, if you've heard me preach on this before, shut down the blog and go read a book.) Regardless of my soapbox tendencies, the issue is very true. You see, event worship has promoted songs that are so excellent in so many ways - arrangement, musicianship, crowd response, recording technique - yet failed lyrically. Because of that, we have worship leaders now who have grown up with this music who have no idea what a well-written lyric is supposed to be. I'm not going to pick on particular songs, but in many successful "modern worship" recordings you'll hear changes of tense, multiple thematic ideas with no connection between them, and numerous cliches, all in one song! Now, we have young worship leaders who are picking songs for their individual churches and youth groups simply based on the "cool factor," rather than what the songs are actually saying. Songs that are putting prayers into the mouths of their people!

Secondly, event worship has completely ignored the beauty and wisdom regarding flow of worship. Unless you attend one of these events, every song hear starts and ends with thunderous applause. I don't know about you, but my church doesn't act like that. My musicians and I work hard to make sure that our songs connect, not just lyrically, but musically as well. We try to make sure that the music feels like a journey, rather than 6 solo performances. I realize that the concept of flow is primarily a "contemporary worship" concept, but it has merit. Instead, now have young worship leaders who end up playing jerky, odd, sets filled with long pauses in between songs wherein the crowd often disengages from the discipline of worship to talk, chat, closely examine the band member, etc.

Thirdly, event worship has elevated the "show" aspect. When's the last time you saw a live worship DVD done in a building lit by flourescent lights, full on? Listen, I dig cool lighting, I love it, but why, all of sudden, does every worship product I watch have laser-light shows, motion backgrounds (often on auxiliary screens seperated from lyric screens,) smoke machines and boom cameras. Why does every "live" CD have seventeen guitar tracks, three loops and orchestra programming? Listen, I like CDs/DVDs that are produced. I don't think there's anything necessarily wrong with that. But when you hold that idea up as "worship," you're getting into dangerous territory. It's a worship-concert...call it what it is. So, our young worship leaders are now being conditioned to turn their little stages into nightclubs or auditorium setup or tons of other concert-style settings.

So, before we carry on....what do you think about what we've been saying? Do you think event worship is dangerous? Do you totally disagree with what I'm saying?

I realize I've typed a ton of stuff, and believe me, there's more in my head, but let's stop here and see how everybody feels about event worship. Does it have a place? Is it as dangerous as I've made it out to be?

My Tuesday

Kristen's mom was scheduled for a post-operative checkup from her eye surgery last week. (Read: removing stitches.) So, I took the day off so that Krist could drive to Houston with her mom.

Woke up around 6:30 and we all started getting ready. By 7 or so, everybody was dressed and ready for breakfast. Krist's mom got there about 7:20 with donuts! Breakfast problem solved. Krist and "Sugar," my mother-in-law left and I finished getting the kids ready.

We headed out around 8. I called my grandparents to schedule a visit, but they were both busy with gardening and mowing, so decided to hit the park. A few days ago, the family and me cruised over to this old park in town called "Kit McConnico Park." It used be really nasty, but the city has been putting in a lot of work. When we saw it a few days ago, it was pretty rainy, so Jonah couldn't test it out.

As we're driving to the park, I wonder if maybe it's not open yet. (It's gated.) I see a weird little orange SUV up ahead of us pulling in. For some reason, as soon as they pull into the park, they speed up and leave us behind. No big deal, right. So they're long gone and we finally pull into this large park complex - big open field, baseball diamonds, playground, parking, etc. I see the little orange SUV way ahead of us pulling into a spot in front of the playground. Other than the people in the orange ride, the only occupants at the park were maintenance guys mowing and cleaning up. I assume this SUV is some more kids who want to play at the park, but as I get closer to the playground section, they immediately turn around to leave. As they pass us, I see it's a teenage boy and girl who look very disappointed with me. I guess they were planning on a little "alone time" at this secluded park back in the woods. MORALS: 1 SEXUAL IMPURITY: 0!

We played at the park, which was fun, but Finley was a bit hard to manage. She wanted to climb on everything, of course, but could only play on about half of the stuff.

After the playground, we piled in the car and headed to surprise the grandparents who, according to the previous phone call, should have been through with their work by now. We show up to a very surprised Granny who almost immediately says, "Y'all are staying for lunch." Of course, in Grandma-Land this is okay, because they eat lunch at 11am. We all played and Granny fixed grilled chicken and corn and fried "okry" for everybody. Eventually Grandpa came home. When all was said and done, it was 12:10, Finley was exhausted and the Wrights were headed back home.

Finley fell asleep in the car, Jonah took a "movie-nap" and rather than use this time for picking up around the house, Dad opted for a tiny little nap time on the couch himself. Finley woke up around 1:30, so we all got up and had ice cream. Ha! (What a life I lead!)

Krist got home around 3pm, at which time our house was 104 degrees. So we piled in the car and went to Sonic. We swung over to Target for milk, bread and Pop Tarts. The essentials, you know?

Krist headed off to work for a couple of hours while I made dinner - pork chops, crescent rolls, English peas for the baby. Yeah, I cooked it. It was delicious. Bathed the kids, read the books, gave the kisses, brushed the teeth and said the prayers. Krist got home just as Jonah laid down. I checked email and blogged some, then headed off for my 8pm guitar lesson. Got home at 9 and debated between going up to church or exercising. Neither won.

Tuesday Tavin

Who Appreciates This?

LOVE THIS COMMERCIAL!

Just in case you've wondered what KMAX has been up to since the demise of dcTalk.

I've been waiting for some comedian to talk about this! I should have known...

Sunday Midgley

My Wife

To answer your question...yes, she gave me permission to post this long lost school picture.

(She looks like a high school softball coach.)

post secret

I can honestly say that I'm not trying deride or criticize here - I would sincerely like to hear what you all have to say on the subject...



Why link to Post Secret?

I've been to the site a few times, but I find it so upsetting. Sure, there are occasionally funny or interesting things on the site, but I just can't read it without getting depressed.

I'm having trouble understanding why I might want to share this relatively "dark" site with others. Thinking it through, I imagine there are a few possible reasons for wanting to promote it:

1. To give people hope - there is a place where they can let their secrets out?
2. To show people how dark life is for so many people out there?
3. Sheer voyeuristic tendencies?

I know some of you link to the Post Secret and I would love to get your reasons behind doing so. (If you're willing to share.)

For those of you who don't link to the site, I'd still like to know your feelings on Post Secret and it's effect on popular culture.

Storm On the Way

Getting ready to cut some folks from the links list...

This is gonna' get worse before it gets better.

Hang in there, kids.

Why I Link, the End

Finn
I was so excited when Finnerud got a blog. Still waiting on that excitement to be rewarded...
Susie
How Susie Moore manages to be irreverent, odd, rude and still amazingly devout will always be a wonder to be. Susie's way cooler than your coolest friend. Go read her.
Williford
Yes, we share a man-crush on Paul Baloche. Yes, his mother thinks I'm a better worship leader than him. Yes, he dresses a whole lot better than me.
Tony
I think the "Guitar Confessional" is one of the coolest things out there. (Wish he would post some more!) I love the way this guy thinks and plays guitar. We will jam together one day. Oh yes, it will be done.
Forrest
I link Forrest because he would drop everything, cancel any gig, drive anywhere in the USA to gig with me. That doesn't mean I'm that great - he's just that kind of friend.
Ross
First of all, this guy has taken my songs to a whole new level. (You'll see.) Secondly, I think the Ross King world tour (and corresponding album) are going to be truly groundbreaking efforts. That's why I link him. Plus, it gets me serious worship leader cred to say I know him.
Douglas Wilson
Found Doug through John Simmons. I actually wish Doug would post less, becasue I can't keep up! Never thought I'd get such encouragement and education from a Presbyterian, though.
John Simmons
Amazing drummer, amazing theologian. How many times do you hear those two things in the same sentence?
Clay
He's says he's gonna' get more serious about blogging. I'm skeptical, but I'll give him a shot.



You know, I started this whole "why I link" thing quite awhile back and by now, I'm ready to do a little work to the old link list. Some of you are going to be removed from the list. I love you, but if you ain't posting, you ain't getting no love, see?

I'm sorry, but it has to be done. Believe me, it hurts me more than it does you.

It's Not Funny When It's Happening, But...

I find it funny that married couples are perfectly comfortable arguing with each other while laying down.

Would we do that with other people? If you were in the park, laying on the grass and somebody started arguing with you, would you continue laying there or eventually get up?

And what would happen if your opponent decided to lay down beside you? Would that be cool?

Marriage...it's a trip, man.

Why I Link, Part III

Paul
Half black/half Asian, left-handed, plays right-hand guitar and bass upside down, loves country music, has major Matt Chandler crush...what's not to love?
Jinx
I'm not sure why I link him. Oh yeah, he plays wailing electric guitar.
Blake
Blake is nearing that "should I take his site off my blog" status. Blake's the only guy I know who can go months without returning phone calls, show up late to every appointment, forget to deliver jobs on time and still have everybody love him. Blake is my source for all things cool and, barring his obsession with Crowder, he's almost always right.
Amy
I've always admired and respected Amy. (Anybody who lives with Lance Burch deserves a little praise now and then, right?) I love Amy's blog because it always a bright ray of sunshine - a quick little snapshot of family life in the midst of the world's frantic speed.
Jimmy
Jimmy is a really smart guy. He loves blogs and is now finally really utilizing his to actually say some pretty cool stuff. I appreciate Jimmy's desire for quality in ministry and his wisdom with regard to handling conflict and other related ministry fun.
Carlos (Ragamuffin)
He started the worship confessional. We all should link him.
Osenga
I can only echo Shaun Groves here - that Andy Osenga's blog is the perfect mix of behind-the-scenes music making, fatherhood and family, and the struggle to live faith in an oft faithless world.
Hale
I like his blog. I think he and I would get along. (As long as he understood how much I loathe United.)
Danielle
Great voice, great student, follower of God. Danielle's one of those people that you can go years without seeing, then pass her on the street and it's as if she's lived next door to you for the past twenty years.

Words/Phrases I Would Like To See Eradicated

"I know, right?"

"Indie"

"Ream"

"Napkin"

"Tomlin"

"Okay, it's Intro-Verse-Verse-Chorus, half-intro, Verse-Chorus-Lead-Chorus-Chorus-Verse Tag." (Occurs in a worship rehearsal and often spoken at lightning speed so as to be almost unintelligible.)

What Scares Me About Paul McCartney

First things first - let's just come to an agreement. McCartney is an amazing musician. He seems to have a pretty decent head on his shoulders, and minus the worldwide interest in his recent divorce, he often comes off as a pretty normal guy.

But here's what scares about him - Paul's last two or three offerings (Driving Rain, Chaos and Creation in the Backyard and Memory Almost Full) have all received lavish praise. In fact, I think Bono said, upon receiving a grammy for "Atomic Bomb," that Paul's "Chaos" record was the best record of the lot. I'm not a die-hard Beatles fan or even very knowledgeable about McCartney's work, but I think many would agree that he's one of pop music's legendary songwriters.

As I've been digging into Memory Almost Full, I've been hearing some songs that are good, but the fact remains, Paul's songs are not going to be hits anymore, are they? You're not gonna' turn on your local pop station and hear his new single. In fact, I don't even think you're gonna' hear him on some "sunny, light" A/C station.

As a songwriter, this scares me, because it seems that Paul's best work is now behind him. And, if I'm being honest, quite A WAY behind him. It's scary to think that if this guy's writing peaked at 24 (or 32 or 45, considering your point of view,) then it can happen to me, too.

And you, too.

From MSN...

It appears that "Transformers" is going to have a monster opening at the box office over July 4, so it's no surprise studios are seeking the rights to many '80s animated toy series.
In the past two weeks, Warner Bros. has acquired the rights to both "He-Man and the Masters of the Universe" and most recently, "Thundercats." The latter came with a finished script (so it might actually happen), but with "Voltron" and "G.I. Joe" already in active development, a question arises:
If Michael Bay can play with super-sized robots, what would some of these animated series look like in the hands of his more talented peers? We can only speculate...

Tuesday Tavin

Told You I Was Getting Desperate For Gigs...

TV Dinner

Monday night means sitting down w/ Kristen for the adventures of Chef Ramsey and the crew of Hell's Kitchen.

Now, we all know that I don't like a lot of variety in my food, but for some reason, I love watching these people struggle to cook things that I would never eat.

Here's what I ate as I watched Hell's Kitchen: frozen pizza, a few slices of break and a little Red Cream Soda.

Depressing. (But delicious!)

15

Welcome, Darkstew!

Congrats, Blake on your new job as technology intern at Harmony Hill! I wish you the best! I know you're going to have a great experience working with Jimmy and the crew!

I know you'll learn a lot and be a great resource for the church! I know you're going to get to know some great people! And make good friends! And learn lots!

So proud of you, Blake!

On Lufkin Churches...

There are lots of good churches in Lufkin - churches that have good priorities, care deeply for the lost, serve those who are poor and in need, etc. I ain't gonna' say they all have great music, 'cause, well, you Lufkinites know how it is. (This TWB country right here, yo.)

What I don't understand is that if all of these churches have such great priorities, why am I constantly surrouned with the spirit of religious competition. I am so tired of walking into some other church or meeting or lunch and being forced to listen to "jokes" about other churches.

Listen, I get it. Heck, I've done it. I've made jokes about the other guys, but lately, the Lord's been convicting me to shut up, pray for my church and serve my people. I'll be honest - I shouldn't care if Harmony Hill is running 8000 members or if Andy Pittman is, in fact, one Bad-A preacher. (He is, by the way.)

My job is to serve where I am. To care for my people and to bless my brothers and sisters out there in other fellowships giving everything they've got for the King.

So, help me out. If I'm hanging with you, don't let me turn into a church-jerk. It's something I'm struggling with and I need all the help I can get!

No Big Shocker...but

I really, really, really hate the music of the Newsboys.

Who do you hate?

Save Me...

Two nights ago, I made a milk-run to the store and realized something about myself.



I was wearing a t-shirt, ripped jeans, flip-flops, a baseball cap and listening to Shane and Shane.



I don't know how this uber-trendiness caught me unaware. I was a bit surprised by it, myself.

What do you think pushed me over the edge?

Clay likes these guys. For real.

My Girl

Why I Link, Part II

flickr
Finally threw some vacation pics over at the flickr site. It's a picture site. Of my family and stuff. That's why I link it.

Robert
If I remember correctly, Robert was one of the first friends of mine who said, "I might try that blog thing, too." Now, I check his blog every single day. I never know what I'm gonna' get with his site - a little family fun, youth ministry stuff, seminary junk or just plain internet weirdness. It's a great site. Oh, he's my best friend, too. That was the other end.

Jason
I'm not gonna' lie...I wish Jason blogged a bit more frequently. But I love Jason's self-deprecating humor. I also get a kick whenever he jumps on some new bandwagon. (He does this frequently, and seeing Jason Fullen excited about something is always worth your while!)

Rachel
Rachel is Jason's wife. We've discussed this before, but Rachel is the only person I know who can garner 86 comments on a post about salad. Rachel is definitely an old soul. Who would think this hip, young teacher would get so excited about baked goods, quilting and Southern Gospel music?

Lance
Is there anybody more creative that Lance Burch? Anybody quicker with his wit? I doubt it. I'm actually glad that Lance doesn't post that much, because then everybody would like his blog better than mine. (And we cannot have that.) Mark my words, people - Lance is certainly an anointed minister, but I would be willing to bet that we will one day see him writing movies, books or doing some other major creative work.

Romack
You just can't help but love Romack. He's one of those guys you love to see succeed and also really enjoy laughing at his more ridiculous moments. I think Romack is actually one of the most sincer people I ever met in my life. I like his blog because he posts his minimalist minor-key loops.

Angela
What can I say about this girl? She's beautiful, talented, funny and one hard-working girl. I link her because I think Angela is a fantastic role model for young girls. Angela exhibits a level of modesty and class that is far too rare among young women these days.

Lessons from a 30-year old Driver

A few lessons I've learned in my driving career (to date:)

1. If you're near a skinny blond woman in her early 40's and she's driving an SUV, get out of her way. She's not gonna' see you, she's not gonna' slow down for you and she's certainly not going to obey the rule of traffic as far as your concerned. She's a soccer mom and she's got way too much on her plate to waste her time being polite in the Chick-Fil-A line.

2. If you're behind a 17-yeard old girl in a sports car (probably red,) find another route. Because otherwise, you're going to have to wait while she does her eyelashes, makes a phone call, creates an ON-THE-GO mix on her iPod and turns up her Daughtry CD.

3. If you're sharing the road with a young man anywhere between the ages of 18-32 and his truck has A)Wildlife stickers, decals or bumper stickers OR B)mud coating the entire bottom half of his vehicle OR C)Any form of "Git-R-Done" on his truck, you should be prepared for sudden stops, turns and screeching take-offs from red lights.

4. If you find yourself behind an extremely long car, be prepared for signal-less turns. It doesn't matter who is driving.

Anybody else got any?

Here you go.
(Thanks, Doug Wilson!)

What's Wrong With Worship Today

Is it even possible to singer Louder Than The Angels?

Why I Link, Part 1

I thought it might be beneficial to create a few posts describing why I have the links you see at the bottom right of this page. I don't know if you're aware of this, but there is a movement within the blog world now to completely eliminate the idea of links. Not here, my friends.



So, let the love begin. Here's why I link:

My Wife
On one-level, this is a no-brainer. You're just supposed to link your wife's blog. However, that's not the main reason I want you to read her blog. The simple truth is that Kristen's writing is the funniest thing I've ever read. Like I've said before, even when she's recounting events at which I was present, I still end up laughing at them.

My Son
Jonah's blog has actually been a bit more active lately. He's not really writing much, but if you like a photo-diary of what life is like for a 5-yeard old, then his is the site for you!

worshipnotes
Yeah, I know, worshipnotes isn't the same as it used to be. But I still enjoy flying over there every once in awhile to pen my worship thoughts.

WLC
This is my local worship leader monthly get-together. We've only had two of these so far, but I love hanging out with these guys. (I think they learn a lot from me, actually.) I keep a blog that records the stuff we've talked about. The blog also keeps the guys informed about our upcoming meetings.

myVIRB
I heard VIRB was going to take over myspace. I'm not so sure, but I'm joining the mob.

Thank You, Romack!

A few months ago, Justin Romack said,

"Hey, you guys want to borrow my Zelda game?"

I said, "OF COURSE," and then he gave it to me.

I played it for one night and then decided that it was a game fashioned in the very fires of Mordor and would forever be the pre-teen video game that bested me.

And then, there was Jonah.

Somewhere along the way, Jonah decided to play the game, moving me from gamer to armchair coach as I help Jonah navigate the journey of the Wind Waker. Parts of the game are much too complex for Jonah, so I get the chance to show my skills, but what's more interesting is the entire family-aspect of this addicting little journey game.

Now, Kristen and I sit and watch, helping Jonah decide which door to take or how to use the grappling hook to get past the Lava Scorpion.

Even Finley enjoys watching this.

John Piper would hate my guts.

I Am Trying to Break Your Heart

Man, I really wish I had an intern. 'Cause, you know, I just can't get all this stuff done.

I mean, I HAVE been getting all of it done from January to May and I'll be able to get it all done from September to December, but gosh, I just don't know how I'll survive summer without some extra bodies around.

Summer's so crazy right now that I barely have time to watch YouTube or blog or go get coffee or take two hour lunches. It really helps to have some kids around who really aren't very familiar with my particular office that I can lay some responsibility on.

Plus, I mean, an intern would learn a lot of stuff, too. I'm pretty skilled in my field and I'd like to pass that wisdom on. In addition to that, sometimes I really want to complain about my church and my wife is sick of hearing it. Sure would be nice to have some idealistic young people in my office to listen to me gripe.

If you've got an intern, count yourself blessed, people!

Another Item from the Jonah Collection

"Whenever a culture's goal becomes entertainment, a law of degeneration immediately sets in. In the field of economics, Gresham's Law states that bad money drives out good. In the same way, bad entertainment displaces that which is not quite as bad. In a sinful world, poor comedians will go for the easy laugh with dirty jokes, lousy screenwriters go for high ratings through half-dressed sex cookies, and mindless rock bands yell into the mike, using a lot of dry ice and lasers in the background. In the Church, the principle is no different" (Mother Kirk, p. 128).



Accessed on Tuesday, June 5, 2007 @ www.dougwils.com.

Tuesday Tavin

Belated Saturday Midgley

Kristen and I usually forget about this show until about three weeks in, but we fortunately caught the premiere tonight. Yes, this dude cusses like crazy and belittles everyone in the kitchen, but man, it's a great show.

Plus, I'm finally following a TV series with my wife again!

Deal Breaker?

Based on a conversation with Clay Walker, I'd like to pose this to all my female readers.
Regardless of your status (single, married, engaged, embittered,) my question is this:

Imagine you're single and you meet an attractive, intelligent, personable man - the kind of man women only dream of. Now imagine that man...wearing a fanny pack.

The question: How vital is the fanny pack? Would you still be interested in this specimen of perfection in spite of the handy little beltpack fastened around his middle?

14

I'm all about the free exchange of music. I love Rhapsody and iTunes and Napster and all those great entities whereby we can have whole records in our possessions in mere seconds. But, I have to make this confession...

I miss buying CDs. Mol Jr talked about this not too long ago and it resonated with me. I miss the smell of a new CD, reading through the liner notes, finding the perfect place in the CD case for it. I miss it. I miss it.

The Kids