Sermon Bumper for 3/2/08.




This turned out really cool because we worked really hard to use folks from our church that aren't normally "seen" a lot. These aren't folks who are on stage or show up in videos or the newsletter or anything, but I think they did a really great job.

And if you're wondering where that cool music track came from, it was written by this guy. Perfect song for the video.

MY FRIDAY...

I got up with Jonah at 7. Since I had gone to sleep around 10:30 the night before (a big change for me,) I was feeling pretty good when we got up.

Kristen had the look that said, "Please let me sleep as I have been tending your two children while you've been making videos all week, you big jerk," so I let her sleep in.

Finley woke up about 10 minutes later. Got her out of bed, got her cup of juice and then talked with Jonah about picking what he wanted to watch. (Lately, we've really cut down his TV time, and it's been good, but it usually means more massive negotiation about what few shows he gets to watch.)

We settled on a little Spongebob (gag), then we agreed to let Finley watch Dora. (She's more of a Go, Diego, Go! girl, but Dora will do in a pinch.)

I woke Kristen up around 8. Instead of hitting the treadmill for my normal morning exercise, I opted for a nice little hour of day-off rest. Krist woke me up around 9 and lounged around making plans for the day. Krist planned on going to work for an hour or so, then taking Finley to the doctor. The plan was for me to take the kids to lunch while Krist worked, race back to pick up Kristen and get Finley home for a nap, then back to the doctor's office.

In the end, Krist moved her work to tomorrow and we all went to lunch together at Chick-Fil-A. (I didn't go w/ the no-pickles/with cheese this go around and it was still good.) After lunch, we came home and tried to get Finley a quick nap.

While she slept, Jonah wanted to go on an adventure so we went on a little hike through the woods beside our house. We fought through briars and brush to explore the baseball field across the way, then headed home.

Once home, Jonah threw a bit of a fit, got "disciplined," then Krist and Finley left for the doctor's office. While they were gone, Jonah and I played some GameCube and lounged around.

Kristen and Finley got home a little after four and we headed back into town. We picked up my paycheck and headed to the bank then over to see Kristen's dad. We headed back home. Finley was super tired from her doctor's visit. We fed 'em, bathed 'em and then sent them to bed. Of course, I fell asleep beside Jonah in his bed and finally stumbled downstairs after Kristen woke me up.

Put my shoes on and got ready to head back to the church to do a video for Sunday morning. Work from about 9:30-midnight on the video. Went home, ate something, went to bed.

Remnant This Week!

If you haven't been over to the Remnant blog, you missed our promo for this week's service. We opted for a "words and music" approach for this one and I think it turned out pretty cool. Check it out:

Two Funny Things My Kids Have Said

Last week, when Ross was promoting the Andy Gullahorn show, he posted this picture at his Ross King World Tour blog and titled his post "The Best Songwriter I Know."

Jonah who knows about blogs and can read like nobody's business, leans over and reads the title in his sweet little six-year old voice.


"The - best - song = writer - I - know."

He then looks at Kristen and me says, "That doesn't look like Daddy..."

______________________________________________


I was reading CNN online the other day and Finley crawled up on the couch. She sees a picture of Prince Harry and taps the screen quickly, saying,

"Da-da!"



So, one kid thinks I'm the world's best songwriter and the other thinks I'm British royalty.

Am I a great parent, or what?

Been There...

Electronic Tattoo Display Runs On Blood

The basis of the 2x4-inch "Digital Tattoo Interface" is a Bluetooth device made of thin, flexible silicon and silicone. It´s inserted through a small incision as a tightly rolled tube, and then it unfurls beneath the skin to align between skin and muscle. Through the same incision, two small tubes on the device are attached to an artery and a vein to allow the blood to flow to a coin-sized blood fuel cell that converts glucose and oxygen to electricity. After blood flows in from the artery to the fuel cell, it flows out again through the vein.

On both the top and bottom surfaces of the display is a matching matrix of field-producing pixels. The top surface also enables touch-screen control through the skin. Instead of ink, the display uses tiny microscopic spheres, somewhat similar to tattoo ink. A field-sensitive material in the spheres changes their color from clear to black, aligned with the matrix fields. The tattoo display communicates wirelessly to other Bluetooth devices - both in the outside world and within the same body.

Although the device is always on (as long as your blood´s flowing), the display can be turned off and on by pushing a small dot on the skin. When the phone rings, for example, an individual turns the display on, and "the tattoo comes to life as a digital video of the caller," Mielke explains. When the call ends, the tattoo disappears.

Could such an invasive device have harmful biological effects? Actually, the device could offer health benefits. That´s because it also continually monitors for many blood disorders, alerting the person of a health problem. The tattoo display is still just a concept, with no word on plans for commercialization.



HT: Physorg

Without a doubt, my favorite blog in the world has to be 6YearMed. It's brilliant, sincere and funny and never disappoints.

A few days ago, Danielle, who IS 6YearMed posted a video about buying a new book written by Robert Rummel-Hudson. I checked out his blog which is pretty cool to read as his book is beginning to make waves.

I plan on checking out the book as soon as possible.

Blogs are awesome.

See that handsome dude over on the sidebar to the right?
Click that and you can buy the CD from a cool site called http://www.independentbands.com/.

Here's where this can get kinda' fun...

If you haven't bought one yet (or just want to buy another one,) I encourage you to do so as soon as possible. Apparently, if I make a lot of sales with a certain time-frame, by record gets classified as more "popular." The more "popular" it gets, the more likely it is to end up on the front page of the site, which will usually generate more sales.

Get the picture?

So, if you want to buy one or just want to donate a few bucks toward turning me into a rock star, click and buy!

Working super-hard promoting Remnant today. Think I accidentally sent our YouTube promo video to everybody twice. Oops.

Gonna' be a good one this week. Kate's back to lead worship and we're gonna' have one of our church members there taking pictures. (Hope folks show up.)

Currently, we're using a blog, a big email group, Facebook events, YouTube videos and we talk about it all the time.

Anybody got any other creative ways to spread the word? Come on...you're all a bunch of marketers at heart. Let's brainstorm!

He's Back...For Now

Uncle Jay...still digging this guy

CONCERT REVIEW...

Andy Gullahorn, 2/24/08
ComChurch / College Station, TX

Krist and I dropped off the kids and left Lufkin a little after 4. I wanted to listen to non-stop Gullahorn on the way, but Krist said she wanted to be surprised by the songs and didn't want to listen to Andy's whole catalog. So, she powered on the radio and we listened to some country and then some 106.9 out of Houston. (The Point!)

Closer to Bryan/CS, I finally got control of the iPod and managed to play some of Andy's "Room to Breathe" record. We got to College Station about 6, ate dinner and then set out to find Ross' church. (Not the easiest place in the world to locate, but we made it just in time.)

The concert was fantastic. Most of you know I'm a freak about setlists - asking most of my friends to remember each and every song from concerts you go to. I forgot to bring something to write with, so here's what I can remember of the set, in no particular order.

1. Nobody Wants To Work
2. Roast Beef
3. Holy Flakes
4. Desperate Man
5. Alright Here
6. That Guy
7. If I Were
8. (New song he co-wrote w/ Jason Gray)
9. Give Me Grace
10. Never Let Me Down
11. Wrecking Ball (Jill Phillips tune)
12. How Precious Life Is

It was a fantastic show - one of those rare opportunities to see someone so at home and in control of his craft sharing stories and songs from his life and family. The only complaint is that he didn't do Green Hills Mall, More Of A Man, or Beginning Of The End...but the show was so good, I didn't even mind. (I'll tell you this...Wrecking Ball is awesome. That one's going in the iPod, gang.)

I Don't Mean To Brag, But...

John McCain called me yesterday.

GREAT MOMENTS IN COUNTRY MUSIC, PT. 2

NO MORE PARAMORE?

This showed up at Paramore's blog around noon on Thursday:
__________________________________
Hey guys,

As most of you already know, we have cancelled the rest of our UK/Europe RIOT Tour.

First of all, we want to say we are so sorry for letting all of you down. We feel terrible about it and really didn’t expect for this to happen. It probably doesn’t sound like much but we just hate that we won’t get to play this show for those of you who had hoped to see it.

There are a lot of internal issues that have been going on in this band for quite a while now. A lot of it started right around the time we were gearing up for the RIOT Tour in the US. We were able to fight through all of it for this long but unfortunately we weren’t able to keep it together long enough to make it through ’til the end of this tour.

We really feel that taking this time is going to give us a chance to get away and work out our personal issues at home and on our own terms. We just aren’t willing to risk the life of our band over one tour. That probably sounds terrible right now, to say that finishing a week of shows wasn’t worth it… but if we can use this next month wisely then we will be a lot healthier for the tours ahead.

We hope that - even though it might be hard to understand - that you guys can support us at this time.

Maybe one day we will tell the whole story but for now, just know that all five of us are going to work so hard to get it right. You deserve that and we deserve to make this last as long as possible - and to enjoy every second of it.

We love you guys so much. If you could pray for us or just keep us in your thoughts it would be really helpful. You guys have gotten us so far and been the best motivators since day one. We are so sorry for the trouble we caused you guys who bought tickets, fan club members and to all the promoters and venues that we won’t be there to put on a show for.

We are extremely sorry to New Found Glory and all their fans who wanted to put on and see a show and who we’ve let down. And lastly, to Lost Alone.

We will keep you guys updated.

Love,
Hayley, Jeremy, Josh, Zac and Taylor
__________________________________________

Anybody know what's up or am I just way hipper than you all?

CONCERT

This is Andy Gullahorn, who might actually be the best songwriter in America.

And on Sunday night, Andy is playing at Ross' church.

And I will be there.

Krist and I are taking a little road-trip to ComChurch to hear Andy and I'm so excited!

Man In The Box

Just remembered a record from my teenager years. Thanks to Rhapsody I'm reliving it. And loving every second of it.

Russ Taff - The Way Home

And yes, I will be subjecting all my friends to samples of it for the next few weeks.

Another Demographic...

In the past, I've tried to be very honest about my video gaming.

With regard to my video game skills, I have maintained two points:

1. I like playing video games.
2. I'm really quite bad at them.

But I'm having a problem, and I dare say it's a common situation facing many other married-men-with-children-in-their-30s-and-above.

Games are just too hard.

I wish all these game manufacturers would realize that there are a lot of us that simply like to play a game every once in awhile. We don't want to spend a week trying to figure out how to hack into the missile guidance system on a submarine. We don't want to have to do try levels over and over and over again just to get to an even harder checkpoint.

I want games that are easy. Games that I can pop in and play through and not have to restart again and again. I'm sure that teenagers and college students enjoy this - these marathon sessions wherein they toil without food, sleep or proper hygeine just to complete the basic levels of the game, but I don't have the time or the energy. I just wanna' blow some stuff up, okay?

I don't mind a game getting harder...but can't it get harder slower? And can't it get harder, you know, easier?

I'm telling you - games could make even MORE money by targeting dudes like me - guys who like games and will pay for them as long as they are fun and don't encompass my entire existence.

Who's with me?
Who doesn't care?
Who thinks I'm a giant whiner?

Clay Walker's Gonna' LOVE This News Update...

DANG...

Always been a sucker for a good-old fashioned Slam Dunk contest. Here's a recap of this years...it's pretty nice.

Just uploaded the sermon from the very first Remnant on Sunday night.

Head over to the Remnant Blog and click on the link under "Sermons."

And be ready...it's a long one. Todd got a bit carried away.

Uncle Jay

Okay...the guy's probably is what my father-in-law would call a "stinkin' liberal," but I think he's funny.

And this update in particular has special significance for me. Watch and see what Uncle Jay says that hits Todd right where he lives!



HT: Sam

ALBUM REVIEW

Lenny Kravitz - It's Time For A Love Revolution
Released February 5, 2008 / Virgin Records


I used to be a Lenny Kravitz fan. And I mean old-school. As in the long-dreads, red bell-bottom jump suit and records recorded all analog when everybody was running headlong into the digital medium.

Then, Lenny got hip.

I was excited at first. He was getting radio play. Folks were realizing that he was cool, which I liked. But then, he lost me. His stuff got too loopy and synthed-out. I like loops and synths, just not from a dude who had always reminded of some long-lost funk/rock hero.

Well, the old Lenny is back. And while it remains to be seen if Lenny's return to raw rock and roll will be met with joy or sadness, for me it's been an amazing thing to listen to. Here's what I think of the record.

PRODUCTION QUALITY
This doesn't sound glossy. It doesn't auto-tuned or chopped up or even digital for that matter. I'm sure that it's, in fact, all of those things, but it doesn't sound like it. Drums sound like drums normally sound - they're even a little flat in places, sounding much more real and organic that something that's compressed and effected like crazy. Gear heads don't like it, but it sounds like a band-in-a-room and I dig that. Lenny's vocals are nice and warm, but still human. There's even a few lines that probably could have been done again or better, but the record keeps these lines because they actually DO sound more emotive, more honest.



GROOVE
This is what Lenny lost, in my opinion, when he "American Woman" and all that stuff started coming out. Love Revolution has that amazing quality that all good groove records have - that underneath the instrumentation, there's the thing that you can't really hear, can't really count, but you can FEEL. There's so much space on this record, so much groove...there's really no other word for it. My guess is that's the product of the brilliant interplay of seasoned musicians - again, I'm not sure if it's Lenny and crew all in the studio at once, but it sure sounds like it. (In fact, if they locked into groove like this while seperately tracking, I might just give up music.)



SONGWRITING
Lenny Kravitz is a hippie. We all know this. If you ever listend to Lenny's older stuff, you know he's never been one to shy away from spiritual themes. He sings quite a bit about God and love and grace, but I think this most recent work is his most spiritual to date. It's not a Christian record, and I know Lenny's theology is pretty weird, but I do think it's important to listen to records that are able to sneak in references to Christian salvation and God's character through the mainstream. I don't care how big a star he is...somebody had to greenlight this record at some point. I think believers ought to seek this stuff out - why did this record make it and other's don't? What do songs like this really do to the culture?



If you'd like to hear some stellar, old-school songwriting recorded in a very brave and honest way and learn some groove chops while you're at it, Love Revolution is the record for you.

Remnant Report: 20 people total, worship was good, sermon went okay. Learning a lot already about flow, greeting, setup, sermon prep. I think we're on the right track, though.

If you're in Lufkin on Sunday night, March 2nd...you should check it out.

Sitting in the sound booth for youth service...2 hours 'til theRemnant...listening to Robbie and the boys play "New Day." What's better than that? (Minus the youth ministry part...)

TAKE THAT, EUGENE PETERSON...

The Bible as Graphic Novel, With a Samurai Stranger Called Christ
by Neela Banerjee, from The New York Times

Ajinbayo Akinsiku wants the world to know Jesus Christ, just not the gentle, blue-eyed Christ of old Hollywood movies and illustrated Bibles.

Mr. Akinsiku says his Son of God is “a samurai stranger who’s come to town, in silhouette,” here to shake things up in a new, much-abridged version of the Bible rooted in manga, the Japanese form of graphic novels.


“We present things in a very brazen way,” said Mr. Akinsiku, who hopes to become an Anglican priest and who is the author of “The Manga Bible: From Genesis to Revelation.” “Christ is a hard guy, seeking revolution and revolt, a tough guy.”

Publishers with an eye for evangelism and for markets have long profited by directing Bibles at niche markets: just-married couples, teenage boys, teenage girls, recovering addicts. Often the lure is cosmetic, like a jazzy new cover.

Sales of graphic novels, too, have grown by double digits in recent years. So it makes sense that a convergence is under way, as graphic novels take up stories from the Bible, often in startling ways. In the last year, several major religious and secular publishing houses have announced or released manga religious stories.


The medium shapes the message. Manga often focuses on action and epic. Much of the Bible, as a result, ends up on the cutting room floor, and what remains is darker.


“It is the end of the Word as we know it, and the end of a certain cultural idea of the Scriptures as a book, as the Book,” Timothy Beal, professor of religion at Case Western Reserve University, said of the reworking of the Bible in new forms, including manga. “It opens up new ways of understanding Scripture and ends up breaking the idols a bit.”


While known for characters with big eyes and catwalk poses, manga is also defined by a laconic, cinematic style, with characters often doing more than talking.

In a blurb for the Manga Bible, which is published by Doubleday, the archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Rev. Rowan Williams, is quoted as saying, “It will convey the shock and freshness of the Bible in a unique way.”

No doubt. In the Manga Bible, whose heroes look and sound like skateboarders in Bedouin gear, Noah gets tripped up counting the animals in the Ark: “That’s 11,344 animals? Arggh! I’ve lost count again. I’m going to have to start from scratch!”

Abraham rides a horse out of an explosion to save Lot. Og, king of Bashan, looms like an early Darth Vader. The Sermon on the Mount did not make the book, though, because there was not enough action to it.

The Manga Bible sold 30,000 copies in Great Britain, according to Doubleday. The print run in this country is 15,000, and it sells for $12.95.

Mr. Akinsiku, 42, who uses the pen name Siku, grew up in England and Nigeria in an Anglican family of Nigerian descent. He recently graduated from theology school in London. For years, he has worked as an artist, and a rendering of the Bible was the best way of glorifying God, he said in a telephone interview from London.

While younger adults and teenagers are the most avid consumers of manga, Mr. Akinsiku said he had heard from grandmothers who picked up the book as a gift for their grandchildren. The book is meant to be a first taste of the Bible, which many feel too intimidated to read, Mr. Akinsiku said. Every few pages, a small tab refers to the biblical verses the action covers.

“For the unchurched, the book is to show that this thing, the Bible, is still relevant,” he said, “because it talks about what human beings do when they encounter God.”

Christian thinkers have tried to make the Bible accessible for centuries, scholars said. Stained glass windows related Bible stories when Europe was largely illiterate. New printing technology in the 19th century made it possible to mass-produce Bibles, including illustrated versions, said Peter J. Thuesen, acting chairman of religious studies at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis.

As literacy rose (and marketing flowered), individual families bought Bibles. In the 1960s and 1970s, books like the Living Bible and the Way came out, written in vernacular English, although scholars criticize their accuracy.

In the past decade, as consumer products have been directed at niche markets and religious services tailored to different groups, publishers have made more money by creating Bibles to serve certain groups, said Lynn Schofield Clark, director of the Estlow International Center for Journalism and New Media at the University of Colorado.

A few years ago, for example, the religious publisher Thomas Nelson issued a Bible for teenage girls called Revolve, which looked like a glossy magazine. It sold 40,000 copies in a month, Ms.
Clark said, a staggering number for a Bible.

The goal of the Bibles is not just to win people to Christ, but to particular ways of thinking, said Jason BeDuhn, associate professor of religious studies at Northern Arizona University. Mr. Akinsiku said the biblical message he wanted to underscore was justice, especially for the poor.
His book has been criticized by some manga bloggers as too wordy.


Mr. Akinsiku said the exposition gave readers a quick understanding of the Bible. His next project is a manga life of Christ. He has 300 pages to lay it out, which means there will be a lot more action, a lot less talking, something like Clint Eastwood in the Galilee.

HT: New York Times

OUR LITTLE MODEL...

Awhile back, Finley won a little contest for a local photography studio in town.

She had her photo shoot today and HERE are some results!

BEST MOBSTER MOVIE....

What Goes Around...

Anybody remember when Microsoft was sued by the Department of Justice in 1998?

Remember why?

Monopoly.

Essentially, the government didn't dig that Internet Explorer (Product A) was bundled with Microsoft Windows (Product B.) The goverment said it made the market too hard for other web browsers.

So, my question is this:

Why hasn't Steve Jobs been sued? Isn't he making the market "too hard" for other music players, computer media playback systems, movie rental organizations, movie sales and distribution firms?

Either the government was out of its mind the first go around with Gates, or my theory holds fast:

APPLE GETS EVERYTHING.

I like video games.
I'm a sucker for documentaries. So, right after I see King of Kong, I'm gonna' check out "Second Skin."
Because I'm weird.

T-SHIRTS

What's your favorite t-shirt in the wardrobe right now?

Sacrifice Is Alive And Well (Depending On Who You Ask)

As a proud member of the Facebook nation, I was recently shocked at how many Facebook profiles I saw that said something like this:

I'm giving up Facebook for Lent.

I know there's something to be said/discussed/debated about a culture that is so entrenched in an internet network that they feel the need to "give it up," but that's not really my specific point here.

No, what I found most interesting (and encouraging) is that these folks are at least recognizing something that's taking their time and attention. Again - we can certainly discuss the year-round implications of Facebook addiction at another time - but I think that any time we see people, especially students, willfully recognizing the need for sacrifice, it's a good thing.

Maybe you think Facebook is evil. Maybe you think blogs are gigantic waste of time. Maybe you are offended at the thought of spending as much time on the computer as a typical high school student. That's okay.

But if a kid realizes that he or she is devoting attention, class hours, spare time, creativity and opportunities to be with, you know, real people, I think we should applaud that kid.

I want to be like that kid - I want to look honestly at my life and ask:

"What's stealing my time from me? What's taking precious hours of meditation and worship and fellowship from my life?"

And I want to do something about it.

It may not seem much to a lot of us...but for a lot of kids, giving up Facebook is a big deal...and I rejoice with them in their commitment.

Anybody else think this guy is creating some of the most annoying stuff in the history of music?

Just wondering what you think...

MORE ON PREACHING...

Let's hope the Remnant doesn't go like THIS.

FREEZE...

Brody linked this and said the video was "everywhere," but it's new to me and it's totally cool.

RENTAL RECOMMENDATIONS

Ross recommended this one to us a good while back, and we finally got around to renting it for Jonah. It was so good. I'm growing continually frustrated hearing folks tell me that some new kids movie has "grown up humor." I don't rent animated movies for grown-up humor, okay? I rent them for kid humor. So my kids will laugh and have fun and maybe learn a lesson or two. Meet the Robinsons was just plain funny - my six-year old laughed and so did my twenty-two year old wife. If you haven't seen it, you should. It's worth the money and dare I say better than some of the more recent stuff by Pixar and the like.

You may not know this about me, but I love Westerns. Movies, books, mini-series, TV shows...I love it. So, when a Western comes out, I'm already in. 'Course, you throw in Christian Bale (who's turning out to be one heck of an actor) and Russell Crowe (who's really pretty good in everything) and I'm even more excited. Not only was this a good, action-packed story line, it really said some cool things about courage and family and sacrifice.

COMING SOON...

CRACKERS...

We all know that snacking is vital.

Well, it's important.

Okay...maybe we can technically live without those brief little munching breaks, but who wants to, right?

So, here's the question:

What's the best cracker for snacking?



If you're new to the blog, our surveys typically have a few ground rules:



1. You don't HAVE to explain your choice, but we all will like you much better if you do.

2. No name calling, no jeering...allow each and every person to celebrate their own identity within the realm of crackerdom. Diversity is the key.

3. No hijacking this idea on a slow blog day and slapping it on your site (without credit being given.) I'm talking to you, Mike James.

Alright...let's hear what you got.

By the way, you would probably be astounded at how many pictures of PREMIUM Saltine crackers are copyright-protected on websites. Took me an hour to find a .gif I could right-click. Sheesh, Nabisco, lighten up!

LET'S TRY THIS ONE..

Respected author, teacher and pastor.
Relatively recent darling of the college ministry set.
Widely known for teachings/philosphy on sovereignty/God's glory above all things.
Acknowledged for boldy taking on controversial issues in sermons.
Extremely outspoken on the issue of mission and sacrifice.

Do you believe the hype? What's he do best? What's he do worst?

PREACHING...

A lot of you know that some things changed for me in mid-to-late 2007. Primarily, I got the chance to do more "preaching" at my church.

First, in a dialogue sermon, then all by myself a month or two later. And most of you know what happened...I liked it. A lot.

Then, as 2007 drew to a close, I had this crazy idea to pastor/preach/lead/host a young adult Bible study. So, the preaching thing is obviously gonna' stick around for awhile.

Since all of this stuff started happening, a lot of you (Okay, not A LOT of you. Maybe 2 or 3. Okay, so it was Clay) started hinting that I might be headed toward setting my guitar down and taking on a pulpit.

Let me first say that God can do what He wants. If God tells me to up and join seminary and start churches and preach, then I'll do that. I wouldn't mind it, because A) It would be obeying God and B) I find preaching to be one of the most amazing ministry choices...I'm fascinated by it.

But as flattering as the thought is, I gotta' say that I don't think it's gonna' happen. And I don't think it should. Here's why...

Why is it that our smartest and best ministers are all preachers? Why am I not hearing wise teaching coming from worship leaders? Why do I see seminars and churches promoting events with speakers and teachers that are brilliant but fronted with worship leading by dudes and gals who sing, look pretty and teach us nothing?

When did we decide that the first 30 minutes of our service need to be entertainment and the back half should be educational/pastoral?

Why do I go to youth camp to be led by a bunch of pretty boys with cool shoes who regurgitate tired old Christian culture cliches before some amazing theologian and pastor takes the stage?

Worship leaders, we have a great job. We get to do a thing that a lot of people don't. We get to stand on on a stage and rock and roll and, often, very little is required of us. (Especially if we play all the Top 40 Worship Hitlist.) And most of us get paid a pretty fair wage to do it, too.

But it's not enough, and it's not okay for me to get my pastoring fix elsewhere when God's given me a platform already.

I'm not giving up preaching. As long as God gives me the chance, I'll do it, but all of you worship leaders need to hear me...

WE'VE GOT TO WORK HARDER.
WE'VE GOT TO STUDY.
WE'VE GOT TO KNOW THE WORD.
WE'VE GOT TO GET OVER OURSELVES.
WE'VE GOT TO PASTOR.

Oh, and by "we," I mean, you know, ME.

Maybe One Of The Brightest Moments in Country Music and Songwriting In General....

"These are nowhere near the best days of your life."