A Virtual Choir

Incredible video. Eric Whitacre led a virtual choir of voices from around the world. See it here. The video is a little over 14 minutes. It is well worth the time.

Promise For The Day

Psalm 6:8-9

Away from me, all you who do evil,

for the Lord has heard my weeping.

The Lord has heard my cry for mercy;

the Lord accepts my prayer.

Promise For The Day

James 5:16

Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.

Promise For The Day

Psalm 91: 1-2

Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.

I will say of the Lord, "He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust."

Worship Set for August 21

So this coming Sunday we begin a new series. The series it titled "Heaven". We are going to be looking at the promise of heaven and the afterlife.

This week our pastor will be preaching on Matthew 13: 44-46 and his message is titled "What is Heaven Like". Here is his thumbnail.

When we look at Jesus' miracles we get a glimpse of the kingdom of heaven breaking into earth; His miracles help us to see what heaven will be like. When Jesus restores the sight of a blind man, that tells us that in the kingdom of heaven there's a complete healing. When he touches the disabled and they're able to walk, or the deaf and they are able to hear, that tells us something about heaven. In heaven there is no brokenness, in heaven we are finally able to be e exactly who God created us to be.

Here is the music set for the week.

Featured Music-Heaven by Los Lonely Boys

Your's Is The Kingdom

Sweet Mercies

Featured Music-Heaven Is The Face by Steven Curtis Chapman

Song Of Hope

We look forward to a great weekend, where Jesus is lifted up.

Promise For The Day

Proverbs 19:21

Many are the plans in a person's heart, but it is the Lord's purpose that prevails.

The Global Leadership Summit: Session Four/Steven Furtick

Steven Furtick:

Lead Pastor, Elevation Church

Charlotte, North Carolina

Wow. Steven was amazing. An absolute great way to end an amazing first day of the Summit.

Here are some of the take aways from Steven's talk.

*"One of the reasons we're so insecure is that we compare our behind-the-scenes to everybody else's highlight reel."

*"The difference between a visionary and a daydreamer is the audacity to act."

*"We teach our children to say please and then thank you. However, with God we say "thank you" before we say "please" for anything."

*"I don't want to just survive the world, I want to change the world."

*2 Kings 3: 9-20

"If you want to see the land filled with water, dig ditches."

"Faith doesn't wait around for water, it digs a ditch."

"Don't just dig A ditch, make this valley full of ditches."

*"I can't expect God's blessing on my work unless I do it God's way."

*"God doesn't call you to finish what he's called you to do, just to get started."

The Global Leadership Summit: Session 3/Seth Godin

Seth Godin:

Bestselling Author; Squidoo Founder; Renowned Marketing Blogger

New York, New York

Seth was named Business Week's "Ultimate Entrepreneur for the Information Age." Seth's lecture was titled "Poke The Box", and he did not disappoint.

First let me just say Seth rocked some serious glasses. He gave a lively, entertaining, and challenging talk.

Here are a few of my favorite lines from his lecture.

"There is no map for being an artist"

"Competence is no longer scarce"

"Don't wait to get picked, pick yourself"

"If failure is not an option, then either is success"

"Just because the tide is out, doesn't mean there is less water in the ocean"

"Give gifts"

"GO MAKE SOMETHING HAPPEN"

The Global Leadership Summit: Session 3/Rev. Dr. Brenda Salter McNeil

Rev. Dr. Brenda Salter McNeil

Speaker; Thought Leader; Founder and President, Salter McNeil & Associates

Chicago, Illinois

Dr. McNeil gave a very inspirational and moving talk. Her lecture was titled "Courageous Leadership For Catalytic Times".

She gave a life changing look at Acts 1:8, and will cause me to never look at that verse the same again. Here is what the scriptures says.

"But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."

This is a catalytic moment. We are commissioned to take the gospel across cultural lines.

Jerusalem=our home turf. It is where people look like us.

Judea=Close to home, but not quite home

Samaria=This is the places or places we avoid. The places that are forgotten. The places of corporate injustice, children soldiers, sex trafficing here.

What are you going to do with and for your Samaria?

Are you ready to break through your sound barrier?

Here is how.

1. Pray for a divine mandate

-ask God to break your heart for what breaks his heart

2. Name your catalytic events

3. Mobilize people to Go!

-faith without works is DEAD

-don't just stop in Judea, push through to Samaria

-learn to speak authentically, with relevance, and with authority

Where is your Samaria?

--GET STARTED THERE NOW

The Global Leadership Summit: Session 2/Cory A. Booker

Honorable Cory A. Booker

Mayor of Newark, New Jersey; Urban Reformer

Newark, New Jersey

*Cory Booker became mayor of New Jersey's largest city in 2006. Since then, Newark has experienced a reduction in crime, an increase in city services, and an improvement in education.

*A Rhodes Scholar, he holds earned degrees from Stanford University, Oxford University, and Yale Law School.

*His leadership has been profiled in the Academy Award-nominated film Street Fight and in the Emmy-nominated documentary series Brick City.

Here are a couple things I took away from his lecture.

"Everyone was born an original, buy many die copies."

-Abraham Lincoln

Are we evidencing our truth?

Will You Stand Up?

The Global Leadership Summit: Session 2/Len Schlesinger

Session two opened up with Len Schlesinger with his lecture titled "Action Trumps Everything".

Len Schlesinger:

President, Babson College; Harvard Professor; Former Vice Chair, Limited Brands

Boston, Massachusetts

My key insight to his talk was...The leader is committed to a reality that does not exist.

Len says that in the face of the unknowability, here are 16 reasons why action trumps everything.

1. If you act, you will find out what works...

2. ...and what doesn't.

3. If you never act, you will never know if you are right or wrong.

4. If you act, you will find out if you like it...

5. ...or you don't.

6. Acting leads to a market reaction, which could take you in another direction.

7. As you act, you can find people to go along with you.

8. As you act, you can find ways to do things faster, cheaper, better.

9. If you act, you won't spend the rest of your life going, "I wonder what would have happened if..."

10. If all you do is think, you are less interesting as a person.

11. If all you do is think about stuff, you gain tons of theoretical knowledge, but none from the real world.

12. ...all you do is think.

13. Action always leads to evidence.

14. If you act, you know what is real.

15. Talking to people is action...

16. It seems the cost of doing more thought, before you pull the trigger, is zero.

The Global Leadership Summit: Session 1/Bill Hybels

For the next couple days I will be blogging about The Global Leadership Summit that is going on at Willow Creek Church. Our church (Living Word) is a satellite for the conference, and it is always a blast and a great couple days of learning.

Bill Hybels got the Summit off to a great start. Here are some take aways.

Bill Hybels:

Founder and Senior Pastor, Willow Creek Church

South Barrington, Illinois

*When the leader stops learning, the leader should stop leading.

*Leadership matters! When leaders get better, everyone wins.

Five questions to ask yourself.

1. What is your current challenge level at work?

2. What is your plan for dealing with challenging people?

3. Are you naming, facing, or resolving the problem that exist in your organization?

-Where are your programs in the life cycle? Accelerating, Booming, Decelerating, or Tanking

4. When is the last time you examined the core of what you are about?

5. Have you had your leadership bell rung lately?

Worship Set For This Coming Week

We are wrapping up our latest series this week at Living Word. The series is titled "Famous".

The idea behind the series has been the fact that our culture is crazy about celebrities. Athletes, actors, musicians are American royalty. Being famous has become synonymous with being successful, even if you are not famous for anything particular. Fame of course is not a bad thing, but it certainly is not the true measure of our worth as human beings. Our worth as a human being is based upon God, and true fame is found in Him.

The series was broken down into 4 weeks.

Week 1-Appearance

Week 2-Affluence

Week 3-Achievement

Week 4-Approval

Our pastor will be preaching out of Galatians 1:6-12 this week. Here is his thumbnail for the topic.

"In one way or another, don't we all crave to be liked and appreciated? Don't we all need for others to think well of us? Of course we do. Nothing wrong with that---UNLESS. Unless it becomes so profound a need that we forget to ask God what God thinks of us, and our need for human approval wipes away caring about God's expectations."

Here is our worship set for this week. I would love to hear your thoughts on these songs.

1. I Stand Amazed

2. At The Cross

3. You Are For Me

4. How He Loves

I hope to see you at worship this week, and I hope to hear you singing your heart out.

Promise For The Day

John 11:41-42

So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, "Father, I thank you that you have heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me."

Leadership Lesson

Came across this on The Resurgence site.

Enjoy.

Defining Moments

Wow. I found this on my friends blog today and it really hit home. How true is this?

Susan Gregory Thomas:

Every generation has its life-defining moments. If you want to find out what it was for a member of the Greatest Generation, you ask, "Where were you on D-Day?" For babyboomers, the questions are "Where were you when Kennedy was shot?" or "What were you doing when Nixon resigned?"

For most of my generation--Generation X, born between 1965 and 1980--there is only one question: "When did your parents get divorced?"

(HT: Vitamin Z)

Promise For The Day

Ephesians 1:17

I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better.

Promise For The Day

Philippians 1:6

being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

Promise For The Day

Matthew 4:19

"Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will send you out to fish for people."

Sign Him Up For The Big Leagues

The St. Louis Cardinals bullpen could use this kid.

Free Stuff Friday

Tim Challies:

This week's Free Stuff Friday sponsor is Desiring God, a name you are all familiar with, I'm sure.

Check it out here.

Promise For The Day

Micah 7:19

You will again have compassion on us; you will tread our sins underfoot and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea.

Boogity Boogity Boogity Amen:AutoTuned

I have to say this is pretty good.

(HT: Vitamin Z)

Promise For The Day

Psalms 34:5

Those who look to him are radiant; their faces are never covered with shame.

Sweetness

That is cool.

Why Going To Rehab Won't Fix It

Mike Wilkerson:

"The sin we tolerate always pollutes, always corrupts, disintegrates what God created good, and-if not stopped-always ends in death."

"Those of us whose sin has not yet consumed us should not be too quick to judge Amy."

Read the rest.

Promise For The Day

Romans 12:19

Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: "It is mine to avenge; I will repay," says the Lord.

Touchdown Celebrations and Humble Athletes

Tony Dungy is one of my favorite guys in sports. A true man of integrity.

Check out his latest post dealing with being humble.

Promise For The Day

1 John 2:1

My dear children, I write this to tell you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father-Jesus Christ, the Righteous One.

Engaging Your Neighbor

Jonathan Dobson:

"I have found that it is often helpful to have practical ideas to start engaging the people around me in order to be a better neighbor."

Check out his list of 25 ways to engage your neighbor here.

(HT: Vitamin Z)

Who Knew?

Apparently there are 14 types of noses. Which one is yours?

Find out and here.

(HT: Justin Taylor)

How To Honor Your Wife

Mark Driscoll:

"Every man who reads this, even the best man among us, has areas of repentance and growth that are required."

Read the rest.

Ouch! It Looks Likes That Might Hurt

It does not look like that is going to feel good. However, it is a cool pic.

(HT: Abraham Piper)

Amazing Violinist

This violin solo was performed by Sirena Huang in 2006. It is amazing.

Not too shabby for an eleven year old.

Enjoy.

Rethinking the Words of Worship

Are we thinking about what we say to God during worship?

Adam Wood has some great thoughts on the topic here.

Leaving the Manufactured Church

Rachel Daniels:

"Church" has become synonymous with words like "corporation" and "organization". But instead of manufacturing toilet paper or toothpaste, our products are decisions, discipleship programs and even the Holy Spirit. Rather than equipping the saints to do ministry, our pastors are CEOs, Chief Evangelism Officers, who manage the industry by creating consumers of Christianity.

Read the rest of the article here. It is thought provoking and well worth the read.

Why You Can Have Hope & Strength in Suffering

Stuart Dean:

When the truth of God is abandoned, so is the hope and strength to face suffering.

Read the rest.

How To Fail As A Worship Leader

David Santistevan:

As a worship leader myself, I've found that failure has a lot more to do with how we handle

the small stuff behind the scenes, than it does with what happens on stage.

Read the rest.

Abide With Me

This week in worship we are singing the great song titled "Abide With Me". The lyrics were written by Henry Lyte in the 1800's. We are doing the version put out by Indelible Grace Music.

I just wanted to share the lyrics with you today. They are so strong. So strong!

I hope they can be an encouragement to you today.

ABIDE WITH ME; FALLS THE EVENTIDE;

THE DARKNESS DEEPENS; LORD WITH ME ABIDE.

WHEN OTHER HELPERS, FAIL AND COMFORTS FLEE,

HELP OF THE HELPLESS, ABIDE WITH ME.

THOU ON MY HEAD, IN EARLY YOUTH DIDST SMILE;

AND, THOUGH REBELLIOUS, AND PERVERSE MEANWHILE,

THOU HAST NOT LEFT ME, OFT AS I LEFT THEE,

ON TO THE CLOSE LORD, ABIDE WITH ME.

I NEED THY PRESENCE, EVERY PASSING HOUR.

WHAT BUY THY GRACE, CAN FOIL THE TEMPTER'S POWER?

WHO, LIKE THYSELF, MY GUIDE AND STAY CAN ME?

THROUGH CLOUD AND SUNSHINE, ABIDE WITH ME.

I FEAR NO FOE, WITH THEE AT HAND TO BLESS

ILLS HAVE NO WEIGHT, TEARS LOSE THEIR BITTERNESS

WHERE IS THY STING DEATH? WHERE GRAVE THY VICTORY?

I TRIUMPH STILL, ABIDE WITH ME.

HOLD THOU THY CROSS, BEFORE MY CLOSING EYES;

SHINE THROUGH THE GLOOM, AND POINT ME TO THE SKIES.

HEAVEN'S MORNING BREAKS, AND EARTH'S VAIN SHADOWS FLEE;

IN LIFE, IN DEATH, LORD, ABIDE WITH ME.

Maya Beiser(s) and her cello(s)

Maya Beiser plays an eight-part modern etude with seven copies of herself.

Very creative and beautiful.

The Decline of the Nuclear Family

Nick Bogardus:

"Perhaps the things that really need redeeming are the church's lack of a voice in what it

means to be a man or woman."

Read the rest here.

(HT: Vitamin Z)

Love Divine

Bob Kauflin:

If you know anything about Wesley, you know he was prolific, writing between 6000 and 8500 hymns, depending on your source. As you might guess, every one wasn’t a classic. But more than a few were. And John Hartley and Chris Eaton have done a masterful job introducing some of them to a new generation through new melodies, some new choruses, fresh arrangements and tasteful production.

My Take:

This is a great album. You need to go get it immediately.

Worship leaders should find these songs easy to teach and incorporate into worship.

Very excited to see my friend Mark Roach was included on this album.

A Neat Way To Think About Setting & Achieving Goals

Is there something that you have always wanted to do and just haven't? Matt Cutts suggests trying it for 30 days.

Our Newest Son: Kingston Alexander

This is our newest son. His name is Kingston Alexander. He was born June 17th. He weighed 6 pounds 2 ounces and was 19 inches long. He is such a blessing and a great addition to our family.

We received the pictures from the photographer today, so I wanted to share them with you all. The rest of the pictures will be posted on my facebook page.

Thank you for all of your prayers.

Is Church Membership Biblical?

Came across this good post form Matt Chandler today. Read it here.

This Is Beatjazz

Onyx Ashanti demonstrates "beatjazz"-his music created by two handheld controllers, an iPhone and a mouthpiece, and played with the entire body.

After locking his beats and loops he plays a 3 minute song that shares his vision for the future of music.

Hackers Expose Flaw

Hackers have disclosed a bug in software from Apple Inc that security experts said could be exploited by criminals looking to gain remote control over iPhones, iPads and iPod Touch devices.

See article here.

The Way To God

Started reading through the D.L. Moody Collection with a friend of mine today. Today we read and talked about Moody's message titled "The Way To God: The Gateway into the Kingdom".

Moody talked about "the new birth" and how he considers it to be the most important doctrine. Moody says, "My experience has been this-that if a man is unsound on this doctrine, he will be unsound on almost every other fundamental doctrine in the Bible".

Lots of great thoughts in this 24 page chapter.

Here are a few questions from the study.

1. Are you certain that you are born again of the Spirit of God, and can you give a scriptural reason why you are going to heaven?

2. Do you look to Jesus on a regular basis for forgiveness and righteousness in your life?

3. What evidence in the events and blessings of your own life prove Christ to be your Shepherd?

Jury Finds Casey Anthony Not Guilty Of Murder

I would have never guessed this verdict a few months ago. I am very disturbed by this.

What are your thoughts?

Obituary for the American Church

Thought provoking article by Mike Breen titled "Obituary for the American Church".

Check it out here.

(HT: Vitamin Z)

The Fourth of July & Freedom

Happy Fourth. Here is a great quote for the day from Abraham Lincoln.

Our reliance is in the love of liberty which God has planted in our bosoms. Our defense is in the preservation of the spirit which prizes liberty as the heritage of all men, in all lands, everywhere.
--September 11, 1858 Speech at Edwardsville, Illinois

Competition For Ochocinco

It appears Chad Ochocinco may have some competition. Check out this celebration after a goal at the World Cup.

A Little Michael Jackson For Ya

Very cool video. Everything about it is done well.

(HT: Vitamin Z)

Scarlet Tanager

Check out this new video from my friend's band. Very creative. Their new album is out on iTunes. Go and get it. You will really enjoy it.