Craig Groeschel: It: How Churches and Leaders Can Get It and Keep It
October 2009
John Grisham: The Associate: A Novel
September 2009
David Wroblewski: The Story of Edgar Sawtelle: A Novel
April 2009
Rory Noland: The Worshiping Artist
December 2008
Cormac Mccarthy: The Road
December 2008
C. S. Lewis: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
December 2008
Erwin Raphael McManus: Soul Cravings
November 2008
Donald Miller: Blue Like Jazz: Nonreligious Thoughts on Christian Spirituality
November 2008
John Eldredge: Walking with God: Talk to Him. Hear from Him. Really.
October 2008
John Grisham: Bleachers
September 2008
Bruxy Cavey: The End of Religion: Encountering the Subversive Spirituality of Jesus
September 2008
It started in August 2008 and was finally completed this week! My first full-length solo CD, With the Breath in My Lungs is ready to go!
The CD is available online for $10.89 + shipping.
Visit my VIRB page for a preview of some of the tracks and a free mp3 download!
"And on the 8th day, God created the Dallas Cowboys."
Ok, that's a stretch. It's nowhere to be found in Genesis. But there are plenty of Texans who might quote that as the only verse of the Bible they've ever actually committed to memory.
While I personally have my doubts that God actually participates in football, many players will attribute victories and successes to their faith in Jesus. My wife was intrigued by the fact that during the BCS Championship* between Oklahoma and Florida, earlier this month, a number of the Florida players - including superstar Tim Tebow - had scripture references on the anti-glare eye-black stickers which they wore on their faces.
This week, as the hype around the Super Bowl reaches its peak, there have been more and more soundbites from players giving "glory to God" for the privilege of being in the big game. Again, while I have my doubts that God is actually responsible for them getting to the Super Bowl, it is encouraging to hear these men (stars, millionaires) talk about things that matter more than the good ol' game of football.
I stumbled on this AP article this morning that shines a brighter light onto the notion of "faith in football." What do you think?
[*sidebar: Florida did win the BCS title game. Maybe God was watching!]
Tuesday was a jam-packed day at the conference. I confess that I
skipped the morning session for a round of golf with Bartley Sawatsky
(lead pastor at Grace) and Dan O'Deens (lead pastor at Gateway church in Parkesburg, PA). It was an ugly but enjoyable round on the Copperhead Course here at Innisbrook.
Immediately after completing the round of golf, I hoofed it to the GO2 Church Planting luncheon where Dr. Tim Boal gave an outline of the details that led to the creation of this new church planting initiative which will hopefully be voted in as a new Grace Brethren ministry at the end of this week. Additionally, we heard from some of the new GO2 field staff members, including Pastor Oscar Chavez, Rev. Jim Snavely and Rev. Jesus Munoz, as they shared their own reason for joining this team and the opportunities they saw on the horizon.
Personally, I am very excited about what GO2 is aiming to do. I pray that the mission will be able to secure its financial base in order to get the ball rolling in the direction it seems to be headed.
On Tuesday evening, Pastor Jim Brown (the conference moderator and lead pastor at Grace Community in Goshen, IN) gave a hard-hitting message on our need as "the church" to do more to care for those who are in need around the world. Pastor Jim rattled to crowd with stories and statistics of atrocities around the world, most of which seem to victimize children. An offering was taken during the service and was given to a GBIM related mission called Project Hope & Charité. The money collected (in excess of $30,000) will be used to send AIDS orphans in Africa to school.
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Silas spent another long and exhausting day at the Kids' Conference. He went roller skating and swimming at Innisbrook's Loch Ness Monster Pool. In between sessions in the afternoon, I took him to the pool by our room and he continues to improve his swimming. I think by the end of the week he'll have it mastered!
Today's been an eventful day.
And it's not over yet!
This morning I attended a session at the conference taught by Mark Cahill. Mark is the author of two popular Christian books on "evangelism." I had read one of the books about a year ago, before I knew that he would be speaking at our conference. The book (One Heartbeat Away) was a gift from an old friend in Texas.
First off, it's very well written. Mark Cahill is an outstanding communicator and a passionate evangelist. Personally, I have some challenges with his evangelism "style," but certainly not his mission. It is clear, both from the book and the message I heard this morning, that he takes his call and responsibility as an evangelist with utmost seriousness, duty and honor. If only more Christ-followers were like him; if even they (we) all had an ounce of Mark's passion for sharing the message of hope through Jesus, what a world this would be.
Anyway, the part that I struggle with the most is that Mark's message centers around the eternal consequences of knowing (or not knowing) Jesus. Hell is a real place. Heaven is a real place. My belief is that the Bible is true and that no one enters Heaven without entering under the grace of Jesus as savior. But what I felt was missing from Mark's message this morning (and from the book) is the message of God's love, His desire to be known by His creation, His desire for intimacy with His creation, His desire to be worshiped by His creation. The Jesus story didn't start with (and won't end with) offering a "get out of Hell" ticket.
Let me clarify that I do believe that Mark Cahill believes that we as humans are to be engaged with God in an ongoing relationship. I'm confident by the fruit that is evident in Mark's life that he is "plugged-in" to God. I'm just saying that he doesn't seem to talk about it alot.
Mark Cahill is "gifted" as an evangelist. It is a spiritual gift. Not everyone has that spiritual gift. But all Jesus-followers do have the responsibility of evangelism. How can we as a church (and Mark Cahill Ministries) best equip those that do not have that spiritual gift fulfill that commandment?
I've got another session with Mark in an hour! We'll see where it goes!
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I also got a partial round of golf in at the Coppperhead golf course this afternoon. Silas was at the Tampa Museum of Science and Industry.
About three weeks ago we introduced a new worship song at Grace called Reign In Us, written and recorded by our fellow Canadian worship artists, Starfield. Lyrically, the song ties in very well with the teaching series we've been doing; Church of the Perfect Storm.
At the conclusion of our worship time at church this morning, I concluded (along with my bandmates) that this song has, very quickly, become something special for our corporate worship at Grace. We're going through a very interesting transition period as a church as we conclude ten years of ministry in Mississauga and begin looking forward to the possibility of having a full-time ministry centre out of which to be God's light in this community. (Currently, we rent a school for our weekend services.)
In my 6 1/2 years leading worship at Grace, there have been few songs that I can say have actually connected with the heart of the local church body, as a whole. Certainly, some songs connect with some people for varying reasons. I get e-mails once in a while from someone in the church who has found that a specific song that we have in our repertoire has helped (or is helping) them deal with certain issues in their lives. But this song, Reign In Us, seems to becoming more than that. It's a rally cry; an anthem for this current generation at Grace Community Church.
Click over to Starfield's MySpace page and check out the song.
It's always a wonder to me how God manages to build His Kingdom with the hands, feet and hearts of plain old people; people like me. I am in awe and honored to have been given the opportunity to serve in ministry as my vocation.
I think of the road that led to this place and just laugh sometimes. I mean - really - back in the late 80's when I was singing heavy metal music and God was the last thing on my list of priorities, He knew that some day I'd be singing for Him. How cool is that?! An old friend of mine from Texas (Steve Murphy) has recently started a relationship with Jesus and has also begun blogging about it. I am priveleged to be the subject of one of his first blog posts. Check it out (and you'll see more pics of me with hair!)
CLICK HERE GO TO STEVE'S BLOG
After a long songwriting drought in 2006, I partnered with Tim Ling (the bass player in my band) to write this Christmas tune. Been working on the recording the last few weeks. I hope you enjoy it. DOWNLOAD HERE (right click...save target as)
King of Forever
Words by Bart Blair
Music by Bart Blair & Tim Ling
Wonder of wonders this child that has come
Promised so long ago. God’s only son
King of the Ages has left the high throne
Here on this earth let His greatness be known
He is Majesty
He is Majesty
He is King of Forever
All glory is due His Name
King of the angels and King of mankind
Born to become healing light for the blind
Choirs in the heavens now sing of His birth
Glory to God for His infinite worth
He is Majesty
He is Majesty
He is King of Forever
All glory is due His Name
Angels in Heaven revere Him
“Here is the One!” they proclaim
Shepherds and wise men draw near Him
Worship the One who forever will reign
Having grown up in a smallish Texas-town, it is fair to say that the "Christian" culture was pervasive during my childhood. I use the term "Christian" loosely because it was really more of a church-influence than one of Jesus-influence. Nonetheless, virtually everyone I knew had a church they belonged to, whether they actually attended or not.
When I moved to Mississauga 8 1/2 years ago, I found the culture to be quite different. To put it simply, most people don't have a church; most actually disregard church altogether. The Christian influence is minimal. The Christian community is a small one.
One oddity that I uncovered in my first few years here was how there were many pockets of Bible-believing Christian who are anti-Halloween. After all, it has its roots it pagan, demonic rituals and traditions. I absolutely understand their take on the event. There are people that I know here that will take their kids out of school on October 31 if the school or class has any intention of "celebrating" the day; much like the Jehovah's Witness kids always curiously left our grade school classrooms before the class Christmas party when I was a kid.
Reflecting on my own childhood Halloween experiences, I sort of chuckle when I reminisce about the fact that the majority of our trick-or-treating was done at the homes of people we went to church with. I still remember my dad driving us around to the homes of elders and deacons in our church.
Anyway, when Silas was beginning to approach the age of trick-or-treating, Elizabeth and I had passingly decided that we would just sort of skip over Halloween. We didn't want to make a big deal out of not participating, but at the same time, we didn't want to go charging in. Shortly after our discussion, our neighbors came and asked us if they could join Silas and me for trick-or-treating. That changed everything. And since that Halloween 3 years ago, we have joined in the festivities - dressing the kids up, handing out candy at our door, etc. We discovered that Halloween was one of the only times of year that everyone in our neighborhood was outdoors and accessible.
From the beginning of our tenure on Atherly Crescent, Elizabeth and I have understood our clear calling to be a beacon of light on this street. We want to get to know the people, let them get to know us, and pray that somehow they come to know Jesus the way we do because of our interaction with them.
While many Christians may find it offensive that we would deliberately take part in the celebration of Halloween, I reflect on the Apostle Paul's comments in 1 Corinthians 9 where he states that he will become all things for all people for the sake of the gospel. Sometimes you've just gotta do what the Romans do. And the fact that we can bring home TWO FULL PILLOW CASES of loot in the process just makes it that much sweeter!
