Church Band Seminar

Take Your Vitamin Z: Church Band Seminar Round-Up

Victor Wooten: The 'Palmystery' of Deft Fingers

Victor Wooten: The 'Palmystery' of Deft Fingers : NPR Music

Polkinghorne

In my research for writing a paper on Religion and Science, and particularly the views of John Polkinghorne and Bertrand Russell, I came across Polkinghorne's website. You might disagree with his views, especially if you consider yourself a fundamentalist, for Polkinghorne defends an old earth, evolutionary cosmology. However, he makes great strides toward understanding humanity and the cosmos within a Biblical framework while not throwing out scientific discoveries. It is a fascinating and challenging process, but very rewarding, working through Polkinginghorne's arguments. And I think that it is an absolute must for today's Christians to have a more intelligible response than just "the Bible tells me so". What that shows to non-Christians is that you don't have the mental muscle or will to work through the hard questions of life. Yes, relying on Scripture is must for faith. God's Word is the ultimate Truth that we as Christians rely on for the knowledge of God. But don't be afraid of science, for "all truth is God's truth" (Augustine).

Bob Kauflin and Tim Smith

Tim Smith leads worship at Mars Hill church in Seattle. 6 minutes video. Worth your time.

Together for the Gospel - Mark Dever

I found this preface to the Together for the Gospel conference rather helpful. It is a good example of humility, patience, love and humor that is tragically lacking in much of Christianity.

John Piper on Music in the Church

In this 5 minute video, Piper shares his heart on music in the church and introduces Bob Kauflin.

Bob Kauflin Videos on Music and Worship

While I'm on vacation I have arranged to have a couple of helpful videos of Bob Kauflin teaching on worship appear here today and tomorrow. I hope you find them as helpful as I have. This video is entitled Who's Glory Do We Make Music For?

Blessings,
West

Tail of the Dragon

I rode the Tail of the Dragon on Thursday for the first time. All I have to say is WOW.

The Tail of the Dragon at Deals Gap, with 318 curves in 11 miles, is America's number one motorcycle and sports car road.

Southern Baptists Ponder Declining Membership

A former Southern Baptist myself, this caught my eye from NPR:

'There's kind of an agreement,' says Olsen, 'that Southern Baptists are known more for what they're against than what they're for.'

Spontaneous and Prophetic Songs | Worship Matters

This and more thoughts on worship leading from my friend Bob Kauflin at Worship Matters:

"If you lead corporate worship, my hope is that you believe the Holy Spirit can work not only through what you’ve planned, but also through leadings and impressions that occur during the meeting. Without being dependent on them or exaggerating their importance, they’re one more way God can demonstrate the overflow of his love which was most clearly demonstrated in the substitutionary death of the Savior at Calvary."

Free Audio Resource - Theology of Worship

The good folks at Sovereign Grace Ministries want God to be glorified in the Church's worship. They know that this takes a lot training, discipling, and an ever-growing understanding of the worlds we live in - the world we experience on a day to day basis, with all its troubles, frustrations and sin, and the world of the coming Kingdom of Christ, where in sinless, tearless adoration we celebrate the greatness of our God.

They have a resource page where you can freely download past WorshipGod conference talks by a variety of speakers. You can choose between pages devoted to developing a Theology of Worship or training your worship team, including instrumentalists, vocalists, sound & tech teams, and choirs. This section even has talks on music theory, songwriting, and children in worship.

Check it out!

ESV Study Bible %35 OFF

Run over to C.J. Mahaney's blog and click on the link to Crossway Books at the bottom of the post. You will be able to get the forthcoming ESV Study Bible for %35 off!

Sovereign Grace Music

My buddy since high school Jason Sears asked me to pick my top 5 fave songs from Sovereign Grace ministries. Here's my answer with links to hear a portion of the song from SGM's site.

• His Forever
• Let Your Kingdom Come
• Before the Throne of God Above
• I Will Glory in My Redeemer
• Covenant of Grace

Note: SGM's new CD Come Weary Saints is my favorite album, and has none of these songs! The songs I chose were songs we sing regularly in worship. Be sure to visit SGM's music store and buy some of these songs!

Also drop by Jason's pages. He's one talented brother.
http://www.myspace.com/intentionalworship
http://www.myspace.com/jasonsearsmusic

The Rebelution: Do Hard Things

I recently gave the young adults on my team a book by Brett and Alex Harris called "Do Hard Things". In a nutshell,

Do Hard Things is the Harris twins' revolutionary message in its purest and most compelling form, giving readers a tangible glimpse of what is possible for teens who actively resist cultural lies that limit their potential.

I bought it for anyone 21 and under on my worship team, including the volunteer sound & multimedia crew. I encourage you, if you have a leadership role, to do the same. The book is written very conversationally, with the word "like" peppered throughout. It's a fast read, but very challenging.

They also have a website called The Rebelution. The impact this book and this movement is having on young adults (which are a lot younger than you think!) is amazing. Check it out.

Live Wires Custom Fit In-Ear Monitors

Worship Leaders, check it out! Custom fit ear monitors on the cheap.


Live Wires Custom Fit In-Ear Monitors / Headphones

President Bush at Furman

The Prez gives the commencement speech at my Alma Mater.

Pics of the kids

Abby swinging under the Willow tree

Ben not wanting to get in the water!

(Mystery hand belongs to Baby Ringer)

Check out my neighbor's other great pics at her blog.

It's my birthday...

Hey, I'm turning 35 on Friday. If you want to get me something that you know I'll think is cool, go to my Amazon Wish List.

What Does It Mean to Be Human? | Wired Science from Wired.com

Having just written a paper on the assumptions and presuppositions of John Polkinghorne and Bertrand Russell, this is an interesting post covering bioethics, genetics, and neuroethics at the World Science Festival.

Of note:
Atheist scientist, Daniel Dennett: We are the first species that represents our reasons, and can reason with each other. "The planet has grown a nervous system."

Christian physician-geneticist Francis Collins: What does the genome tell us? There's surprisingly little genetic difference between human and chimpanzee. Yet clearly we're different. There's brain size and language. A language-related gene, FoxP2, evolved most rapidly in the last few million years. How did we develop empathy? Appreciate our mortality? And we should admit that there are areas that might not submit to material analysis: beauty, inspiration. We shouldn't dismiss these as epiphenomenal froth.


What Does It Mean to Be Human? | Wired Science from Wired.com