I just arrived a few hours ago in Skopje, Macedonia. I’ve been given some unique opportunities this year and this is one of the coolest. I will spend the week with a group of students serving among the Romani People in this country. This will be students working with students and I will lead worship in the evenings. I am trying to stay awake at least a few more hours so I may head downstairs to a cafe to watch another Euro 2008 game. Love from the Balkans.
It’s Gospel Music Week in Nashville; a strange and surreal time where God’s glory crashes into the RawkStah Lifestyle. The result is a mess. It’s all cool hair, crosses, and cleavage. Guys in make up and capri pants. Girls with zebra hair flashing as much sex as Spirit. I don’t really know who I am in this environment. I was just on the street talking to Julie and Libby, friends from a radio station in New Orleans. In the middle of our conversation I was “good-gamed” by a friend from the band Addison Road. I laughed, waved, made some goofy comment and then continued the conversation with the Lifesongs crew. Then Mark Hall, the lead singer for Casting Crowns walked passed us. He made eye contact with me and I instinctively said, “Hey Mark.” He nodded and just kept moving. Mark looked just as familiar to me as Julie, Libby, and the guys from Addison Road. The difference is, Mark has no idea who I am. We’ve never met. Never shared youth pastor stories over a cup of coffee or written songs together for their new record or mine. He is familiar to me NOT because we have ever shared a conversation but because I have heard his songs, had conversations ABOUT him, seen him perform, seen his face four stories high on a video screen. I think I know him because of some vague sense of familiarity but the test of our connection is in whether or not he knows me. Is the “knowing” mutual?
Jesus challenged our sense of knowing with these words: “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord!’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but [only] the one who does the will of My Father in heaven. On that day many will say to Me, ‘Lord, Lord, didn’t we prophesy in Your name, drive out demons in Your name, and do many miracles in Your name?’ Then I will announce to them, ‘I never knew you!” Matthew 7:21-23 (HCSB)
This week it seems inevitable that we will all stay right at the surface with each other. I am trying to take interviews to some deeper place. I am trying to express genuine interest in the people interviewing me, not as a way of selling records, but because I am trying desperately to keep my eyes above this rock star mess. Flat-iron less. Love more! I am trying to express care for people, to enter their world. I am trying to find some security and self-worth, some sense of my enoughness outside of this Christian media machine. I am learning to find my legitimacy in knowing Jesus and more importantly in being known by Him. To love and be loved. To know and be known. To walk in the ways of Jesus with these brief moments I am given.
My wife and I went to see the Rockettes Christmas show last night. Shera dreamed of being a dancer when she was a little girl. It was fun to watch her eyes twinkle as she dreamt about being on that stage, toes pointed, arms akimbo, sparkly dress swirling behind her. The performance ended with a live nativity scene and snippets from Handel’s Messiah. The dancers were dressed as the entourage of the wisemen bearing gifts. As they marched up the aisles toward the manger scene I could picture them gathering together across the front of the stage to do a kick-line for the baby Jesus. Once the image surfaced in my mind I couldn’t stop laughing. Fortunately, the “Rockettes for Jesus” moment never materialized and the show ended in grand style with the Hallelujah Chorus from Handel’s Messiah.
As the music to the Hallelujah chorus began, the crowd slowly stood. I remembered this happening being explained to me before. Apparently at the first performance of the “Messiah” in 1742, King George II was so moved by the time the first strains of the Hallelujah chorus rang out that He spontaneously stood to his feet. At the standing of the king, the entire room stood and remained standing through the performance of the song that ends the 2nd act of the “Messiah.” So to this day, as a remembrance of that event, whenever the Hallelujah chorus begins, the audience stands. Most of the crowd in the room last night had no idea what they were doing. Most simply noticed the few standing and so stood with them as if to say “oh, so we’re doing this now.”
Was it the power of the song that moved the king to stand? Was it the movement from the song that precedes “Hallelujah,” one of man’s rejection of the Messiah, into this triumphant passage from Revelation 19 that drew him to his feet? Was he simply tired of sitting and ready for the second intermission?
Whatever the king’s reason for that first silent standing ovation, I was pleased to carry on his tradition last night. The opening notes of that chorus are triumphant and powerful and the moment in future human history that they depict are equally exultant. The gift of song drew me to my feet last night so I thought a gift of song would be an appropriate response from me today. I’ve posted a little Christmas gift on THE MYSPACE PAGE. It’s a Christmas song I wrote a few years ago called “Heaven’s Perfect Gift.” No one has ever recorded this one but I’m convinced it will land somewhere someday. In the meantime, I hope it lands on your iPod. Enjoy the download and Merry Christmas.
“The angels raise their hallelujahs. They lift their praise to heaven’s King. This little baby, God among us. Let us, with the angels, sing - Immanuel, now our God is with us. Immanuel, Christ the King is with us.“
It’s been a crazy couple of weeks on the road and I’ve met so many cool people along the way. I’ve started doing some VIDEO BLOGS from the road. You should head over and check some out. My wife got to looking on youtube at bunny videos and quickly asked in a little girl voice, “why doesn’t OUR bunny have his own video?” So for the good of my marriage I’ve posted a quick little BUNNY VIDEO of our pet rabbit, Dakota on youtube. Come check it out.
This weekend, my new friends at West Hartselle in Alabama treated me like a king. I should have been exhausted from the late night before (got to the hotel around 2 AM) but I was so energized by their encouragement that the day was a breeze. A really sweet church. Before that I made a bunch of new friends at the WRITE ABOUT JESUS conference in St. Louis. It’s always such a rewarding weekend and this year was no exception. I got to sit on the stage beside the piano while DANIEL KIRKLEY sang a favorite song. Meal times are always my favorite at WAJ; crashing at tables with 7 other people that start as strangers and are old friends by desert.
I did chapel at Mississippi College before that and missed seeing Katy, Aaron, and Allyson while I was there. Sorry! Still it was great worship and fun to catch up with my friend Eric.
Even in October, the powdery beaches of the Gulf Coast are gorgeous. I had fun wandering in the sand with the crew from FBC Covington. Big love to Danni and Victoria for keeping me out of trouble at the Mall and to Josh for coming to the rescue with a video projector for Saturday’s worship gatherings. From pizza to donuts to chicken it was almost an entirely vegetable free weekend! Thank you, Lord for EDAMAME.
Last thought, sales of the new CD are going great on iTunes. Better than I ever expected. Just so you know, on the MYSPACE SITE I’ve posted a bonus copy of the record. The EP actually only has 6 songs on it. In the Snocap store I have added 4 bonus tracks that are available exclusively there. You’ll find “Just a Question” which is this month’s Random OTHER Song of the Month, “Someone,” “Can Not Close My Heart” which is about my experience in Southern Africa last year and “Before This Moment Dies.” Enjoy!
See ya along the road.
We’re a reactive people aren’t we? We are pendulum swingers. In the past, I have railed against traditionalists who appear more committed to do the same thing than they are to doing the right thing. I’ve become more conscious recently of the way those of us who carry traditionalist baggage do the same thing. Instead of doing something because it’s the right thing, we simply do the opposite of what a traditionalist might do.
The first church I served as a staff member had grown out of split from an old traditional downtown church. I remember the pastor telling me I could do anything I wanted as long as it didn’t look or sound like something a traditional church would do. I remember a worship leader from a very progressive church suggesting that his church didn’t use video projection of song lyrics during worship because they didn’t want to be “that kind of church.” Recently I’ve been in conversation with some progressive Christ-followers who have become convinced we shouldn’t participate in international mission work because of the self-centered excesses in mission work in the Church’s recent history.
I suppose it’s not realistic to think that we might divorce ourselves from the past enough to choose the right thing instead of simply reacting to past thing. If small groups are a great way to build community, maybe we should try them even if they look or sound like the Sunday school of our childhood. If a video projector helps people lift up their heads and free up their hands in worship maybe it’s okay even though there are also showy, performance oriented churches that all use projectors in their worship gatherings. If God has made the call for us to “go and make disciples of all nations” abundantly clear in scripture maybe we should go wisely even though in the past some Christ-followers have gone on mission trips that refuse to live missionally while at home in their own community.
I’m another wounded Christ-follower trying hard to put down the baggage of past church experiences and figure out how to do the right things whether they’ve been done that way before or not.
Just got back from spending the weekend getting unplugged with the crew from FBC Nashville. The showed up technologically as well. Big love to Doy Cave for making some much needed technical updates on the website this weekend. That meant of course that the site and email were “unplugged” for a while as well. If you tried to say hello and the message bounced back. TRY ME AGAIN. Had a blast hanging with Sammy Ward this weekend. Good to catch up with an old friend.
I’ve found some new friends hanging out in a corner of the web called VIRB. As a motivation for coming over to visit this week I am going to make the song FOURTEEN available for download for FREE until this Friday (September 7). So come over to VIRB and visit and download a free song while you’re there. Have a blast celebrating this obscure holiday that somehow relates to LABOR UNIONS. Do those even still exist?
In about an hour I will merge into Nashville’s outbound traffic for 8 weeks of summer craziness. I’ll head east first to make some new friends in Ridgecrest, NC. This will be my fifth summer working with Fuge Camps and I am less prepared than ever! Then I’m with a new camp called ReConstruct for a few weeks, West Jackson Baptist, Impact Camp, and then Back to Ridgecrest for 2 more weeks.
The summer sun always brings with it a swell of new names to learn, faces to remember. I’m usually pretty bad at that part of it all. I’ll say “hey bro,” and “man, I haven’t seen you in a long time.” Hopefully trhe summer will also bring some time to breathe deep, to relax. Maybe I’ll get back out on the water this year and let the breeze take me somewhere.
In honor of summer breezes and all the “someones” I’ll meet this summer, I’ve posted a new Random OTHER Song of the Month on
Pray for me this summer. My RoadMonster will roll over the 200,000 mile mark this summer. Fortunately, amidst the swirl of wind and wave this summer, “I’ve found someone who has been there. Someone who can understand. Someone who can walk on water, and take my hand.”
Peace,
James
There’s a new song up on the Myspace site. This month’s random OTHER song is called “Before This Moment Dies.” Meant to be a romantic and playfull song for us old guys
The longer my hair gets the more OBVIOUSLY grey it is. So I go to war inside - I actually really dig it. I earned every grey hair and the salt and pepper vibe blends nicely with all the black and white I wear. BUT - there is this constant reminder. I live and work in a realy young world. This is a world that calls my Grey Crown a Curse.
So, I am a 36 year old at war within himself. Do I look older than I really am? Do I act younger than I really am? I know this: I’ve still got daring, and I’ve still got dreams. Still got me 2 wishes and 8 lives to redeem. I still got swagger and I still got style. Still got enough leg for another mile. And tonight I’m feeling restless and impulsive and unwise. So baby take my hand before this moment dies.
Grrrr.
The new EP will be back in my hands soon. In the meantime, I have put a BONUS VERSION of the EP up for sale on the Myspace Site. When the EP comes out it will include 6 songs - Dawn, Permanent, Foreign is Familiar, Blue Horizon, Fourteen, and Room to Run. On the myspace site, I’ve included 3 bonus tracks for sale - Just a Question, Can Not Close My Heart, and Someone.
This process of trying to get a CD released has been a tricky one filled with starts and stops over the last three years. Universal put the “Echo” project together and then the distribution deal they were negotiating fell apart. Finally, we started another record with Monroe Jones and Eb+Flo Records. We stopped after a few songs to begin shopping for distribution for we had spent all of the money. No one has ever climbed on board to partner with us so we just decided to put out some of what we’ve done as an indie EP.
I’ll have the CD’s for sale as soon as they’re in my hands. In the meantime, head over to the Myspace store and grab yourself a copy.
Peace,
James
I’ve posted a complete Blog of the New York trip on the MYSPACE PAGE so click on over and waste a few minutes.
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