Plain and simple: I love music. I’m pretty sure God wired me this way.  When I hear music, I am fully inspired.  Something about a melody, certain riffs, drums, bass lines, solos, and lyrics just puts me in a good mood.  Music cannot lack emotion and creativity, without these it is vexing.  I really adore bands like U2, Lifehouse, NeedToBreathe, Kings of Leon, and OneRepublic, for they attempt to connect with people in their music.  My desire as an artist is to share the hope and love of Jesus through my music.  No I don’t want to be part of another “Christian Rock” band.  I want to write powerful music based on my experiences in life in relation to grace given by Jesus.  Emotion will be part of the music as it triggers responses in people, whether it be to follow Jesus or to change something about their life for the better.  I hope not to write the same boring old songs and use the played out melodies.  I desire to be fresh and creative, which only comes through seeking to glorify my Savior.

I urge you to click the links above that go to some of the recordings I’ve done!

Oh no… I’m writing on that forbidden word that we don’t talk about in Church.  I was reading PostSecret again this week and came across a postcard that said “I’m not a Christian anymore… but I stay on the prayer list (email) for the gossip.”  I was immediately convicted because personally I know that I am completely guilty of turning a prayer list into gossip.  I begin to talk instead of actively seeking Jesus and praying for the prayers.  At the root of it I was not just struggling with gossip, but I was fighting a battle with PRIDE.  Basically I was trying to make myself look better at the expense of others struggles or needs.  It was completely subtle and I justified my action as not being sin, yet I was deeply rooted in pride.  Thankfully, Jesus desired for me to walk toward Him.  He doesn’t want me to struggle with sin, and so, I began to ask Jesus to address my pride and gossiping tongue.  It is a process and a battle that continues everyday with constant submission to the Holy Spirit.  My challenge for you is to ask Jesus to reveal sin in your lives, not just the ones we can check off the list, but look for the root.  Never go at the battle yourself, but constantly submit to Him.

I was just looking at the secret posted on 8/15/2010 and I came across this one.  If you don’t know what  PostSecret is, then you’ve been missing on a movement.  Basically people send postcards with secrets on them and this guy post them.  When I came across this one it made me think about life and how precious it is.  People spend their whole lives searching for God in moments, in people, in themselves.  They make their own gods through money,  sex, relationships, popularity, etc…  Yet the God of the universe is right there, clear as day.  He loved us so much that He sent His Son to die on a cross, to be humiliated and suffer all of humanity’s pain and sin.  With this penalty paid, we have the opportunity to receive life.  Even when we spit on His face, He loves us and it doesn’t change.  I hope that when she has a child that she will see God and His unconditional love.  That she will understand that JESUS and HIS GRACE is the important part of the story and that she should never feel condemned.

I am constantly learning about myself and honestly I’m one selfish dude.  I think that I can fix my sin and rely less on Jesus and it’s funny that I can’t see the debt of my horribleness.  I count and check the sins off and yet I forget trying to do things on my own is a sin.  The hardest part about sin is that it creeps in and takes control.  It hides underneath the checklists, the porn stopping programs, and the accountability.  See accountability only goes as far as we are willing to admit that we are a sinners and take a step to really rely on Jesus.  John 10:10 says “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.”  We need to center our lives on Jesus and count on Him to reveal to us our sin.  We cannot strive at this battle on our own but we must ask Jesus to remove our blindness to our own sin. 

Lately, I’ve been thinking about what this word means to me.  Singleness is a portion of time that should be cherished and enjoyed.  There is no commitment that you are bound to and decisions can be made without any bias from outside parties.  You can travel the world, see new places, and embark on adventures not done before.  You can seek God without any hindrances, I am not saying you can’t seek Him if you are in a relationship.  The picture may look different, but it may not be like that for all.  Thinking Biblically you can see the picture when it is said that man and woman shall leave their parents and become one flesh.  Now decisions are being made as one flesh and not as two separate individuals.  I challenge you to think of trades-offs before jumping into relationship, marriage, or even singleness.

We live in a world where death is so prevalent around us.   People are dying a physical death and spiritual death.  We see suffering and constantly turn away from the King.  Our doubt begins to overshadow what Christ did for us on the cross.   We begin to say “Holy Spirit, I don’t need you anymore.  I’m going to live life my way.”  Everything begins to crumble around us and then their is no solid foundation left.   Here is the crazy thing:  God at that point still loves us the same as when He created us.  His desire is that we just come back to a relationship with His Son.  We need to realize that Christ bared that suffering and pain when He died on the cross.  Romans 5:8 reminds me of His love saying “but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”  While we were messed up, broken, and against Him, He sent His Son to die in our place, to pay the penalty of sin.

So what next?
Accept His good and perfect love.  We must make constant reminders that even through the suffering God is there and loves us the same.  We must be challenged to love world around us, not for ourselves, but to glorify God.  God is stirring and creating change throughout His creation, let’s join up and change the world.

I leave you with a quote from Margaret Mead:
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”

I’ve realized how easy it is to get distracted.  How each distraction slowly builds up till I realize that my relationship with Jesus is hindered.  It all begins with pushing the Holy Spirit away and each moment I do that I fail to submit to His will for my life.  I place idols in front of Jesus and I keep disappointing myself by realizing that I have fallen away from my First Love.

Taking a stand to fight the complacency is hard.  I must setup an action plan that will constantly remind me that I must follow the Spirit.  I look at Brother Lawrence, who worked in the soup kitchen at a Monastery.  His life is full of prayer and worship of God.  With Brother Lawrence example I can see the ways the Holy Spirit works and how he spent time with God throughout his whole life.  I hope that his example will spur me to submit constantly to the Spirit.

I’ve been leading worship at 724Raleigh, which meets at 6:14pm on Sundays at the Royal Conference Center.  I’ve come to realize that God is calling me to a higher standard.  A standard in which I submit to the Holy Spirit in all parts of my life, even while leading worship.   I’ve been challenged to spur on an atmosphere as well where the Holy Spirit can work.  If you want to get to know the power of the Holy Spirit, I challenge you to submit your life to Him.

As worship leaders I feel like we must step up to the plate.  Stop leading great worship with awesome musicians, but begin leading Christ-centered worship by submitting to God’s Spirit.   This will center our hearts not on the music, but on the words we sing and why we sing them.  We must be in tune with God; the Church is running away from the Holy Spirit or they are making Him secondary to their flashy production and teaching.

So where have I been lately? Pretty much reading, interviewing, and searching for a job

Reading

I am about halfway done with Francis Chan’s Forgotten God.  This book has been very exciting, refreshing my view on what role the Holy Spirit plays in my life.  Here are some of the points I have pulled from his book:

• We should submit to the Holy Spirit.
• The Spirit is a person and is God.
• If we don’t allow the Spirit in our lives then we cannot be edifying to the Church body.

With this I am learning that the Holy Spirit is an important part of the Trinity.  Without the Spirit being a part of my life then I cannot be fully trusting in God.

Interviewing

Today, I have an interview with Credit Suisse.  I am thoroughly excited about the opportunity and I hope you will join me in prayer as I prepare for this interview.  I know God knows which job I will get, but it still requires that action be done to narrow the process down.

Job Searching

This has been an exciting portion of my life.  I am utilizing skills that I have learned throughout my college career to sell myself.  Marketing principles have never come in handy…until now.  I am learning to be willing to do anything, but step outside of my moral convictions.  Honesty and integrity are important character traits that I will never leave behind.   Understanding that Jesus never compromised in those and that in order to live in the image of Him I must follow those traits.