don’t let them tame you.
There’s this conviction that’s drilling deep down within me. And it’s slow. But it’s steady. And it just sinks and settles. And this conviction is that life is a gift—an opportunity. I’m not talking about a wimpish and half-hearted fling-the-dart-towards-the-target sort of opportunity. I’m talking the Eminem “Lose Yourself” sort of opportunity: Look, if you [...]
and it wasn’t even a “Christian” concert.
A few years ago, I led worship on a retreat for a room full of seminary wives and students. Even though we were from all over the world, we had Jesus in common. We also had a need for rest and refreshment. My Northern Irish friend shipped her mom across the pond as our keynote speaker. [...]
where did the transcendence go?
On Thursday nights, our core team gathers to eat and plan and pray and dream about launching a second campus of our congregation. It’s the one meeting of my week that I’m not responsible for—the one church meeting that I can just attend. And I get to attend as the Sunday morning worship leader for this [...]
why i wear black to church
Ours is a t-shirt and flip-flops sort of church, so I can get away with wearing just about anything that falls into the “modest” category. Plus, I’m a “musician” (said in hushed tones with hand covering mouth). So, black it is. And black it’s been for nearly three months: My favorite pair of skinny jeans. [...]
now go sit with someone…
On Guilt: “It is about as hard to absolve yourself of your own guilt as it is to sit in your own lap. Wrongdoing sparks guilt sparks wrongdoing ad nauseam, and we all try to disguise the grim process from both ourselves and everybody else. In order to break the circuit we need friends before [...]
[video] christmas wishes, memories, and treats with @smalltownpoets
![[video] christmas wishes, memories, and treats with @smalltownpoets](http://bibledude.net/wp-content/uploads/smalltown-poets-christmas-150x150.jpg)
In part one of my two-part interview with Smalltown Poets, we talked about how their Christmas album came together and what Christmas means to them. In part two, we talk about what they would wish for this Christmas, recall some childhood memories, and learn what treats really say Christmas for them. This was the really [...]
[video] @smalltownpoets christmas
My wife LOVES Christmas music. I do to, but she would listen to it year-round if I let her. So when I got the chance to talk to Smalltown Poets about their new Christmas album, she wouldn’t let me pass it up! In part one of this two-part interview we talk about how this Christmas [...]
even for the little things
I am lying on my stomach on an operating table, waiting for a doctor to administer the third cortisone shot to my back. It’s one of those bulging disc / pinched nerve things. And I ask myself if I should be praying. I know what to expect: first the local anesthetic (slight pinch); then 10 [...]
prayer, pride, and trust: the hand-off
This morning, I prayed while showering. I pray in the shower every morning—have for years—because I’m never interrupted there. It’s ten minutes of hot water and chatting with my King. This morning, however, I listened to myself and I heard pure pridefulness pouring out. “God, please heal my friend’s broken heart.” “Father, please conquer my [...]
indescribable love
How can one describe the depths and mercy and grace that is God’s love? Lord, your love is indescribable, but oh, grant me words to try. Fill me with inspiration. Your love baffles, defies explanation, astounds. Your love whispers, clues abounding in its mystery, yet always slightly shrouded in the quest for more of it. Your [...]
i am love [thoughts on the #freetolive tour]
![i am love [thoughts on the #freetolive tour]](http://bibledude.net/wp-content/uploads/IMG_7588-100x100.jpg)
I can’t stand your religious meetings. I’m fed up with your conferences and conventions. I want nothing to do with your religious projects, your pretentious slogans and goals. I’m sick of your fund-raising schemes, your public relations and image making. I’ve had all I can take of your noisy ego-music. When was the last time [...]
[god in the yard] rules: the way
![[god in the yard] rules: the way](http://bibledude.net/wp-content/uploads/baby-birds-100x100.jpg)
Welcome to the world, he says, when I carefully part the branches for him to see. There are only three and so we know. One of the hatchlings did not make it. But this somber knowledge gives way to joy as the babies detect our presence and, mistaking us for mother, open mouths wide for [...]
[god in the yard] woods: invitation
![[god in the yard] woods: invitation](http://bibledude.net/wp-content/uploads/IMG_7574-100x100.jpg)
There’s something about nature that makes it a holy place. The quietness. The peacefulness. The freedom that comes from no distractions – no TV, no computer, no phones. Just birds chirping and leaves rustling. Maybe a buzzing bee here and there. In the midst of my crazy world, nature feels like a safe place. The [...]
[god in the yard] introduction
![[god in the yard] introduction](http://bibledude.net/wp-content/uploads/reading-under-a-tree-100x100.jpg)
“This is the story of an unusual year, when I did something I never intended to do. But it is also a course in discovery and playing towards God, through spiritual practice, offered with gentle expectations.” ~ L.L. Barkat Some of the best growth we can experience is completely unintended. It comes in those moments [...]
the worship setting and the congregational voice
I came across this video in the latest issue of @NeueMag, and it stirred some pretty powerful questions in my mind. And I’m sure you have some thoughts after watching the video and hearing statements like this… More and more it seems like people show up to church, and they expect to have a worship [...]
rocked by abandon for God [an interview with @aaronrgillespie]
![rocked by abandon for God [an interview with @aaronrgillespie]](http://bibledude.net/wp-content/uploads/aaron-gillespie-100x100.jpg)
Aaron Gillespie is rock and roll to the core. He’s the former drummer for Underoath, and the current front man for The Almost. And now he has a new solo project out called Anthem Song. I recently had the opportunity to catch up with Aaron and talk with him about what inspired this new project, [...]
the music within me
I don’t want to write today. Because the only story I have within me to be written, I’d rather not write. As my mother once told me, “Sometimes the truth doesn’t need to be shared… because sometimes it doesn’t reflect well on your character.” Although right now would be one of those times, this story [...]
a thanksgiving proclamation and prayer
In 1623 Governor William Bradford made a proclamation of the first official Thanksgiving gathering and feast. That proclamation was: Inasmuch as the great Father has given us this year an abundant harvest of Indian corn, wheat, peas, beans, squashes, and garden vegetables, and has made the forests to abound with game and the sea with fish and [...]
cultivate your heart [an interview with jeremy horn]
![cultivate your heart [an interview with jeremy horn]](http://bibledude.net/wp-content/uploads/skype-jeremy-horn-100x100.png)
What does it mean to follow the lead of the Holy Spirit? Family man, musician/worship leader, and self-proclaimed high-tech redneck Jeremy Horn says it’s about getting your heart in the right place to be sensitive to the leading of the Lord. Jeremy found himself stepping into his role as a worship leader in the midst [...]
inside the heart and mind of todd agnew [an interview]
![inside the heart and mind of todd agnew [an interview]](http://bibledude.net/wp-content/uploads/todd-agnew-150x150.png)
From the very first time that I heard Grace Like Rain, Todd Agnew has been one of my favorite artists. His music is just so real and raw. So when I had the chance recently to interview him as his new album (Need) is about to hit stores, I felt like a little kid on Christmas [...]
music monday: ugandan worship (part two)
Last week I shared a video of some worship from my recent mission trip. I loved the sound of these African worship songs. It amazes me how beautiful the sound was considering that they don’t have the expensive sound systems or the perfectly engineered, acoustically built sanctuaries. These videos don’t really do the experience justice, but [...]
music monday: ugandan worship (part one)
This video is just a taste of some of the amazing praise and worship that I experienced with a couple hundred people in Uganda during my recent trip there. I love their energy and excitement to sign for their Lord! I still don’t understand the words at all, but I love the song…
music monday: molly jenson, give it time
I found this one in the undiscovered section section of conversantlife.com, but I know that I’ve heard this song before. It’s catchy too! I think that this track is going to get bumped up in the rotation on my mp3 player… Check out Molly Jenson’s track Give It Time from her album Maybe Tomorrow… You [...]
music monday: john reuben, nuisance
I’m not going to win any awards for getting new releases out there with this one, but I love this guy (John Reuben), and I love this song (Nuisance)! This is another cool one out of Gotee Records… If you like it too, then you can pick it up in the music monday section of the [...]
