James F. White on "The Pascal Mystery"

"The paschal mystery is the risen Christ present and active in our worship. 'Mystery' in this sense is God's self-disclosure of that which passes human understanding, the revelation of that hitherto hidden. The 'paschal' element is the central redemptive act of Christ in his life, ministry, suffering, death, resurrection, and ascensio. We can speak of the paschal mystery as the Christian community sharing in Christ's redemptive acts as it worships." -- James F. White, Introduction to Christian Worship, p30.

CD Release Gig - Wow!

Last night was awesome! I released my first full-length, all-original, acoustic album.

I was blessed by the presence of many students, friends, and family! My thanks to all who helped pull it together!

You can check out the music from the new album here.

"We're not sure what to do..."

This past weekend I assisted at the WakeUp youth conference sponsored by my congregation.

The day was full of teaching by speakers Mike Guzzardo and Bp. Quintin Moore, and music by Rose Among Thorns and Unhindered. The final portion of the day was to be a set of 30-40 minutes of music by Unhindered and a message by Mike.

After about 30 minutes Mike moved foward to speak. He hesitated and just waited on God for direction. The band continued to play and it was obvious the Holy Spirit was working to restore and heal brokenness in the lives of the youth there. Twenty minutes later Bp. Moore stood up and said something to the effect of, "If you are looking to any of the leadership to 'do' something, I apologize - we're not sure what to do other than wait on God." For nearly two hours we lingered in the presence of God, allowing Him to do the work He had planned, not our own agenda.

How many times have we walked into a service, plan in hand, ready to "get in, do the deal, and get out?"

In her book, Worship, Evelyn Underhill writes, "Worship...at every level, always means God and the priority of God..." (p6) She goes onto say worship is "...in fact, a Revelation...of something wholly other than our finite selves, and not deducible from our finite experience: the splendour and distinctness of God." (p7)

This weekend was a revelation to some, and a reminder to others, of the necessity to wait on God (Isa. 40:31) and to allow His agenda, not ours, to set the tone for our corporate gatherings. After all, it is a dialogue...

"In the beginning..."

So, here I start a new blog!

I'd like to start with a quote from the late Bishop Lesslie Newbigin:
"The Church is the pilgrim people of God. It is on the move - hastening to the ends of the earth to beseech all men to be reconciled to God, and hastening to the end of time to meet its Lord who will gather all into one." (The Household of God)

May we continue to be aware we are God's gathered people - those called to be a light to the nations.