Blog

We're opening the service this weekend with a song from Israel Houghton called "Say So." It's a slow, dramatic ballad (no, not really). Anyway - as the choir has prepared over the past few weeks, we've had quite a bit of fun learning the song and preparing for this Sunday. I received an incredible email from one of my choir members. I asked him/her if I could share and they responded affirmatively. For me, it reaffirms my thought that God is doing something different and amazing in the hearts of His people at Oak Mountain. The two songs that the…

Judge sentences rap fan to Bach, BeethovenMan refuses offer to reduce fine in exchange for tuning into classical music Andrew Vactor was facing a $150 fine for playing rap music too loudly on his car stereo in July. But a judge offered to reduce that to $35 if Vactor spent 20 hours listening to classical music by the likes of Bach, Beethoven and Chopin.Vactor, 24, lasted only about 15 minutes, a probation officer said.It wasn't the music, Vactor said, he just needed to be at practice with the rest of the Urbana University basketball team."I didn't have the time to…

Yom Kippur is the one day that the LORD required prayer and fasting - and was a celebration of God's atonement for the sins of His people. As Christians - we can still celebrate, but our celebration is in Christ being our atonement. The cool thing about Yom Kippur is the night prior to Yom Kippur is Erev Yom Kippur. On Ever Yom Kippur, it was custom to seek forgiveness of anyone you may have offended or sinned against. You couldn't ask forgiveness of God until you asked forgiveness of each other.

Choir - We resume regular rehearsals tomorrow night, and are leading in worship this Sunday.

We had the tremendous privilege of being asked to lead worship for the Carenet National Conference in Atlanta. It was, by far, 1500 of the most energetic and engaged group of worshippers that I've ever led worship for. I took a team from Oak Mountain over on Wednesday the 1st and we returned on Saturday the 4th. Thank you so much to the Carenet folks for putting us up, and asking us to be a part of the weekend.

Look out!

This is from John Piper's blog - Desiring God.From John Piper:When I read this quote from Michael Raiter’s article, "The Slow Death of Congregational Singing," I thought about a decision we made at Bethlehem 13 years ago. The article said:I was at a convention recently, seated near the rear of the auditorium. The music team at the front were ‘leading’ (and I use that word advisedly) and we were singing. Well, we were meant to be singing.... I turned to a friend next to me and commented, “No-one's singing”. He looked at me as if I'd just observed that no-one…

We're starting to rehearse Christmas music tomorrow night. Bring a friend, win a prize.

A friend recently asked me to give my "Top Ten List" of favorite worship albums. It's tough to identify an entire album to listen to, as often there are a couple gems on each that are worth trying in worship, or listening to in the car, but I've come up with a top 10 that i really enjoy. Certainly not an exhaustive list, and not listed in order of preference, although I would probably keep Tim Hughes - Holding Nothing Back at #1 for a while . . . 1. Tim Hughes - Holding Nothing Back2. Tommy Walker - Never…