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This past week at Live Oak, we pulled out a couple of classics, and did a few new ones.

1. God of all glory (Riddle/Varietal)
2. Blessed be the name (Redman)
3. We Need Your Touch (Corum/Estes)
4. Only You (Park)
5. You Never Let Go (Matt & Beth Redman)
Ministry: Forever You (Gavin Thompson/VMUK)

It has been a while since we've done "Blessed be the name". The song has gotten a lot of mileage after sweeping the nations, but the song is timeless in it's message and melody.
This week's Lectionary readings were about our desperation for God, and our trust in him, so these songs folded into pastor Steve's message very nicely. Melisa did a neat arrangement of Andy Park's "Only You" on piano, which turned out to be very nice. The song gives the worshiper a voice to acknowledge God's centrality in our lives.

Good stuff.

Labels: Set Lists, Worship Leading

Sorry this took so long to post, but I haven't been up to speed on my blogging lately. I've finally Flickr'd a few photos that I took during our trip to Lake Charles and Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

The whole trip was a blast. Lake Charles was incredible. The people there were some of the most incredible, sweet, and generous people I've ever met. They came to worship, that's for sure. They even cooked us up 50 pounds of crawfish to make sure we got some local food. It was great!





More pics from Lake Charles and Baton Rouge

If you are wondering why the heck I took a picture of a bag of candy, those are Peach Rings, which have quickly become the official fuel of Sheri's band. Drew met me at LAX with a fresh new pack, and they kept me going on the four hour drive from Baton Rouge to Houston! Thanks, buddy.

Labels: Events, Varietal Records, Vineyard Music

The Lakers got smoked last night. Fortunately for me, I was at a fabulous dinner party with friends from Melisa's office. We had some awesome cuisine and some great conversation. It is so neat that when we go to her office parties, that it is the same as hanging out with real friends who care. Jason and Darren...you and your families rock!

Anyway, back to the Lakers, I didn't even check in on my phone to see what the score was. I knew they were going down. I was shocked, however, that they got beaten by such a massive margin. They just didn't want it as badly as the Celtics.

This year was a transition for me. I kind of became a Lakers fan, which is really weird. Growing up in Chicagoland meant that I was a Bulls fan for so long and hated the Lakers. But it has been almost eight years since I lived in Valpo, and life goes on and good changes come. But it is still weird to live in California.

One thing I vow to never do is give up my love for the Michigan Wolverines. I hope that passion for Michigan football never dies.

Labels: Life

Today is the first full day of legalized gay-marriage in California, and I have already reach the point of saturation with all of the news about it. The situation is very sad to me. Not only did the state of California circumvent the will of the California electorate, they have now sanctioned the legal union of same-sex-couples as "marriages".

To me, gay couples who think that they can "marry" someone of the same sex is kind of silly. Marriage is the combination of two things that compliment each other. You don't marry chocolate with chocolate, you marry chocolate with peanut butter, or chocolate with cookie dough. I think of marriage like a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. If all you've got is two jars of peanut-butter, you don't have a PBJ. You've got something else.

To me, all the courts did was redefine what "is is". I think we've gotten so vain as a society, that we are willing to fool ourselves just to feel good in the moment. Any two people can enter into a contract, but to me, only a man and a woman can enter into a marriage, a relationship of complimentary strengths and capabilities.

You would think that we, as a society, would have more respect for God's order. The power the God has put in our hands to create life is a huge responsibility, and marriage is ultimately the framework designed to protect and nurture children. To twist its intention and turn it into a political agenda or some sort of Godless contractual agreement is, to me, extremely haughty and without fear of God.

Of course, I have sometimes acted without fear of God in my life. All of us have sinned. But when you institutionalize something like this, the societal shift will cause repercussions that we can't even imagine yet. To me this is a grave concern.

Labels: Politics

All of this talk of taxing the eeeeevil oil companies for their ill gotten gain made me wonder how much money they are actually making. So I looked up the "Estimated Gasoline Price Breakdown" on the State of California's website, and was shocked!

I found out that the eeeeevil oil companies are actually GROSSING LESS money than the government is profiting!!

Here's the breakdown:

Branded
	June 2, 2008
Distribution Costs, Marketing Costs and Profits (Oil Co)	$0.01
Crude Oil Cost (Pure cost)	$3.04
Refinery Cost and Profits(Oil Co)	$0.51
State Underground Storage Tank Fee (Government cost)	$0.01
State and Local Sales Tax(Government)	$0.31
State Excise Tax(Government)	$0.18
Federal Excise Tax(Government)	$0.18
Retail prices(total)	$4.24

So if you add up the Oil Company potential profits, the MOST they could profit on a gallon of gas is $0.62 per gallon. Of course, they have to truck the gas to their stations, hire drivers, hire station attendants, own trucks, pay rent, etc. etc., so their profit is likely just a fraction.

The government, on the other hand, makes $0.67 per gallon, and all they have to do is collect the money.

So who is gouging Americans? The Federal, State, and Local government are killing us! About $12.00 of your gas tank is pure tax.

Think about that before you think about hating the eeeeeevil oil companies.

Labels: Economics, Politics

With gasoline prices topping $4 a gallon, Senate Democrats want the government to grab some of the billions of dollars in profits being taken in by the major oil companies.

Senators were to vote Tuesday on whether to consider a windfall profits tax against the five largest U.S. oil companies and rescind $17 billion in tax breaks the companies expect to enjoy over the next decade.

"The oil companies need to know that there is a limit on how much profit they can take in this economy," said Sen. Richard Durbin of Illinois, the Senate's No. 2 Democrat, warning that if energy prices are not reined in "we're going to find ourselves in a deep recession." - H. JOSEF HEBERT, MyWay News

The Senator is either foolish or is simply using this opportunity to advance his liberal agenda. His groups of Senators are pushing to "punish" the oil companies for making a mere 7% profit by increasing taxes on them?

Anybody who understands economics knows that a tax on oil companies is, in effect, a tax on consumers. The oil companies ARE going to make money. Corporations EXIST to MAKE MONEY. So if the government is going to impose higher taxes on the oil companies, those same oil companies have no choice but to pass on their higher costs to you and I as we fill up at the gas pump, buy Airline tickets, and buy milk at the grocery store.

Higher taxes on a commodity producers cannot, will not, never will cause the cost of their commodity to fall. Clearly, this is just a ploy by Durbin and the US Government to try to grab billions of dollars on a short term scheme that will, in the end, punish the least fortunate Americans.

What I don't understand is why we are waiting on more minute to slash taxes on oil companies on investments and profits they make on domestic oil sold to American markets. We should encourage American oil companies to pump American oil, mine American shale, and sell it into the American market.

Exxon, Shell, and their ilk are making a lot of money, yes. But they aren't making obscene profits. Seven percent profits are not excessive. They are not to blame. Instead, OPEC, Venezuela and their ilk are to blame with their subdued production. Make no mistake, the Saudis and the other Islamic oil countries are doing whatever they can to take down the West economically.

Americans have to give up their hate of American oil companies. They aren't the criminal here. The American government combined with hostile oil producers like OPEC are to blame in my book.

Labels: Economics, Politics

I don't know if any of you have tried to rent or buy a dwelling in Southern California, but the listings are hilarious. They remind me of "personal ads", where people sort of "stretch the truth" about who or what they are.

In SoCal, this is especially true. I've come up with a translation system for those of you who are looking to buy or rent that you can use to truly understand the condition or characteristics of the unit.

• Quaint = This shack is ancient, yo.
• Gorgeous=This place isn't super-ghetto
• Bungalo = This place is tiny, yo.
• Spacious=This place is just little bit bigger than a bungalo
• Craftsman=We cemented in few rocks and 4x4 pillars in front of our double-wide to make it look like a craftsman home.
  
• Private Patio=You've got a 3' X 10' slab out there for your gas grill to sit on.
• Garage=A building so scary looking and old that you'll figure your car is safer outside.
• Breathtaking Views=You can see a sliver of the foothills between the other two apartment complexes on a low-smog day.
• Good Schools=You'd better rent a cheaper place to save money for private schools.
• Affordable=This place is only a half-a-million dollars.
  

Labels: Life

Hey everyone. I'm sorry that I've not posted in a long time, but I haven't really been in the blogging mood lately. I've taken a break from being plugged into the web, and kind of just trying to keep up with life in the "real world". My blogging and twittering have been lagging, that's for sure.

Sometimes I just get fed up with the internet, and all of the news that really doesn't mean much. I blame my buddy, David, for that. He preached at Live Oak on Sunday, and hit the nail on the head. He basically said that we Christians put too much trust in electing earthly leaders instead of trusting in our Heavenly leader (Father). David, you are right-on.

New, politics, and music haven't captured my attention much lately. Actually, I've been paying attention to the Lakers a bit, and keeping up with their efforts to win another NBA title. I've also been catching up on my sleep, which is always a challenge for me. I've got sleep apnea, and I go through seasons where I don't get the right amount of sleep and I suffer a bit from that. I've been really having a hard time sleeping lately, actually.

I'm looking forward to a three-day weekend. I've been working hard lately, and an extra day off will be awesome. I'm also looking forward to Sunday. Melisa and I just got back from Worship Team practice, and we had a blast. We've got a great set of songs for Sunday, and I think it will be an amazing time of worship. I hope you can join us.

I'll try to do better at blogging, so stay tuned. I know that I have a group of faithful readers that have been patiently waiting for more of my random thoughts. I'll get back to it as soon as I can.

In the mean time, I'll be heading to Lousiana a week from tonight. Sheri will be doing several concerts at St. Charles and Baton Rouge and the band will be there! I'm so excited to be doing another round of events with Sheri! I'll have to stock up on the Peach Rings for Drew!!

In case you didn't know, Melisa and I traded in the Xterra for a Toyota Matrix. We needed to save some money on the $4/gallon gas, and we got a smokin' deal on a brand new car last weekend. I'll try to shoot some pics of the new whip over the weekend.

Labels: Life

Check it out!

Labels: Sheri Carr, Varietal Records

Here's a few photos of our night at Augusta Vineyard Church!!

Reese LeRoy and Chad Nichols (pastor and worship pastor) were our gracious hosts for the evening. The whole night was just great, and the people in Augusta like to get up and dance!!













View the entire photo set on Flickr here.

Labels: Events

Fearless Now, my sister's solo project on Varietal Records, dropped this morning on iTunes.

Christianity Today also reviewed the album here.

Nice.

Labels: Music, Varietal Records

Melisa and I are in the Peach State this weekend, playing guitar and keyboard for my sister's CD release weekend, and we are having a blast. The west coast contingency of the band took the red eye out of Seatac and LAX on Friday night to make it out for the weekend.


Click here for the photo-set on Flickr

It was a fun trip, because the Californians got to meet up with Rhett(who flew from Seattle) on a connection in Phoenix. We all had to work on Friday, so it was a long day. Thankfully Drew (bass) brought a bag of those sugar-coated orange slices (see picture), which kept us sugar-loaded and chatty. Melisa totally loved the flight from Phoenix to Atlanta, because US Airways showed "27 Dresses", which is that Katherine Heigl movie that she's been so wanting to see.

We got into Alanta airport about 1:15 ET, and we were all hungry. My sis and my parents trucked a couple of their cars down to the airport to pick up four hungry west-coasters and a bunch-o-gear. By this time it was 2AM, and nothing was open. We tried to find a McDonalds or Wendy's that was open to grab a burger, but nothing was open. After a half-an-hour of trying, we gave up and went to Mom & Dad's place in Buford. We were all excited to get home and chatted and ate ham sandwiches until about 3:30 AM. I think I fell asleep at 3:45! Wow, what a long day.

The alarms started ringing at 8:15 AM or so, and the house was bustling with people hooking up their gear, restringing guitars, and sucking down bagels and coffee. We were off early to Sheri's place to meet her and Joshua, pack some more gear and merch, and head on down the road to make a stop at a lunch-party that Melisa's cousins, aunts, and uncles threw for us. It was a blast to see all the Barrett folks again.


Click here for the photo-set on Flickr

The party was cut short when the road manager (that's me) put his foot down and said we had to leave or we were going to get behind schedule for the sound check. After about 23 hugs and 12 pictures, we left for the Marietta Vineyard.

The soundcheck was a little bit of a process. We were a lot louder than their usual worship team, but Chris, their soundman, is a total pro and dialed the stage in for us. We all felt comfortable and ready for a great night of music, worship, and prayer.


Click here for the photo-set on Flickr

The Marietta Vineyard folks were just so wonderful to us. Dian Thiel is their worship pastor, and for the Live Oak folks that read my blog, we sing one of her songs a lot, it's titled, "If You Say Go". Yep, I knew you knew it. A special thanks to Cathy, Chris, Diane and Tom for all of their effort to make the event go well, and to take special care of the entire band.

The evening was so wonderful, and God really blessed our nite. The high points for me were "Shout Aloud", "Fearless Now", and the ending song, "Sing Your Praise" where we were joined on stage by about a dozen group-vocalists that recorded the group-vocal tracks on Sheri's CD. I hope someone got some pictures of that, because it was really cool.

After the concert, the folks at Marietta sang "Happy Birthday" to Drew (May 1st) and I (May 6th) because we are near our birthdays. Sheri's record officially drops in the US on May 6th, which I think is really cool.

This morning Melisa and I are going to the Methodist church where my parents are pastoring. We are going to lead a few songs for them this morning. Then we are meeting up with the rest of the band for the two-hour journey to Augusta for another worship concert! Phew! I hope Drew has more of those candy-coated orange slices in his backpack!

More pictures and info about August coming up on Monday. Please do check back in!

Labels: Events, Varietal Records, Vineyard Music, Worship Leading

The biggest, most anticipated Indie-rock release of the year is out and Robert Ham of Relevant sat down with Ben Gibbard to talk about the new record. The interview talked about the early days of the band in Bellingham, WA which made me sigh a little bit and reminisce about living in Washington, and my wanna-be-indie-rock days.




If you haven't heard the single for the new record, you probably haven't been listening to KROQ or your local Alterna-rock station. The new song is amazing, and gives me confidence that the new record "Narrow Stairs", will be amazing.

Labels: Music

Did anybody out there see this week's American Home Makeover? It was a 2-hour episode chronicaling the new home, group living area, and community meeting space for a Vineyard pastor who is ministering in the worst parts of Albuquerque, NM.

It was pretty awesome, although they definitely were careful not to use the name of Jesus anywhere in the episode. But still, the amazing things the the Martinez family are doing there is totally "Kingdom" stuff.

Great episode, I kept getting choked up, knowing how blessed the Martinez family must have felt to finally have their own dream house. Amazing stuff.

Labels: Leisure

THEMATIC WORSHIP
is a service where a single aspect
of God’s nature or work
is focused on and celebrated,
with the various elements of the service
chosen to support and develop that theme.
-Ron Man, worship.com

Ron Man has a detailed article that gives some great insight on "Thematic Worship", which he describes as tailoring our liturgy, specifically in songs, that highlight a single theme or characteristic of God.

It can be difficult, as a worship leader, to carry a theme throughout a set of songs that flows not only musically, but has a consistent theme or message. However, Ron challenges worship leaders to choose songs that, combined, express a single, cohesive theme.

You can check out the article at blog.worship.com.

Labels: Worship Leading

Northpoint Church has a helpful video on how to join the worship team at your local church. I think I may incorporate some of these ideas into our evaluation of new band candidates in the future at our church.

David, pay close attention!

Labels: Worship Leading

My friend, Jonathan, taught this morning at Live Oak Vineyard on Psalm 23, and truly trusting in the Lord. It really made me think a lot about my "faith" in God versus my "faith" in my job, my apartment, my family, my country, and myself. And on the average, I honestly think I put most of my faith in temporary things. In America, we have so much "security", or should I say "the feeling of security" in our affluence and resources.

My wife, who is much wiser and more in tune with God than I am, often tells me to "Trust God". It's a theme I hear over and over. I am a worrier. I admit that. It's hard for me not to . And I find that I worry more when the bank account is empty, or the future seems uncertain.

Jonathan's message and the message of Psalm 23 hits home for me today. It challenges me to trust God with everything. I hope to rise to that challenge.

Labels: Christian Life

It must be the weekend, because my brain is worked. I had a big, multi-tasking week at work, and I rewarded my hard work with a quick nap on the couch when I got home. I need to recharge a bit before heading out on the town with the unofficial "Three Saints And A Sinner" fan club tonight. The cool cats are playing at "the Gem" tonite, and it should be a good time.

Tomorrow my wifey comes home, and I'm sure she has a lot of great stories to tell me of her trip. I'm pretty sure all she will need her blanket and the Tivo remote on Saturday night. She's got a lot of American Idol and The Bachelor to catch up on.

I finally got a listen to "God Of This City", the latest cd from Passion/Six Steps Records. It was a solid record, but not the best they've ever done. But wow, "Let God Arise" and "God Of This City" are two amazing songs, and I hope to put these into my rotation of songs at Live Oak.



I've also been listening to Bloc Party's latest disc. Good stuff. Lots of energy, and I love the guitar sounds. The next thing I'm going to demo is Leeland's latest.

The weather was HOT today. I stepped out of my office at about 11 AM today, and it was like a furnace blast! Earlier in the week I was awakened by cold air blowing in the window, and now it's about 85 in my room. It finally felt like summer is right around the corner.

I had better get ready to head out to the rock show. I'll be live from the Gem on my twitter feed. You can check out updates here.

Labels: Life, Music