Hillsong United We Stand

I've never been one to jump on the Hillsongs United bandwagon, but after having this cd for a few weeks, i've listened to it nearly every single day, and don't know if i've ever been so ministered to by one cd. ok, that's a pretty extreme recommendation, but I really love this album.

One thing that United did really well with this one is that every song sounds like you're standing in the middle of a thousand-plus worshippers. For most of the songs, you hardly hear the lead singer, but instead the voices of the crowds worshiping along. I think it really captures the heart of our generation, in a voice that is desperately seeking the work of God to be magnified. It's a beautiful thing.

(the DVD is also quite amazing in itself. I was really challenged in my own ministry just hearing about how United was birthed out of hungry hearts that simply loved the youth around them.)

A thousand times I've failed
Still Your mercy remains And should I stumble again
I'm caught in Your grace
Everlasting, your light will shine when all else fades
Never ending, Your glory goes beyond all fame
And the cry of my heart
Is to bring You praise
From the inside out
Lord my soul cries out

In my life be lifted high
In our world be lifted high
In our love be lifted high ...

Playlist heard around the world

In a ritual dating to the Gemini program of the mid-1960s, astronauts awake not to alarms but to music chosen by family or friends... The songs may seem frivolous, but the astronauts welcome them as moments of good cheer during their hectic assignments, says astronaut Mario Runco, who's not part of the Discovery crew. As construction of the International Space Station ramps up and the workload on shuttle flights gets heavier, wake-up songs will serve as a morale booster, says Runco, whose collection has supplied many of the recordings piped up to space... Some spouses choose love songs. Others choose Christian tunes, such as God of Wonders, played last week for Discovery astronaut Michael Fossum.

Imagine waking up, looking at the earth from space and hearing "God of Wonders".

God of wonders
Beyond our galaxy
You are holy, holy
The universe declares your majesty
You are holy, holy.

I've been speaking in our church about our lack of awe and wonder of God. How easy it is for God to become routine and stuffed into a small box of our understanding and comprehension of Him. We need to always come back to a sense of greater wonder in him.

"He who can no longer pause to wonder, is as good as dead."

"The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and science."
- Albert Einstein

"One characteristic that marks the average church today is lack of anticipation. Christians when they meet do not expect anything unusual to happen; consequently only the usual happens, and that usual is as predictable as the setting of the sun... We need today a fresh spirit of anticipation that springs out of the promises of God. We must declare war on the mood of nonexpectation, and come together with childlike faith. Only then can we know again the beauty and wonder of the Lord's presence among us." - A.W. Tozier

Hip-Hop Liturgies

Popular Christian music styles have always paralleled the sound of secular hits, from grunge to techno. Now hip-hop is finding its way into the liturgies of traditional churches. The white, middle-aged Rev. Timothy (Poppa T) Holder doesn't look like someone who would shout "Holla back!" in his priestly blessing. But, noticing the power and ubiquity of rap in his South Bronx neighborhood, Holder created a hip-hop mass in his Trinity Episcopal Church of Morrisania. Now he wants to help other churches get in the act, and has devised a hip-hop service for the more buttoned-up St. Paul's Chapel of Trinity Church.

Don't miss the video. Its kinda funny, but still pretty darn cool. I have nothing but respect for those who are daring enough to break out of long established ways of doing ministry in trying to reach new cultures and communities.