Entering The Conversation…

I’ve been in a conversation with God for all my life. I’ve been in a conversation with the Church for less time. I’ve been in a conversation with like-minded and like-hearted Christians for even less time. Now, I think I’ve been talking to myself for 15 minutes.

I hope to find my way into the broader emergent Church conversation on some level, particularly in the arena of worship. I’ve now lead worship for over 15 years, taught in upwards of 100 events and seminars, and have been working for Vineyard Music for years. After so much songwriting, leading, recording and talking, I’m finding that I’m just now coming to understand what it is I deeply believe about worship.

I want to elevate the idea that the most basic human impulse is actually “worship,” and that Iranaeus was right when he said “The glory of God is a human being, fully alive.” I want to elevate the idea that worship is expansive, and encompasses all of life. I want to elevate ideas that celebrate the ancient forms of worship, merging with the present forms of this generation. I want to elevate the reality that the human family has a divine heritage; a mingling of earthly dust and Divine breath.

If I can stay close to God, throw my stick in the brightening fire, and do so on the level of shaping worship leaders and forms for the next 500 years, then life will be good. Oh, and if I can convince my breathtaking wife and luminous kids that I’m the best husband/dad on our little planet – well, that wins the day more than all this macro-world changing.

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Sheltering Mercy: Prayers Inspired by the Psalms

Sheltering Mercy, along with its companion volume, Endless Grace, helps us rediscover the rich treasures of the Psalms—through free-verse prayer renderings of their poems and hymns—as a guide to personal devotion and meditation.

The church has always used the Psalms as part of its prayer life, and they have inspired countless other prayers. This book contains 75 prayers drawn from Psalms 1-75, providing lyrical sketches of what authors Ryan Smith and Dan Wilt have seen, heard, and felt while sojourning in the Psalms. Each prayer is a response to the Psalms written in harmony with Scripture. These prayers help us quiet our hearts before God and welcome us into a safe place amid the storms of life.

This artful, poetic, and classic devotional book features compelling custom illustrations and foil-stamped hardcover binding, offering a fresh way to reflect on and pray the Psalms.