Students, Synergy & Sewage

As the new St. Stephen University students come pouring in, its exciting to feel the energy of a fresh learning season and a passion for changing the world. It’s a privilege to teach alongside of such excellent spiritual and academic leaders.

Here is a copy of the initial draft of the syllabus for my course: Leadership In Contemporary Worship Practice syllabus.

I’m finalizing the next issue of Inside Worship magazine today (Worship & Community), preparing to head to Northern Ireland and Oxford in a week with my good friends the Fitches to lead What Is Worship? events and giving attention to some of my other freelance resourcing work.

It will be good to play again with dear friend Kathryn Scott, and stellar drum/bass groove meisters Callum Rees and Matt Weeks (many of these guys are from the Hungry CD).

We’ll be placing a 2 page visual “silent prayer/tribute” to the victims and families of hurricane Katrina in this next issue of Inside Worship magazine.

My great and favorite designing friend Markus Frehner in Switzerland always brings such beauty to the magazine. He makes it a privilege to do it.

Oh, and my basement flooded with raw sewage last night, so I’m dealing with that intermittently through the day. I used to work in a sewage plant, so I’m used to shoveling the stuff. About a $1500 job. Weha.

AVAILABLE WHEREVER YOU BUY BOOKS

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.