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So which conferences are you going to these days. I’m a twitter-er OF COURSE! and it seems like everybody and their mother has been at a conference in the last few weeks. What conferences are you going to and what’s your favorite?
Here are a few i am hearing about that i would really like to try…
// Catalyst
The Catalyst Conference is pretty well know and they just started a West Coast version which just happened last week i think. I’m looking forward to attending the ATL version of Catalyst this next year. November i think. Anybody with me and want to pay for a hotel room for me to stay in?
// Exponetial
This conference is geared more narrowly toward church planters it seems but i hear really good things. Anybody been? What’s the word? I’d like to attend this action sometime!
// Mars Hill Conferences
Every once in awhile Rob Bell and his people put on a conference. Did anybody go to the Isn’t She Beautiful conference? I did and i really enjoyed. The breakout sessions were ok but the main teaching by Rob was amazing! He really struck a chord with struggling pastor and helped us to fall in love with the church again, i think! The new conference (poets-prophets-preachers) is going to be this summer. I’ll be attending. JOIN ME! And again, if anybody wants to let me sleep on the couch in your hotel room, that would be rad! Thanks Nate Well for the couch at Isn’t She Beautiful!
// Willow Creek
Willow holds a crap load of conference. I used to go to the evangelism conference every year but haven’t been in a few. Usually pretty good.
// NOC
The National Outreach Convention / Conference. I went last year cause my wife worked for Outreach. i really enjoyed it. Lots of great leaders, semi-small so you connect with lots of people and it’s in San Diego! How about it!
// National Youth Workers Convention (YS)
Marko gave me a free pass this last year to the NYWC in Nashville and i really enjoyed it! Probably will go again, probably will try to set up some kind of booth / promo deal for the ministry at the next one. If anybody wants to help with that let me know!
There are A TON of conferences out there. What are you going to? What’s your favorite and why? I would love to hear.
Hopefully i will see you at the next conference!
Peace
Erik
Tags: Catalyst, Conference, exponential, mars hill, NOC, Rob Bell, Willow Creek, YS conference
Well i haven’t been keeping up with my music mondays, maybe i should change the name… “monthly music mondays” or something that helps me to feel better for only doing it not very often.
ANYWAY!
It was GMA week here in Nashville last week, always good / crazy times!
GMA = Gospel Music Association in case you were wondering.
My buddy Jeff is starting a little Christian news website :: GodBeat.com / check it out :: and he asked me to do some interviews so that he could post them on his website.
Here are the groups i got to interview
(in order of favorites :: I did 10 interviews)
#1. Dreampilots
These guys were really rad! They come from Norway and have a real Christian U2 vibe going on. There music could be refined a bit i think but they’re pretty good. But more than anything they were awesome guys. Great attitudes and just a real sense of gratitude and authentic spirituality about them. I kinda wanted to hangout with these guys after the interview, they were just really cool. I really do wish them the best… SO go buy there CD and go to their concert when they tour over here in the fall!
#2. Stryper
Of course stryper has to be high on my list! These guys are OLD but their 80’s hair metal rock is coming back in for sure, why not take advantage. Only Oz was able to make the interview and when i asked him if they were bringing back the yellow striped leather he took the question WAY to serious and surprised me with a yes! But corrected me, it’s not leather, it’s spandex. hmmm…
#3. After Edmund
These guys were also really cool and i also really like their music. They were one of the few bands i had heard of before i interviewed them. These guys have lots of fun and put out quality tunes for sure! Check em out, they will be at all the major festivals this summer. They also have a newer album out that is worth the listen.
#4. Billy Buchanan
Billy was probably the funnest interview i did. Just a really chill, funny guy. And he told me i asked good questions. I like him!
#5. Jeff Chandler
Jeff was a really cool guy. He has 7, that’s right 7 kids. He’s a song writer and worship leader in the line of a Chris Tomlin. He has a album coming out in a couple months i think. Check it out.
#6. Carried Away
This was a group in the CCM, Point of Grace vibe. They were nice kids but not really my kind of tunes, good stuff none the less. They tour a lot and just added a male vocalist to their group recently. Really good kids and seemed to have really great hearts for the ministry they are doing.
#7. Devyn
Devyn is a 17 year old Christian Hanna Montana. I wanted to bring up the comparison in the interview but i didn’t want to offend her. She did say she has a very “disney vibe” and i would agree. She that young poppy disney kinda music. So if your a huge Hanna Montana fan like me, you will will love her. 
#8. Kevin LaVar
Kevin was a super nice black gospel, R&B singer. Really nice and had some great things to say. His music has placed him in some pretty awesome places to minister the gospel. He was up for a dove award for his music video You Are Not Alone, check it out, it’s pretty good.
#9. Manic Drive
I really enjoyed all my interviews but these last couple. i don’t want to dog on these guys – Manic Drive but i’m not a huge fan of their music and the lead singer… yea, he was a lead singer. Enough said. I interviewed them and that’s that. I’m sure lots of kids will love them and hopefully they have a heart to minister to these kids. I didn’t pick that up but i was only with them for 4 minutes. Check em out, maybe you will like them.
#10. The Imperials
The Imperials are an old time group. They claim to have toured with Elvis Presley… OLD! I had never heard of them but i guess they are huge with the older folks. One of the guys from the group made sure we knew that they had won a bunch of dove awards and a couple grammy. They announced they are changing their name to Standing Still and are going to try and make a come back, reaching a broader audience. Interesting. I didn’t do much talking or question asking in the “interview” they did most of the talking for me.
So that was my experience. Check out some of this music and enjoy!
Peace
Erik
Tags: music
I love the NFL draft [period] LOVE IT!
My team is the Minnesota Vikings and here is there #1 draft pick :: Percy Harvin!
SOME VIDEO FOOTAGE
John Gruden even says that the Vikings are close to being a superbowl contender! That’s what i’m talking about!!!
Round #2. Phil Loadhold :: 6′8″ 340 — HE”S HUGE!
Suberbowl here we come!
Tags: draft, football, vikings
Well I have TONS of stuff to blog about! Which often becomes the case in my blogging adventures. So I am giving you a list O blog stuff…
.:: LENT
Lent was really good for me this year. It’s kinda hard to say “lent was good” because in nature it’s a hard, self denying, kinda time but in context Lent was good this year.
I don’t really have a list of “things I learned” but I can testify to the fact that I grew during this time of Lent. I think the goal of self-denial for me is purge certain desires and grow in others. My goal in taking on something is to cultivate new desires and spiritual rhythms. I think God help this to happen in my life. And the goal in self denial is decrease my desire for other things. I also think God help this to happen in my life as well. So… Lent was good!
.:: Holy Week
Holy week was really busy, with church stuff and other stuff. But like Lent it was really good. Our church (Redeemer Nashville) had TONS of stuff going on, everyday pretty much. And things we were able to participate in were really rich, really meaning, just really good! And our Easter service was the best Easter service I have been to in a long while. The Spirit was incredibly evident, the liturgy was beautiful and the message was solid. No alter call but I let that one slide.
.:: 1 year
Andrea and I hit our 1 year of marriage milestone! VICTORY!!! At first I didn’t think the 1 year mark would be that big of a deal but I wrong! This has been a hard year for both Andrea and i. LOTS of crap has gone on and lots of stress has come our way. And did I mention it was our first year of marriage. Toss all that into the mix and you come out with a pretty challenging year. Probably one of the hardest years of my life. But I have very thankful to have had my beautiful wife along side of me through it. I’m not sure what I would have done without her! She has been a HUGE blessing and encouragement for me. Like I said, I am very thankful!
.:: Chicago
For our anniversary Andrea and I went to Chicago! It was amazing! Some pictures of our room are posted on fackbook and flickr! I went on Priceline and did the name your own price action, $75 bucks for a 4 star hotel right on Michigan Ave. can’t beat that! Did I mention it was AWESOME!!! The only thing that sucked was that we ended up having to pay $50 a night for parking. Almost as much as the room! That’s kinda killed our budget for the weekend but it was awesome anyway!
We did a little shopping (heaven for andrea) We did a lot of eating (heaven for me) and we did even more walking! Chicago is the best city in the US hands down. Admittedly there are a couple cities I haven’t been to but I doubt they beat Chicago!
Happy anniversary to us! I have posted some pics on my flickr and fackbook, check em’ out!
.:: Good Shepard Lutheran Youth Retreat
I was able to spend last weekend with the students from Good Shepard Lutheran Church, RENEW was the retreat, spiritual rhythm was the topic. I thought it went really well. It was Andrea’s first retreat with me. AWESOME!
.:: The Loop Nashville
I spoke at young adult gathering here in Nashville a couple weeks ago, The Loop Nashville. It was really fun! I am hoping for the opportunity to do that more often. The Loop is a great place and I would really love to plug in there from time to time on Monday night. So, if you around Nashville on a Monday night you should come check it out! The Loop Nashville -or- myspace/theloopnashville
Tags: anniversary, Chicago, Easter, holy week, Lent, preaching, Retreat, speaking, Vaction
I recently received this book in the mail to review, there was a mix up with my address so I received it a bit late (I’ll use that excuse but really it’s just been a busy few weeks).
But I am really looking forward to reading Gardening Eden by Michael Abbate.
I once made a “urban garden” for my wife, it was a birthday present. It was really fun and as we cultivated our little box of gardening goodness I really began to realize how beneficial it is to do something with your hands and realized how one totally thinks about food, groceries, and the earth differently when you have a stake in it, other than just consumption.
As I have flipped through the book, reading bits and peices it seems like Abbate hits on some really key and relevant topics for the aspiring gardener who has a desire to follow Christ in biblical ways and is thinking about God’s call on our lives to care for his creation.
Here is a quote I came across, “We need to discover what our faith has to say about the issues of environmental stewardship. As God followers, we’re convinced that our faith is relevant to the issues of the day, but we remain unclear about God’s perspective on the environment.”
So true and it seems like Abbate is on his way to helping us think about these important issues.
And hopefully helping us realize our call to be green / to care for His creation!
Abbate also has a section that is simply about becoming a better gardener and then give tons of great resources at the end of the book.
Like I said, I haven’t been able to read more than 20 or 30 so pages but I am excited about diving into this one!
Go online and pick up your copy :: Amazong :: Gardening Eden
And if your the first person to comment on this blog post i’ll send you a free copy!
Just give me your address.
Peace & green!
Erik
Tags: Book Review, books, gardening, green, Michael Abbate, theology
When i was growing up my church would also do this little response action on Easter Sunday.
One person would come up to you and say
“HE HAS RISEN”
and your response was to say,
“HE HAS RISEN INDEED”
SO…
HE HAS RISEN!
(i am hoping my church follows suite today!)
Grace, peace and resurrection!
Erik
Tags: Easter
The space in-between my ears in really loud! Can anybody else attest to this?
I wake up in the morning wanting to recite the Lord Prayer and spend a little time with Jesus, during Lent I have even said that I would commit to spending time with God first thing (i am calling it the principal of first things :: first things first!) so before I turned on my phone, eat breakfast, checked my email… before anything else I spend some time reading my bible and praying, this was my “taking on” activity of Lent. But dang is my gray matter loud!
So many streams of thought, items I need “to do” that day, people I need to email, idea I have for ministry… the list could go on and on,, my mind is constantly full of STUFF // random thoughts!
If I were I honest I would confess that it’s hard to pray without getting distracted. If I were honest I would admit that it’s really hard to read my bible for long periods of time with out needing to add items to my “to do” list or thinking of people I need to call. If I were really honest I would confess that I never spent time with God without being distracted and/or interrupted by my wandering mind.
Yea, I have certain “tricks” I use to focus and center my heart and mind but it’s so freaken hard!
Am I alone?
Does anybody else’s busy mind and shouting thoughts get in their way of the kind of personal prayer and devotion life they really want?
For me this is one of the reasons Lent has been extra beneficial to me this year.
To say the least I AM PLUGGED IN!
This isn’t always bad but it sure can be distracting. So the goal of my Lenten activities this year has been giving up some of my social addictions (facebook, VIRB, twitter, etc.) and taking on the practice of first things… doing this in an attempt to cultivate the kind of spiritual life I hope to grow into.
But it sure ain’t easy!
So Lent has been really good and really enlightening. It has made me think I need to continue the practice of first things and be more intentional about being less plugged in and more connected to God and real life people.
But I sure am anticipating resurrection Sunday!
Grace and peace
Erik
We talk about word – picture association. A certain word will pull up a picture your mind. Well i have a song that pulls up a certain picture in my mind
[SONG]
Let God Arise :: Chris Tomlin
[PICTURE]
Cross Point Church, Nashville TN. When i work on Sunday mornings i usually go to Cross Point Sunday night, really enjoy worshiping there and see a few peoples i know! Great place. Well one particular time i went to Cross Point there was a black guy sitting in the front row and this song came on and he started dancing like a machine! This gentleman was probably homeless, at least it looked that way and he didn’t care that he was surrounded by white hipsters and young white family… he went after it! It was awesome.
So whenever i hear this song i think of that picture :: a black, homeless guy sing “death has no sting, no final work… let God arise… Our God reigns now and forever…” LOVE IT!
I randomly heard that song today, thought i’d share!
Peace
Erik
Tags: Church, Homeless, worship
In a town like Nashville you see a lot of “spiritual tension”.
I would define spiritual tension as seeing or experiencing things that one might not think to quite line up with the spiritual, Jesus follow life but are happening none the less.
For instance, I am sitting at a coffee shop right now and as I peer out the window in front of me I see a kid, probably my age or a few years younger reading his bible and smoking a Camel Light, or some other form of cigarette.
In my mind that is a bit of spiritual tension.
I remember seeing a TV show a while back showing a church planter who planted a church in a night club. So Monday through Saturday the venue was a place for young people to party and Sunday morning it was a place for young people to praise. There is a bit of spiritual tension there but personally I think that is totally rad. The real spiritual tension arose when I saw a video of this particular pastor preaching in the night club, holding his Bible in one hand and his Jack and Coke in the other.
In my mind that is a good bit of spiritual tension.
In Nashville I feel like I see things like this all the time. Things that confessing Christ followers are doing or are participating in that just seem a bit tension filled in my head.
But I’m wondering, how many of these things are only tension because of my conservative Christian upbringing? And how many of these things are tension filled because they are antithetical with a truly spiritual filled life?
And how many things do I not see as tension filled that absolutely are? Another great question, right!
Holiness :: Something I believe to be extremely important for the Christian life is, I believe much more about who we are then what we do. It’s about being rather than doing as Henri Nouwen said yesterday.
So does smoking a cigarette or have a Jack and Coke make you less holy as He is holy? Does working with homeless people, having a class of wine, going to church, buying expensive jeans, investing a lot of money in the stock market, being a missionary in Africa, living in a fancy house, buying expensive cars, working at a Church, serving in the military or protesting for peace make you more or less holy?
It’s really hard for my preconditioned head to think through this because I have knee jerk reactions to some of these things but when I sit back and really think through the issues and really think about what holiness really is and is not I’m not sure any of these things should define our holiness but I know they do.
hmmmm… thinking…
Your thoughts?
Tags: holiness, spirituality, tension
I read this quote by Henri Nouwen today and my mind was refreshed about my call to BE and not do Christianity.
“The main question indeed is not a question of doing, but a question of being. When we speak about the minister as a living reminder of God, we are not speaking about a technical specialty which can be mastered through the acquisition of specific tools, techniques, and skills, but about a way of being which embraces the totality of life: working and resting, eating and drinking, praying and playing, acting and waiting. Before any professional skill, we need a spirituality, a way of living in the spirit by which all we are and all we do becomes a form of reminding.”
And it reminded me of this song.
So enjoy and be reminded and be a remembering!
Grace and peace