Hey everyone, Come and live records went live today. There is a free 16 song sampler on the site that can be downloaded.  The grand launch is tonight in New Jersey with Underoath, Derek Webb, Switchfoot, Norma Jean, and lots more. Chad Johnson will be speaking and the entire Come & Live staff will be there to answer questions and pass out the 16 song sampler entitled “I Am Living” (for free download at the site).
In 2 weeks I start recording a new full length for Come & Live, it should be out by winter.

Go check out the site by clicking below!

If you’re a prayer warrior, we need your help. As of right now, there are about 9 expectant families in our church. If you add that to the amount of babies born to Watermark in the last year (about 6), then we may be in trouble pretty soon. If you’ve ever been to our sunday gathering, you will know that our child space is small. We have a small 8×5 room near the front door, and we have a 12×12 soundproof cry room near the main room doors. Currently we have too many children to fit the workers in, and now we are starting to grow out of floor space in the main worship room for the adults. On top of that, half of our congregation is gone for the summer, and we are still at about full capacity right now.

My thoughts are that in about 8 months, when everybody comes back and the babies are born, we will hit the capacity wall. So if you live in Tampa, and know of a large square room with some office space and bonus rooms, let us know!

This is going to be an interesting Fall season, please keep us in your prayers. The good news is that if this keeps up, we will be able to plant Watermark South sooner than expected! So pray that we can have the wisdom to figure this thing out.

grace & peace.

I’m not blogging right now… life is busy, and the weather is too nice. get over it.

I’ve been reading a book that I randomly picked up on monday while at a bookstore in New Port Richey. It is called “The Unlikely Disciple” by Kevin Roose.

The subtitle is “a sinners semester at america’s holiest university”. 

I picked it up when I was walking towards the checkout counter with a Bart Erhman book in my hands, and I spotted this little gem summoning me in, so I picked it up and gave it a thumb through, then quickly replaced the Erhman book with this one. It’s allong the lines of A.J. Jacobs “A Year of Living Biblically”, and it comes highly recommended by Jacobs. 

The premise of the book it thus: A student of Brown University (possibly the most liberal school in the country) decides to spend a semester at Liberty University to learn about the Right Wing Fundamentalist lifestyle and mindset. He lives under all of the rules set forth in “the Liberty Way” (libertys 60+ pg rule book), joins the Thomas Road Baptist Church choir, and even goes on an Open Air Evangelism trip to daytona beach to partake in some street preaching. 

I myself am an alumni of Liberty University, even though I would not fair well there now (I’m not a dispensationalist, not a 7 day creationist, not a hardline “literalist”, only slightly a republican, and I’m barely an evangelical), but I must say that my experience at Liberty University was one that I look back on with the utmost joy and pride in. When I tell people that I attended the late Falwell’s school, I usually get some odd looks, but I never shy away from telling them. 

This book is one of the most pleasant books that I’ve read in a while, and it is truly a breath of fresh air. It is a VERY fair handed book, and it exposes much of the dark side of evangelicalism (racism, homophobia, pride, judgementalism…etc) while also exposing how the other side of the political and religious spectrum bears much of the same clout (classism, bigotry, closemindedness, fearmongering, pride…etc). Some of most entertaining parts of the book are when he attends many of the same classes that I did, namely GNED 1 & 2, and apologetics. Some of the books that are required reading in the Apologetics class (which is an entire class about learning how to defend a literal [non-apocalyptic/poetic] reading of Genesis) have theories that were debunked years ago, but are still used today as though they were “gospel”. I personally remember being in that class, when the professor mentioned that Moses wrote the books of the Pentateuch. One of my peers lifted his hand and asked a question about how he could have written the account of his own death… to which the professor answered “he was writing a prophecy…” (which is a complete addition to scripture, and there is absolutely NO scriptural basis for something like this).

Many such questions were raised while I was at liberty, but I never thought too deply about it… after all, liberty is a pretty diverse school doctrinally amongst students. But when you read about a non-Christian attending these classes, it makes you see these things in an all new light. 

Perhaps the most eye-opening chapter of the book so far is when he traveled to Daytona for open air evangelism. He was schooled in the methods of Ray Comfort, and was armed to the teeth with tracts and sent out to preach the gospel. The amazing thing is that he really humanizes the events that he experiences. Many times in this book he actually starts to see the love that Christians have for the world around them. Several times he stands up to defend the heart of the fundamentalist mindset to his liberal friends. And he even talks about the Christians whom he came to know as the most loving, happy, encouraging, and flat out nicest people that he’s ever been with. At the end of his evangelistic tour, he writes about a young woman sitting in the rain, with her arm around a homeless man, and she is weeping because she feels so burdened for him to know the Lord and to know salvation. He contrasts this behavior with some of the other tactics they used like yelling through a blowhorn at drunken teenagers. One of them made him feel inhuman, and the other made the world look like a beautiful place with a loving God.

You need to read this book. I’ve often thought that if we could just see ourselves from the outside, it would really change the way that we do things. I’ve also thought that if people would stop attempt to see Christians from the angle that this young man did, they would see a side things that would be life-changing.

Im 2/3 of the way through, and I’m actually starting to wonder if he will become a disciple of Jesus… I’ll let you know.

Next week I’ll be providing the worship at the release of the latest Nooma Video in Fort Lauderdale Florida. Rob Bell (Founding Pastor at Mars Hill Bible Church, and Author of several books including “Velvet Elvis”) will be speaking and answering questions about his ministry, and the band and I will be playing before and after. 

If you are in the area, and would like to come out for the premier, please visit:
http://www. epic-remix. org/​Registration.​ html

Please register each person in attendance with you. Registration is FREE!
The concert will be at “Revolution” in downtown Ft. Lauderdale.

Please come on out!

As of this summer, I will be contracting and putting my music out exclusively on ComeAndLive! records. It’s founder is none other than Chad Johnson, the guy who discovered and developed Underoath, Anberlin andMae left Tooth & Nail Records in January to start this new label. I met him last year while I was in Seattle for a conference, a friend of mine put me up at Chads house while my wife and I were in town.

He contacted me about 6-8 months ago to talk to me about this new venture that he was doing. As a matter of fact, it is such a new way to do music, that Relevant Magazine featured a story about it today. They are calling it “The Missionary Record Label”. 100% of the proceeds from the albums and merchandise will go to spread the gospel through social justice efforts around the world. Chad explains it this way: 

We’re allowing each of our artists to choose a partner charity that they really feel led to be working with. We haven’t formalized partnerships considering we barely even have a website up yet, but some of those we are looking at include Healing Waters, Project Ak-47, Preemptive Love Coalition, Compassion International, Mocha Club, etc.  

We’re looking to form partnerships with these charities where we’re able to offer exposure of their great efforts to a young audience, and in return they expose what we do to their own audience. Considering our music will always be available free of charge digitally, it’s much easier to expose our music to the customers of these charities.  

If you want to know more about the label, you can download ComeAndLive!’s vision statement. 

This is really the way that I’ve always wanted to do music… free, worship-filled, & kingdom centered. I’ll probably start recording again in a few months, and I’ll keep this blog updated with any new information.

A wise prophet once said

“How much can you know about yourself if you’ve never been in a fight?” ~ Tyler Durden

Well, On tuesday night after house church, I learned a little bit about myself. No, I didn’t get into a fight, I got jumped (as they call it on the “streets”). Three, rather large, black gentlemen decided to beat the crap out of myself, my buddy Nate, and my other buddy Luke right on my street.

All in all, their goal of skinny white guy domination was successful. After getting punched in the head, jaw and throat, the man who had chosen to connect with me over fisticuffs asked if I would care to engage him in a test of masculinity (in ebonics it sounds more like “yo n*****, you wanna fight… wut?). I was rather surprised to be asked this question after being suckerpunched several times and then surrounded. I dizzily stumbled to my feet and simply replied… no. 

Why did I answer no? My logic was quite simple. I had just been clocked… ergo, any desire that may or may not have been in me to fight was gone. It really would have made more sense to approach me face to face, and to extend the invitation before deciding that it was something I was interested in and starting without me. 

It almost seems to me, that if you are trying to position yourself as alpha male, then you should act like a male and not someone who is afraid of face to face confrontation, but would rather gift someone a handicap before starting the sport. Quite honestly, if he had simply asked before hand, I would have offered him the first shot (and the second and on and on… a-la Jesus Christ). 

Well, after the surprise party started, I imagine that things could have escalated pretty fast if the skinniest little white kid ever (Luke) hadn’t pulled out a very impressive knife. Oddly enough, once Luke accepted their invitation, they all decided that they were late for business to be done elsewhere, and scurried right along. 

In the end, I chipped my coffee mug, scraped my toms shoes, rip my jeans, lost my voice (from being punched in the freaking throat) and got a few loose teeth, but other than that, I can’t really say anything is all that wrong.

My follow-up question to the whole night is… if, in the end, we were standing there, and they all ran away… who won?

So what did I learn about myself? I’ll think about it, and get back to you.

People of the living God where can you be found?

I have sought to hear your tale, while sin and sorrow bound.

And Oh, take me to your rest

And Oh, lead me to Him lest, I falter

Lonely I’ll no longer roam, like cloud like wind like wave

Where He dwells shall be my home, His death shall be my grave

And Oh, my empty soul’s no more

And Oh, my idle heart on wings shall be forever

And Oh, thy grace like waterfalls,

And All, my faults have been made yours!

And Oh, thy name upon my head

And Oh, thy heartbeat in my chest

And Oh, thy words upon my lips

And Oh, Thy love, my fingertips.

I will take thy yoke of choice come poverty, come cross

Tell me not of earthly gain, speak not of earthly loss,

No! When I have been made free!

He wears the sin that once clothed me!

Earth can fill my soul no more,

Like God, the one that I adore.

By: Preson Phillips

One of my partners in ministry is a man named Ryan Ward Young. He, and his wife Cyndi, pastor one of our house churches in Seffner Florida, about 15 minutes southeast of me. Every week he turns my sermons into poetry and posts them on his site. I’ve put a link to his blog on the right column. It is amazing to watch how the minds of different people work. Here’s one of my fav’s:

Blind Vita
I saw the wind today
it grasped the clouds
it swayed the trees
it spun the windmill
it heightened the ocean’s waves.
I heard the sunrise today
it orchestrated a concerto
it spoke of hope
it silenced the dark
it roared on the horizon.
I breathed the darkness today
it reeked of despair
it rotted of decay
it spoiled of demise
it choked of defeat.
I tasted the freedom today
it sweetened of redemption
it refreshes of liberation
it quenches of simplication
it appetized of divination.
I felt the love today
it clutched of selflessness
it embraced of righteousness
it garnered of cleanliness
it murdered my worthlessness.

And then there’s this one:

Currency for a Wealth of Spoil
$ocial butterflys with no wings
$peaking serpents with no tongue
$olar system with no stars
$hopping with no cash
$inking with no ship
$truggle with no fight
Save me.
$catterbrains with no mind
$ummer time with no sun
$oldier man with no shield
$mashing with no break
$teering with no wheel
$tanding with no legs
Save me.
$peaking with no spine
Save me.
$aving with no soul
Save me.
$ufficating with no breath
Save me.
$uffering with no hope.
Save me.
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ Hosanna.

Take a look at his stuff. It’s quite amazing… especially the shape poems.

Amber Green is also turning one of Ryans poems into a painting, which I, in turn, will try and turn into a song (to complete the circle). I’ll try and get a shot of the painting and post it here.

I would ultimately like to put our heads together and publish an illustrated book at the end of our study of Matthew with poetry, essays, and paintings done by our people, and also an audio CD inside it.
It’s all just pipe dreams… but who knows, maybe we can make it happen.