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Here is video from my first Sunday at New Horizon Church, Durham, NC.

[youtube url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kiqaPG5Ueuo]

Direct Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kiqaPG5Ueuo

Year after year, I answer this question - where do you see yourself in five years?  I ponder over it for a few minutes before writing in my appraisal documentation, the same old answer in a brand new way.  I am not one of those super ambitious employees.  I have aspirations for my role within the company, but I usually try to keep them realistic.

This year my aspirations section will be slightly different than normal.

I met with Gary today who is our Worship & Creative Arts pastor.  God is using this man right now to stretch me like never before.  I’m excited to be serving under him and the leadership of NHC. 

Today the same question I’m about to answer in my appraisal came up - where do you see yourself in five years?  This time it was not about my role within my company, it was about me and God.  Normally I would give different answers to this question based on the context in which it is asked, but this time the answers will be intertwined.

To give you all some background, I started out leading worship at around 15 or 16 years old at my Dad’s church in Strabane, Northern Ireland.  One week we had a visiting speaker called Sandy Thompson who prophecied over me that he saw me one day leading large crowds of people in worship. 

That’s a cool prophecy to get as a 16 year old, and I’ve always kept hold of it.  I’ve kept it close to myself and never used it as leverage (please don’t do that).

I could do a whole new post on prophecy alone, but for now you should know that I believe even though God has given you a word, sometimes you need to get off your butt and help make it happen.  There are many examples of this throughout the bible.

I made a consious effort to keep myself involved in worship since then.  I led worship at school, at university, at home-groups, and at church.

Along the way I had another dream - to work for myself.  I started a business with a friend who works in the pro-audio install industry.  We developed software that specialized in background music, announcements and visual presentation.  We’ve achieved many accolades (inc. innovation awards), market-place recognition and government funding.  For a few years it was very exciting.

For financial security I kept my day job while working on the new business venture.  I poured ten years of my life into that business but over time I could see the dream was fading.  I was getting tired of the amount of time I spent everyday working on two jobs.  I turned down opportunities in my (day-time) career to fuel the dream and have at times since felt regret.

Around this same time I started to get fed-up with my day job too.  There was only one way to describe how I felt.  I felt restless.  Maybe it was early mid-life crisis.  I needed a change.  We began to look outside of Ireland for new jobs.

Out of the blue the opportunity arose with my day job to move out to America.  I jumped at it.  I had never had any desire to live in America.  I wasn’t even interested in going on holiday there.  But something just clicked inside my head.

In a matter of months we’d moved the whole family out here to Durham, NC - and we loooove it.  We found a great church, a great school and a great neighbourhood.  God has really looked after every little detail.

Now I look back and I can see how God was in control the whole time.  If I ignored my dream of starting a business I would probably hold a higher position in my day job.  However, if I had more responsibilities in my day job they probably would not sent me over here to America.  I also really believe that God allowed that period of restlessness to make us look up.

At the moment I feel completely wrapped up in God’s plan for me and my family.  I feel I’m right where God wants us to be (geographically).  There’s always work needed in our spirtual lives, and I believe the right people are here now within my reach to help me grow.

Ok - getting back to the original question - where do you see yourself in five years?

I want to use the talents God has given me to reach non-believers and build-up believers.  I want to grow my talents and continue walking into what God has for me.  I really want people to move from just listening to the music to participating in worship.  I know worship is not about us and what we can get out of it.  But I also know that when people open up to God during worship amazing things can happen.  Life changing things.  I want to see more of that.

I want to see God move big-time in Durham.  I want to see a thriving church community who love God and come with expectancy each time we meet.  I want people to realize that worship is not the three or four songs before the message - it’s a lifestyle.  I’d love to see some multi-church events happen in Durham and be a part of that.  Churches need to work more together.

I want to know God more deeply than before.  I need to get into the bible and just meditate on His word.  I would like to express my personal worship by writing songs.  I would like these songs to give people something to relate to and engage them in worship.

Before moving out I did not realize how close NC was to Nashville, TN.  I’d love to meet some of my musical “mentors” and maybe have the opportunity to work with some of them. 

So there you go.  This is probably my longest post ever.  I’m hoping I haven’t lost everybody by this stage because what I’d like to know from you is - where do you see yourself in five years?

[youtube url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L-VOLGGgErM]

Direct Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L-VOLGGgErM

Chords here.

• My Saviour Lives (New Life Worship)
• Our God Saves (Paul Baloche)
• Nothing But The Blood (Matt Redman)
• My Life Is Yours (Planetshakers)

Yes, today was the day.  My first Sunday with the worship band at NHC.  I was nervous as per usual.    It was our Baptism service today and 60+ people were baptized over the two services.  Praise God!

We sang the first three songs before the message, and the final song during the offering.  I was leading on the final song.  It’s weird leading worship with no music stand and no guitar.  I’ve nothing to hide behind anymore.  My hand was shaking so much holding the mic, I had to grasp it with both hands.  It probably looked like I was trying to rock the microphone or something - but I was not.  ;-)

I liked all the songs on today’s set, but for me Nothing But The Blood stood out this morning.

I can still remember my own baptism very well.  It was in a small church tank in Strabane, Northern Ireland. I was 14 years old.  We had joined with at least one other church so there was lots of people going through.  I seem to remember the service running into the early hours of the next morning.  Each of us came out of the tank and give a small testimony of God’s goodness.

I managed to get home last night in time for some Dove Award performances.  I wish I could have been there.

If it were down to me, out of the nominees:

• John Foreman would have won Vocalist of the Year.
• Rush of Fools might just have snatched Pop Album of the Year.
• Oh! Gravity would have got best Rock Album of the Year.
• All Of The Above would have got best Worship Album of the Year.
• Everlasting God would have got best Worship Song of the Year.

What do you guys think? 

(official winners list from www.doveawards.com follows below)

• Song of the Year
  “East to West”; Mark Hall, Bernie Herms; My Refuge Music (BMI), Club Zoo Music (BMI), SWECS Music (BMI), Word Music LLC (ASCAP), Banahana Tunes (ASCAP)
• Songwriter of the Year
  Cindy Morgan
• Male Vocalist of the Year
  Chris Tomlin
• Female Vocalist of the Year
  Natalie Grant
• Artist of the Year
  tobyMac
• Group of the Year
  Casting Crowns
• Producer of the Year
  Ian Eskelin
• New Artist of the Year
  Brandon Heath
• Rock/Contemporary Recorded Song of the Year
  “Everything Glorious”; Remedy; David Crowder*Band; David Crowder*Band; Sparrow Records, sixstepsrecords
• Rap/Hip Hop Recorded Song of the Year
  “Name Droppin’”; Bone-Appetit Servin” Up Tha Hits; T-Bone; Rene F. Sotomayor, Teak Underdue, Dee Underdue; Flicker Records
• Inspirational Recorded Song of the Year
  “By His Wounds”; Glory Revealed; Steven Curtis Chapman, Mark Hall, Brian Littrell, Mac Powell; Davis Nasser, Mac Powell; Reunion Records
• Rock Recorded Song of the Year
  “Comatose”; Comatose; Skillet; John L. Cooper, Brian Howes; Ardent Records, Atlantic, Lava, SRE Recordings
• Southern Gospel Recorded Song of the Year
  “Get Away, Jordan”; Get Away, Jordan; Ernie Haase & Signature Sound; Traditional; Gaither Music Group
• Pop/Contemporary Recorded Song of the Year
  “East To West”; The Altar and the Door; Casting Crowns; Mark Hall, Bernie Herms; Beach Street Records, Reunion Records
• Country Recorded Song of the Year
  “How You Live (Turn Up The Music)”; How You Live; Point Of Grace; Cindy Morgan; Word Records
• Bluegrass Recorded Song of the Year
  “He’s In Control”; Austins Bridge; Austins Bridge; Justin Rivers, Mike Kofahl, John Ramsey; Daywind Records
• Traditional Gospel Recorded Song of the Year
  “Ready For A Miracle”; Evan Almighty Soundtrack; LeAnn Rimes; Bunny Hull, Art Reynolds; Curb Records
• Urban Recorded Song of the Year
  “Listen”; T57; Trin-I-Tee 5:7; Chanelle Haynes, Adrian Anderson, Walter W. Millsap III, Angel Helaire, Candice Nelson, Lamar Van-Sciver, Charles Griffin III, Ryan Farish, Frank Greenfield, Tony Jones; Music World Entertainment
• Rap/Hip Hop Album of the Year
  Group 1 Crew; Group 1 Crew; Christopher Stevens, Andy Anderson; Fervent Records
  Redemption; Grits; Mario “Rio” Moore, Grits; Gotee Records
• Contemporary Gospel Recorded Song of the Year
  “Say So”; A Deeper Level; Israel & New Breed; Michael Gungor, Israel Houghton; Integrity Music
• Rock Album of the Year
  Scars Remain; Disciple; Travis Wyrick; SRE Recordings
• Worship Song of the Year
  “How Great Is Our God”; Chris Tomlin, Jesse Reeves, Ed Cash; worshiptogether.com Songs, sixsteps Music, Alletrop Music
• Pop/Contemporary Album of the Year
  The Altar and the Door; Casting Crowns; Mark A. Miller; Beachstreet Records, Reunion Records
• Rock/Contemporary Album of the Year
  Portable Sounds; tobyMac; Toby McKeehan, Christopher Stevens, David Wyatt; Forefront Records
• Inspirational Album of the Year
  I Love To Tell The Story, A Hymns Collection; Mark Lowry; Paul Johnson; Gaither Music Group
• Worship Album of the Year
  Remedy; David Crowder*Band
• Urban Album of the Year
  T57; Trin-I-Tee 5:7; The Bama Boyz, Matthew Knowles, Solange Knowles,Walter W. Millsap III, DJ Static; Music World Entertainment
• Bluegrass Album of the Year
  Salt of the Earth; Ricky Skaggs & The Whites; Ricky Skaggs & The Whites; Skaggs Family Records
• Country Album of the Year
  Big Sky; The Isaacs; Mark Bright; Gaither Music Group
• Traditional Gospel Album of the Year
  Past and Present; Lillie Knauls; Wayne Haun, Lillie Knauls; Vine Records
• Contemporary Gospel Album of the Year
  A Deeper Level; Israel & New Breed; Israel Houghton, Aaron Lindsey; Integrity Music
• Youth/Children’s Musical of the Year
  “Praise Rocks”; Brentwood Kids Club Music
• Children’s Music Album of the Year
  VeggieTales Christian Hit Music; VeggieTales; Christopher Davis; Big Idea Records
• Christmas Album of the Year
  It’s a Wonderful Christmas; Michael W. Smith; David Hamilton, Michael W. Smith; Reunion Records
• Long Form Music Video of the Year
  Live From Hawaii; Audio Adrenaline; Mark McCallie; Audio Adrenaline; Audio Adrenaline; Forefront Records
• Short Form Music Video of the Year
  “Boomin’”; tobyMac; Scott Speer; Jason Peterson; Symbolic Entertainment; Forefront Records
• Recorded Music Packaging of the Year
  Remedy (David Crowder*Band); Gary Dorsey; Gary Dorsey; Gary Dorsey, Kaysie Dorsey; Sparrow Records, sixstepsrecords

I have some visitors this week from our company headquarters.  Maurice brought me a present all the way from Ireland.  It was a travel mug - but not just any travel mug.  It was a Guinness travel mug!  Maurice is now currently my favourite team leader.

Sometimes we think it’s only the preacher or the band that needs to prepare for a Sunday.

I’ve been reading LIFESTORIES by Mark Hall (Casting Crowns) recently and came across this little nugget the other day.

“When I’m not living for Jesus daily and show up at church after squeezing out life on my own terms all week, I’m needy when I walk through the doors.

• I need the greeter to make me feel welcome.
• I need my friends to sit by me.
• I need my soloist  to sing my favourite song.
• I need the pastor to be engaging.
• I need the small group leader to love on me and do cartwheels when I enter.
• I need the small group leader to call me when I’m sick.

I am so needy because I’m not complete when I get there, and when I’m not being completed by my walk with Jesus, I unwittingly demand completeness from people.  I raise the bar of expectations, and people don’t meet my needs because it is impossible for people to do so.”

Mark then goes on to contrast that to walking daily with Jesus.

“When I faithfully pursue God, spending time with Him in Bible study and a spirit of unceasing prayer, then I’m completed by Him.  He indeed is all I need.

When I walk into church, I see people like He sees them.  In other words, I recognize and acknowledge that I’m an instrument.  I walk in and want to sit by others as a ministry.  I want to help greet visitors.  I want to make sure somebody called those who were sick.  Why?  Because a life of praise comes from understanding that this life is not about us.  It’s about something bigger than us.  It’s about loving God and loving others, the two greatest commandments.”

Dave said something along the same lines this morning at church.  He encouraged us to pray before we get to church that we would hear what God would want us to hear.

Is God saying something to me through all this, or did He just want to give me something to blog about?
Challenge: Pray and seek God daily and next time you do church (note: doesn’t have to be a Sunday) - come with expectancy in your heart and tell me it doesn’t make a difference.

Delirious - Kingdom of Comfort

 I’ve been a long time Delirious fan, but it always takes me a while to get into their new albums.  The first time I heard Glo I didn’t like it.  In fact it was a couple of years later when I finally picked it up again that it became my favourite Delirious album ever.

So, maybe the same thing is happening all over again, because Kingdom of Comfort didn’t really blow me away.  The tracks that stand out to me so far are Love Will Find a Way, We Give You Praise, How Sweet The Name and My Soul Sings.

Planetshakers - Saviour Of The World

I’ve only recently heard of Planetshakers after they used Healer at our church.  Overall, I like this album a lot.  It’s quite similar to Hillsong United in a way - maybe it’s because they are also based in Australia?

I love the songs Healer, My Life Is Yours (which I’m learning for next week), No One Else Like You (my favourite on the album), Take Me, and Boom!

Boom is like listening to a P.O.D. track!  Recently, I was so close to dumping all P.O.D. tracks from my iTunes library - however I like Boom.

It’s been a long time since I published my RSS reading list.  Those using Google Reader will appreciate the pain involved in extracting and formatting this list.

*TheBlogstar
http://chadjarnagin.com

A day in the life of ME…
http://grahamchoo.blogspot.com/

A Pilgrims Way
http://apilgrimsway.wordpress.com

All About Worship
http://aawp.wordpress.com

Be Thou My Vision
http://bethoumyvision.wordpress.com

betterthanblank
http://betterthanblank.org

Big T-Licious
http://bigtelicious.wordpress.com

blendingworship
http://blendingworship.wordpress.com

BooMama
http://boomama.net

Brody Harper
http://www.brodyharper.com 

Career Songwriter
http://andreastolpe.berkleemusicblogs.com

CECWorship (Worship Resources)
http://cecworship.wordpress.com

Children of Light
http://noelwalker.wordpress.com

Church Marketing Sucks
http://www.churchmarketingsucks.com/

Cries Of The Heart
http://criesoftheheart.com

Daryl Strickland
http://strick4life.wordpress.com

Dave Bowman
http://www.davebowmanonline.com/

emprise34’s Xanga
http://www.xanga.com/emprise34

Ethos …A Cultural Watercooler Influencing Influencers to Re:create Art
http://randyelrod.typepad.com/

FOR WHAT IT’S WORTH
http://4whatitsworth.wordpress.com

Frankly Speaking
http://treyka.wordpress.com

FredMcKinnon.Com
http://www.fredmckinnon.com/

Grits n’ Grace
http://gritsngrace.wordpress.com

guitarpraise
http://guitarpraise.blogspot.com

Inept as Icing
http://billychia.com

inWorship
http://brenttrf.wordpress.com

JakeBeaty.com
http://jakebeaty.wordpress.com

jeffkapusta.com
http://www.jeffkapusta.com

JosephSangl.com
http://www.josephsangl.com

leemcderment’s Virb Blog
http://www.virb.com/leemcderment/blog

LifeChurch.tv : swerve
http://swerve.lifechurch.tv

lifemusicministry.com
http://lifemusicministry.wordpress.com/

MercyMe
http://mercyme.org/blog

Morning Star Poetry
http://scotti.wordpress.com

Normal Rockstar
http://jeremythiessen.typepad.com/weblog/

Passionate | Reverence
http://joshuaseller.blogspot.com/

Pastor Steven Furtick
http://www.stevenfurtick.com

Perry Noble dot com
http://www.perrynoble.com

Purchased.Loved.Pursued
http://josama.wordpress.com

Ragamuffin Soul
http://www.ragamuffinsoul.com

Raivynn’s Roost
http://raivynnsroost.blogspot.com/

random moments wth a guy trying to figure it out
http://jamiecmcdonald.com

Rich Kirkpatrick’s Weblog
http://www.richkirkpatrick.com/rich_kirkpatricks_weblog/

ru·mi·na·tions
http://joecarr.wordpress.com

scotthodge.org
http://scotthodge.typepad.com/scott/

Shlog
http://www.shaungroves.com/shlog/

supersimbo……….
http://www.supersimbo.net/

terrystorch.com | beta
http://www.terrystorch.com

The African Call
http://theafricancall.blogspot.com/

The Batterson Blog - Thoughts on Life and Leadership
http://evotional.com/

The Man Of Steel
http://superman1224.wordpress.com

The Original Mud Puppy
http://mudpuppy.wordpress.com

The Warning Knock
http://thewarningknock.blogspot.com/

The Weekly Daily
http://worshippastor.blogspot.com/

This Guy Falls Down
http://marklee.typepad.com/this_guy_falls_down/

Thoughts of a Worshiper
http://stephenbarry.blogspot.com/

tonymorganlive.com
http://www.tonymorganlive.com/

Worship City
http://worshipcity.wordpress.com 

(From memory - the parts in [..] were filled in after comparing to original lead sheet!)

This praise is rising in my heart
This passion is burning deep within
I’m gonna lift your name [up] every day
And tell the world [that] You’re the only way

Come and fill me with Your power
[It’s] In You I find my strength
I’m gonna live [my life] for You alone

Jesus, my heart is crying out for more of You
King of all Kings, and Lord of Lords
My life is Yours

You are the only One for me
And I’ll keep singing on and on and on
To You my king
[I’m gonna live for You in all I do]
Jesus, You are everything to me
You are everything to me

My life is all for You Lord
Take over all of me
I live to worship You my Lord alone