Spoken Word in the Church

Joe Thorn is having Odd Thomas do a spoken word piece during worship gathering on Sunday. Some have raised the question of whether or not it's appropriate. Joe writes...

Though we have never done so before, Redeemer’s elders are excited to include spoken word in our worship gathering this Sunday. The main reason we are happy to include it is because spoken word, in this context, is an earnest appeal to look to Christ. Thomas will bring a theologically rich, compelling, confrontational, message to God’s people based on God’s word. And the fact that it is poetic in nature is not a hit against it, but a strength. God loves poetry and has given us much of his word in that very form.

It's a very comprehensive post on what spoken word is, how it conveys truth, he gives some video examples and more. Joe also answers these questions (questions I had too) in his post...

• Isn’t this just entertainment? 
• Isn’t this merely trying to attract people through an act? 
• Isn’t this worldliness?

Go check out "Spoken Word in the Church" from Joe Thorn. Comment there with your thoughts and questions. Interesting topic.

Austin Stone Live

After attending the first Verge Conference at The Austin Stone, I became a fan of Aaron Ivey (@AaronIvey) and his album, Between the Beauty & Chaos. It's one of the most played worship albums on my iPod and in my house. Then at the recent Together for Adoption Conference in Phoenix I met (several times... inside joke) Jimmy McNeal (@JimmyMcSings), who should have a worship album releasing next year. Loved the times of corporate worship led by Jimmy and the songs he brought.

So when I heard a new Austin Stone Live album was on the way, featuring Aaron & Jimmy, I was excited to hear it. Today I've been streaming the recording of their live concert from last night. It includes some songs from T4A Conference, and I'm really enjoying it. Watch it here. Buy it at iTunes.

National Anthem - Bears vs Falcons 9/11/11

If you missed the National Anthem at the Bears game yesterday at Soldier Field, it was pretty amazing. Cheering throughout. And one of the best Anthem singers around. Enjoy!

Family Worship & Bible Reading

I'm learning & growing to be the pastor of my family I've been called to be, and I'm enjoying leading them better in family worship and Bible reading. The recent Desiring God Pastor's Conference message by Joel Beeke on family worship was convicting and encouraging. You should check it out.

Right now we have five main resouces for family worship &/or Bible reading (singing resources aren't listed). For the most part our kids read Scripture in the morning and we use the other resouces at night. Let me know what resources you have found helpful in the comments below.

1. The Bible | Each of our kids has their own ESV Bible (compact Bible for my boys, my daughter has a prettier one). They are reading James every day in the mornings, sometimes on their own and sometimes with me and/or Molly.

2. ESV Study Bible | Same text with notes that help the family when we need a few interpretive helps on a passage. We have a copy permanently stationed in our living room for the kids to open if they need to check notes on their own. They don't do this much yet, but will get the hang of it.

3. The Story of God for Kids | Created by the good folks at Soma Communities in Tacoma, Washington. My family LOVES this. Well written and helpful notes for using it well, good questions to help it sink in. I have been reading it off my Kindle to them. Last night Elijah was peppering me with questions as he is piecing together the larger "Story of God" from the lessons blending together. Wonderful resource. Check out their other resources for adults and small groups.

4. Operation World: A Prayer Guide to the Nations | Eye-opening for our kids as they learn about the world and the needs of the world from a missionary perspective. They love to thumb through the pages and learn about a new country. We are putting little biographies of missionaries in their hands and they want to learn about those countries today. We want to teach them to pray BIG prayers to our BIG God for our BIG world. UPDATE: Commenter reminded me of Window on the World, an Operation World of sorts for younger kids. We have that and the kids like it a lot.

5. Four Holy Gospels | Just got this in the mail yesterday. It's the most beautiful Bible I've ever seen, with artwork by NYC artist Makoto Fujimura. Our family was able to meet Mako and attend the Crossway Books release event for the project. We now plan on using the Bible at least once a week (Sundays) to take turns reading aloud from a Gospel together before we leave the house to gather with our local church. It's nice to add a substantial piece like this into our family worship & Bible reading that will last through the years as a family treasure.