the end to a short vacation

We were relatively close to the two shark attacks in the Florida Panhandle this week. The last one was closer to us than the first. After seeing this pic on the news, my daughter and I stopped our trips to the local sand bar. I was torn between the logic of the experts that said there was a 1 in 5 million chance of being attacked by a shark and my landlocked, country boy instinct that says it just doesn't make sense to swim where critters can kill you. Nonetheless, I will simply take snorkeling gear on my next trip to the beach. I really love the ocean, I'll just swim underwater where I can see what's coming.

I came home more tanned and rested but I don't feel completely rested. After three years without a vacation, I really did need to take the two weeks in a row suggested by the church elders. I probably could have been gone two consecutive Sundays, I just thought it best to be gone only one. There will be plenty of time for extended vacations later. I plan to splurge on my time off next week and play a round of golf or something. Don't get me wrong though...it was a good vacation, just a bit short.

We spent a lot of time at the pool and walking on the beach. We also took one of those three hour cruise things to Shell Island. I was dreading it for two reasons: 1) I get sea sick. 2) I would have rather been reading. It turned out to be a lot of fun. We came across a pod of 12-15 dolphins. We stopped and watched them and then they cruised along with us. They got withing five feet of the boat on our side. Much cooler than seeing them at the zoo. Shell Island was deserving of its name. Tons of sea shells. Michelle and the girls had a blast. The beach was pristine. I thought of what it might have looked like to the early explorers to see a bunch of tourist running around picking up sea shells and chasing crabs. It was a good deal. Only $12 for adults and $7 for kids. And $1.37 for motion sickness pills.

We're back home in suburbia. Our emotionally needy dog has finally settled down after a few hours. We learned our next door neighbors were evicted while we were gone. Our other neighbors decided they wanted to give us their patio furniture. I don't have to mow the grass tomorrow. Nice. It's the end to a short vacation.

I would really rather be sitting on the balcony of the condo listening to the surf instead of typing this.

looking for the supercritical

I copied this from this week's church e-letter at The Journey Church. Who knows, it may do others some good.
::

As we get closer to moving to our new location it's important that we're all on the same page and understand one of the most "critical" things about church planting: critical mass.

Critical mass: An assembly in which a chain reaction is possible is called critical, and is said to have obtained criticality. In a larger assembly, the reaction will increase at an exponential rate, and this is termed supercritical.

I'm no nuclear phyicist, but I do understand the basics of critical mass. OK, for those of you that know me really well you can stop laughing. I said I knew the basics of the principle. I also know that critical mass can be applied to church planting...or any other social context for that matter. (This isn't new information for people that run in church planting or sociology circles, so you folks can move on to the next part of your day now.) Let me put the principle of critical mass completely in a church start-up/church planting context, specifically The Journey Church context.

The social critical mass in a church setting is around 125 adults. How do I know that? Well, let's start with the Bible. When the early church was born, there were 120 adults in the upper room where they were meeting. Those 120 adults were fervently praying and asking God what they should do next. They had reached a spiritual critical mass. Spiritually "charged" believers that God was able to use. The church reached supercritical in a very short amount of time after that and the church grew exponentially.

That took place after three years of intense ministry by Jesus (God in human form). That took place after Jesus has spoken to crowds of at least 15,000. It took place after he had died and risen back to life. The supercritical happened after only 120 of the 500 that Jesus appeared to after his resurrection did what he asked and went to the upper room. (Just thinking out loud here.)

As a spiritual leader, I'm looking for the supercritical to happen. Some would say that I set my goals too high. I say that God is able to do exceedingly and abundantly more than we can ask or think. I understand that we live in a different spiritual/political milieu than that of the 1st century. But the fact is, God is still who he says he is. He actually wants his Church to grow and touch lives that are sick and living in hopelessness. The big question is when will supercritical happen at The Journey? Here's some thoughts...

The first step is to reach critical with critical mass. Based on the history of the Church and some modern day examples, that means that The Journey needs to be a spiritually healthy group of around 125 adults to reach critical mass. The Journey has become a spiritually healthy church, but we only have about fifty adults right now. That means the people that attend The Journey have to invite others to see what God is doing in their lives and in the lives of their faith community, the church.

The second step is to understand the social importance of critical mass in a church plant. There is a social comfort associated with being in a large crowd. For the extrovert it means there are more people to talk to. For the introvert a large crowd means a better chance of going unnoticed. Both introverts and extroverts attend church. If a church hasn't reached critical mass, first time guests will be very uncomfortable. The reason that most church plants don't survive the first year is that they don't reach critical mass. When people invite their friends, neighbors, and co-workers they have to help them understand the social environment by telling them what to expect.

The third step is interpret critical mass to first time guests. If critical mass isn't interpreted to the first time guest they'll leave thinking, "Somethings seems wrong there" or "That whole thing seems broken." It's the church plant attenders job to preempt the perception of the broken social environment.

First of all, authentic and genuine care for the guest has to be expressed. Ask guests things about their interests, where they're from, what their occupation is and then connect them with people in the church with similar backgrounds and connect them with others quickly.

Second, you have to interpret critical mass to a first time guest depending on what "language" they speak. To the unchurched guest, it's best to describe the principle of critical mass using entrepreneurial language. Using phrases like "We're a startup church" and explaining that "you have to like ground floor kind of things" will help them better understand the social environment. For the first time guest that is churched, it's important to let them know we're an independent church plant with no "mother" church. It's also important to let them know about the critical mass thing from Acts 1. Even churched people will need to have an entrepreneurial mindset. If they're coming from a highly progammed churched, don't be surprised if they feel uncomfortable. Don't worry about it. If they're supposed to be a part of the core that God uses to reach critical mass they'll stick around.

Here's the bullet point version:
- Critical mass is critical to our church.
- Know the Biblical and social reasons for critical mass and be able to interpret it.

Let's do the critical mass thing...
Ken

we are so Naamanesque

Naaman was a very successful and well placed dude that had a very ugly disease. There was a young, Spanglish sort of girl that worked for Naaman. She told him about a guy that she knew back home that she thought could cure him. It sounded like a great idea to Naaman so he went to his boss and asked for some time off. Since Naaman had an incredible track record, his boss gave him the time off and a bonus to help out with expenses.

Anyway, Naaman goes to see the guy in the foreign country. He walks up to the front door of the healer's office anticipating that he will be seen by the man himself, Elisha. Instead, Elisha sends word to Naaman that all he needs to do is go to the public bathing area (definitely not from America) and wash seven times. Naaman gets really ticked and starts walking away. He's all, "I came this far to see Elisha and he sends out his admin? I thought he would come out and personally see me and do his whole healing thing and make a big deal of curing the sick guy! Instead, he tells me to go bath in a public bathing area? For cryin' out loud, the public baths are ten times better where I'm from than they are here. Who's he kidding?" Naaman is beyond ticked now, he's in a rage.

Some of the people in his entourage catch up with him and try to talk some sense into Naaman because he's obviously lost it. One of his admins says, "Hey, think about it Naaman, you came all this way and were willing to do something extraordinary to get cured. Why aren't you willing to do something simple to get the same result?" Naaman is busted, so he goes to the public bathing area and washes seven times. On the seventh time, he is miraculously cured.

Naaman goes back to Elisha's place and Elisha meets with him this time. Naaman wants to pay Elisha for his trouble...very well. Elisha refuses payment. No biggie for Naaman. But, Naaman needs something to commemorate what just went down. Naaman asks for, and gets, some dirt to take home with him to build a memorial. After all, it was a spiritual moment for Naaman.

It was such a spiritual moment that changed the worldview of Naaman. He stopped worshipping the latest and greatest "designer" god. His life had been changed by the one true God and he made some huge adjustments in his lifestyle. He didn't throw away everything, just the stuff that got in the way of him having a relationship with God.

Why is it that when God offers a simple, mainstream, even boring solution to our predicament we often scoff at it? Why do we think we have to see a mediator when God wants to talk to us personally? Why is it that we have a problem with God when he meets our needs but not in a way that we expect or want? Why do we have such a sense of entitlement and expect that God's servants have to do things the way we want them to?

We are so Naamanesque.

a rush of html to the head

The family was watching chick flicks last night so I decided I would tweak my blog. Little did I know that I would be able to make the changes I did. They were daunting, monumental changes since my html skills are like Napoleon's "numbchuck" skills.

The result is a new look and some links that have been added. I'm a minimalist but the old look was boring. Everything has been added for your viewing and surfing pleasure.

beach blanket blessing

It's been three years since our family had a real, shurnuff, vacation. Vacations in the church planting world seem few and far between for most guys. That's why church planters get discouraged. They don't know when to take a break. In their finite, but very good wisdom, the elders of The Journey decided they would make me take some time off before I get to an unhealthy state of emotion.

Thanks to a very generous family, we're headed to Panama City, FL for a week's worth of beach, pool, seafood, crab dip, watching movies, and hopefully a lot of reading. I'm talking serious down time. Our only connection with Atlanta will be our cell phones. That's right, no Internet for me for a week. I can feel the night sweats already. Since I don't own a laptop right now, I'll get whatever information necessary to life via the TV. GASP...reverting to something as arcane as the TV for information. Whatever will I do? I'm so spoiled.

As The Journey gets closer to the most critical time in it's short history, it's important that I stay spiritually focused and come back with a lot of leadership energy. So, just in case the four people that read my blog care, here's the books I'm taking with me to help me to do just that...







While we're out of town our home will be guarded by our trained attack dog. Let the reader feel the fear inherent with the name "Patches".

www.suejennifer.com

Brilliant. Really. Filing a class action lawsuit to keep The Runaway Bride, Jennifer Wilbanks, and her fiance' John Mason from making money on her really stupid and uncalled-for midnight ride to Albuquerque is a brilliant idea. It ticked Q100 "Bert Show" producer and co-host Jeff Dauler off so much that he decided to file the suit and set up the website. Is it a promotional gag? Probably, but I don't care.

The more I see her in the media, the more infuriated I get. To make things worse, the media dives in like a harpy eagle for the kill...killing in the ratings I mean. OK, now I'm really ticked at Katie Couric. Why doesn't Katie Couric interview some single mother in Atlanta that's working two jobs to feed her kids and pay childcare but decides not to run from her problems but works like crazy to do the right thing? Why doesn't Ms. Couric interview an intern at an Atlanta hospital that's been working 36 straight hours for all of the right reasons and has a lot of other reasons to give up the hell they're going through for the sake of serving humanity? Geez, when I'm mad I write really long sentences, huh? Anyway, props to Jeff Dauler and anyone who recoups their money from the lawsuit.

I have a better idea. I'll go talk to Jennifer Wilbanks and ask her to join The Journey Church. She'll say, "Sure, I'll make sure I invite my friends and family. It'll be a great day and I can support your church plant with all of the money I'm making from my little trip to New Mexico." I say, "Gee, thanks." Then I take off with my wife and kids to Panama City and say I can't take the stress of having a celebrity as a church member. As a result of my (our) stress, my entire family gets henna tattoos while in Panama City. Upon our return to Atlanta, we're confronted by angry, legalistic religious people that demand that we remove our tattoos. We, in turn, see the error of our way, seek counseling and cover up the stain of our sins with tube socks. Heraldo Rivera gets wind of it, jets to Atlanta, and scoops the story of our stress induced flight to Panama City. I get a book deal and make a zillion dollars by selling an insane amount of copies my book Coping With Celebrity Wannabees: My Flight to the Redneck Riviera and Subsequent Struggle With Tube Socks.

Hey, my story is just as believable as Jennifer Wilbanks. Think I have a chance?

observations from visiting another church

My youngest daughter has been going to Vacation Bible School at a nearby "contemporary" Baptist church. Here are some random observations:

• The meaning of the word "contemporary" varies widely from church to church. For us it means modern rock music and no vestiges of anything aesthetically related to traditional church. For others, "contemporary" means updating your look in some areas and still functioning like the majority of most other churches.
• Some churches don't care if you come there or not. Nobody greeted me or spoke to me when I dropped off my daughter. Nobody. Not the people sitting at the reception desk. Not even the lady that showed my daughter where her grade level was sitting when I asked her where my daughter was supposed to go. There was no, "Nice to see you." No, "How did you find out about us?" No, "Would you like information about the church?" Nothing.
• "Contemporary" doesn't mean high energy to some churches. There wasn't any level of perceived energy that is normally associated with a large gathering of school age children. I'm all for keeping things under control, but there was no walk-in or ambience music, no video playing or anything that set the tone for the day. Boring.
• I miss the pledge to the Bible even though I think it's a bad adoption of culture by the traditional church.
• Volunteers are the backbone of the church.
• I thank God for The Journey Church.

A closing question: What can a church do to be waiting for culture instead of always trying to catch up to culture in being relevant?

must read...

If you've ever wondered why I say the things I say and took the leap into the world of church planting, read this article. It's long...really long, but well worth the read. Let me rephrase that...this article is a must read for churched people.

Thanks to my bud Marty Duren for sniffing this one out.

smaller than our website gives us credit for

Listening to John Mayer this morning and thinking about a comment from a guest at The Journey this weekend.

The comment was that we look organized and high energy on our website but there weren't nearly as many people there as he was expecting. Granted, this guy visited after having been part of a big ministry somewhere. I totally understand his comment. I wish we were bigger than what our website gives us credit for.

Some say you shouldn't portray something you're not. I agree. That's lying. Since I wanted to make sure we were being ethical in our advertising, I went back and read through our website. We don't misrepresent anything. The fact is, we all interpret things through a predetermined filter of experience, personality, and current emotional milieu...among other things. Case in point; another visitor within the last couple of weeks (that usually attends a well-known megachurch) said that our children's ministry was really organized considering we were a church plant. It's all about perspective.

Our philosophy about how we present ourselves is this: Just because we're a church plant doesn't mean we have to look crappy. You can be high quality and small. I was talking to an advertising executive this past week. He does stuff for Nintendo, Remax, Fisher Price, Hasbro, and Sony, etc. He told me that our website was way above average for a church of any size. I got warm fuzzies all over after he told me that.

Back to the guy that visited this week...

The guy said that he felt like everything that happened at The Journey Church this Sunday was made specifically for him...the worship, the message, and the people. That tells me two things: 1) The guy was looking for God to speak to Him. 2) The Journey is listening to God. I think this time smaller was very good.

A side note to end on: John Mayer is an incredible songwriter and musician.

On the Michael Jackson acquittal...

Whatever you think the verdict should have been in the Michael Jackson case, there is a truth that none of us can deny.

Being really weird isn't a crime.

Sex and The Supremacy of Christ: A Review of Parts 1&2

My bud Marty Duren had a link on his blog for a limited number of downloadable copies of the yet to be released book Sex and The Supremacy of Christ, edited by John Piper and Justin Taylor. If you read it and review it in your blog, they give you a free hard copy when it goes to print. I think they've stopped handing out the freebies. Sorry.

I've read chapters one through five thus far. I must admit that this would have been an excellent book to have read for a sexual ethics class in seminary. It seems to be a book for pastors, scholars, and those who prefer a heady treatment of a Christian view of sex. Frankly, an unchurched person would struggle with this book. It speaks directly to the Christian subculture that wants an in-depth if not academic approach to the issue of sex.

I personally would refrain from giving this as a marriage building tool to a person or couple struggling with sexual issues. However, I would imagine that this would set well with the college age crowd, in that they would enjoy wrestling with how the supremacy of Christ impacts their sexuality. I envision some late nights discussing the book in Bible study groups on campuses.

The book, as you might guess, is squarely grounded in Scripture. Sometimes excruciatingly so. Save the introduction, I found only a few engaging and relevant passages that get anywhere close to real life application.

The first two chapters, authored by Piper, is a thorough investigation of the supremacy of Christ. It proposes two theses: The first was that sexuality is designed by God as a way to know Christ more fully. And the second was that knowing Christ more fully is designed by God as a way of guarding and guiding our sexuality. While both statements are true, Piper could have handled them more succinctly. He thoroughly outlines how the supremacy of Christ affects everything in our reality. The case he builds for the supremacy of Christ is airtight, but his effort to tie it to human sexuality was a stretch for me.

Our knowing all that God promises to be for us in Christ gives us the power to suffer with joy. And here’s the link: we must suffer in order to be sexually pure. (pg. 45)

I'm glad Piper lost me four paragraphs before his chapters end. I was having a hard time seeing how being sexually pure was related to suffering. Granted, it isn't easy being sexually pure but I personally don't associate it with suffering. I've met people beaten and imprisoned for the Gospel. They didn't mention that going without sex while in prison was a part of their suffering.

Ben Patterson's third chapter was well written and more practical. It's a good mix of orthodoxy and orthopraxy. (I haven't used those words since seminary but felt pressed to do so since reading this book.) Good theology and good application. My kind of stuff.

David Powlison's fourth chapter was...well...long. He was tasked with speaking to Restoring Pure Joy to the Sexually Broken. No new ground broken here. I didn't see much to link the supremacy of Christ to overcoming and healing sexual brokenness. He does make a concerted effort to bring in relevant illustrations.

Al Mohler's treatment of Homosexual Marriage as a Challenge to the Church: Biblical and Cultural Reflections is very well written. This would be a great section for a young Christian to read so they might grasp their theological moorings in our postmodern world. It's a hot social topic for the generations to come so I understand why it was included in the book.

Overall: So far it seems like a good book for the seminarian. Not a book that you want to take your small group through. The theological concepts are, of course, usable in sermons but the practical application would be left to the expositor for the most part. We'll see how the rest of the book goes...

nobody understands me when I talk Oklahoman...

My wife will tell you that in stressful situations that I revert back to my redneck/country/cowboy patterns of speech. This is exceedingly embarrassing for her. Fortunately, the last few times I have slipped she's not been around.

Just for fun I thought I would let you peek into my subconscious and see just how much of the West I have in me. When I say West, I really mean Western...like Tombstone western. Chew on these for a bit...

"You got a burr under your saddle?" This means, "What's disturbing you that you're not telling me about?" It can also be used combatively with a meaning of, "Who ticked you off?"

"Get off your high horse." Or, "Don't be so freaking arrogant."

"You're beatin' a dead horse." Which being interpreted means, "It's a lost cause, dude."

"You got a hitch in your get-along?" Always said with a wry smile, meaning "Have you seen a doctor about your back?"

There you have it. I'm pinein' for my ropers about now.

structure should submit to Spirit...another core value

Structure should always submit to Spirit. It's a core value of The Journey and it happens to be one of my personal core values.

I've never been one that liked much of what the traditional church had to offer, except God. It was full of structures that had lost their relevancy, efficiency, and spirituality. Boards, committees, buildings, business meetings, and church members that felt like the church had been built on their family name...all of these structures an invention of fallen men. The structures got more attention than God. In fact, the structures made the decisions and God was asked to bless the structures. How twisted is that? Unfortunately, there's a lot of churches out there that still live in that world. These are the people that use the Scripture that says, "I the LORD do not change" as a mantra for inflexibility.

If most churches came to The Journey Church and sat through the business meetings we don't have and see how much the leaders trust the people and vice-versa, we would have to call 911 because they would go into cardiac arrest. The upside is, we would still make our decisions the same way. The downside is, the cardiac arrest might not scare enough hell out of the typical church attender.

What blows me away is how the Church got so screwed up in its decision making process. I've known churches that have taken years to decide how one fund was going to be spent. The Biblical model is to pray, hear from God, then take the action that He gives. Oh yeah, did I mention that in the Scripture that the leaders got together, prayed, heard from God and then told the people what was going to happen? No votes. No committees (literally the name of a gathering of vultures). No business meetings.

The Church in the book of Acts turned like a modern day JetSki. Nimble, quick, and able to react at a moment's notice from the Holy Spirit. A more literal analogy is that the early Church reacted to the Spirit's leading like a body instead of a business. It moved together, in concert. Swiftly. Sometimes slowly. Always in unity.

When I talk about our land as the "next location" it makes some people jumpy. You see, after we move from the school to the "next location" of a rented property, our next move will be to our land which is another "next location." Human beings are creatures of habit. We don't really like change that much. When I talk about a "next location", they want to hear something with a more permanent ring to it. They want their Promised Land. So do I, but God doesn't do tabernacles, temples, or synagogues anymore. He does the Church through His people, the Body of Christ. That means buildings can and are used by God but frankly I think we've come full circle from the first century to a synagogue model of church. Jesus went to the synagogue to teach, but the bulk of His ministry was in the marketplace...but that subject is for another day.

Back to the subject at hand. Some want to know what the vision is for the next five years. I want to worry about today, because "tomorrow has enough trouble of its own." Yes, we have a vision and we've made plans. We've planned out the details of what has been referred to by one person as "Starbucks meets church". It's going to be a fun place to invite people to hear about the claims of Jesus Christ. We're also fully aware that the Spirit of the living God could tell us that we need to change it tomorrow. That means being flexible. Being willing to submit structure to the Spirit. To succeed at being flexible, you have to be close to the heart of God. Maybe that's why change and flexibility is so hard for most of us.

how much should core values cost?

Core values. Every organization has them. They're either stated or unstated. The stated core values are the ones you find on the "about us" page on a website or in an organization's brochure. The unstated core values are the ones that really drive the organization. The key as a leader is to do whatever it takes to make sure that any stated core values are the same as the unstated core values. It's easy to say who you are on paper and be completely different as an organization or as a person.

For instance, the unstated core values of any given organization are apparent by the way that organization interacts with their client. If that org. (I'm tired of typing the whole word so I'll abbreviate it as org. from here on) is customer conscious, friendly, and helpful it's evident that they value the client. The org. may or may not have customer care as a stated core value but it's evident that the org. has developed a DNA that is other-people-centered. They care about the customer. In the orgs. that you and I have visited, there may not be a sign to say that they value you as a customer, you simply feel valued. That's because the org. has trained its employees or volunteers that serving the client comes at a cost. The cost of a customer-oriented core value is: Replacing a bad attitude with a good one, setting aside personal issues, and positively interpreting what is happening in the org. that you don't like that day.

Here's an example from a company I've loved since I was a kid: Sonic Drive-In. Sure, there are some Sonics that have bad service. But overall, the customer service is very good. Even though not all of the carhops rollerskate to your car anymore, it's still a great place to eat. Last Friday evening, they forgot the tomatoes on our cheeseburgers. With a push of the magical red button, our server came with six tomatoes. Ummmmm, extra tomatoes. No muss, no fuss. Just good customer service....with a smile, by the way. You could see that a customer-oriented core value had been adopted by this store. The manager had it and so did all of the employees. You could see that the cost of the customer-oriented core value was a price they were willing to pay.

I don't want The Journey Church's stated core values to be cheap, empty words on a page. There's nothing worse saying you're one thing and being another. I've even considered taking our core values off our website until we become more like our core values.

Since our core values come from the Bible, that means that they are attainable and sustainable. For Christ-followers, we know they're attainable because we "can do all things through Him who strengthens us." They're sustainable because "He who began a good work" in us "is faithful to complete it."

The cost of living Biblical core values is high. It costs us our right to claim church for our own needs. So how much should core values cost? It depends on what you want to pay. To put an old saying a different way....The customer gets what you pay for.

fun day

From the inception of The Journey Church, we've wanted to do things with excellence. The band has always been way above average for our size and our children's ministry is getting better every week.

However, the video component of worship has been pretty bad. OK, we stink it up. Bad, really bad. Casey (the worship dude) and I have wanted to smooth things out, but frankly we were completely ignorant of what it took to have smooth video switching.

Enter Greg of Video For Worship. Greg does the video production for Passion events, 7:22, and a bunch of other stuff as well as being on the staff of NorthPoint. He took the time with us today to give us a "Video Switching and Producing 101" class (of sorts) over lunch. We bought a few toys. Nothing over the top. Just things that will take us from quaint to relatively smooth. It won't be long before our startup church will be doing some things like the big boys. No, we won't have a 24X30 foot LED screen or a bank of screens that share a signal but we will be able to show video without looking like we're changing a DVD at home. Thanks Greg.

As soon as I got home from Alpharetta, I hopped in the van with my wife and kids and we went to get some new glasses for Emily, our youngest daughter. I must say that Lenscrafters is a pretty good place to buy glasses. They're a bit pricey, but with our insurance and wife's flex spending plan it's pretty easy to chin. They hooked her up with some way cool glasses. My girl definitely has good tastes. She got her new, cool glasses in just over an hour. Nice. I remember that I used to wait two weeks to get new glasses when I was her age. Oh yeah, Old Navy is having a great sale right now. You might want to pop by and pick up some flip-flops @ 2 for $5 or some baseball tees @ 2 for $12. Don't pay attention to the price you find at the links. The in store price is good. I got a couple of new ribbed tees 2 for $12.

After our Old Navy fix, we went home and watched Ray. Wow. Great movie. Jamie Foxx is unbelievable.

Fun day.

Hillsong UNITED - Look to You :: REVIEW

Maybe I was having a bad day (don't think so) or maybe I just didn't like all of the slow songs on the previoius Hillsong UNITED project More Than Life but their latest project Look to You is absolutey fabulous. I got it for $14.98 at a Lifeway Store and I think FamilyChristian stores are running the same sale.

The first song Salvation is Here starts with a blistering bass line and takes off from there. In the middle is the beautiful All For Love that ends up being big, even huge in sound. My personal favorite on the CD is What the World Will Never Take. The words are phenomenal. These are not seeker songs. This is straight up God worship, loud and clear. If you believe in evangelistic, modern rock worship, then this is the CD for you.

It's a rarity that any CD in our day is beginning to end a great project. There's usually a bad song or two. I personally think there isn't a bad song on this CD. Not even a weak song.

BONUS: It comes with a bonus DVD that will rock your world. Turn it on and worship. My family did. One of the extras is a behind the scenes look at how they pulled of the recording of the event.

We very well may end up learning most of the songs on the CD. It's that good.