Book Review: Sing!

I recently had the opportunity to get a review copy of Keith & Kristyn Getty's "Sing: How Worship Transforms Your Life, Family, & Church" from B&H Publishing. In just a few short pages the Getty's remind us of the transforming power of worship, especially through singing. At the heart of the book is the premise that the Gospel of Jesus compels us to worship, to sing. The Getty's go on to lay out the biblical foundations for worship through singing. Not only does the Gospel message compel us to sing because of the work of Christ in us, but the word of God also commands us to sing. So God does command us to sing & give Him the glory He deserves, but then He graciously provides all the motivation we need in order to respond to Him in worship by working out our salvation through Jesus.

In the chapters that follow the Gettys build upon the biblical foundation to then illustrate how worship impacts our own hearts, our families, & our congregations. Worship fuels our faith relationship with God. We pass that love for God on to our children & grandchildren through the songs of God's holiness, goodness, & grace. They also point out that our congregations' singing need to be fueled by a fresh vision of Jesus & His Gospel. Then as we respond with songs of joy & worship, we'll encourage one another, but we'll also serve as witnesses to the world that we're called to share this Good News with.

Overall, this is a great, short read. I would recommend it not just to church leaders but to any believer who feels like they're stuck in their faith. If you're having trouble finding your song on Sunday or if you want to be equipped to pass on the story of God's love to your kids, pick this book up.

The Friday Five

1. Podcast: Keys To A Multi-Generational Worship Ministry. Thom Rainer & Jonathan Howe are providing consistent quality content through Dr. Rainer's podcast. In this episode, long time worship leader, Mike Harland joins them to start a great conversation about how to create an effective multi-generational worship ministry. Multi-generational ministry & discipleship is the norm in Scripture, yet so many times we go directly against biblical teaching & segment our congregations based on generations. Then we complain that there is a generation gap in our congregation. This is a great episode with some great points to consider when trying to bring the generations together in worship.
2. Music: 24 Nights By Eric Clapton. This is a classic live album that too many people don't know about. It was released 25 years ago & documents a 24 night run at the Royal Albert Hall in London. It's an eclectic album because some nights were blues nights, other nights featured a large band, others a small band, & still others featured Clapton's band with an orchestra. This has some of the best versions of some Clapton classics. Check it out.
3. Quote. "God doesn't need you to be his lawyer. He needs you to be His witness." Bryan Lorrits
   
4. Book: Letters From Father Christmas by J.R.R. Tolkien
   . This is an interesting little work from Tolkien taken from the letters that Santa (Tolkien) wrote to Tolkien's children every year. It includes those letters & the drawings that the iconic author included in those letters each year. It's a really cool look into the life of this incredibly creative man.
5. Nerd Corner: Elstree 1976 on Netflix. If you're into Star Wars, & I mean really into Star Wars, you should check out Elstree 1976. It focuses on some of the people who had bit parts in the original Star Wars to see what it was like to have a small role or to be an extra in the movie that changed movies & how it has affected their lives 40 years later. 

I'll be taking a break from the blog for the next few weeks as we get ready to move & get settled in back in Jackson. See you here in a few weeks.

The Bowman Family Is On The Move

Some of those closest to us already know, but we have some exciting news. 

The Bowman family will be moving back to our hometown of Jackson, TN! God has opened a door for us to return to Jackson for me to serve as the Senior Pastor at Poplar Heights Baptist Church. When Valerie & I moved away from Jackson 12 years ago, we had been married a little over a year & had no kids. Now we return with two little girls & a lot of memories & friends made along the way. I know there were times when Valerie thought we'd never make it back to Tennessee, but in His timing God has answered prayer. 

Be in prayer for our family as we go through everything necessary in order to make a 500 mile move. Julia & Audrey are already having to adjust. They don't quite know what to think of the fact that seemingly everyone in Jackson either knows our families or is our family! Also be in prayer for both churches involved in this transition as each will be dealing with big changes over the next few weeks.

We're excited about what's ahead, making new friends, & reconnecting with old friends. Plus, there will now always be a Los Portales within a short drive of wherever I am. Those of you from Jackson know what I'm talking about. 

The Friday Five

1. Blog Post: 9 Debatable Thoughts About Contemporary Evangelism by Chuck Lawless. This is a great little post to get you & your church thinking about evangelism & what's most effective in your setting. The bottom line is that as long as you're doing evangelism, it doesn't really matter what you're doing. However, it's always wise to evaluate what's effective in reaching our particular communities.
2. 

   Music: Bloom by Audio Adrenaline. This is a classic in contemporary Christian rock, & it's celebrating it's 20th anniversary. This was one of the 1st albums I heard from a Christian band that I actually wanted to listen to again. It's great from start to finish.
3. Quote. "Awake! The shadow is gone and all darkness is washed clean!" -J.R.R. Tolkien (Aragorn in Return of the King)
4. Book: What Do You Think Of Ted Williams Now? by Richard
   
   Ben Cramer. In honor of the Red Sox winning another division title, here's a great, brief read from Pulitzer Prize winner Richard Ben Cramer on one of the larger than life characters in baseball history & one of my favorite players of all time. Ted Williams on one level was simple: he hit a baseball & caught fish. On the other hand, he was complicated, & Cramer gives us a look into the man that most of us only heard about through legendary stories.
   
5. Nerd Corner: Pablo Hidalgo Interview At StarWars.com. This is a great follow-up interview to the Dave Filoni interview I recommended last week. Pablo is a part of the story group at Lucasfilm. His job along with the rest of the story group is to work with everyone who is creating & telling stories within the Star Wars universe to ensure continuity across the board. In other words, Pablo knows pretty much everything about Star Wars. Yes, he knows the backstory of that Jawa in the cantina in A New Hope. In this interview, Pablo shares how he became an uber-fan & eventually one of the key folks at Lucasfilm.

The Friday Five

1. Blog Post: 10 Reasons Why Many Churches Aren't Evangelistic. I know, I know, that's not your church, even though no one has been baptized in years. Just for the sake of argument & self evaluation, I would encourage all church leaders & church attenders to read this post. You may not agree with everything Dr. Rainer talks about, or you may not think it applies to your church. However, how can taking a hard look in the mirror in this area be a bad thing? If it gets you thinking about how you & your congregation can be more effective in advancing the Gospel, then it's beneficial.
2. Music: A River With No End by Ghost Ship. This little EP is gem. It's got a very unique arrangement of the classic hymn "Just As I Am" & a great original called "The Revelation Of Jesus Christ." I'm a big fan of pretty much everything this band does & highly recommend it.
3. Quote. "Truth carries with it confrontation. Truth demands confrontation; loving confrontation, but confrontation nonetheless." Francis Schaeffer
4. Book: To Live Is Christ, To Die Is Gain by Matt Chandler. I recently started re-reading this one from Matt Chandler. It's a great, fairly quick, read that digs into the book of Philippians. This is a good one to have as a supplement to your in-depth study of Paul's letter to the church in Phillipi.
5. Nerd Corner: Dave Filoni Interview At StarWars.com. If you call yourself a Star Wars fan & are unaware of Dave Filoni, then you may need to question your fandom. Dave is the creative force behind the Star Wars animated shows, The Clone Wars & Rebels. If you're not a big fan of the Star Wars prequel movies, I would encourage you to watch Clone Wars. It does what the prequels failed to do: make you care about Anakin Skywalker. Dave is basically the creative heir to George Lucas. He worked directly under Lucas for years & is creating some of the best content since the original trilogy. This is a great interview where Dave talks about how he became such a big fan & eventually came to work at Lucasfilm.