Paul Baloche “The Same Love” Review and HUGE Giveaway

March 7, 2012 in CD's/DVD's, Review with 18 Comments

Paul Baloche “The Same Love”

Paul Baloche’s New album “The Same Love” Releases next Tues amongst lofty acclaim and in my opinion some very baffling reviews. Yes the general consensus is that it is brilliant, but I have heard too many people state that Paul is intentionally trying to not sound like…Paul.

I am a huge fan of guys like Steven Curtis Chapman that year after year, decade after decade, can change their sound based on where we are sonically in the times. People who are always trying to push the limits.

“There are a lot of songs about the Cross on this record. People are almost apologetic about it, and yet I feel challenged not to shrink from it. Our tendency is to make our language inclusive and seeker friendly. And I get that, but we also need songs that point to the truth of the new covenant.” – Paul Baloche

Paul loves to push the boundaries lyrically. He has always veered towards making songs the church could use, keeping them in the current style, but not watering down the gospel.

The only issue I have seen though is his studio recordings never captured the brilliance and anointing that came from Paul Live. I have heard many times from friends who were not fans of the CD’s but then saw Paul live and were blown away. In the past I felt the same way. There was something about the production that gave us only a “piece of Paul”. We lost the “living room” atmosphere that Paul loves to speak on.

2 weeks ago I received “The Same Love” and I exhaled one word. “FINALLY”
This is the CD from Paul I have been waiting for. Arguably the most influential worship songwriter of our time will release next tues his best CD that he has ever recorded.

Paul is joined by co-writers like Jason Ingram, Ben Gowell, Ed Kerr, All Sons & Daugters, Brothers McClurg, Lincoln Brewster, Kari Jobe and more.  Paul is the master of the co-write with many of his greatest hits written with Brenton Brown and this album illustrates more of that gifting.

Songs like “Your Blood Ran down” bring us into deep communion with the sacrifice Christ made on the Cross. It is gripping in it’s simplicity.

Of course the Title track is a knockout and a reminder of God’s faithfulness.

I used to go track by track, but honestly there is not a bad song on this CD.

I want to highlight a few more though.

“king of heaven”, co-written with Jason Ingram is earthy and almost reminiscent of a Gungor track. What’s not to like about Baloche and a banjo!

“Christ the Lord” will become the next great Easter song for the church.

“Oh Our Lord”, co-written with All Sons & Daughters is brilliant track lifting up the name of Jesus. “we reach for you;we cling to you Oh Lord”. I will be introducing this song very soon in my church.

Paul also covers “Just Say” which was Co-written with Bros. McClurg. I loved this song on their CD, but it is even better done by Paul.

Paul captures an intimate worship feel on many tracks and gives us the much sought after living room feel. There are many anthem songs on here as well that will make their way into church set list rotation everywhere soon.

Let me end with this: This is the Paul Baloche CD I have been waiting for. The Production is perfect and the writing is nothing less than remarkable.

If you are a Baloche fan you will love this album. If you are a worship leader you will spend many thoughts trying to decide if it’s ok to introduce all of these songs to your church next week. If you have never heard of Paul, GET WITH THE PROGRAM! If you have never been into Paul’s stuff keep in mind what I said above. This is the CD to listen to so jump in head first and worship along side one of the greatest.

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Because This CD is so great I am going to be giving away 3 copies of the digital cd, digital experience, and physical CD.

I have added a widget below to make it simple.

YOU MUST COMMENT BELOW.. tell me the baloche song that has ministered to you most over the years.

Then click the green button in the widget. There are many chances to have entries in to the random drawing so click the green button and tweet, like, and subscribe to RSS for entries to win these.

The Deadline is Sat at Midnight… so spread the word and get on it!!! “YOU MUST HAVE A VALID EMAIL ADDRESS IN THE COMMENTS”


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this CD free from Integrity Music to review. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Top 20 influential Albums on “MY WORSHIP STYLE”

March 5, 2012 in cd review, CD's/DVD's, Modern Hymn, modern worship with 10 Comments

Recently Worship Leader published their list of the top 20 most influential albums on worship of the past 20 years. It is a very cool list, but I walked away thinking there were a few very odd choices. Of course this kind of list is subjective, but there were people on that list that haven’t even impacted the corporate worship of the church just yet. They are too new.

As I chatted with my friend Mike Mahoney on the list and we decided that, since it was subjective to say which CD’s have influenced worship as a whole, we would instead create lists of the top Albums that have influenced our personal worship styles on and off the stage.

Here is mike’s post on it

My top 10 influential CD’s on my worship musical style

  1. Delirious: Cutting Edge – a brilliant CD and the day modern worship changed forever with the first crack of the snare in “did you feel the mountains tremble”
  2. Klaus Kuehn: Healing waters – This CD like no other just brings me into the throneroom
  3. The Choir: Love songs and Prayers – My favorite Christian band of all time with inspiring lyrics and the greatest guitar sounds
  4. At the Foot of the Cross: Vol 1 Clouds, Rain, Fire – This CD may have been the first album to mash ancient and modern worship together. With tons of different artists it meshed so many styles and still to this day sounds relevant
  5. Paul Baloche: Open the Eyes of my Heart – I was surprised this was not on the list above. This album was so rich!
  6. David Crowder Band: Illuminate – This CD introduced us to so many worship songs I still play. Hands down my favorite CD from crowder
  7. Vineyard: More than ever – A live CD with worship leader Robbie Rieder. I love all the songs on this album. “dwell” “sweetly broken” “more than ever” “bless his name” .. not a bad song
  8. Daniel Bashta: Sounds of Daniel Bashta – This CD blew my mind and I am so happy to have new prophetic “WAR” worship
  9. Misty Edwards: tie between relentless and Always on his mind – Misty stirs my soul and teaches me to listen when I lead
  10. Charlie Hall: Flying into Daybreak – Charlie was never afraid to push boundaries with his lyrics, direct it towards God and yet at same time make it accesible.
  11. Kings X: Faith Hope Love – Pure rock, melodic, and Solo’s for God. What could be better
  12. IONA: Journey into the Morn – One of those albums that somehow transport you in worship to another world.
  13. Matt Redman: Facedown – Real, authentic stripped down.
  14. Saviour Machine: Saviour Machine 1 – A christian goth CD that has taught me space, layering and power
  15. Sojourn Music: Over the Grave – The best modern workings of hymns… a perfectly crafted CD
  16. Red Letter: Red Letter Live – More modern hymns that have stylistically changed the way I play
  17. Ex Nihilo: Ex Nihilo Live - More modern hymns that have stylistically changed the way I play
  18. Brian & Jenn Johnson: We Believe – I love the sincerity of this CD and crave for this type of deep worship
  19. Sojourn Music: Split EP – Sojourn singlehandedly brought the art of folk and real doctrine worship back into my playing
  20. Phil Wickham: Singalong – The best Live worship CD of all time. one guy… one guitar and tons of people pouring out to God!

Of course there are more bands and CD’s having an impact on my worship style and will continue to, but these had the biggest impact.

How about you? What would be your top album influences on your worship style?

Are you an ark builder or a wood gatherer?

January 26, 2012 in klampert, lessons, ministry, Random chatter with 1 Comment

The year was 1995. I was off to VA to train and then work with YWAM. We had so many sessions on prayer and worship and the passing on of the “mantle” to other leaders. It was an amazing time. Eventually I was off with a small team to Kiev, Ukraine, but before I went I had a good 3 months in VA. One day we had invited a guest speaker and prophet to come to the missions school to pray over us. Prophets are scary people because you never know what they will say and they don’t seem to have a filter. This man didn’t trudge up a deep rooted sin or an unrepentant bitterness, but instead cast a vision that I will never forget.

He said “Joel…God is raising you up to become a green beret in His army. So will be doing things that have never been done before and may seem odd to others all while rescuing drowning people and pulling them into the boat.”

Wow…at the time I did not know what to do with that. That was a huge vision and one I would pray about for years. in the last 16 years of ministering in many different kinds of churches and atmospheres I have attempted to do what God has called me to do. To create things that have not been created. In essence to tap into the creativity that God has birthed in me to lead others to the hope of Christ.

Lets fast forward to 2010 where God gave me friendships with a few guys named Adam, Jack and Doug. We all had interesting visions as to what God was doing in our lives and God made some crazy things happened that created The Forge Conference. The first one was amazing and I was starting to get a glimpse what God saw as my main ministry. Then the second Forgecon God started moving people around and shifting visions and agendas and what was left was what God wanted to do and not 5 peoples separate visions mashed together. Of course that year went even better. Most recently another friend of mine, Mike Mahoney, and I hosted a Forgecon alumni get together that we called a 1day. Much like the other events it was uncharted territory for the likes of the small church.

What happened at the last event though seemed to tie 16 years of ministry up into a nice bow. While we were discussing our needs and prayer requests something came out of my mouth that I did not expect.

“God as called me to build arks”

I believe God said that through me because I had never thought of that before. Think about Noah for a second though. God asked him to build a GIANT boat because it was going to rain and flood the earth. In context though we know they most likely had not ever seen rain or even a boat. So basically God called him to create something that had never been seen before for his glory. He would guide him and help him all the while Noah built something that he didn’t understand the need for until it came time to use it.

Right then my mind flashed to the prophecy over my life in 1995 and it all clicked. God called me to create the seemingly absurd and impossible so He could do the impossible and get all the glory.

Right after that Mike Mahoney chimed in “God has called me to gather the wood and the animals”

I was floored and synapses started firing in my brain. I started to think about how many times leaders latch onto a vision and try to work in roles they were not created to do.

Noah was given the vision of building the ark. He was handed the blueprints.

Then his family jumped in with hammers, gathered wood, and slapped on the pitch. Sometimes one of his sons wold help him decipher the blueprints which may have taken more heads than one.

Some of us were meant to build arks and to create the seemingly impossible. Others were meant to gather the wood. Others were meant to administrate the team.

  • In your ministry do you know what your role is?
  • Are you letting your ceiling be somebody else’s floor?
  • Are you bringing skilled people to fill in your weaknesses?
  • Are you willing to support the vision even if you don’t get the spotlight?
  • Is God getting all the glory?
  • Does impossible vision and the mystery of God paralyze you from doing what He has asked of you?

 

Your daughter and the VAMPIRES that love them

November 18, 2011 in Random chatter with 5 Comments

It is not a secret that I have been reading about the occult and all things spiritual since I could read pretty much. I have read most of the books on “spirits”, christian and pagan and tried over the years to learn as much as I could about the topic. I have seen people possessed by demons and I have spoken to demons through a person. I have been in places that were “haunted” and know the reality of what is going on behind the spiritual curtain…

In the 90′s I got into the vampire books from Anne Rice. I read them and loved them. Somewhere within the series though it seemed to take a twist from a story to actually being evil.

My wife and I loved Buffy the Vampire slayer and Angel. It was a great show about good versus evil, but somewhere along the way, most likely for ratings sake, it began to glorify evil.

The truth is in the end we all knew this stuff was evil and we justified why it was ok to be wrapped in media with it.

Recently I was talking to a friend who loves the Paranormal Ghost shows. She told me it was “just plain fun”. My answer to her was that there is a line we Christians love to cross and if she was ever actually in a haunted house she would feel different about the show.

I have been really focused on the power of our praise and the battle that there is in the spiritual realm over our attention and ultimately our souls. I am becoming concerned because it seems to me that we used to watch and be involved with stuff fully knowing it was evil, but doing it anyway justifying along the way. Now we are involved with stuff and are so desensitized that we have forgotten that what we are involved with is just plain wrong.

I am a guy who loves fantasy and fiction probably more than most people, but we as a society have crossed a line where we glorify Satan and it is messed up.

Last week I was on a youth retreat leading worship for a few churches. I was amazed how many kids spoke more about “Twilight” than they did about anything else. There was a kid there who looked like the vampire character and because of that all the girls were all over him. They said he “sparkled”!! We all laughed and thought it was kinda funny, but then in worship I could not shake how crazy that is. Not only have we forgotten just how evil these things are but our “daughters” are fawning over dudes that look like vampires. Nothing says I love you like a sparkling bloodsucking demon guy.

You as a reader may say I’m taking this too far and it’s innocent. Again I love fantasy, but I love Good versus evil and GOD coming out on top because it mirrors what real life is like. However society has twisted it where it is evil versus evil and we end up rooting for one of the evil sides and then are convinced they are good.

This youth retreats conversations, while innocent, kind of woke me up to the realization that the church is not aware that we fight against principalities and rulers in the spiritual realm. The Key part of that phrase is that there is a “SPIRITUAL REALM” and while we can’t see it angels and demons battle around us daily.

Just because you have not smoked crack does not mean you don’t know what it can do to you. I will say the same thing that just because you have not encountered a demon doesn’t mean you should play around with things that are overtly glorifying Evil.

“Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable–if anything is excellent or praiseworthy–think about such things.” Philippians 4:8

I admonish you Christians to tune into the Holy Spirit and discern right from wrong, what is or is not beneficial, and what glorifies God or Satan. In the end we have already won the battle, but daily we still fight.

Ascent from Darkness by Michael Leehan Book Review

November 17, 2011 in blogging, Books/Magazines, Review with 0 Comments

Ascent from Darkness
How Satan’s Soldier Became God’s Warrior
By:Michael Leehan

I recently got this book from the Blogging for Books program with Thomas Nelson. I did not know what to expect, but judging from it’s description I had I feeling I would be in for a wild ride. Crazy enough the day I received the book I went to the ER for a false alarm and had to sit in a bed with an IV for almost 6 hours. That is where I started the book. The next morning I woke up and neglected the things I needed to do and had it finished in 2 more hours. I could not put this book down.

I have read many books on the occult, satanists, and spiritual warfare, but something about this book was different. The way Michael told his story was riveting and also disturbing. It is a true story of a man whose life spirals into utter turmoil when he rejects Christ and literally sells his soul to Satan. Michael goes through a journey of torment from demons, satanic rituals, killings, drugs, sex and everything in-between. The devil tells him to destroy the church by infiltrating it, sleeping with the women and confusing the men. The book takes us through his whole life and how he handled those issues and that later he is instructed by Satan to kill pastor of lifechurch.tv, Craig Groeschell.

In the end there is redemption and Christ turns everything on it’s head.

At the risk of this review acting as a spoiler I don’t want to go far into describing this story. I LOVED IT. There are so many instances that really had me think harder about the spiritual realm that I had not before. The fact that when he tried to destroy churches he could not be in the room during worship really floored me because it was a testament to how powerful our praise really is.

Then his transformation…WOW! Now that was just amazing how God showed himself and the battles he could see.

I think if you can handle some disturbing “images” that everybody should read this book. We need a reminder of how great the transforming power of Christ is. We need to remember that there is another world that we don’t spend enough time thinking about. We need to be focused on the battle daily. Go read this book!

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
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