So it turns out that perhaps the reason I can no longer concentrate or think deeply is not because I’m preoccupied and undisciplined, but because I’ve googled my brain into oblivion (or maybe it’s a little of both). I recently heard an interesting interview on NPR with Nicholas Carr, author of The Shallows: What the [...]
The desert or the oasis
This video became intensely personal for me at about two minutes, when Bell talks about inviting people into a life we are not living. Every worship leader (really, anyone in “church work”, whether volunteer or paid) has felt this way during those weeks when everything is going wrong, every moment has been spoken for, and [...]
This Is My Father’s World recording
This Sunday we’re starting a sermon series on stewardship called “the world is Mine”. To go along with that series, I reworked the hymn “This Is My Father’s World.” I liked the feel of Aaron Niequist‘s version, but I wanted a different chord structure for the song (his structure is more traditional). The lyrics are [...]
Beauty-craving
In a post a while back I said I would write about what I called “an old-new foundation for living as creative artists in the Kingdom”. I guess this post counts as one installment in that (slightly stretched out) series. When I was on the recent missions trip to Arrowhead Bible Camp, I was again [...]
This Sunday we’re starting a sermon series on stewardship called “the world is Mine”. To go along with that series, I reworked the hymn “This Is My Father’s World.” I liked the feel of Aaron Niequist‘s version, but I wanted a different chord structure for the song (his structure is more traditional). The lyrics are a beautiful reminder of the already-and-not-yet-ness of God’s Kingdom, recognizing that in our present reality the “wrong seems oft’ so strong” and simultaneously looking forward to the day when “Jesus who died shall be satisfied, and earth and heav’n be one”. As such, I felt like it needed to move between minor and major, keeping that tension in play musically as it does lyrically. I also wanted to add a joyful crescendo at the end–a celebratory response to God’s reign.
For my friends who have been asking to hear the new guitar (a Larrivee OMV-10)–here’s your first chance. Even with cheap mics, I think it sounds pretty good. Now if I could just get a vocal mic that makes me happy… ;) (I love the Shure Beta 87C I use for live vocals, but recording is kind of a different animal.)
Anyway, before I keep blabbing, here’s the recording:
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I recently read the book The Trouble With Paris by Australian author and speaker Mark Sayers. Sayers is like a handy kid with a screwdriver, taking apart Western culture’s consumer-driven longings, addictions, and expectations and spinning the gears to see what makes us tick. In the process he invites his readers to think deeply about which reality we will choose to pursue—will we try to live in the world’s hyper-reality, or in God’s reality?
The book got me thinking about escapism, our regular attempts at using possessions, activities, people, etc. to numb ourselves, achieve a buzz, or escape from whatever reality in which we think we’re stuck. If we pay attention, we’ll notice that this drive to escape has become part of the very soul of our suburban culture (just pay attention to how many people are watching Desperate Housewives, and how many more are living the show!).
Anyway, I spoke about the topic at church last Sunday using Elijah’s escape from Jezebel and encounter with God on Mt. Horeb (1 Kings 19) as a text. You can listen if you want by clicking the play button below, or you can download the MP3 directly by clicking here.
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The audio at the beginning is a video clip we showed from the Trouble /w Paris DVD study, which you can preview or purchase from the TTWP website.
Wow, that’s a lot of hits. Ok, so it took three and a half years to get that many, but I’m still happy. :) Congrats to the 100,000th visitor… someone right here in the western suburbs of Chicago who was using a Mac and connected via Comcast. Was it you?
In other news: I’ve switched servers so the site will be more reliable. You can either go to http://www.tristanmason.com OR the real server at http://radiate.aplacetoconnect.com . Either one will work. If your bookmark or RSS reader still has “earthenjars.org” in it, please update it!
We created this video for our Good Friday service, where we showed it during a drama in which a man walks onto stage and stands staring at the advertisement-covered cross shown in the video. After a minute, he begins tearing ads off the cross, slowly at first, and then faster. As he tears off the final ads, the words “You are forgiven” are revealed beneath it all, and the man kneels at the cross.
Our creative arts team had seen a drama/video very much like this at the U-Turn conference at Faith Church in Dyer, IN, and we decided that we would try our hand at re-creating it…
Thanks to my friend Pete, I recently came across Stuart Townend‘s song “When Love Came Down” as performed by Dave Hunt on his album Love Abounds. As soon as I heard it, I knew it needed to be a part of our Good Friday service. Below are resources for the song:
-> Short sample from CD Baby:
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“When Love Came Down to Earth”
Words & music by Stuart Townend
When Love came down to earth and made His home with man
The hopeless found a hope, the sinner found a friend
Not to the powerful, but to the poor He came
And humble, hungry hearts were satisfied in Him
What joy, what peace has come to us
What hope, what help, what love
When every unclean thought and every sinful deed
Was scourged upon his back and hammered through his feet
The Innocent is cursed, the guilty are released
The punishment of God on God has brought me peace
Come lay your heavy load down at the Master’s feet
Your shame will be removed, your joy will be complete
Come crucify your pride and enter as a child
For those who bow down low He’ll lift up to His side
A few months ago, one of the leaders from GEMS (our church’s girls’ ministry) came to me and asked if I would re-record the song “Your Grace Is Enough” for them in a lower key so they could sing along with it during their meetings. The problem: They love Chris Tomlin, but he usually sings way too high for them. :)
Anyway, here is the recording. I certainly wouldn’t have picked this low a key for my voice (it’s not my “happy power range”), but the important thing was that it works for the girls. The recording was multitracked 1 or 2 tracks at a time using a M-Audio FireWire 410, the free recording software Audacity, and a few relatively cheap mics. I can’t wait until we get a Roland V-Mixer, Sonar, a sweet recording computer, and Pro Tools so we can record live. Yes, my friends, it is coming soon.
Many thanks to Josh Gill for the drums. He rocks, and that’s without rhythm-fixing plugins. Also thanks to Sharon for the background vocals – it takes her zero seconds to improvise multiple harmony parts, which is pretty cool. And last but not least, I want to thank my Boss GT-8 pedal for having sweet distortions and amp models. Heh heh
Here it be:
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