josh wilson pics

Sunday was an amazingly great day at NewPointe. We continued the UnTypical series by looking at what we can learn about untypical courage from Benaiah...but not before Josh Wilson took the stage to do some of his music (including the 3 Minute Song). He's amazing.

Here's a pic I took of him during the pre-service run-through:

After the services we headed to our favorite place to hang out with Christian recording artists like Josh Wilson and Worth Dying For...Daryl and Lee Ann Miller's. Per usual, Lee Ann put out a ridiculous spread. Here's Josh enjoying some of Teddy's famous nachos.

And this is becoming a tradition: Guitar Hero with our guest artists. Here's Josh checking out Natalie vs. Joey.

And here's Josh whoopin' on Big Dan (this, of course, will prompt Dan to leave a comment on my blog)

Later in the day we had an awesome tailgate party (before Josh's concert). And Josh jumped right in, mixing it up with everyone who came. Here's Josh playing catch with the Monkey Boy:

And the highlight of Natalie's day may have been getting to play "pickle" with Josh.

The concert was off-the-hook. Amazing. Afterwards Josh stuck around to meet everyone and sign autographs. He's just a great guy.

And after all that...we headed back to the parking lot for more tailgating...wings, ribs, you name it. Dwight indulged...

As did Josh...and Danny...and Dan...and...

Great day. Great fun. Great ministry. I love NewPointe.

this sunday: josh wilson

We've been looking forward to this Sunday for a long time Josh will be here Sunday, doing worship in both services. And then Sunday night he'll be giving a FREE concert at 7 p.m.

Here's a rundown of what's planned:

9 a.m. First Service (featuring Josh Wilson)

11 a.m. Second Service (featuring Josh Wilson)

5 p.m. tailgate party in the NewPointe parking lot (everyone invited...everyone welcome to try to beat me at corn hole--but it's not likely that you will)

7 p.m. Josh Wilson in concert (and yes, he'll be signing autographs afterwards)

Now, if you don't know who Josh Wilson is, you need to get with it. He's amazing. You can find his new single, 3 Minute Song, at the top of the Christian music charts. You can also get a big honkin' dose of JW at YouTube by clicking here.

By the way, this is cool, it's Josh taking a minute to explain what the 3 Minute Song is all about. Have a look:



And in case you're wondering, I received confirmation from Josh's people today...he WILL be doing the 3 Minute Song in both services.

It's going to be a big day at NewPointe. Don't miss any of it.

hangin' with worth dying for

Sunday was one of the weirdest days. After much anticipation, we were all set to have Worth Dying For lead worship for us at NewPointe. I showed up at the church at 7 a.m. Sunday...and found...that there was no electricity in the building. And the power company was telling us that we wouldn't get it back anytime soon. So we made the call at about 7:30 to cancel both services. The band was rolling in right about them...so we broke the news to them. Major bummer.

We did, however, head over the Daryl and Lee Ann Miller's house with the band for the most amazing breakfast experience ever.

Here's a shot (thank you Danny) of me with the band.


Here's a pic of Micah and Nathan going at it (playing Guitar Hero).


And here's how Sean Loche decided to spend a portion of his morning...

It was a blast just hangin' with the band. They told us it was great to have some time off to just chill. Before they left, we gathered together to pray with them...and then we got a brief (but good) acoustic worship set out of them (including the soon-to-be-famous Deodorant Song...written by Josh O'Haire).

You can read more about it and see more pics at Danny's blog. And you can see the rest of the Guitar Hero pics at my Facebook page.

alive!

The Bunn fam invaded the Alive Festival last night. Here are a few pics and highlights...

Ran into Lee Ann Miller's kid, Joey. I said, "Hey Joey, where's your mom? He smiled and showed me his shirt...

If you know Lee Ann, this doesn't surprise you. The truth is...we knew were Lee Ann was. She was there with Brandon Bunnelle shooting video for NewPointe. The Sunday morning announcement segment at church should be VERY interesting tomorrow.

Naomi and her friend were really getting into Thousand Foot Krutch. Yeah, TFK's soothing sounds could put anybody to sleep. NOT!
The highlight of the evening came when TobyMac hit the stage. Toby always puts on a fun show. Here's a pic (from afar):

The highlight for our kids was when they actually got to meet TobyMac (and get autographs). Lee Ann and Brandon got to meet TobyMac, too. Don't miss the announcements tomorrow! :)

worth dying for

It's official. WORTH DYING FOR will be doing the music and leading worship at NewPointe on June 29. How cool is that? Worth Dying For will be playing at the Alive Festival this week. If you're going, make sure you check them out. Want to know more about them? Here are a few quotes from the band's lead singer:

“Jesus Christ and music are the two things that consume the thoughts and lives of this band,” says 21-year-old Sean Loche, lead singer of Worth Dying For. “Combine the two, and you get what we love to do: worship. We are ordinary people that have a desire to show others how to fall in love with God in a deeper, more passionate way. The music scene today is heavily impacting our youth culture. The music that God has used us to write has changed our youth ministry and our city. Now, God has put it on our hearts to let these songs resonate in the hearts of the young people across this nation.”

“Our dream is to see lives changed,” Sean continues, “to ignite and empower them to go out and do big things… It’s not just about us playing songs, it’s about helping them connect, letting a revolution begin with them….”

“Our message is: The revolution is you… one person standing up for Christ,” Sean continues. “We have a different sense of Christianity than some do. We talk about duty, the forces of darkness and spiritual warfare, and we try to empower our kids, not to sit back but to engage, to stand up and realize that when they do that, they are empowered by the king of kings to fight the darkness. With Jesus on their side, nothing can stand against them…”

SUNDAY, JUNE 29 in both services. Don't miss it!

josh wilson at newpointe!

Danny was the first to let the cat out of the bag. I figure I might as well follow suit (now that it's totally official).

We just nailed down the details of an agreement with Josh Wilson's booking agent that will bring Josh to NewPointe for the worship services and an evening concert on Sunday, July 20.

Never heard of Josh Wilson? You will. He's a terrific new artist (just released a sweet new CD). You can find his music on i-Tunes.

Josh will also be playing at the Alive! festival in Canal Fulton next month. Here's a YouTube video of Josh to whet your appetite...

reflections from sunday

Wii had a great day at NewPointe Sunday. The theme: Wii Serve. Wii sent Lee Ann Miller with a camera crew to visit a bunch of NewPointe environments...LIVE! Wii also had a great time playing Wii on the gigantic center screen in the auditorium. How cool was that? Here's a pic of Danny and Brandon going at it during one of the services...

Yep, if you got there late, you probably missed that. If you got there late you also missed the NewPointe band opening the service with Loverboy's Workin' For the Weekend.

Here's a quick story to go with that: Monday in our weekend design team meeting, Dwight popped in to ask a question about something. I said, "Hey Dwight, you wanna know what song we're opening with Sunday?"

He said, "Yeah."

I clicked on my iTunes and cranked up the song.

Dwight listened for a few seconds and then said, "Loverboy...cool."

Okay, a couple of observations:

1. How many senior pastors anywhere could listen to 10 seconds of Workin' for the Weekend and instantly know that it's Loverboy?
2. How many senior pastors upon learning that the band intends to open a service with that song would say, "Cool."?

It's another reason why I love working at NewPointe.

secular music in church?

If you've been around NewPointe much at all, you know that it's not unusual for our band to cover a secular tune from time to time. For instance, recently they've done songs from U2, Los Lonely Boys, and Guns-N-Roses.

Occasionally, but not often, someone will question why we would bring "secular" music into a "sacred" environment. Sometimes the question is, "How am I supposed to worship to music like that?: Here are my thoughts on the subject:

We occasionally play secular music because we are trying to reach both non-Christians as well as Christians in the same service, and playing a secular, popular song up front in the service helps put people who are far from God at ease.

At NewPointe, we think that "Christian people" should be the ones who are the most uncomfortable in church--not the non-Christians. In other words, at NewPointe, we'd rather offend the Christians before offending non-Christians.

Our music selections are not pointless and random. We go to great lengths to make sure everything we do has purpose and relevance. I love the idea of "redeeming" a Guns N' Roses song--using it to ease the tension for someone and help make a connection. I'm sure Guns N' Roses never imagined that their music could pave the way for someone to connect with God...but it sure is cool what God can use to reach people.

Now, I'm not trying to over-spiritualize all this. I know you're not going to be able to "worship" to some of the music we play. But "worship" is not always our intent with every song. We want to make a connection, put people at ease, help them open their minds and their hearts, and let the Holy Spirit do His work.

tobymac and me

Back in the day (my college days), I actually used to roll with TobyMac. I met him when I was in college. Okay, we never actually "rolled" together but we did know each other a little bit.

My kids don't know whether or not to believe me...so I dug up this old photo. In case you're confused, that's me on the left. And yes, that's TobyMac on the right. Notice his affection for yours truly.

We were both A LOT younger...but, of course, I've gotten better-looking with age. Toby has gotten more wealthy with age. It's cool though. We're both still Jesus Freaks.

christmas eve drummer boy on youtube

Because I know you'll want to enjoy it again and again...(although the live version was much better)...

my 10 favorite songs done by the newpointe band

Okay...here's how it works: these are my 10 most enjoyed Sunday morning songs (Married Life Live and First Wednesdays don't count) done by our band since moving in to the new building (Dec. 3). So that's about 7 months' worth of music at NewPointe.

There have been boat loads of great songs. These are my favorites based on my recollection. From 10 to 1 (okay, I couldn't narrow it down to 10...here's my to 11):

11. For the Love of Money (The O'Jays)
10. Come and Listen (David Crowder Band) Note: this song makes the list mainly because of the creativity we attached to it. Nobody anywhere, ever, has done this song the way we did it.
9. It's Gonna Be Alright (The Imperials) It's just a great song. It's old...but still fun.
8. Big Enough (Ayiesha Woods)
7. Sing to the King (Passion Band) We've done this one many times but I never tire of it.
6. Beautiful Day (U2) You can never have enough U2 in church!
5. Glorious One (Steve Fee) This song is just anointed. What more can I say?
4. I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For (U2) See #6.
3. Made To Love (TobyMac) We did this one on Easter. It rocked the house.
2. Bring The Rain (MercyMe) Last Sunday's closer. Powerful. Amazing. God moment.
1. Fix You (Coldplay)

NewPointers, I know you're gonna wanna weigh in. Which have been your favorite songs so far? Leave a comment with your nominations. (Danny, you can play, too).

tina turner @ newpointe today!?!

Today we continued the Adventures in Missing the Point series at NewPointe. Dwight...unbelievable job. Powerful. If you missed it, you can listen to part 4 here.

Danny and the band kicked it big-time today with their 5-song set of songs about love. See, today we were talking about how we have moments of desire and mistake them for love. So, to set the mood, and to get us all in the right frame of mind, Danny and I took everyone on a little musical journey. Here is the set list in case you missed it:

1. I Want To Know What Love Is (Foreigner)
2. I Got You Babe (Sonny & Cher)
3. How Sweet It Is To Be Loved By You (James Taylor)...yes, I sang it to Jenny Bunn in the second service...but I think they muted my mic. Whatever...you butcher Desperado on stage once and they never let you forget it.
4. What's Love Got To Do With It (Tina Turner)...just let me say: Beka...wow.
5. Love Is A Wonderful Thing (Michael Bolton)

I said it on the stage and I'll say it again now...how many churches in America can you attend and get Foreigner and Tina Turner in the same service? Only one that I know of.

The Bunn fam had lunch with the Bunnelle clan and Danny and I talked about how every time we do one of those "musical montages" people come up to us with songs they wish we'd have done or songs they think we should have included. Immediately following the second service a lady hunted me down suggesting that we should have done Rod Stewart's Have I Told You Lately That I Love You. Well...we can't do 'em all. But here's your chance. Leave a comment with your favorite songs about love and who knows, maybe next time we'll use yours!

loud music in church

Apparently, NewPointe isn't the only church that gets occasional feedback about the "volume" of the music.

Check out what Elevation Church in Charlotte, NC did to alleviate the "problem":


It's an earplug dispenser. If you can't read the fine print, here's what it says:

CAUTION, loud noises ahead that could potentially damage tympanic membrane. Hearing protection is provided to you free of charge. So if you need to plug your ears, please take a pair...because we're not turning it down.

Photo credit: this dude.

quiet reverence vs. joyful noise

Sometimes we get asked why we do the kind of music we do at NewPointe. Sometimes people ask, "Could you throw in a hymn every once in a while for those of us who prefer to worship that way?"

The truth is, if we all had our personal preferences, the Sunday morning services at NewPointe would probably look very different from the way they look right now. We all have preferences. We all have things we wish the church would do differently. What we have to ask ourselves is: Am I on board with the mission and vision of the church? If you attend NewPointe, you ask: Am I on board with the mission and vision of NewPointe?

What is the mission? It's simply this: To lead people in a growing relationship with Jesus Christ through relevant environments designed to encourage intimacy with God, involvement in community, and influence in the world.

So what's that have to do with preferences? Well, maybe my personal preferences are not the best possible means by which to accomplish our mission. And at NewPointe, we've decided that we're not going to sacrifice the next generation on the altar of our preferences.

On Sunday mornings, we aim to create a relevant environment that will connect with people who view church as having nothing meaningful or worthwhile to say to them. So we design our services to speak the language of the generation we're trying to reach. In many cases, this includes your kids and grand kids.

As for the music...well, we could debate that from now until the cows come home, but as a church, we've decided to take the "joyful noise" approach over the "quiet reverence" approach.

We've found that our current generation is attracted to high-energy, exciting, colorful, multi-sensory things. Concerts, ballgames, amusement parks... Now, we're not trying to be a theme park or "put on a show" but we are trying to speak the language that our generation speaks.

Let me bring this back to the music theme I began with: I was doing some reading the other day and I read this verse (Isaiah 6:4): "At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook..." And I got to thinking, it's hard to shake doorposts and thresholds with organ music and traditional hymns. (Not that there's anything wrong with that.)

We, as church leadership, have decided that we're going to land on the "shaking doorposts and thresholds" side of things. And it has more to do with being relevant and connecting with a generation than it does anything else.

Do I wish we did some things differently at NewPointe? Sure. But I'm more concerned about reaching people for Jesus Christ. So my preferences will lose out to that every time.

I'd love to hear your thoughts.

what i've been listening to lately

If you're like me, you're always looking for good music recommendations. Here are a couple of CDs I picked up recently...I'm wearing them out:

North Point worship recorded live. The songs Glorious One and Everlasting God are two of my favorites right now. If you visit my office you're likely to hear this CD playing on my i-tunes.

By The Tree - World On Fire. I took a chance on this CD. Bought it at Berean a couple weekends ago when it was on sale. It was a good move. I love it. My favorite track is #2: I Will Follow You.


E-mail me with your music recommendations.

musically speaking

Here are a couple of CD recommendations I have. These are both new to my collection and I've been listening to both of them a lot lately:

DecembeRadio has a great sound that seems influenced by some of my favorite 80's bands but their music definately has a modern feel.

Desperation Band offers some great modern worship.

I highly recommend each.