My good friends, Eric and Katie Weaver, have started a new blog that you’ll want to check out. I like their focus on slowing down to see glimpses of God’s grace throughout the day. They also bring a unique perspective on parenting as they homeschool their five kids. Subscribe to the blog here.
I’m excited to spread the word about my friend, Zach Nielsen’s first official jazz release. Zach is a gifted leader and musician. Here’s what he has to say about his first recording:
It’s a five song EP called “Songs in a Minor Key”. This recording took place this past spring in Albuquerque, NM with some of the best musicians the city has to offer. It is far from perfect (what jazz recording is?) but I think you’ll find some rich moments throughout that will peek your interest and engage your ear.
Recording jazz is a very different process than my pop/rock recording experience in the past. In jazz, all the musicians play together and we do a few takes and simply choose the best one of three or fours takes. With a rock recording you usually analyze every square inch of the recording and slave over all the minutiae. Not so with jazz. We attempt to capture a performance that is rich with energy and life but perfection is not the goal. Communication, interaction, and artistic expression are the goals and I think those goals were met in these short recording sessions.
For some, jazz is esoteric and obtuse. To the unacclimated, it can sound like random noise that is challenging to listen to for extended periods of time. For that reason I recorded a couple songs that most people will recognize. The recording kicks off with my arrangement of Nirvana’s “Come As You Are” and later on you’ll find The Police’s famous hit, “Message In A Bottle”. In my experience, if people hear a simple melody that they recognize it greatly increases their enjoyment and overall listening experience. I hope that is the case for you as you encounter this recording.
The remaining three tracks are jazz standards from many decades ago. First, “Nardis” is a Miles Davis tune made famous by one of my piano heros, Bill Evans. Second, there is a lesser known Wayne Shorter tune that I learned back in college called, “Black Nile” and finally another jazz standard called, “Beautiful Love”.
I am excited to release this recording today and if you would be willing, please pass this info along to anyone you might think would appreciate it.
It can be purchased exclusively on iTunes and AmazonMP3. Take a moment and click over to either site and listen to some clips. If you would be willing, pass the links along via the various mediums of social media (Facebook, Email, Twitter, Blogs, etc). Here are the links you would need to share:
AmazonMP3 – http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0040G85RA/wwwtakeyourvi-20
iTunes - http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/songs-in-a-minor-key/id387646141
Recording Credits:
Zach Nielsen – Piano
Michael Glynn – Bass
Ian Byrd – Drums on Come As You Are and Message in a Bottle
Arnoldo Acosta – Drums on Black Nile, Nardis, and Beautiful Love
Chris Saiers – Audio Engineer
Mike Mulliniks – Mixing Engineer
Bryan Lopez – Cover Design
Ben Moore – PhotographyThanks to Fernando Ortega for letting me use his piano!
Tim Challies recently interviewed my friend, Justin Taylor about his life and family, blogging, and publishing.
Found this old college picture of Kyle Fever, me, Justin Taylor and Dustin Shramek (click to enlarge). Who do you think has changed the most? This picture was taken right before us four guys took our future wives (all roommates – Laura Rohwedder-Fever, Jaime Friesenborg-Wolter, Lea Ostapoff-Taylor and Kellie Montag-Shramek) out for a fun night in downtown Waterloo, IA.
If you were along for the ride, do you remember what we did? I have this faint recollection of going to some rodeo in some convention center!? And why am I the only one sportin’ the tie?
Only a handful of people have come into my life and impacted me up close. Yes, I can point to pastors like John Piper and C.J. Mahaney who have had a profound influence on my life from afar. But only a few have invested their lives into my life becoming like a father to me in the gospel (1 Cor. 4:15). One of those men is Jim Luebe.
I met Jim as a college student at the University of Northern Iowa. As a relatively new believer in Christ, he took an interest in me and saw in me the potential for leadership. I remember sitting down with him one day and him turning to Joshua 1:9 which says, “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous! Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” He looked at me and said that God had called me to lead just like Joshua. So I needed to be strong and courageous knowing that He would be with me! Hearing those words propelled me to take action and be the man God made me to be.
Jim also started a small group bible study with me and 3 other guys. I think he affectionately called us “The Four Horsemen.” We met in the mornings on campus and studied through different books of the Bible. We prayed together and were accountable to each other. We also spent time with him in his home. Jim intentionally let us see into his life, his marriage, his struggles, and even his sin. But his heart was not mainly that we know him; he wanted us to know Christ! Specifically, he wanted me to know the basics of living for Christ – The Word, Prayer, Fellowship, and Witnessing. But he didn’t just teach these things, he lived them out. He never asked me to do anything he hadn’t done first — and that principle of leadership has stuck with me. Jim is also a man of vision. And he gave me opportunities to lead with vision. Most older guys don’t give younger guys the freedom to fail. Jim did. And in doing so, I learned to dream big and believe God could do great things — more than I could ask or think (Eph. 3:20).
And I’d be remiss to not mention how Jim showed me the importance of family. He loves his wife and his boys. I didn’t think about that very much as a college student, but now I do, having been married for 12 years with 3 kids of my own. Little did he know that he was giving me a model of how to put my wife and kids first in the midst of ministry.
Some of you know that Jim is now the Collegiate Director for the U.S. Navigators. He and his sweet wife (Beth) continue to invest their lives into college students with a desire that they might become lifelong laborers in Christ’s kingdom. Sometimes I can still hear Jim’s distinct voice in the back of my mind telling me about a friend of his that he described as “a faithful laborer over time.”
Yes, only a handful of people come into our lives and impact us up close. Jim Luebe is one of those people for me. And my prayer is that I would be that for others in my life and ministry.
*Read this article he wrote to collegiate grads about true success in college ministry
It’s been a long time since we’ve seen so many cinderella teams make it this deep into the NCCA tournament. But that’s what March Madness is all about, right! There’s nothing like seeing the little, no-name programs like Northern Iowa (my alma mater!) defeat the traditional, mighty powers like Kansas. But all this “madness” got me thinking. Why do we love the underdog? Why do we love rooting for the little guy? I think it’s because we see ourselves in the story of these cinderella teams. We identify with the “Davids” because we are weak in and of ourselves. Not many of us are naturally gifted to do great things. But all of us want to be a part of doing something great.
Ironically, this is God’s pattern for showing His greatness. “He chooses the foolish things in the world to shame the wise; he chooses what is weak in the world to shame the strong; what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are” (1 Cor. 1:26-28). God takes delight in choosing the weak things of the world to show His strength. He loves choosing the small things to show forth his greatness and power.
We see this in Scripture, don’t we? God chose little Israel. God chose little Moses. God chose little Gideon. And God chose little David. We could go on and on to show how God chose the “underdogs” to carry out his plan. But why did God choose them? Answer: “so that no human being might boast in the presence of God” (1 Cor. 1:29). To say it positively, God did it so that we would be humbled. That we would know that His glory is seen most powerfully in humility.
The greatest picture of glory seen in humility is Jesus. Jesus was the ultimate underdog. He came as a tiny baby from the little town of Bethlehem. He worked in obscurity as a humble carpenter. He grew to be a poor man despised by the world and betrayed by his friends. And he died a humble death on a cross. But there was victory. Victory and glory seen through humility.
I love the line from one song that says, “Who would’ve thought that a lamb could rescue the souls of men?” That lamb is our Victor. That’s our Champion. The lamb who was slain. The Savior who came out of nowhere to defeat the greatest opponent ever-sin and death. And we will spend eternity in awe of this humble, crucified King.
So, why do we love the underdog? Because we follow the One who lived humbly, suffered greatly, and died horribly, but now reigns in victory.
Twenty years ago my alma mater UNI (#14 seed) upset Missouri (#3 seed). This year they went 28-4 as champions of the MVC conference and ready to make some noise in the NCCA Tournament. Can’t wait for the madness to begin!
Dustin S, friend and fellow UNI grad, on Kurt Warner’s retirement:
He retired yesterday from what is probably a Hall of Fame career. Everyone that knew anything about him also knew that he is a Christian. He is not shy about his faith at all. It is part of who he is. The following paragraph from Seth Wickersham at espn.com struck me when I read it:
Thanks for the religion. Some athletes give their life to Jesus Christ as a PR move; some are ripe with hypocrisy; some just say offensive things. Warner always expressed his faith without trivializing it or us.
Kurt Warner lived his life as a follower of Jesus Christ in a way that garnered respect from others. He didn’t trivialize Jesus or people. We can communicate the things we believe most deeply in a way that others thank us. I don’t know Wickersham’s religious views, but this tells me that Kurt Warner is a man of peace. May I be one too.
Did you know that before Between Two Worlds (and WhatsBestNext and His Peace Upon Us) my friends Justin Taylor, Matt Perman, and Dustin S, were running a website back in their college years? I forgot all about it, until recently I did a google search and it took me there.
The site is called, Contend for the Faith. As you browse through these articles written 10+ years ago, you can see God’s hand on these brothers’ lives. And you can also see their obvious love for John Piper before he became so well-known in the evangelical world.
All of these guys impacted me in different ways and continue to do so. It gives me joy to give them a “shout out” today and remind them of the evidences of grace I’ve observed in them throughout the years. Keep doing what your doing, fellas! To God be the Glory.
It was a privilege to have my friend, Justin Taylor, come to preach at my church and speak at our Pastor’s Conference this week. We had a good time hanging out and encouraging one another in the gospel. One of the things I appreciate most about Justin is that he makes you feel bigger in his presence … which is hard to do since he’s a pretty big guy! But Justin genuinely thinks of others as better than himself. It’s evident in the way he lives and the way he blogs, always pointing to others and deflecting attention away from himself even though he’s a gifted writer and thinker himself.
Here’s the two messages he preached at our church. Justin did a great job teaching on the familiar parable in Luke 15 comparing and contrasting the two lost sons and bringing out good gospel application. And his message on adoption (spirtual and physical) was very helpful, providing a needed challenge for the church.
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