Back to Music Education

When I was in high school, a lot of people would ask what I want to do in life. I knew I would be heading to college (that was a given for me), but I wasn't quite sure what I would do there. But the last couple of years in high school helped steer me in the direction of teaching - and specifically teaching music.

College arrived and I loved it. I loved the music education, I loved the activities (BSU), I loved the atmosphere. Unfortunately I hit a speed bump in the last year or so of college life - which changed things a bit. Fortunately, I was still able to get a degree in music. And the best thing was that it helped direct us towards serving in ministry in the Northwest. (Have we mentioned we love the Northwest?)

A few years of college ministry, a couple of church plants, and a seminary degree later, we are still loving the Northwest and excited about what the next chapter holds.

Well, I am excited to say that we know a little more of what that will look like. Starting this Fall, I'll be teaching music at Cascade Christian Schools at the Fredrickson Elementary campus. Elementary music! I love it! 250 kids, K-6. We're going to have a blast! One of the really cool parts will be working with the worship team for chapel services. I love developing worship leaders - and this is starting at the very beginning. It's going to be a great year!

I feel that in a lot of ways, I'm coming full circle. Getting back into one of the things I love, while still being able to serve God in the local church as well. I'm excited & we'll keep you updated on how things go.

1 Day and Counting

Well, today is actually the first day of the CMS. Tim Hughes will be joining us tomorrow on the second day of the conference. I'm pumped! It's going to be a great time of worship and learning. I'll post an update here after the conference to fill you in on some of the excitement.

One of the things God has been teaching me lately:
In our busy world, it's easy to loose track of the most important things. Especially in ministry, it's so easy to get distracted by all the things that need to get done, we forget Who it is that we are actually serving. My prayer: May we always remember the sacrifice that was made so that we might live & may we never loose the wonder.

Lord, this heart must sing of all the You have done for me
The beauty of the cross, the greatness of Your loss
So I'll thank You for the day when You washed my sin away

Help me understand just what it mean for You, Jesus
The Holy King of all upon a sinner's cross
So I'll thank You for the day when You washed my sin away

I will never loose the wonder of the blood You shed for me
There could be no greater love than this through all eternity
So I'll thank You for the day when You washed my sin away

Tim Hughes - Never Loose the Wonder

2 Days and Counting

Here's a funny Tim Hughes video I thought I would share. Enjoy!

Click here, or see below:

3 Days and Counting

The CMS is just around the corner and things are getting busy. We've also got our next preview service coming up in less than two weeks. In addition, I have the Northwest Baptist Convention next week as well. Both conferences should be good, but it's requiring me to get a lot of the work done now, on the front side of things.

Needless to say, life is BUSY!

So in the light of all my busyness, here's a song I'd like to share:

Tim Hughes - Beauty of Your Peace

Your voice has stilled the raging storms
The wind and rain bow down before
Your still small voice brings hope to all
Who wait on You, we'll wait for you
To lead us to the place where You'll restore our souls
And all our earthly strivings come to cease

Take from our souls the strain and stress and let our ordered lives confess
The beauty of Your peace, the beauty of Your peace

4 Days and Still Counting

Light of the world, You stepped down into darkness
Opened my eyes, let me see
Beauty that made this heart adore You
Hope of a life spent with You

Here I Am to Worship

5 Days and Counting

The CMS is this weekend and I am really looking forward to it! It's a time of great training by some of the best around and some times of great worship as well.

And if you haven't heard, or haven't read our blog in a few days, Tim Hughes will be there. I've never heard him lead live before, but his music is amazing and I've been told he is one of the most humble guys around. If you're not familiar with his music, I'd highly recommend it. I know I'll be picking up his latest CD at the conference.

Here's a little taste of one of his songs. Undoubtedly you'll recognize the words, I think I was probably 3 when I first learned them.

Enjoy!

6 Days and Counting

Nothing in this World

I love the simplicity of this song. It's unassuming drive just keeps moving, almost as if it were a song with no ending or begining - it just is.

Each of the four living creatures had six wings and was covered with eyes all around...Day and night they never stop saying:
"Holy, holy, holy
is the Lord God Almighty
who was, and is, and is to come." (Rev. 4:8)

And Lord, how I need You
Jesus, I need You - You are the One who satisfies
You are the One who satisfies

7 Days and Counting

Consuming Fire

The first time I heard the opening words to this song, I was blown away:

There must be more than this Oh, Breath of God, come breathe within

How many times in life do I allow the stuff of earth to get in the way? I think, if I could just have this or that, or if this were to happen then...

I get so wrapped up in my own little world that I forget there is something greater out there - or rather, Someone greater.

Psalm 8 says it all: (taken from the Message)

1 God, brilliant Lord, yours is a household name.

2 Nursing infants gurgle choruses about you; toddlers shout the songs That drown out enemy talk, and silence atheist babble.

3-4 I look up at your macro-skies, dark and enormous, your handmade sky-jewelry, Moon and stars mounted in their settings. Then I look at my micro-self and wonder, Why do you bother with us? Why take a second look our way?

5-8 Yet we've so narrowly missed being gods, bright with Eden's dawn light. You put us in charge of your handcrafted world, repeated to us your Genesis-charge, Made us lords of sheep and cattle, even animals out in the wild, Birds flying and fish swimming, whales singing in the ocean deeps.

9 God, brilliant Lord, your name echoes around the world.

What an awesome call to declare the greatness of our God.

(By the way, if you listen closely to end of the recording, you'll hear another one of my favorite worship leaders, Christy Nockels).

8 Days and Counting

Beautiful One

9 Days and Counting

In the days leading up to the CMS, I thought I'd share a little about Tim Hughes who will be one of the main worship leaders at the conference. In yesterday's post, I shared about his song "When the Tears Fall." You can find the song here on iTunes.

Here is another song that has challenged me to really live out my faith. Two verses really stand out to me:

Micah 6:8, He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.

James 1:27, Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

How many times have I walked out of a worship service, singing the songs, only to drive right past someone in need on the street? It's not enough to simply sing the songs or read the words, I've got to live it out. What that looks like might be different for you and me, but the needs are there & they are real. What are we going to do about it?

God of Justice

10 days and counting

I'm pumped! Why? 'Cause in 10 days I'll get to see one of my favorite worship leaders. Tim Hughes will be in Washington state leading worship at the CMS, and I am super-excited!

I love his heart-felt lyrics and his willingness to ask the hard questions. Take his song "When the Tears Fall" for example:

I've had questions without answers
I've known sorrow, I have known pain
But there's one thing that I'll cling to:
You are faithful, Jesus, You're true

When hope is lost, I call You Savior
When pain surrounds, I call you Healer
When silence falls, You'll be the song within my heart

This has been one of the songs that has carried me through some of the tough times. Of course not all his songs are as heavy as this one (see the videos below), but some really great stuff - especially his last two albums.

On a slightly lighter note, check out these videos. For those humorously inclined, watch this one:


For those who take the slightly more serious route, you'll enjoy this one:

The world's about to change

Saturday night was amazing! Unbelievable!

And what exactly happened on Saturday night? The David Crowder Band. @ the Moore Theater. In Seattle. One word. Amazing!

One minute were laughing & having a great time, the next moment were being challenged out of our socks (literally). Afterwards we headed over to Red Robin and shared some great burgers and fries with our friends Aaron & Amy. We couldn't stop talking about it. Man, what a great concert.

The best part, though, for me came at the end. They closed with their final song of their latest album - Remedy. It's been playing through my head ever since

Where there is pain
Let us bring grace
Where there is suffering
Bring serenity
For those afraid
Let us be brave
Where there is misery
Let us bring them relief

And surely we can change
Surely we can change
Oh, surely we can change
Something

Finally!!! Remedy is Here (for real this time)!

OK, so Remedy finally arrived on our doorstep on Saturday afternoon. Needless to say, we (specifically I) were very excited. I think I've listened to it about 10 times through now & I must say it was definitely worth the wait. Great stuff!

A few of my fav's:

The Glory of It All - a great song of redemption. This song captured me when I first heard it back in the Spring. In the midst of a dark time, the Lord speaks renewal.

After all our hands have wrought, he forgives...
...for the rescue of us all, that we may live.
After all falls apart, He is there

After night comes a light, dawn is here, dawn is here. It's a new day! Oh, everything will change, things will never be the same, we will never be the same, we will never be the same...

Can You Feel It? -

Can you feel it? The love in this place, can you feel it? The grace in this place, can you feel it?

Our God is here. Our God is here. Our God is here.

Never Let Go - Another great song! I first heard this at the Thirsty Conference in May of this year. The chorus has been playing in my head ever since. What an awesome reminder that even in the midst of the hard, ugly, trying times in life that there is a God who deeply cares about us. He has not forgotten us. He is right there. We just need to hold on. Hold on!

It reminds me of Psalm 23: "Even when I walk through the valley of deepest darkness, You are there."

When clouds veil sun, and disaster comes. Oh, my soul. Oh, my soul.
When waters rise and hope takes flight. Oh, my soul. Oh, my soul.
Ever faithful, ever true. You are known, You never let go.

You never let go, You never let go, You never let go.
You never let go, You never let go, You never let go.

Not to mention hearing the Nug tear it up on We Will Not Be Quiet. Good stuff all around! I think I could listen to this CD nonstop (oh, wait - that's what I have been doing...).

Remedy is Here (well, sorta...)

Remedy has arrived and I am loving it (one song at a time - no really, one song at a time). You see, I'm one of those crazy people who decided it was of utmost importance to acquire the CD as soon as possible - so I pre-ordered it (many, many weeks ago - so long ago I've lost count - plus we're supposed to get some sort of surprise or something fun along with the CD - it should be quite interesting...). The only problem is that it hasn't arrived yet. I mean it has, but it hasn't. Confused yet? Here, let me explain...

You see, while I do not technically have the CD in my possession (I'm sure USPS is exercising great caution to assure the safe arrival of my new-found-friend on its journey from Waco), I have mangaged to discover a work-around that, well, works at least. About six months ago, I discovered something amazing - Rhapsody - it's really quite wonderful! It costs me nothing, yet gives me 25 free plays per month (we're talking the whole song, yeah!) - did I mention its free?

Now in most cases this is more than enough play time to allow me to "try out" an album to see if it meets my sonic expectations. But unfortunately, this is not near enough plays to adequately make it through a David Crowder CD as playing a Crowder CD requires at least 3 plays (I said, at least 3 plays) per song.

In comes: The Rhapsody Work-Around. I'm not quite sure who tipped me off to this little feat of musically trickery, but I love it! (especially when it comes to the joy of listening to my new favorite CD - granted I'm only half-way through, but I'm pretty sure it will be right up at the top staring down at all my other lovely CDs (and a few not so lovely - but I'm not naming any names)). Here's how it works, it's really quite simple: When you get near the end of the song, you simply go back to the beginning.

Really, it's that simple. And so you can listen to the song over and over and over...and over again. And here's the really great part, Rhapsody only takes off one credit of my coveted 25 song count. It's quite beautiful (for my ears that is - otherwise I might be forced to listen to something quite non-pleasing - or at least not quite as pleasing...).

Thus explaining how I am only half-way through the newest Crowder Band collection. Two hours down and I'm officially halfway through the CD (with 11 plays to go). Man, I'm making great progress! Did I mention this stuff is good!

OK, enough talk. Now you. Yes you. Go buy this CD. It will make your ears smile! Trust me, you'll thank me later.

Happy Crowdering!

Church on the Hill

The website for our church is just about ready, but I thought I would give you guys a sneak preview. You can also check out the latest happenings at our church's blog.

Check it out & drop us a line!

DCB did it again!!!

Those crazy guys at the David Crowder Band never cease to amaze me. Not only does their music rock but they have a great heart which comes through in so many of their songs. Recently I discovered something that had me confused for quite some time. (disclaimer: I'm not always the quickest of guys, so if you already had figured this out cut me some slack).

For those who are familiar with the CD "Can You Hear Us?" will know that the final track has almost 3 minutes of silence in the middle of it followed by a version of "You Alone" - only this version comes in over half-way through the song. Odd, isn't it? At least I've always thought so.

When their latest full-length CD ("A Collision or 3+4=7") was released, I discovered another peculiarity. In the CD liner was this note: "The wait has been long and the pace quite slow - part 1 is located at www.davidcrowderband.com/youalonenumberone." Really? What does that mean? So I headed over to my computer, entered the address and discovered a rather scaled back version of "You Alone". The interesting part is that the vocals end shortly into the song - as if something were missing. Missing? Indeed.

Now this is where I sat stumped for quite some time (a period of months I must confess). During this time I heard rumors of a new version of "You Alone" that was quite secret (I assumed it was the scaled back version I had found - interesting, but nothing to get terribly excited about).

Then I got to thinking, and did a little experimenting and discovered something quite profound. If you go to www.davidcrowderband.com/youalone2, you get an interesting surprise. There for my enjoyment was another segment of the aforementioned song. Apparently, if you play this version of the song simultaneously with the one on the "Can You Hear Us?" CD, they form one piece (instructions are given but the timing is a bit challenging).

Now add in the third version of the song and (are you ready?!) you get an entirely new version of the song (I know, I know - I get excited about the simplest of things sometimes). Needless to say I was quite beside myself when I discovered this (this is, after all, one of my favorite songs). Go ahead, give it a shot at combining the different elements. Or, to save you the trouble, you can click here to listen to the full new version of the song.

Enjoy!

At last, the long awaited news

For the past couple of months, many of you have been praying with us as we decide what the future holds for us. We are so grateful for all of you and the prayers offered up on our behalf. Things have just recently fallen into place and so I'd like to share a little bit about what our future looks like.

But first a quick recap of what has brought us to where we are:

In 2002, Tina and I began feeling the call to go into full-time ministry and the opportunity to serve as missionaries with the North American Mission Board came up. We went through the interview process that Fall and were appointed to serve as US/C-2 Missionaries in Tacoma, WA. Our primary role would be to minister to the collegiate community in the Tacoma area.

In May 2003, we packed up our belongings and headed West (we celebrated our first anniversary en route). We arrived June 1 and for the next 3 years we served as collegiate ministers in Tacoma.

During this time, we were also actively involved with our church, Discovery Community Church. Both Tina and I served on the worship team as well as leading a small group. Discovery became our family away from home. We also saw our family grow by one during this time. On November 11, 2004, Elizabeth Ann Gray (Ellie) joined the ranks of the Gray clan. (We were just a little bit excited...) Michael also began attending Seminary at Golden Gate BTS as well during this time.

The time flew by and before we knew it, we were looking at the end of our three years of service. We spent a great deal of time praying and seeking God's will. The opportunity came up to join the staff of Discovery in helping launch a new service in the western part of Tacoma (Discovery West). In June 2006, I joined the staff of Discovery alongside some really great people. Through this time we connected with some really close friends and enjoyed the time launching this new service.


In May 2007, we began sensing God leading us to another change, so in June of this year I stepped down from my role on staff with Discovery. We weren't sure exactly what God was leading us to, but we knew we had to be faithful in this.

We've spent the summer in a great deal of prayer and in the meantime I also picked up a paper route. It's been a challenging time for us, but it's also been full of really great memories for our family.

SayWA! (updated)
Originally uploaded by www.DaveWard.net

And this brings us to our latest news. After several months of praying, we've decided to stick around a bit longer in the great Northwest. Starting in August, we'll be helping launch a new church plant in the community of Bonney Lake. The new church (Church on the Hill) will begin holding monthly services this Fall with weekly services beginning in January. My primary role will be leading worship and helping coordinate the weekend service, and working alongside the lead pastor (Russ Peters). This will also give me the opportunity to finish up with my seminary degree.

We're looking forward to what the next few years will bring and we're excited to serve a great God (one who is infinitely bigger than any of our problems - yet He still takes time to step down into our world and show us his steps).

Thanks for taking a little time out of your busy day. Make sure to check back here frequently for future updates, pics, and random reflections.

God bless!

Rescue is Coming, chapter 2

This song has been playing in my head for quite some time. I thought I'd share it with you.



After night, comes a light
Dawn is here, dawn is here
It's a new day, it's a new day
Everything will change
Things will never be the same
We will never be the same
We will never be the same

Rescue Is Coming

There's darkness in my skin
My cover's wearing thin, I believe
I'd love to start again
Go back to innocent and never leave

Don't give up now
A break in the clouds
We could be found

Rescue is coming
Rescue is coming
Rescue is coming
Rescue is coming

David Crowder Band

which comes first?

Which comes first, the Great Commission or the Great Commandment? I recently read a blog that posed that very question and it has got me thinking.

Are we to first live out the Great Commission (go therefore to all nations, making disciples...) or are to we first to love the Love the Lord our God with all our hearts, soul and mind? And let's not forget about the Second Great Commandment (Love Our Neighbors as Ourselves).

At least chronologically, the Great Commandment obviously comes first (Matthew 22 vs. Matthew 28) - but even in practice it just makes more sense. How can you make disciples if you don't first love the Lord? Worship is what we are talking about here. Yes, service is important, but first and foremost is worship. "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and all your soul, and all your mind."

When our worship is true, it burns in our heart the desire to live out the rest of the equation ("Love your neighbor as yourself") & it also gives us the burning passion to "go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you." It's also important to note that this Commission is bookended by the power and presence of God. It's Christ in us.