Don't Get in That Limo!

If you don't think music is very important maybe you should watch this video. Its amazing how much music does to set the tone to the things we see. This is the opener to Diff'rent Strokes without the peppy music (written, I believe by one multi-talented Alan Thicke). Turns out, Alan Thicke is much more important than we thought.

Don't get in that limo Gary! Protect your brother Todd!



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Wellspringchurch.tv On TV

We finally got the video of Trey on the news. We actually made it on the 4, 5, and 6 o'clock news today. Pretty cool. I like the handsome guy with the earrings the best. He's hawt. I don't know about everyone else who was there but it wasn't my first brush with the law if you know what I'm saying. Just the first time I didn't run when the law got there.

Next stop, Oprah.


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Easter Sunday, the Police, and The News


Wow, what a week. We have had a lot going on here in Myrtle Beach in the last couple of days. As many of you know, our band was shut down on Sunday morning by the police and we had to do an acoustic worship set for Easter. It turned out to be great although I really wanted to play with the awesome band that had been assembled. The police were nice and didn't want to shut us down but they had jobs to do. Well, today Trey did an interview with a reporter from WMBF News (our local NBC affiliate) about Sunday. Its going to air tonight at 4pm and possibly later depending on how slow the news day is. When I can, I hope to post a video of the interview. I'll keep you posted.


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The Decline and Fall of Christian America


This morning I read an incredible article in the latest issue of Newsweek by John Meacham entitled The Decline and Fall of Christian America. Click Here to read the entire article. In it, he outlines the decreasing number of Americans who claim religious affiliation and namely Christianity. While, two thirds of Americans still claim to be "born again" (a number the cynic in me considers dubious), we have definitely been witness to an increasingly secular culture in the past decade. Christianity isn't disappearing but its political influence is. Meacham proposes that "the Christian God isn't dead. But he's less of a force in U.S. politics and culture than at any other time in recent memory." Now we know that God has as much influence on politics as he wants. Contrary to what a lot of Christians think, if God had wanted John McCain or Mike Huckabee to win, he would have made it so. He's ALL POWERFUL! (This also means if he wanted any or all countries to have Christian governments, they would). But what Meacham means is that the influence of those who follow God is less in politics than any other time. To me, this may not be such a bad thing.

I have always been very suspicious of those who focus their religious fervor toward legislating their beliefs. You see, I believe that its not our job to remove all temptation and to force people into obedience. True belief comes from a change of heart not a change of circumstances. I actually read about this last night in a completely unrelated booklet by Mark Driscol called Porn Again Christian about resisting the temptation of sexual sins. When speaking of whether or not to discontinue you Internet, cable TV, etc., he says,
the problem is in your heart and not in your Internet provider. Paul is clear in Colos­sians 2:20–23 that legalistic man-​made rules may sound helpful but in the end are worthless in restrain­ing sin because they only address outward behaviors while neglecting inward causes. It may be wise for some men to not have cable television or an unfiltered Internet provider, but unless their heart changes, they will simply rearrange the flesh and stop one sin to be­gin another, such as being proud of their morality once they have stopped looking at porno. Whatever you do, begin with your heart.

I believe the same thing applies to making religious principles into law. We've not addressed the real problem. The real problem is that we live among people who have no clue what a relationship with Jesus looks like and so they live in perpetual sin. Trying to go the political route is LAZY. People who do this and similar things are too afraid to have a real conversation about Jesus Christ with a person, so they try to force it on them through legislation. This is similar to people who hand you a tract and walk away. Where does the tract go? In the trash. Being a Christ-follower is about loving people enough to have face to face conversations about how Jesus changed your life, not about trying to "rebuild" a "Christian Nation" that in all honesty never existed in the first place.

My hope is that eventually all of this change in our political and cultural landscape will lead to Christians getting back to the basics. Love God, Love others. Jesus repeatedly refused to use the systems of this world to spread the Good News, but many believers devote their lives to it. If Christian means little Christ, what the heck are they thinking?

In all honesty, the "Christian Right Political Activists" make my job harder. They may have great intentions but they are turning more people off to the message of Jesus than the churches with their priorities straight can turn to Jesus. They are unknowingly stifling the efforts of those who wish to see those around them have a real relationship with Jesus Christ.

I believe that the less political Christianity becomes, the more people will turn to Jesus. Just look at what happened when religious dissenters left the oppressive European monarchies that forced religion on their people. Evangelical Christianity flourished where it was separated from the state. We will never be able to separate our Christian beliefs from our politics because true faith in Christ reaches into every aspect of our lives, but we should fight to keep it separate from state because state instituted religion is a two way street and if it becomes a one way street it goes the way of the government (See China). What do you think?


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Easter Is Going to Be Crazy Good


Well I've spent the last few weeks trying to pull together some great musicians for our first sneak preview services at Wellspring this Easter. I'm really excited about it. We will be having church outside under a tent. We will also have a full band of super-talented musicians. I also spent some time putting together our Easter iMix on iTunes so that our launch team can download the songs we'll be singing on Easter, listen to them, and then sing their hearts out on Easter. Click Here to download the Experience Easter iMix on iTunes. Even if you aren't here in Myrtle Beach, you can play the first three songs, then listen to the podcast, and then play the last two songs. It will be just like you were at our Easter Gathering. We're also going to do a really cool special but I kinda want to keep that to myself for now.

All of this Got me thinking, what is the best thing you ever did or saw done in an Easter Service? What made it great? Let's have a little discussion here.


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