Mr. Bean - Church

Mr Bean reminds us why we need contemporary praise and worship. Enjoy!

Living Life on Purpose...

I am thinking this morning about a saying, "You can do nothing wrong and still do nothing right".

Our profession as Christians and as worshippers was not meant to be lived in a vacuum. For the worshipper of Christ, to live rightly means to live outwardly . This was one of my points in my sermon last night at Oak Street outreach while talking about what it means to believe.

When the woman with the issue of blood touched the hem of His garment and was healed, Jesus allowed neither the woman nor her faith to remain anonymous.

We will know we are in the awakening that He is sending to our generation, when multitudes of the true worshippers of God live their faith outwardly and on purpose.

God's watching out for us!

I got this video the other day and it made me think, "I wonder how many things happen everyday where I am never even conscious of God's protection?"

I hope this guy brought an extra pair of underwear to the race.

Unforced Grace

Here is the newest addition. I started writing this song on the way home from work while thinking about the people that we are ministering to. Josh and I finished it tonight. How dark things can seem. Then without warning His grace, light and love come shining through. How could we not praise Him?

(Click the player on the right to hear the recorded acoustic version)

Your grace is sufficient Lord
a light of hope
in my darkest need
Your love is abundant Lord
in a thirsty land
you're an endless spring

You're love is holding me together
drawing me to You
You're grace has freed me forever
And this is why I praise You

'Cause You love me,
You save me,
You make me brand new.
You lift me,
You raise me,
You give me song, I return it to You.

Your word is shining Lord,
Light my feet,
make clear my way.
When I'm being tempted Lord,
you show me the path
so I don't stray

I'm learning the unforced, rhythms of your grace

(copyright 2007 Josh Brock and Buddy Holt)

God's movement, our response...

Every movement that we make in response to God has a far reaching ripple effect on the lives of people that we may never know.

I love to write music as some of you may know, which generally originates from whatever sermon or Bible study I am preparing for. There are a few songs I have included in congregational worsip sets, but the majority I have typically shared with very few people.

Recently, Josh has been a great encouragement to me to continue writing and through visiting Mandy's blog I became acquainted a few weeks ago with SoundClick. This has provided an avenue to share songs which mean a great deal to me (because of their message) with others. The best part is that I can do this without the risk of seeing them grimmace, sneer, or give me the blank stare that says, "are you about through, because I think I'm now ready to schedule that root canal I've been putting off?"

So I have put a few songs out and have been shocked beyond words with the response. The first song I placed "Let's lift Him Up" ranked within the top 100. The newest song that I shared in my previous post has shot to 67 out of 8595 songs posted in its genre. I only share this because I am so encouraged, not by the rankings, but that God has used it to move so many people to hear the message of the songs. This after those who heard the sermons, testimonies or Bible studies, which inspired the songs, have probably long since forgotten them.

All of this has served to teach me that there is no telling who will be effected if we simply respond to God's movement in our lives in a way that others can share in it. What little known ability, resource, talent, or gift do you have that God could use if you would use it in response to His movement and simply include others?

A Mighty Fortress

In the ministry at Oakstreet, we have been introduced to many folks who have been homeless and destitute (materially and spiritually). I have seen God do some miraculous things in the past weeks in their lives. There are still others who are searching and have not entered into a relationship with Christ. These were the ones that I had in mind when Josh and I started writing this song last week. This song is an invitation to them and anyone else searching for real meaning.

I've placed it on my sound click if you would like to hear the recording. The lyrics are below. Josh does a great job on the vocals.


"Mighty Fortress, Our God"
(©2007 by Buddy Holt & Josh Brock)


You're wandering aimless
searching for answers
you've lost yourself along the way
clinging to shadows
that are now your prison
can't find a familiar place

Surrender to Him
He's mighty to save
He's a merciful father
and He's calling today
with his arms wide open
He'll welcome you in
and you'll find real freedom
if you come now to Him

He is Hope for the hopeless
and Home for the homeless
a mighty fortress, our God
A shelter of refuge
for the lost and the lonely
a mighty fortress, our God
a mighty fortress, our God

Parting ways...

Everybody worships something and music is a giant expression of that.

Yesterday we went to Six Flags over Texas. After a couple of hours of being beaten down by the sun we decided to catch a show for some rest and AC. We went to the Southern Palace because it was the show closest to where we were. The show was called "Extreme Country" which I knew would not be my "cup of tea" from the title, but I figured it would be better than the "Extreme Heat" outside. I was wrong.

Maybe I'm just becoming a prude (after all I just turned 40), but it was too difficult to sit there with my wife and 6 and 8 year old daughters watching the performers sing and move to a song called "Save a horse, Ride a cowboy". I guess I figured out what they meant by "extreme". For me the heat at that moment was better outside than inside so I got my girls and we left.

It just saddened me that so many others were there (lots of children and parents) who sat and rapturously consumed everything that was being celebrated on the stage. It really was a type of 'worship" as people celebrated what to them was "good" and "fun".

I was just reminded of the fact that because of Christ (the one I worship), me and the world have parted ways. So if you head to Six Flags you may want to keep some ice water in hand, either to beat the extreme heat outside or to splash on some Extreme Country dancers should they get around your kids. :)

Life and Death Miracles

"The fig tree withered on the spot, a dry stick. The disciples saw it happen. They rubbed their eyes, saying, "Did we really see this?" A leafy tree one minute, a dry stick the next?"...

...But Jesus was matter-of-fact: "Yes-and if you embrace this kingdom life and don't doubt God, you'll not only do minor feats like I did to the fig tree, but also triumph over huge obstacles...Absolutely everything ranging from small to large, as you make it part of your believing prayer, gets included as you lay hold of God.". Matthew 20 (The Message)

All of us at Cornerstone and Oakstreet were reminded today of how He has it all under control and the incredible work He is doing, when we got word of the decision Shawn made to surrender his life to Christ. I know that almost daily these days I catch myself in a state of amazement much like these disciples who stood there rubbing their eyes.

Its an awesome place to be, seeing His works, small and large, as we are striving to lay hold of God. I believe we are on the verge of an awakening!

For a thousand tongues...

The old hymn says, "O for a thousand tongues to sing my great redeemer's praise". This totally expresses the desire of my heart. It has been an enormously incredible weekend on so many fronts. Getting to fish with my friend Doug; getting to rescue a man out of the lake; kid's club; seeing the new bathroom at Oakstreet one step closer to completion; cultivating new friendships and celebrating old ones; rehearsing with Common Saints PB for the upcoming gig; participating in an incredible time of worship; being challenged by His word to confess my faults to others...I could go on...

God has been so good to me and there is absolutely no reason for it. What an incredibly awesome, generous, loving redeemer we have! I delight in giving Him my praise and I am in awe of His work in my life and those around me.

Don't sing another Pioneer Song!

We just finished VBS and it was a lot of fun! I did participate by leading the songs. Our theme was "Pioneer Days", but the funny thing was that in the literally hundreds of songs that I know, I couldn't think of one child's Christian song that had anything to do with pioneers (huh, go figure?).

So I got to write some little diddies that went over quite well with the children. Unfortunately, I can't get the songs out of my head. I spent the better portion of today singing "What a Pioneer Knows" and "The Prairie Song". It was really funny at first, but did I mention that I can't get them out of my head! MAKE IT STOP!!! :)

What you may be missing on Sunday...

I was looking at Mandy's blog and saw Praise Aerobics. Ever heard of Paul Eugene? You won't forget him after seeing this clip. Take a look and let me know what you think...come on "Pump it up!"
http://mandythompson.wordpress.com/2007/07/31/gospel-aerobics/

My favorite quote is: "you keep your own groove, your own praise, but of course…watch what I do”. I think I might use this line on Sunday during the worship set. :)