I've been fortunate to spend my life making music for people from all walks of life. Broken people.  Hungry people.  People trying to pursue grace in a very ungracious world.  People on the verge of greatness and people on the precipice of collapse. These all make up the beautiful mosaic that are the people of the Church.  

For a few thousand years now, groups of imperfect men and women, the young and old, have gathered on a regular basis to practice the communal experience of what we now call Church.  And one of the core practices holding these groups together has been singing.  Despite your denominational preference, singing has been a universal way the Church has expressed the mysterious truths of God, to God.  That we get to share it with each other, experiencing God's grace in community, is truly a gift.

But what makes this 'practice' so important to the life of the Church and to our own individual lives, whether we go to church or not? 

Because music moves.

An old acquaintance of mine once told me something that has stayed with me for a long time...he said that the heart can go places the mind cannot.  In other words, we don't think our way into love, we just love.  We don't hesitate to react to tragic circumstances, we just react.  We are hard-wired to feel.  And music makes us do just that, to feel beyond our intellectual ability to comprehend what we're feeling. That's why it's so hard to explain the love of a father for his child or the way a beautiful sunset can calm your soul.  And this is also why there are thousands of songs about love and hardly no songs about the science behind it...

In the Church, we get to sing about a God who, in the words of Francis Chan, cannot be exaggerated.  We get to remind ourselves the truth that God is love, that we can forgive and be forgiven.  And our songs serve as vehicles to the heart of God.  These songs have the ability to move us from knowledge about God to relationship with God.  And when we're moved, we change, hopefully to make the world a better place to live.

What songs have recently driven you to God's heart?  
What songs (from any genre) have moved you recently and why? 
Also, bonus points for naming songs that scientifically/intellectually explain love.  Go!
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I'm very excited to announce that I'll be going into the recording studio this Fall with acclaimed record producer Ed Cash!  (A little more on Mr. Cash here).  I met Ed about 10 years ago when he was on the second Bebo Norman record, 'Big Blue Sky'.  At that time we had talked about making an album together but as circumstances would have it the conversation never left the runway.  Until now.  

Since then, I've landed in many places, but my main job has been to serve as worship pastor of two great churches-Radius Church (Columbia, SC) and Radius Greenville (Greenville, SC).  During this season of serving I made a commitment to write songs for the "big C" Church.  In 2010 a friend and talented INO artist Laura Story picked up one of my songs, 'What A Savior' and released it to radio where it played on over 30 stations nationwide.  I've also recorded a couple of projects with my friend Kenny McWilliams at Archer Avenue Studio!  It's been exciting journey thus far, and with God's grace, it's only the beginning. 

At present I am writing songs for the new record and booking events and churches through the Fall and Spring of 2012.  I'll be announcing an official release date and other details about the new record in the coming weeks!  So stay tuned and thanks for your support!!! 

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