I've been reading a great book the last few weeks called "Worship Matters" by Bob Kauflin. It has been both encouraging and convicting in many ways. He writes, "If our doctrine is accurate but our hearts are cold toward God himself, our corporate worship will be true but lifeless. Or if we express fervent love for God but present vague, inaccurate, or incomplete ideas of Him to those we're leading, our worship will be emotional but misleading--and possibly idolatrous. Neither option brings God glory." Good stuff!

God Is Moving

There's a new song I'd like to share with you called God is Moving. Written with Chad Cates and Lee Black, we wanted to write a song for the church to sing and be reminded that no matter the circumstances we are facing, GOD IS MOVING, He always has and He always will. The first two verses remind us of the works of God in creation, the cross, and His heart for the lost while the bridge cries out for every generation to open up our eyes to see this and trust Him.

I recently had the opportunity to teach this song at a conference in Seattle. Click here for the video. For the mp3 and chord chart/lead sheet, please visit greatworshipsongs.com. Also, a video tutorial of the song and a studio recording will be released on a GreatWorshipSongs.com compilation CD soon. I'll let you know about those tools as soon as I know more.

Jon's Accident and Merry Christmas!!

Merry Christmas !

I hope you are doing well! You might be wondering what the title of this post is all about. Let me explain. A few days before Thanksgiving I had an accident while fixing my lawn mower and without going into the details, I lost part of my ring finger on my left hand. (I know.....not good for guitar players!) Now on the other side of two surgeries, I will continue physical therapy over the next couple months so that I can regain full use of my hand and continue playing music. The picture is of me and my two boys, Thomas and Connor, and what became known as "The Club" or my cast after the first operation. We laughed because it was as big as Connor's head.

As you might imagine, this has been a challenging season to go through on many levels, but God has been very present with me through my family, our Church, faithful friends, and in times of my new found solitude as I haven't been able to do much since the accident. Knowing that God is good and sovereign, it has been my prayer that I would not miss what He would want to teach me and accomplish through this. He has never let us go or never not made good come out of our troubles, mistakes, and sufferings. In fact, He humbly chose to become a child to pursue, redeem, and love us in the midst of them.

Have an amazing Christmas!

Jon

NoiseTrade Widget

DR Bound!!

For the past few years, I've been looking for an organization that I could partner with who truly serves, loves and defends the poor, voiceless, and needy. As as touring artist and worship leader, i've been given a small platform, through my music, to be a voice for those who can't speak out against their injustices. Compassion International is a ministry that I have grown to respect and trust, and at the end of this month I'll be going with Compassion to the Domincan Republic to see the minisry in action and learn how I/we can help through sponsoring children in need in DR and around the world. I can't wait to share more with you next month!!

If you're interested in learning more about Compassion International and how you can help, please click the link below.

Nacho!!!

My wife Sue and I went to a super-fun birthday party the other night. The party started with a scavenger hunt that led us all over Dallas retrieving unusual stuff. In honor of the birthday boy's favorite movie, the biggest "points" item was to come back to the party dressed like Nacho Libre. Not thinking that anyone could pull this off, our team focused on the "more items/lesser points" strategy. Yea, we lost!

Music City!!

Nashville, TN is a great town! I’ve been here all week and have had a lot of fun. When I’m here, I mainly spend my time songwriting. I’m heading into my second year as a songwriter for Universal/Brentwood Benson so I write songs for my own albums, but I also get to write for other artists too.

Just a couple highlights….I wrote with a talented artist/songwriter named Alli Rogers. She just ended a tour with Shane & Shane and Bebo Norman. Please check her stuff out at allirogers.com.

I also wrote with an artist/writer named Jason Walker. The song would probably fall under the ‘country’ genre. I’ve been writing a lot of country stuff lately, which has been a lot of fun. The song was about a guy who just got dumped by his girlfriend but instead of him getting bitter about it, he’s doing his best to take the high road and love her enough to let her go in case there’s someone better out there for her. Awwww! Country songs are cool to write b/c you’re writing a story and there are absolutely no boundaries. Take Brad Paisley’s song, (I’d Like To Check You For) “Ticks” that he sang on the Grammy’s last week as an example.

On my way out of town, I had lunch with my manager, Kirk Dahlgren. Have you ever had the legendary creamy tomato soup with asiago cheese croutons at Panera Bread?? Come on, anyone? Anyone?