it’s free music time of year.
mr. munoz & i have 3 songs for you to toss into your christmas playlist.
i hope you enjoy them.
so, my church had a night of worship back in november. we recorded it and now the original & public domain songs are available free online for you to enjoy. the whole night from start to finish (featuring 6 more songs) is available on CD in our chapel store on sundays for you locals.
go grab it. we don’t ask for your email or anything.
some of you may not know this, but when you own your own domain and have a blog on it, you will be contacted frequently by PR firms who are looking for stories, discussions or reviews for their clients. not a bad way to get the word out.
long time e-quaintences may remember that a few years ago i took one of these companies up on their offer to read and review an excellent book.
last week, The Media Collective contacted me, seeing if i would be interested in hearing Matt Redman’s new album 10,000 Reasons and reviewing it here.
of course i was.
because, if you’re like me, you’ve been wondering where matt redman has been for like…5 years.
once such a prominent and dominant figure in the worship music industry, i can remember a time when a sunday morning worship set could not be completed without at least one redman chorus. but then, almost without warning, matt redman’s presence seemed to dissipate.
but, as of tomorrow, mr. redman is back on the scene with a new live album.
and, having listened through it a couple of times, i can say that i’m glad to hear him again.
10,000 Reasons opens up with a couple of those great, big, british anthems that we love from worship leaders across the pond.
but, beyond the typical (though excellent) excitement and energy of the opening tracks, we get song after song that remind us of what a blessing redman’s ministry has been to the Church at large for many years.
the album is wonderfully focused and worshipful. unique lyrics paired with equally unique melodies make you want to sing along at the top of your lungs (seriously, try to listen to the tag on Here For You and not sing along!).
10,000 Reasons reminds me of how i felt when i heard Facedown years ago. it’s anointed. it does what it’s meant to do. it puts my thoughts on Jesus and stirs me to worship Him with a new song in my heart.
in the end, something tells me our churches will be singing a lot more redman after tomorrow.
but you’ll only be able to sing along if you go get the album.
so, tomorrow, get on your computer, buy a copy from your favorite store and join in the song.
this review was solicited from the media collective
a free, streaming version of the album was provided for critique
my love for In-N-Out just grows and grows.
do you know about positive post tuesday?
there’s few things more positifying than receiving a free gift. this has been a topic of other PPT posts, as the several of you reading this RSS already know.
well, yesterday, twitter came bearing gifts.
a pastor that i follow (thanks holland) sent out a link to a free worship ep from a guy named brett younker.
don’t know who that is?
i didn’t either.
here’s a picture so you can get acquainted:
so, brett has graciously made a 4 song ep available for anyone who would like some new music.
since yesterday i’ve listened to it a bunch of times (it’s an ep afterall) and i’ve thoroughly enjoyed it. it’s worshipful, well made, well written, well executed. plus it has a great rendition of Nothing But The Blood. who could resist?
in fact, i’m listening to it again right now.
you know what this means: it’s time to get your mice and trackpads moving over to mr. younker’s site so that you, too, can download The New Acoustic EP.
all it takes is a little facebook or twitter love because, after all, if musicians have taught us anything, it’s that they can get by with a little help from their friends.
seriously though, it’s a very cool gift.
it’s tuesday. be positive.
so, i’m sure the vast majority of you already saw this on mr. mundy’s lovely & newly themed blog, but it was too mind-blowing for me to pass up.
now all i need is an iphone…and a trip to south america.
here @calvaryhanford we have officially launched version 1.0 of our iOS app.
so, if you’ve got an iPhone, iPod Touch or even an iPad, head on over and grab it.
see?
awesome.
i like checking out other church websites.
to me, a church site shouldn’t go years and years without being tweaked, redesigned or just shifted to reflect more of the common practices out there on the wide, wide world of web.
that isn’t to say that you have to have a completely different web presence every 18 months or anything, but i do appreciate it when churches remember to grow their online ministry alongside the others.
part of my job is to maintain calvaryhanford.com. as a colorblind ‘designer’ with no coding or design training, that isn’t always easy.
thus, i often survey other church sites, where more qualified folks can show me how things are done.
the picture above is from cornerstone church in simi valley, ca. i was really impressed today that, in an endless sea of church sites that look and work exactly the same, their design team has decided to emphasize typography and negative space.
i mean, i look at this homepage and i’m drawn in by the big, bold choices i’m presented with. and i don’t feel like i’m missing anything. that’s something that’s hard to do when you have as much necessary information as a church website does.
i’m going to keep this in mind for the next time i tweak calvaryhanford.com.
question for you: what are you looking for in a church website?
…in case you guitar players are looking for a new gig bag. this one is definitely in the running.
ht – mr. shepherd
thanks for visiting
© 2012. Jesus Is Extravagant
