Dr. John Hubley :: Worship

“LORD, TEACH US TO WORSHIP!”

Interesting that the disciples of Jesus never asked this. In not making this request, they assumed they could worship on their own, that they had not to learn how to worship. The phrase ‘learning to worship’ sounds strange to us today. If our heart doesn’t overflow and begin to worship by itself, we say, we’ll never ‘learn’ how to worship. But it‘s a dangerous error, very widespread among most Christians, to think that the heart can worship rightly by itself. For then we confuse wishes, hopes, sighs, styles—all of which the heart can do by itself—with true worship. We then confuse earth with heaven, man with God. Worship doesn’t mean simply to pour out one’s heart. It means rather to acknowledge the awesome glory of Christ and to submit to him as Lord, whether the heart is full or empty. No one can do that by oneself. For that he needs Jesus Christ.

When Jesus joins us in his worship of the Father, when we are privileged to worship along with him, when he lets us see the awesome glory of the Father and engages us in his worship, then we are free from vain worship. And that is precisely what Jesus wants for us. He wants to worship with us and have us worship with him, so that we know intuitively that the Father accepts our facedown obeisance to Christ in his vicarious death and resurrection. When our will whole-heartedly enters into Christ’s worship of the Father in the Spirit, he has taught us to worship in spirit and in truth. Lord teach us such worship.

(Liberally adapted from Psalms The Prayer Book of the Bible. Dietrich Bonhoeffer. Minneapolis: Auguburg. 1970.)

John Hubley. Mindheart Foundation, All rights reserved

THOUGHTS?

For more on John Hubley check him out HERE!

The Medicine :: John Mark McMillan :: Giveaway

**WINNERS: (Blog) Michael Bryce Jr., Troy Grover & Javier Rodriguez (Twitter) @r8chelliz & @adamwaynewhite

I’m VERY excited about this new record! John Mark McMillan is one of the more poetic songwriters I’ve heard in the Christian music world. You may not think you know him, but there is a good chance you do. John Mark wrote the brilliantly crafted song ‘How He Loves’ that the David Crowder Band recently covered. Crowder’s version of the song has been all over the radio as of late and churches around the globe are singing the song regularly in their gatherings. Make no mistake that’s a great song but it’s only one of MANY that this guy has written. This record will prove that to you, I’m convinced!

His label, Integrity Record, has given me 5 copies of his brand new record, just released today, to give-away to YOU! I’ll be giving 3 of them away right here on my Blog and 2 of them through Twitter.

It’s pretty simple to ENTER TO WIN! Here’s what you need to do:

Comment: Simply leave a comment on this blog post with your Name, City and State and something random about yourself. Also, make sure to put in the best email for me to reach you as you fill out the comment field. I’ll need to email you if you win.

Twitter: Simply copy & paste the following and send it through your Twitter: Find out how to get a FREE copy of @JohnMarkMc’s brand new album, The Medicine, on @brianwurzell’s blog! http://wp.me/pfZc6-kp

**Winners will be announced on Thursday July 8th**

Frank The Podcast

I was so pleasantly surprised to learn of this great little podcast called Frank the Podcast! It’s a humorous, fun and honest dialogue about faith, pop culture, real life and so much more. A couple of my buddies are hosts on the show, T.J. Hill and Darin McWatters. I think you’ll really enjoy this tasty little treat and it’ll keep you laughing through your week. I laugh so hard everytime I hear these cornballs. So awesome. Leave a comment and let me know if you listen and your favorite episode or quote.

ENJOY!

Freedom Tour :: Promise, ShowIt & Your City

I’m so proud of my wife, Promise Tangeman-Wurzell! She’s got creativity oozing out of her pores and I love to see how God is using her to inspire others. In just a couple of weeks we’ll be hitting the road with our great friends from ShowIt who have invited Promise to be one of the speakers on their National Tour. The tour is primarily geared for people in the Photography industry and will feature 3 influential industry leaders at each location.

Also, the AMAZING Molly Jenson will be along on the tour bringing her awesome music to each of the cities. If you don’t know Molly…get to know her. She’s got the voice of sweet honey on cornbread! You’ll know her beautiful female voice as she’s the featured vocalist on almost all of Jon Foreman‘s (switchfoot) solo EP’s. She’s a legend.

We’re so thankful for great friends in the photography industry and for people that believe in Promise so much. Promise is speaking in 4 of the cities on the tour and it is coming SOON! If you want to come out or know someone in one of the cities below, tell them to get a ticket soon! Space is limited in each of the cities, but, we’d love to see good friends along the way, so get your tickets. CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE TICKETS!!

Here are the cities Promise and I will be in on the tour:

Phoenix, AZ – June 21
Austin, TX – June 23
Atlanta, GA – June 25
Washington DC – June 28

LEAVE A COMMENT IF WE’RE COMING TO YOUR CITY!!!! LET US KNOW IF YOU’RE COMING!

Carlos Whittaker :: Ragamuffin Soul :: Giveaway

*****Winners of the CD’s for the Blog giveaway are Ed Gould, David Lerner & Mitch Hopewell

*****Winner of the CD’s for the Twitter giveaway were @karlameachem & @jamiewyckoff

Giving stuff away is always fun. This time I get to giveaway a few brand new albums, Ragamuffin Soul, from my good friend Carlos Whittaker. Here’s the deal…It’s pretty simple. There’s a couple ways you can, potentially, win one of the 5 CD’s that Integrity Music gave me to give away to my readers. I say up your chances and enter both ways:

1. I’ll give 3 CD’s away on my blog by just leaving a comment with your City, State (so easy why wouldn’t you!?)

2. I’ll give 2 CD’s away on Twitter. You’ll get in the hat by Twittering the following: Win a Ragamuffin Soul CD by @loswhit. Check out the giveaway on @brianwurzell’s blog! http://is.gd/cgtLT RT if you wanna enter to win!

I’ll do all the giveaways on Friday so check back with me then to see if you’re a winner. Have some fun and get your name in the hat and most of all let’s keep getting the word out about this new record. If you leave a comment on the blog make sure you leave me your best email address as you fill out the comment piece so I can email you for your address, etc… Super easy, hope you win, ready…set…go….

Whether you win or not…go buy Carlos’ new record and support him as he launches out in this new adventure! CLICK HERE

A Year of Reflection :: 1 Year Anniversary

Today, a year ago, began the most important day of my life (next to deciding to follow Jesus). It was a warm, sunny, exciting and holy day. It was a day of covenant, love, family, good food, an amazing day, lots of friends and a new beginning for me and my new wife, Promise. As I reflect back on our wedding day all I can think about is how much God is absolutely in love with us.

Promise, you are my best friend and this year has been confirmed that in every way. You’re the best listener, coach, homemaker (it’s true), artist and follower of Jesus that I know. You are an amazing lover and I couldn’t ask for anything more. I love the way you hug and kiss me. I love the way you talk to me, encourage me and show me your love. I love the way you love me in every way.

Some of my greatest memories of this year are getting to travel ALL over with you. Making a home together. Watching you launch out on your own as a freelance artist. Praying with you, like we’ve never prayed before. Learning what we’re good at and not good at around the house. Serving in Kenya and seeing your art come alive with those kids. I like making coffee with you in the mornings and settling in with you at night. I love how much you love breakfast. I’ve loved enjoying weddings, holidays and trips with our families this year. Crying with you, holding you and hoping with you for all kinds of different things. It has been so good already!

I can’t believe a whole YEAR has passed and how much better I am because of it. Because of you. God is truly good!

I don’t think I’ve ever told you this, but, my original plan was to ask you to marry me in San Francisco. I wanted to have you go on a wild scavenger hunt for clues that eventually led you to a plane ride to meet me in San Francisco to ask you to marry me! Instead, we had a memorable desert engagement and I think it worked out just fine! 🙂 I just wanted you to know that even though it’s not the warm tropic beach to celebrate our 1 year, it holds a memory for me and now for us. What an amazing weekend I have had with you here in San Francisco. We have some GREAT memories already and I can’t wait to make many more.

Now if only I can love you more intently and show you Christ in me this year in new ways. Wow, that would be my desire. I love with you with all my heart and I can’t believe I got such an incredibly beautiful woman to call my wife. You are absolutely stunning and make any picture we’re both in worth looking at…WOW-EE!!!

I love you with all my heart and am looking forward to all that God has in store for us, my sweet love.

Happy Anniversary to you, Promise Tangeman-Wurzell. You are the one I waited for and it was worth the wait!

National Worship Leaders Conference :: REDUCED PRICING!

This is going to be a great couple of days with a bunch of other Worship Leaders from all over the country. You’ll get to be led in song and teaching by Vicky Beeching, Matt Maher, Israel Houghton, Evan Wickham, Skip Heitzig, Jeremy Riddle and many others.

I’m in the process right now of trying to figure out how to get a group of my team here in AZ out to this event. The pricing through my code ‘BLOGGERBRIAN’ is really great. The airfare on Southwest Airlines from most cities to Albuquerque is pretty reasonable. Please be sure to use the Registration Form below to register and I would register ASAP. Leave a comment and let me know if you’re going to be there too!

Dates: June 15th-17th 2010

NATIONAL WORSHIP LEADERS CONFERENCE WEBSITE

Pricing only found here for Southwest Conference:

Individual = $200, Group of 3+ = $180 and Student Rate (Ages 15-19) = $150 :: all of these are per person

To Download the ‘Registration Form’ in a .PDF —-> NWLC 2010 registration form bloggerbrian

Ryan Axtell :: This Valley :: CD Release

I just wanted to take a second to remind you how blessed I am to have Ryan & Danielle Axtell as friends of mine. I’ve been so honored to have been able to walk alongside Ryan during these past months as God has given and taken away with the loss of their first child. Ryan has never ceased to amaze me with his capacity to follow Jesus into ‘This Valley’. He has been relentless to dig in to find out how God could use this tragedy for His glory. Ryan and Danielle have traversed this trial with honor, integrity, humility, authenticity and yet anchored in the hope we have in Jesus. I only hope I can do my ‘valley’ with that level of respect and honor!

That being said, I could think of no greater thing than for all of us to come out Thursday night, April 15th 2010, to support Ryan and Danielle with the release of ‘This Valley’ his brand new CD. Out of ‘This Valley’ birthed songs rooted in the word and telling the God story in their lives. Ryan has worked vigorously on this project and the album sounds AWESOME!! The release is tomorrow night at 7pm in the auditorium at Cornerstone Chandler. Nyke our Camber Pastor will be interviewing Ryan about the still birth of their first child and all that has come with this hard season for he and Danielle. It will be a powerful time to share in music, story and community. Bring your family and friends to come enjoy this night!

If you can’t make it out to Arizona for the show, but, want to purchase his new Album CLICK HERE!!

My amazing Promise designed all the artwork for Ryan. I think she did a KILLER job and, yes, I am totally biased! 🙂

Worship Leaders Network :: ONE DAY SEMINAR :: April 17th

This coming Saturday, April 17th 2010 the Phoenix area Worship Leaders Network is hosting a ONE DAY SEMINAR at Phoenix Seminary. This will be incredible day for Muscians, Worship Leaders, Worship Teams, Pastors, the Theologically Curious, Music Lovers, Christ Followers, etc… I really hope to see you at Phoenix Seminary for a time full of incredible Theology, conversation and community. Help me get the word out to other Worship minded people in the Phoenix area. If you know a musicians or Pastors that should be at this event…shoot them a link to this post for all of the info! See you there on Saturday.

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER BY WEDNESDAY, APRIL 14th, 2010!

Worship Leaders Network – ONE DAY SEMINAR
“RETURNING TO TRUE WORSHIP…IT’S ABOUT TIME!”

The teaching ministry of John Hubley, TH.D.
and the Mindheart Foundation
For Biblical Studies

Saturday, April 17, 2010 from 8:30AM – 2:45PM
Phoenix Seminary

4222 East Thomas Road
Phoenix, AZ 85018
(www.phoenixseminary.edu)

PLEASE REGISTER BY WEDNESDAY, APRIL 14TH, 2010!!

Seminar objectives:
(1) To present the true worship of the triune God though the study of keystone passages of Scripture relating to the five major themes.
(2) To apply these truths to the ministries of pastors and worship leaders in the practice of corporate worship, whatever their organizational associations.

The biblical concepts and principles of worship covered in the seminar integrate into whatever traditional or contemporary forms or styles of corporate worship pastors and worship leaders embrace. It’s the view of this seminar that the Holy Bible is the inspired Word of God and therefore the sola Scriptura of wisdom about true worship.

It is also the view of this seminar that the culture of worship services in the churches of Christ, from the ancient past to the present moment, are the product of the Holy Spirit when they lift up Jesus Christ as the risen, crucified and ascended LORD. The seminar focuses wholly upon biblical passages and principles of worship.

SEMINAR AGENDA

8:30 AM         Registration
(Coffee, Continental Breakfast provided)

Session I:     Worship As Obeisance To Christ

Session II:    Worship As Participation With Christ

Session III:   Worship With Mercy & Justice

Session IV: Christ, Our True Worship Leader

Lunch and Fellowship.     (LUNCH PROVIDED)

Session V:   Embracing An Overall Gospel Praxis
.
The seminar utilizes five general sessions presenting a biblical theme and text followed by participant interaction. Each thematic session is taught by John Hubley, and each interactive session is facilitated by Gary Bloomquist.

Cost:   $40 per person, $35 for 2 or more from the same
church/organization.   (Cost includes all sessions, a notebook of all resource & summary papers, breakfast & lunch.)
Full and Partial Scholarships available

Registration: rbloomquist@cox.net

For more information: Gary Bloomquist:   602-568-2075

http://www.worshipleadersnetwork.org

gary@worshipleadersnetwork.org

Vicky Beeching :: Eternity Invades

My dear friend and Worship Leader…Vicky Beeching…has a BRAND NEW ALBUM that just released today. Vicky is a gifted leader, songwriter and voice to this generation. I love the way she is paving the way for women in ministry. I’m a big fan of hers and I think you will be too (if you aren’t already). Her new record is called ‘Eternity Invades’.

Vicky and Integrity Records have given me 5 of Vicky’s Brand New CD’s to GIVEAWAY TO YOU TODAY!!!

All you have to do is leave a comment on this blog post with what CITY and STATE you’re from in the comment section. Please make sure you enter your correct email when filling out the comment fields…so that I can email you back to get your info. I’ll give that one away soon, soon, soon!!

I’ll give one of the CD’s away on my Twitter too. Be sure to enter here on the blog and follow me on Twitter for another chance to win.

Check out more on Vicky Beeching too! Here’s the EPK (electronic press kit) about her: