Just a few quick thoughts about a story that came across the AP wire this morning and caught my eye.  Basically, Iran has arrested 70 Christians since Christmas, just for being Christians.  Christianity is "officially" legal in Iran, and the government there has actually made it a point to tout their religious tolerance over the years, but they largely restrict those activities to mainstream, state sanctioned churches.  These Christians that have been arrested weren't worshipping in those churches, but rather are part of a growing house church movement in Iran.  They are practicing their faith in a way that feels real and genuine to them, rather than allowing their love of Jesus to be restricted by the government.  (To be clear, I'm definitely not saying that Iranian Christians worshipping in state sanctioned churches aren't living their faith, this is just the example I was presented with today)

This story is yet another reminder to me of the religious freedoms we have here in America that we so often take for granted.  I've talked to a lot of Christians who feel that the American church is being persecuted, and while I honestly don't know if I agree with that statement or not, it certainly pales in comparison to what is happening in many other parts of the world.  We as Americans are so blessed to have a constitutional right to practice the religion of our choice (or no relgion at all) in a manner that feels appropriate to us.  I don't know about anyone else, but knowing that there are Christians being persecuted in other countries for living out their faith in a real, tangible way really leads me to take pause and think about the opportunites I have to practice my faith and how often I choose to ignore them.  More about that coming soon.  Keep these Iranian believers in your thoughts and prayers, as well as the others that are continuing on in the practice of their faith despite the government threats.

Ok, only one more "best of 2010" post and then I promised I'll get to something more... um... current.  I'll admit right up front that I do this one as much for myself as anything else - I think it's fascinating to see what we played a lot in the last year and how the list shifted from last year.  Without further ado, these are the 22 songs that we played at least 5 times at CenterPoint in 2010:

Center (Charlie Hall) - 10
*Counting On God (Jared Anderson) - 9
Mighty To Save (Ben Fields, Reuben Morgan) - 8
My Savior My God (Aaron Shust) - 8
Oh The Glory Of It All (David Crowder) - 8
*You Are Able (Christy Nockels) - 8
Blessed Be Your Name (Matt Redman) - 7
Not To Us (Chris Tomlin) - 7
*Reckless Love (Eric Frisch, Mark Homkes, Tina Baker) - 7
*Song Of Hope (Heaven Come Down) (Robbie Seay Band) - 7
Came To My Rescue (Joel Houston) - 6
*Everyday (Joel Houston) - 6
Give Me Jesus (Jeremy Camp) - 6
*Here I Am To Worship (Tim Hughes) - 6
*How He Loves (John Mark McMillan) - 6
Marvelous Light (Charlie Hall) - 6
Amazed (Jared Anderson) - 5
Everlasting God (Brenton Brown) - 5
From The Inside Out (Joel Houston) - 5
*Holy Is The Lord (Chris Tomlin) - 5
Unashamed Love (Lamon Heibert) - 5
*You Gave Your Life Away (Paul Baloche) - 5

The 9 songs marked with a * did not appear on last year's list.  8 songs from last year's list do not appear this year, although as always, most were just below the cut off.  We also had several newer songs that received 4 plays this year, so there will definitely be some new things high on this list next year.

We also started a brand new service for college-aged students this fall.  There have been less than a dozen NAILS services so far, but some strong favorites have already started to emerge.  There were 6 songs that we played 3 or more times in 2010:

Your Love Never Fails (Chris McClarney) - 5
Hallelujah (Your Love Is Amazing) (Brenton Brown, Brian Doerksen) - 4
How He Loves (John Mark McMillan) - 4
Song Of Hope (Heaven Come Down) (Robbie Seay Band) - 3
Give Me Jesus (Jeremy Camp) - 3
Our God (Chris Tomlin) - 3

Interesting stuff... looking forward to see what God has for us musically in 2011!

I can hardly believe that 2011 has arrived.  It seems that it was just a few days ago that I was ringing in 2010 quietly at home, and yet another year has gone by already.  It's been a whirlwind year for me, but here we are just the same.  Of course, this is also the time of year when hundreds of "year's best" and "year's worst" lists appear on the internet.  Just in case you're looking for one more to read, here are my top ten albums of 2010:

10. Antifogmatic - Punch Brothers - The first release from Chris Thile & Company a couple of years ago was good, but focused largely on a multimovement piece that pretty much turned it into the Chris Thile show (not that that's a bad thing - he's a fantastic musician).  This record makes excellent use of the entire band's talents in a way that the first record didn't.  Really great music from a sickeningly talented band.

9. Paper Tongues - Paper Tongues - This one surprised me a little bit.  After hearing the lead single, "Trinity" on the radio, I decided to check out the whole record.  Inititally it didn't do a whole lot for me, but over the course of the year it's really grown on me.  It's funky and different and I like it.  "Trinity" is still the standout track for me, but this is a solid record.

8. Yahweh - Hillsong Chapel - I was very excited when I heard that Hillsong was preparing to release a collection of favorites recorded in a more intimate style, and this one definitely does not disappoint.  Recorded acoustically in front of about 300 people (very different than the average Hillsong record), this album has fresh new versions of a bunch of my favorites, and came with some video and printable charts of the songs.  A great record and a great resource for the worship director in me!

7. The Band Perry - The Band Perry - I remember the first time I heard "If I Die Young" on the radio.  It was about 8 AM the morning of July 27.  This song hit me that hard.  The song was so lyrically rich, and Kimberly Perry's voice is so unique and beautiful.  I immediately downloaded thier EP, which was fantastic.  Unfortunately, the full album didn't quite live up to my internal hype (the 5 EP tracks are easily the best songs on the record).  Still, a great new band that recorded one of the best songs I've ever heard and I can't wait to hear more from!

6. Sigh No More - Mumford & Sons - This band wasn't on my radar at all, although apparently the rest of the world was already in love.  Once I heard about them, though, I totally understood what the hype was about.  Very unique and interesting music and lyrics.  The title track and "White Blank Page" are truly incredible tunes and this record has gotten some serious play in my car this fall.

5. Rain's A Comin' - Children 18:3 - Children 18:3 is just a great band all around.  Usually when I hear that a band has "matured" for their second record, I know I won't like the album.  Usually, "maturity" means a more generic, overproduced sound.  Not so for Children 18:3.  This is a truly excellent album that really feels like the obvious next step from their debut.  I love it.

4. Feedback - Derek Webb - Derek had my top record last year (It's called "Stockholm Syndrome" and if you still haven't heard it... wll, what are you waiting for?)  I love the voice that he's adding to the current American Christian landscape, and this instrumental record based on the Lord's Prayer just continues that.  It's different than anything I've ever heard, and that's completely ok.  Simply great music with a great (unspoken) message.

3. The Medicine - John Mark McMillan - This album has repeatedly kicked my butt this year.  John Mark's lyrics are raw and honest, and they often take me to a place spiritually that I (regretfully) don't go often.  There are so many incredible tracks on this record... "Carbon Ribs", "Death In His Grave", "Philadelphia", "Ten Thousand", "Carolina Tide", "My Only", and of course "How He Loves", plus the guitar sounds on this disc are to die for.  Basically, you just need to get it.

2. The Shelter - Jars Of Clay - Jars have been my favorite band for years, and this record continues in the innovative spirit of their last few.  This album is a collaborative effort with lots of other artists, and the resulting recordings are just incredible.  Uplifiting and thought provoking lyrics with the usual exceptional arrangements from JOC.  This record sums up a lot of my own feelings about community and the church and how we should respond to people right now.

1. Beautiful Things - Gungor - The first time I heard this record I knew it was going to top this list for 2010.  Brilliant songs and a quirky variety of styles that somehow works perfectly.  There have been so many times in the last few months when I've put this one on just to have something to listen to, and have ended up right at the throne instead.  Just an incredible album of worshipful music, and the hands down best record of the year.

As always, let me know what I'm missing out on - last year I got introduced to several incredible albums and artists as a result of not having them on this list!

Well, here we are.  After a few months of inactivity, I have once again resurrected my blog.  The name is the same, but I once again find myself on a different blogging platform with a different idea.  I suppose a little bit of explanation may be in order...

I've always had a bit of a love/hate relationship with blogging.  I've been doing it off and on since 2003, but I've always found myself going through phases - sometimes I would write a lot, sometimes nothing.  Sometimes I would be very focused on a specific type or types of content, sometimes not.  Ultimately, though, I've realized that I was often doing it for other people - focusing more on what the people reading it would want to see than that I wanted to write.  In retrospect, that was a really bad idea.  I also tied the blog in with my web site (which is also new - you should check it out!), which made the whole thing way more stale and "professional" than I had ever intended it to be.  In retrospect, that was also a really bad idea.  This time it will be different.  As I start this next phase, I'm honestly not sure what I'll be writing, or how often, I just know that I'm ready to write something again.  I've chosen Posterous this time around because of the simplicity and flexibility it's platform offers, and I think it will lend itself to posting a variety of stuff.  Hopefully, the content I'm publishing here will be interesting to you, and if it is, I hope you'll comment or email me and make this a conversation.  I think that would be sweet.

I'm also planning on integrating some of the posts from the previous versions of this blog (sort of the "best of the best", if you will) in the coming weeks and months, so don't be surprised if some old stuff starts to reappear.  Thanks for hanging with me and I hope you enjoy this newest chapter of the ride.  I know I will!