We just released a new podcast today from a message I shared at a worship conference in Boulder, Colorado called "Resound." The "Resound Conference" was a lot of fun, but the friendships we formed there were much better than any event. I am convinced that the best part of the kingdom of God is friendship. Forever will never be long enough to come to the end of our friendship with God and the friendships that begin here on earth. You can find out more about Resound crew and the amazing things they are doing at at www.resoundconference.com. We just confirmed that we will be at the next Resound conference on Nov. 22-23, 2013.
This week we released our new album "Endless Ocean, Bottomless Sea." This is a double disc album of the extended versions of "On the Shores." If you have heard "On the Shores," you have only stood on the edge of what happened in the studio when this music was recorded. We titled this new album, "Endless Ocean, Bottomless Sea" because these are the moments that happened when we stepped off the shores and into the much more.
This album is more than just a new project for us; it is an invitation to step into more of God's heart. The title "Endless Ocean, Bottomless Sea" is a phrase that encapsulates the passion of our lives.
Fourteen years ago I had a dream that began with me standing on the shores of an ocean. As I looked into the sea, I saw Jesus standing in the water with a smile on His face. With an irresistible love in His eyes, he motioned for me to come into the deep with Him. Before I stepped into the water, I looked over my shoulder and saw a generation of young people behind me on the shore. They followed me into the water until we disappeared into the ocean of His love.
This is our vision and the bigger dream of our music: That a generation would leave the shores of fear and religion and follow Jesus into His endless love.
We are more than just songwriters and artists, for the last 14 years Melissa and I have been co-leading “A place for the Heart" with my Mom and Dad. We do much more than just travel and play gigs. We are leading schools, internships and doing kingdom community year-round. The band that plays with us are more than just musicians, they are full time staff with us, giving their lives to disciple this generation. Every album that we have sold has gone to support this dream.
Last summer students traveled from five nations and over a dozen states to take part in our school "The 18 inch Journey." This year we have already accepted students from over ten nations and have had such a flood of applications for our school, we will have had to turn away many potential students due to the lack of space. A generation is truly standing on the shores looking for more and we need more space to host them. Last year we built a new kitchen, worship space and art studio for our school. As of right now we have paid off over half of the $140,000 dollar budget and only have $60,000 left. We are believing that we can clear this debt quickly, so we can start building even more space for this coming generation.
We are looking for those who want to dream with us. We are a small ministry dreaming big dreams, and we need your support to make these dreams reality. Every album that you buy and any support you give will go toward this vision:
It is a wonderful thing to make music that you love. It is even more wonderful to make that music with people you love. Jonathan and I are releasing a new CD tomorrow called Endless Ocean Bottomless Sea. It is the extended versions of the album On The Shores that we released last February. We are so excited about these songs getting into the hands of worshipers that long for the more. As usual, we throw a big release party/night of worship. We have been rehearsing in our studio these last weeks feeling the beautiful anticipation and excitement growing with every practice. We are so privileged to have a band of musicians that have traveled to the deep with us and continue to long for the more. Come join us at the Carolina Theatre tomorrow night as we get lost in the deep love of Jesus.
Cheers to Joel Case, Jake Stevens, Molly Skaggs, Chris Miller, and Luke Skaggs we are making beautiful music that makes the Father smile. The 1000 people coming tomorrow night have no idea whats in store for there hearts, waves of melodies saturated with love
