Over the last couple of months, I have had the privilege of getting to know Shawn Wood, the Experiences Pastor of Seacaost Church and the author of two books. He is the real deal. He is one of those extremely talented, super smart kind of guys who you wish you were like, but he is also humble and approachable like an old friend. His second book, Wasabi Gospel, is coming out very soon. I have had a chance to preview it, and I really think you would enjoy the book. You can and should pre-order it today on Amazon.
Review
If you have ever had sushi, then you probably have had an experience with wasabi, the flaming hot green stuff that is always put on the side of your plate. It is a small dallop, and looks innocent enough, but it has extreme power if you put it in your mouth. Shawn relates that experience to seven teachings of Christ. He uses scriptures that are nice and cute and very familiar to a believer, but he unpacks them in a powerful way.
Shawn’s approach to the book is brilliant. I approached the book excited for Shawn to highlight some of the hard teachings of Jesus and really push and challenge me to “Just Do It”. However, his approach is much more effective. Each of the Seven “wasabi” teachings of Christ is woven around the story of Laura, a normal girl with a life full of emotional baggage (just like the rest of us). Throughout the book, she struggles with applying the teachings of Christ into her broken and un-perfect reality. This approach did two things to me. First, it made me think through my own life to see how I am assimilating Christ’s teaching. This challenged me to evaluate myself instead of simply reading the book and saying “Amen” as I came to the hard teachings of Christ. Second, as a pastor, it helped me have empathy for the people in my church (myself included) who are trying to assimilate the life and words of Christ into their lives. To see that it is not that they don’t want to, they just have a lot of questions and baggage to deal with.
Shawn’s writing style is refreshing and very easy to read. He does not belabor points. He gets to the point and uses humor that literally makes me laugh out loud. I highly recommend Wasabi Gospel, as well as his other book, 200 Pomegranates and an Audience of One.
by brent on March 4, 2009
I have talked about the ESV Study Bible before. I got one for Christmas. It is incredible. The best part about it is that when you purchase a copy, you get access to an online version.
Now you can check it out too. For the month of March, the very kind folks at ESV are giving free access to the online version of the ESV Study Bible. Go check it out.
by brent on November 26, 2008
I usually don’t talk about this stuff on Worshiply, but since it is thanksgiving and a little slow, here you go…
I use the Thesis theme on this site. I love it. It has an incredible options page and then a killer support forum if you need any instruction. I am by no means good at coding, but I have been able to do some cool stuff because of the options and support. It is a premium theme, which means you have to pay for it. However, I have built up a couple wordpress sites and the small investment up front has saved to many hours to count.
For Black Friday, the theme is being offered for $69.60 if you use the code 20D03977D0. This code is only good for the first 150 people who sign up, so if you think it might be something you are interested in, you should hop on it. Go check it out.
Thesis Demo Page
Check out the Thesis live demo here.
BlueHost
For what it is worth, I also use Blue Host for hosting this site and another site I run. I have been completely satisfied with the performance and support they offer. Plus it has an auto wordpress installer for those of us who would not know how to do it otherwise!
by brent on November 19, 2008
I have had multiple people ask me about some songs that we have been doing lately. November is our month that we lead people to give and go to missions. This year we have used a couple songs off of Billy and Cindy Foote’s Album “Go to Everyone.” You can get it on iTunes.
The Songs we have uses are “Go to Everyone” and “There’s More Room.” I also love “Die the Death.”It is not a great corporate song, but it is a great personal medidation song.
What mission/world focused worship songs do you use?
by brent on November 18, 2008
Last year I wrote a song based on 2 Corinthians 5:16-21. We did it a couple of weeks ago at NorthWood and thought you might like to have it. The crux of the song is that Jesus gave us new life, but he also gave us ministry of reconciliation as well.
Here is the Mp3 straight from the board (it is not perfect) and a chord chart. This is a recording from one of the first times we did it. We now have shortened the bridge, and do not do the pre-chous after the bridge. Those changes are notated on the chart.
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
The Great Exchange (MP3)
The Great Exchange – Chord Chart (pdf)
Use, share and Enjoy!
by brent on October 30, 2008
Carla Pullum.
Using random.org Carla was randomly selected as the winner.
Thanks for all who entered.
If you didn’t win, you should still check out the book, it really is a great motivator to get up and lead the people around you.
Tribes: We Need You to Lead Us
by brent on October 28, 2008
Seth Godin has a great new book out called Tribes: We Need You to Lead Us. If you have ever read any of Seth’s stuff, you know he is a great writer with killer ideas. I am a couple pages shy of finishing and have loved the book. I have an extra copy, so I thought I would share the love.
Tribes Overview
Seth descries a tribe as any group of people gathered together with a shared interest. There are millions of tribes in the world. The biggest question is, who is going to lead them?
It is quick and easy to read, but will motivate you to get up and lead those around you. This is not just a book for CEOs of large companies. Whether you lead a 10,000 person congregation, or you are leading the children in your house, you can benefit from this book.
How to Win a Free Copy of Tribes:
- Leave a comment on this post with a valid email address. You may shamelessly promote you blog, if you would like. Please one entry per person.
- I will cut off the comments at 2:30pm on Thursday October 30th.
- The winner will be chosen at random after the comments are closed on Thursday and I will contact them via email for a mailing address.
- If you have not already, you may also want to subscribe to this blog, via RSS or email. Subscribing is not required, but it would be a kind gesture!
- I will post the winner on Thursday to @ 3:00pm to find
Good Luck
by brent on September 3, 2008
If you haven’t heard of Noisetrade you need to go check it out. It is a venture started by Derek Webb that brings you independent music free or lets you choose your price. I highly recommend Waterdeep: Heart Attack Time Machine and The Khrusty Brothers, a solo project from Waterdeep frontman Don Chaffer.
Phil Wickham is also giving away his latest live album.
Enjoy
