Hey gang. Thanks for tuning in. Here’s the deal for this week’s dose of The Right Thing: My pal Nathan Lee just released a new record and I want to tell you about it. It’s called “Bar Room Hymns.”

Nathan is the greatest singer you’ve never heard of. I’ve been following his career for a while now and I keep expecting to open up Rolling Stone Magazine and read that he’s opening for Springsteen. Maybe this will be the record that makes his name a household word.

In terms of production and arrangement this is a bit of a new direction for him, but the soul is the same. This is the intersection of hope and disappointment. This is where cliches are sent packing and raw truth is king.

Consider this fair warning to folks from my congregation who are checking out my blog: Nate is a Christian, but this is not “Christian” music. His writing is as honest as it gets, and the songs come from someplace way down deep. This, I think we can all agree, is good. But it also means that you might find some word choices and concepts here that may be surprising to find referred to on a pastor’s blog.

I should also say right up front that Nathan is a good friend of mine. I stay at his place when I’m in Nashville and he stays at mine when he’s on Long Island.

My kids love him too, which I think says a lot. When I first played them his CD, I said “This is Nathan singing.” And they replied “Our Nathan?” I thought that was cool.

But don’t think I’ve let that color my review. I love this record because the music stays in my head for days and because the words give voice to things I’ve always felt intuitively but never knew how to say.

My favorite tracks are ‘New York City,’ ‘Use Your Voice,’ and ‘Carnival Lights,’ but as long as you dig good music and honesty, Bar Room Hymns will not let you down.

And while you’re at it, Down at the Rutledge is the best live rock record I have ever heard. Period.

Thanks so much for the music Nathan. I’ll be looking for you and your band next time Springsteen comes to town.

And for the rest of you jokers, head on over to iTunes or to Nathan’s Web Site and download this goodness. You won’t regret it.

This is what I hope will be the first of many posts from inside the new building.

It’s a simple, 360 degree rotation, taken from the center of the space with my iPhone. Warning: the space looks REALLY big in this video. Just bear in mind that what you see here will not only contain the main auditorium, but also a huge cafe area, lobby, secondary environments for Uptown and Wild Kingdom, offices and bathrooms.

And a hot tub for the pastor.

Ok, maybe not that. But I can dream.

We’re really really excited about what’s to come in these next few months. Thanks SO much for all your prayers and financial support through all this.

Want to be a part of what’s happening with this? Click here.

And for now, enjoy the view and the dream!

This is an article that I co-wrote with my friend Matt Woodley, entitled  ‘A Calling Confirmed’. It’s about how church planters discern whether or not they are actually called and how church planting networks can verify that calling. It got published in Leadership Journal and Matt was kind enough to send me the link to the online article, which is here.

I’ve also embedded it below in case you wanna read it (wink wink, nudge nudge).  I’ve always wanted to write for Leadership Journal, so getting this published was kinda a big deal for me, even though they forgot my byline in the print version.

Hope you enjoy it.

A Calling Confirmed
How church planting networks assess and verify whether candidates are, indeed, “called.”
Matt Woodley and Bert Crabbe | posted 11/01/2010

In 1999 the National Football League buzzed with the expected arrival of five superb college quarterbacks. All five were drafted in the first round. A few years later, after the hype subsided, three of those quarterbacks had become complete busts; one started well but descended into mediocrity; only one (Donovan McNabb) fulfilled his promise as a star.

This demonstrates what sports analysts call “the quarterback problem.” In other words, it’s tough to predict who will excel and who will be a total dud. All five of the 1999 recruits had great potential and even a track record of success; all five wanted to play pro football; but only one actually thrived on a pro team.

How do scouts and coaches assess new quarterbacks, especially when these athletes haven’t made a single play with a pro team?

Obviously, it isn’t enough for a candidate to say, “I want to play pro football, and I think I’d make a good quarterback.” Today, over ten years after the 1999 draft, scouts and coaches try to analyze specific indicators for a quarterback’s success (seeing the entire field, needling a pass into tight coverage) or for potential failure (crumbling under pressure, throwing wildly while on the run). Although it’s still more an art than a science, teams recognize the need to assess a candidate’s abilities before rather than after the draft.

Read More…

It was 35 years ago this week that an iron ore tanker called the Edmund Fitzgerald went down in the icy waters of Lake Superior. All hands were lost.

This tragedy was instantly devastating for the shipping community and the families involved, but the story didn’t come to national prominence until the following year (1976), when folk singer Gordon Lightfoot recorded and released “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald.” The haunting tune told a believable narrative of what might have happened that day. Suddenly, the entire country knew the ship’s name. Such is the power of a song.

Read More…