phil wing

To those who always think older hymns are deeper than modern songs, I give you…

God of Earth and Outer Space
from the Baptist Hymnal of 1970:

God of earth and outer space, God of love and God of grace,
Bless the astronauts who fly as they soar beyond the sky;
God who flung the stars in space, God who set the sun ablaze,
Fling the spacecraft through the air, let man know Your presence there.

God of atmosphere and air, God of life and planets bare,
Use man’s courage and his skill as he seeks Your holy will;
God of depth and God of height, God of darkness, God of light,
As man walks in outerspace, teach him how to walk in grace.

God of man’s exploring mind, God of wisdom, God of time,
Launch us from complacency to a world in need of Thee;
God of power, God of might, God of rockets firing bright,
Hearts ignite and thrust within, love for Christ to share with men.

God of earth and outerspace, God who guides the human race,
Guide the lives of seeking youth in their search for heavenly truth;
God who reigns below, above, God of universal love,
Love that gave Nativity, love that gave us Calvary.

[disclaimer: I love hymns. I am not a hymn-hater. I just hate the argument that “hymns are deep and modern songs are shallow”. That opinion is unfortunately all too common, completely discrediting the work of God in today’s writers.]

I Corinthians 11:1 says “Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.”

To “make disciples” requires us to be growing deeper in our relationship with Jesus as well. If you’re a follower of Jesus, this should be a no-brainer. Everyday with Him is a chance for us to grow deeper in our knowledge, love, and obedience of Him. And, to be a disciple maker is to aid others in their knowledge, love, and obedience of Him as well.

So, as we walk with Jesus, growing closer to Him, we lead others down the same path we walked to closeness and depth (whatever level that may be). When you’ve found a path so great, the desire should always be to share it with others. To walk that path alone is selfish…and as stated in the previous post, selfish Christianity is no Christianity at all.

As disciples, we should aim to live Christ-like lives so much so that if someone were to follow us, they’d be following Jesus by proxy. And, like Jesus did with his first 12 disciples, we should be proactively looking for those to share the path with.

That’s another HUGE part of true discipleship.

a few weeks back I posted about the song “healer”…well, I am unbelievably heart-broken about this news.

I trust in God’s control and His ability to truly “heal” any person or situation…whether it be cancer or sin.

ok, I love this song, Healer, anyways…but now, hearing the story behind it, it means so much more. Check it out…

more to come on this soon…but I just had to say that I am humbled, challenged, refreshed, broken, inspired… and about 50 other descriptive words… after this past weekend’s gatherings. If you can see 35 poor, needy, homeless people SHOUTING out their gratitude for God’s goodness and not be challenged, something is wrong. Seriously, I’m blown away.

…more to come…

I was so excited to read this today…

Compassionart hosted an unprecedented gathering of award winning songwriters: Matt Redman, Paul Baloche, Tim Hughes, Graham Kendrick, Steven Curtis Chapman, Israel Houghton, Michael W. Smith, Darlene Zschech, Andy Park, and Martin Smith and Stu Garrard (Delirious?).

Together these songwriters account for at least 40 million albums sold, 76 No. 1 songs, nine GRAMMY Awards, 98 Dove Awards, two Stellar Awards, two American Music Awards, and 78 current CCLI Top 500 songs sung by millions in churches around the world.

(Littlehampton, England) January 14, 2008 – What began as a vision for Delirious? frontman Martin Smith and his wife Anna over a year ago has finally came to fruition this past week. Some of the world’s greatest songwriters were brought together for the Compassionart songwriter’s retreat in an effort to create ongoing global relief for the poorest of the poor. Setting out to write 10-12 songs, these songwriters far surpassed that goal completing 22 new songs during the retreat held last week at the House of Cantle in Perthshire, Scotland. The songs are to be given to the world not just to sing, but also to raise money for the relief of suffering around the planet. One hundred percent of the proceeds derived from the songs will go directly to charity.

“We’ve done it; we just need to record these songs now,” confirms Martin. “It’s been awesome. I’m proud, in awe, exhilarated and tired. Good days, great days.” In addition to the songwriters, the publishers, managers, copyright institutes and agents involved have all waived their rights and are donating their efforts on this project to Compassionart, a charity based in Littlehampton, England that is dedicated to seeing works of art generate income for the poorest of the poor. One half of the monies received over the songs’ lifetimes will go to the songwriters’ charity of choice, and the other 50% will go to a charitable project agreed upon by all the songwriters involved, which is still being discussed.

***warning, this is long…but it’s the thing that is deepest in my heart right now***

In the last month or so, I’ve been wondering if I really know much at all about real love. Don’t get me wrong, I experience great love for and from my wife, kids, family, close friends, etc…but I’m starting to get the hint that love is much deeper than anything I’ve ever really known before.

All over the gospels (and Leviticus) it says that I should be loving my neighbor as myself. What does that even mean?!?!? That’s what I’ve been asking for the last month or so. What would it look like if I really loved my neighbor as myself???

First, who is my neighbor? This is talking about all those God has placed around us. Family, friends, co-workers, classmates, strangers, etc. How can I exemplify love for them in the same way I love myself?
I don’t know…but God’s definitely giving me hints. Here’s a couple things God is showing me about loving my neighbor:

- I Corinthians says “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.” Do I feel this way for those God has put around me? Do I feel this way for Jesus? My wife? My kids? My church? Do I feel this way for “the least of these”?

- If I really want to love Jesus, I have to love those in need. Jesus says that in Matthew…read it here.

- I need to seek out the lonely, hurting, needy, and poor. It is my job/duty/pleasure to find them. I can’t just wait for them to show up…they will, but I don’t need to wait for that. They are all around me and somehow I’ve blinded myself to the needs of others. Open my eyes Lord.

- I need to give to others in the same way I give to myself. (refer to the “loving my neighbor” link above) This is REALLY hard for me to comprehend! Music or conversation on weekends ain’t even close. What am I currently giving to those in need? What would it look like if I lived my life on a 50/50 mindset? Meaning, what if I spent only 1/2 of my income on me and gave 1/2 of it away? What if every bit of money I spent to feed myself, I spent to feed others? What if every time I got some clothing, I gave some away? What if???

- I need to stop regarding stuff as “mine”. God has blessed us with things so that we may bless others as well. I learned this greatly from one of my best friends. I watched him give the shirt off his back…literally…to a guy he met on the street. He also told me to return something I had purchased because he already had it and would let me use it as often as I needed it. He said “if we’re really gonna get in ‘community’, we better learn how to share stuff!”

- In Deuteronomy, I learn that giving to strangers, widows, orphans, etc. isn’t just a nice thing to do, it’s actually something that was required of those who followed God. You can read about something called “the ancient boundary” which was a line marked in every field that the reapers could not go past. There was a section of every field designated for the needy (including strangers, homeless, etc.) to come and reap for themselves. In Proverbs 23:10-11, it actually says that moving or forsaking the boundary was something that God Himself would oppose you for. All this means that the needy have a right to our stuff. Hard to swallow, huh? It’s not just a nice sentiment or kind action, it’s a necessary part of life for those who want to walk with God…for those who really want to know love.

So do I love? Do I really love??? Do we? Does my family? Does my church?

What do you think???

Oh God, please teach me to love…to truly love…like You do.

For some related ideas, check out:
Fields of the Fatherless by C. Thomas Davis.
or go here to read Cornerstone’s church building vision

Saturday I had the opportunity to serve alongside some Apex house churches at a Christmas party for local foster families. About 80-90 people were packed into a small room and the temperature was around 85 degrees in there. Half the time, you had to shout just to hear yourself. A lot of these foster kids had never been to a Christmas party before so it’s understandable why they’d be so excited. There were smiles, laughs, and connections happening everywhere. It was a lot of fun!!!

While there, I met Sam. He is 12 years old and hopes to finish 6th grade this year. Sam has only been in foster care for about 4 weeks. I spoke with his case worker and she said that Sam’s case was “one of the most traumatic we’ve seen.” Apparently his home was pretty crazy. Sam didn’t have much in the way of social skills. That’s not meant to be a knock against him at all - truthfully, I don’t think he’s ever had much of a need for them. From the way his case worker talked, I think he was neglected or abused. He was a 12 yr. old kid, probably about 200 lbs. and was still scared of Santa. When Santa walked in, he whispered to me “do you think I’m gonna get anything?” In my head I’m thinking, “this party is for you, kid! Of course you’re going to get something!” He followed that with “I’ve never really gotten anything.” I usually don’t believe people when they make blanket statements like that, but this time, I believed him. I believed that someone had probably robbed him of a lot of joy throughout his life. I believed that he probably never knew the joy of Christmas the way my family did…or anything even close to it. One of the presents that all the kids got was a knit hat. Every kid got one. They probably only cost about $2 apiece and they were all blue. That didn’t matter to Sam. He saw that hat and his eyes lit up. An ugly, $2 winter hat that most of us wouldn’t ever be seen in…a hat that 40 other kids in that room had as well…and he LOVED it. He put it on immediately and wore it for the rest of the party…in the 85 degree room.

I spent most of my time at the party talking with Sam. Well, let me rephrase that, I spent most of my time at the party hanging out with Sam while my son entertained us and gave us much reason for conversation. Through my sons eyes, there was no difference between foster kid or any other kid. He was just Sam. To Gibson, Sam was just a nice kid who had big numbers on his shirt and Gib really liked that! (sam was wearing a football jersey)

When we left, I found myself grateful for the fact that Sam had been placed with a good family, the Flowers. They had already adopted 2 foster kids, and had 3 other foster kids living with them as well. I really hope that the Flowers family knows Jesus. I hope that they teach Sam about love, peace, and joy. I hope he truly gets to experience real care and affection. Most of all, I hope that he gets adopted by Jesus very soon so that he can understand what it really means to have his past wiped clean forever.

Thanks to my time with Sam and the sermon that Jason challenged us with this past weekend, I’ve realized that my problem isn’t just that I’m not doing enough or giving enough. My problem is that I haven’t cared enough…

…God, please change that in me…and please save Sam very soon - spiritually, physically, mentally, and emotionally…

Ok, I know I’ve been putting a lot of posts about music artists lately, and yes, this is another. But to be honest, I feel completely different about this one. I can’t really even explain it except that I want everyone I know to hear this song and be ministered to in the same way I was. I wish I could put it into words…

Please, please, please, please check out Leeland at http://myspace.com/leelandmusic and listen to the song called “Tears of the Saints”. I think it’s probably the best “great commission” song I’ve EVER heard. I know it sounds wierd, but I think God has used this song to change me in some way… I hope you are blessed and challenged just as I am.

Last week I had the pleasure of taking a road trip with my brother. We left chilly Ohio behind and made our way down to the sunny Atlanta, GA. We were going to a conference called “Thirsty” which is basically a leadership conference for those involved in the college culture.

Seeing as how Apex has a few hundred college students, we figured it’d be a good thing to check out. Here’s a few highlights:

Spending 3 days with my brother was probably the coolest thing. It was great just to spend so much time away. We were able to catch up on some much needed brother bonding…even though he was on his computer for 7 of the 10 hours we traveled back home.

“You make everything glorious…and I am Yours…so what does that make me?” - DCB
“Jesus paid it all, all to Him I owe. Sin had left a crimson stain, He washed it white as snow. Oh praise the One who paid my debt and raised this life up from the dead!”

4 marks of a true worshipper - 1. Always asking “is God pleased with this?” 2. the knowledge of a “Big Picture” mercy at work 3. Transformation 4. Demonstration - Louie Giglio
I’ll definitely be changing the way I think. The question “does this please Him” should come up way more often than any other.

“Do you know what a butterfly’s wings are made of? do you? They’re made of crystalized ‘waste’…so the analogy here is??? God takes my ‘mess’ and makes something good.” - Francis Chan

“You cannot manipulate God into doing your will!”
“Faith is confidence in who God says He is and what He says He will do” - Andy Stanley

It was good to hang out with some of the One80 crew…including Mr. & Mrs. Ted Rastatter.

Matt Redman walked by us and I tried taking a picture…but he ended up looking more like a ghost…you can see right through him. Creepy.

The last day we were there, I decided to take a bunch of pictures of random lights…ya know, to go with the whole “true light” idea.


<—– this one is my favorite.

so, there’s a bunch of pics and some great quotes. all I know is that I needed it and that God was pleased with it.