phil wing

Here’s a new song called “You’ve Stayed (All Along)”.

Click here to see the lyrics…

This is a small article I wrote for Apex’s website and I thought I’d share it here on my personal blog as well.

To be honest, we (I) kinda have a love/hate relationship with a lot of Christmas songs. When people think about Christmas, one of the first things that comes to mind is music. There are a ton of songs about Christmas! Songs about winter, reindeer, jolly fat men, drummer-boys, teeth, mangers, relationships, and even a hippopotamus. Those are all fine and dandy, but it seems that not many of them really give a high honor to Jesus. Not many of them are “worshipful” songs. Many of them are just familiar tunes with an emotional tie to those of us who grew up singing them. But, to sing songs about Christmas should be some of the most worshipful songs we ever sing! Considering that it’s Jesus’ birthday that we’re celebrating here…ya know…the one who changed the world forever, beat sin and death, passed that victory on to us, etc…. it would seem that our songs for this season should reflect that a little more.

Because of that, we, the band at Apex, prayed and asked God what He wanted us to do. We believe His response was to give us a challenge to write songs for our congregation that were truthful, Christ-glorifying, and singable. So, we did. We’re not saying they’re the best songs ever, they’re just the songs that God gave us for our church family. We’re just excited that He’s choosing to use them! Our hope is that God will continue to poor out new songs in us, for the Christmas season and any season that our Apex family goes through.

Hear me on this, we have NOT written off all traditional Christmas songs. We have found some of the traditional Christmas tunes to be GREAT songs of worship that seem to be quite timeless. We hold on to those kinds of songs tightly!

Our hope is to always respect and learn from where we’ve been, and influence the future. That applies to church music as much as it does to overall church history.

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.

…but I want to change. So, I’m resolving (no, not a New Year’s resolution, just resolving) to start using my blog not only as an outlet for my random mind, but also as a tool to share some of the things God has taught or is teaching me. Specifically, I’ll be trying to share some thoughts on leadership, music, worship, and the church. Sure, there will still be the pointless ramblings from time to time, but I’m hoping to make this more beneficial and as well.

One of the things God has been doing in me in the last couple years is challenging me on my view of the “priesthood of believers”. I am now coming to understand that everyone in the church is a leader in one way or another, and everyone in the church is responsible for each other. Because of that, leaders need to be constantly thinking of reproducing and developing leaders. In some small way, I am hoping for my blog to turn into resource, a very small resource, but a resource nonetheless for those leaders that I may be able to help in their growth process. I will be the first to admit, I don’t have a lot to offer, but I’ll be obedient in offering what I do have. I hope it helps.

So, real content will be coming soon. Very soon.

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.

check out the new blog about our adoption…

Please mark your calendars for Friday, May 2nd - 7pm. We’ll be having a benefit concert for our upcoming adoption. It will feature my band, charis, and the debut performance of blackburn. It’ll be a night to hear some good music, how God has led Amber and I to adopt, and how you can possibly help. Please come!!!!!!!

WE’RE SO EXCITED!!!

* beautiful weather that leads to driving with the windows down and the music up loud
* going to the park with the family and then a “special trip” to Middletown for some Sonic
* praising God and playing music with great friends
* cannons
* the family of God at Apex
* playing this guitar at a semi-local guitar shop…I’m coveting.
* gib’s plumber crack
* seeing God work through some really tough situations
* seeing some brothers and sisters stand firm in the Lord in the midst of craziness
* hoping this week won’t bring any more tough/crazy situations like the last 6-8 weeks have
* knowing that God will revive, refresh, and restore even if more craziness comes

If you’ve been in Apex gatherings lately, you’ve probably heard me talk about my love/hate relationship with Christmas songs. I absolutely love Christmas…but more and more, as time goes on, the less it becomes about Christ and more about materialism, tradition, and self gratification . Obviously, that’s a shame…

There are lots of songs out there to honor such a day, but how many of them really point at Jesus as being the big deal? How many of them really lead you to praise? Or are most of them familiar sounds for a tradition we’ve become acustomed to? Don’t get me wrong. There are definitely some good Christmas songs out there. Songs like What Child is This, O Come O Come Emmanuel, O Come All Ye Faithful, Angels from the Realms of Glory, etc. No doubt, many people throughout history have written good Christmas songs.

But, if you look at the responses given at the very first Christmas, you find Mary and Zechariah bursting out into songs of praise! It wasn’t a song they’d sang at the temple for years and years. It wasn’t a song that other Jews would sing in each others front yards. And it definitely was not a song about a tree, a jolly fat man, or a hippopotamus (sp?).

It was a new, honest, grateful response for God’s goodness in sending His Son. They were blown away with how God had made a way and for some unknown reason, counted them a part of it! It was honest praise at it’s finest.

That’s what Christmas should be about. Honest praise, given to the One who made a way…a way out, a way in, and a way home. We are His people, celebrating the single most impacting person of all time, living like we mean it, and giving because that’s what He does. That’s Christmas.

The Apex band took on the job of writing some fresh responses to Christmas - there’s a “home recording” of a new Christmas song I wrote on myspace…it’s called “He Has Come to Us”…and there are 3 other new ones as well written by Olivia Tew, Matt Thornburg, and Chad Osborne. You can find them each on the sermon podcasts from December. I hope they help you praise Him this Christmas.

taken from Relevant Magazine:

“Give a man a fish and he’ll eat for a day. Teach a man to fish and he’ll eat for a lifetime.” No doubt you’ve heard the axiom before. It’s often used to condemn no-strings-attached giving to the poor. Cliché or not, it paints a nice picture. Unfortunately, the saying only paints half the picture—it’s great to teach a man to fish, but if the man has no fishing gear and no water nearby, how do you expect the knowledge of how to fish to do anything for him?

That’s the plight of the poor. As it is for millions of people across the planet, poverty is a problem in the United States as well. And while dealing with the problem of poverty involves “helping the poor to help themselves,” we need to remember that such a solution is long-term. What are we to do in the short-term? You can’t alleviate the problem by yourself; no one can. But what you can do is distribute some grace to your corner of the world. The thing to remember is that helping the poor isn’t just about donating money. It’s about meeting needs.
The holidays are always stressful, and it’s easy to get consumed with buying presents, traveling and spending lots of money on Christmas-related activities. But December doesn’t have to be a time that we forget about those in need. Here are several ways you can reach out to the needy this Christmas season:

HOMELESS SHELTERS
If you live in a city of any size, there is probably at least one homeless shelter that helps people with meals, beds, hygiene and other services. Most shelters welcome volunteers for a number of activities, from preparing and distributing meals to working in the business office.
FOOD BANKS
Surveys indicate up to 40 percent of people serviced by community food banks at one time or another, had to decide between eating and paying rent. If that’s a decision you’ve never had to make, why not find a way to help out? Community food banks are instrumental in assisting the poor in your community, particularly around the holidays. They employ volunteers to sort and collect salvaged food (much of which comes from area supermarkets), distribute bread, manage inventory and perform office tasks. You can help by doing the above or by organizing and giving to inventory builders like canned food drives.
HABITAT FOR HUMANITY
Since 1976, Habitat has built in excess of 100,000 simple houses across the world for families lacking adequate shelter. A non-denominational, non-profit organization, Habitat sells its houses via interest-free mortgages. The homes are built by the homeowners themselves and a team of volunteers. If you have any sort of construction, electrical or plumbing skills, you’re exactly the kind of volunteer help Habitat needs. For those who don’t know a Philips from a flathead, Habitat projects provide a fun, unintimidating environment to learn—all the while helping a very appreciative family. Contact your local chapter, or visit www.habitat.org.
CLOTHING & NECESSITIES
Most of us have far too many clothes—in our closet, stuff we haven’t worn in years. When you run out of space, resist the urge to sell your old clothing on consignment or in garage sales. Instead, donate it to a charity like the Salvation Army or its equivalent. My wife and I worked one weekend a few years ago with a downtown women’s center, the kind of place where battered women stay until they get their lives back together. We discovered the center was always in need of decent women’s clothing, in addition to baby supplies and kids’ clothes. After that weekend, Aimee cleaned out her closet immediately. If you have a full closet or baby clothes you’ll never use again, why not give them to someone who’ll treasure them?
BE THOUGHTFUL
I know many kind people who just don’t feel right about giving money to the homeless, worrying that they may be paying for an alcohol addiction or their next drug fix. But the truly compassionate still find a way to give. I know of one elderly lady who has begun collecting coupons or gift certificates for free meals at local restaurants. She keeps them in the ashtray of her car, and is happy to pass them along to the hungry. Once, my sister, who was 16 at the time, was moved to tears by the sight of a small family on the street corner with a sign that read, simply, “hungry.” She had no cash on her, but told the family to wait five minutes. She sped home and made peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwiches out of an entire loaf of bread, shoved the sandwiches back in the bread sack, and returned to the family. Tears were shed on their end, too.
BE KIND
If you have a chance to interact with the needy, make a point to talk to them like you would any individual—your neighbor, a business associate, a family member. Often, there’s no better gift than the feeling of worth and civilization they feel when someone treats them like a real person. I once read a newspaper feature on the homeless, in which one of the individuals profiled said something I’ll always remember: “You don’t think I feel like crap when a generous person takes me into a restaurant and feeds me? Here I am in the clothes I wore yesterday and smelling like trash. But you can take my mind off that by speaking nicely to me and not looking down on me.”
The poor aren’t just looking for money. They’re looking for understanding, significance, a human connection—gifts to which no dollar amount applies.
To see more about ways to get involved in service projects this Christmas check out this article from Cameron.
This story was adapted from Cheap Ways To … (RELEVANT Books).

Author: Jason Boyett

Jason Boyett is the author of Pocket Guide to the Bible and several other books.

Amber and I have been trying to change gears with our thinking this year, especially in terms of what is given/gotten. I mean, come on, Christmas was started on the idea of giving to those who couldn’t provide it for themselves. What will we think about this season???