Hey friends,

I realize this is shameless. Shameless, shameless, shameless. But I know Lincoln Brewster.

OK, I don’t “know” him… but we hang out. Well, not exactly “hang out,” but I met him once, and he put his arm around me just like we was old buds. Yeah, he keeps tabs on me - like when I sell my house and stuff (thanks Donna!).

You don’t know who Lincoln Brewster is? Sure you do. We sing his songs: “Today Is The Day,” “God You Reign,” “The Power Of Your Name” (lots of you like that one), and “Give Him Praise.”

Well, I wanted you to know that worship leader / recording artist / songwriter / guitar monster Lincoln Brewster is coming to the Alton Bay Christian Conference Center on July 9.  Particularly if you love to worship God and/or dig the whole “guitar monster” thing.

Oh, and he’s running a Guitar Workshop the following day. Yes, I know that’s intimidating, but I’m still gonna go and would LOVE to have some of you guitar players out there to go with me.

Call the Alton Bay Christian Conference Center at 875-6161 to get tickets soon!

Changes to my spiritual temperature seem to happen slowly, almost imperceptibly, and I usually don’t even realize I’ve changed until sometime later. Well, it happened again. I had been in the habit of quieting myself to listen and talk to God, but I didn’t notice that slipping away until now (which is months later). I noticed now because God’s been calling me back to quiet with Him, and I’ve been so blessed and refreshed by these times - and I’ve MISSED that.

So, tell me, what do you appreciate most about your prayer times with God?

I can’t keep up.  I admit it.  I’ve been feeling like I can either figure out what needs to be done, schedule it, or do it, but not all three.  All (or almost all) good stuff that “needs” to be done.  And it’s affecting me. I can see it. I can feel it.

So tell me, how do you know when you’re too busy?

It’s been pretty quiet here lately, huh?  Well, not in my life!  And I can’t wait to tell you about our family’s move to Madbury, putting down our dog, the changes in worship ministry, developments on the DEC recording scene, and DEC’s fall emphasis.

In the meantime, feel free to write me a note or email me a purdy picture. Oh, and would you pray for me?

Love you guys.

You know, I was going to try to wax eloquent about this, but I think God will get the glory if I just tell you that the worship team and some other dear friends completely surprised me a couple weeks ago with a brand new guitar.

I love it because it replaces my road- and family-worn TS02 (that’s short for: this was the 2nd guitar made by Pastor Terry back in, uh… 1993-ish). The headstock had been broken and repaired so many times (thank you, again, Terry!) that it was having a hard time getting & staying in tune while I played it.

I love it also because it’s the exact model I have been interested in for a number of years - a Taylor 314CE.  And the tricky little college, worship team and wifely people in my life made sure to buy the one I was so interested in.

But most of all, I love it because it represents undeserved love. Something like 40 people were involved in this, giving and planning and sneaking around so sacrificially just to bless me. I can’t believe it.

It reminds me of my trip to Uganda a few years back, when I had the privilege of giving a guitar to a woman there named Doreen. She wrote to me afterward to tell me she had named her guitar “Such Love” because it reminded her so much of God’s love for her.

Well, now I’m on the receiving end of that.

So the next time I get to play an acoustic guitar in church, I’ll be doing it with a double dose of gratitude and awe.  Thank you, friends.  Your kindness still speaks to me today.

I need to read more.  Reading sharpens the mind, broadens the perspective and strengthens the reader.  Now, I’m usually reading something, but lately I’ve let life grab me by the throat and toss my schedule around like a limp dishrag.  But I need to make a comeback.

So I’m thinking of starting with John Piper’s Life As A Vapor, but I’m not sure.  So tell me if you have any must-reads on your reading list.

OK, so how ’bout we make a deal?  If my posting goes way down, that means I’m up to my eyeballs in details.  So here’s the deal:  if you notice I haven’t posted for a while, maybe you’d think to pray for me. And on my end, I’ll come back and tell you about how God answered your prayers while I was away.

If anyone’s game for this, feel free to let me know.

Would you partner with me in tonight’s event by praying? Pray for anointing. Pray for transformation.

What a joy and privilege to have been invited to lead worship on campus! Thanks to all the campus ministries for the invitation to join you in this.

7:00 PM in the Strafford Room in the MUB.

Thanks, prayers!

As we roll out the new pastors’ blogs, I’m seeing something of a dream come true for the pastors:  We want to know you, and we want you to know us. Now, I prefer to do this sort of thing at Starbuck’s, but since $3600 worth of Mocha Lattes is not in my budget, how about I jump in and (re)introduce myself to you?

the short version

I grew up in Moultonborough, NH until going to college at UNH, where I studied communication and music. That’s also where I met Kelly, my future wife. We were married in 1993 and we have 5 fantastic kids together (I can honestly say I cherish her more now than ever).

My relationship with Jesus started in college after a very unique summer of reading my brother’s old bible for 8 to 12 hours a day. I had professed faith at 6 years old, but it was this intense time in the Word that convinced me of the truth of the gospel and the certainty that Jesus was my only hope.

I started attending DEC in 1989 and soon started serving in the worship ministry. It was here at DEC that I learned to serve and to grow and to love the Body of Christ.  Eventually, I was brought on staff as DEC’s Worship Pastor in July of 2000.

That’s it in a nutshell. Now I wish I could lean back and sip my latte while YOU chat for a while.

so talk to me

If you have a topic you’d like to see discussed in my blog, let me know! I’d love to hear from students, grandfathers and single moms; longtime affiliates of DEC and those who are struggling to fit in. Everyone!  If you’ve got a minute, leave a comment and let me know.

Maybe in between sips we can strike up a good conversation…