Nashville - Day 7

As promised, here's a sneak peek into what we've been working on. 

Just a little iPhone video of Gerald in the studio:

On any given Sunday in Nashville, you have your choice of over 700 churches to attend. There are the beautiful old buildings with high steeples, the auditorium style worship spaces, and the hundreds of church plants that crop up in living rooms, school cafeterias, and movie theatres across the city. But for us, there's only one real choice - Church of the Redeemer.

We found Redeemer the first summer we were living in Nashville. We were attracted to the music, the preaching, and the outreach, but what we really loved were the people. When I walked in this morning, it was like coming home. Smiles and greetings were exchanged as I caught the eye of friends I haven't seen in years.

Redeemer is the place where Gerald and I grew from Music Leaders to Worship Leaders, and it all happened under the mentorship of Jenna Martin. Jenna became a dear friend, and has had her own amazing journey that has led to her ordination as an Anglican priest. This morning, I was not only able to see Jenna in her priestly robes, but I also got to hear her preach! For the first 30 seconds, I couldn't hear a word she said. My brain kept screaming "JENNA'S PREACHING!!! JENNA'S PREACHING!!!" I was so crazy excited and proud. Once I could settle myself, I heard a sermon that was engaging, Biblical, loving, and passionate.

I was also able to pick up a copy of The Anglican Way, written by Redeemer's amazing pastor, Rev. Thomas McKenzie. When I commented about this on Facebook, a Toronto friend said he had just read the book! Small, small world we live in...

Tonight was dedicated to more CD prep. In just 12 hours, we'll be on our way to the studio to start recording with the musicians! This is where the creative leap happens. We basically put our songs in the hands of the band and say, "Work your magic." We know it'll be amazing, but even with all our planning, we ultimately have no idea what will happen. This is the wonderful, terrifying, inspiring risk of inviting other people into your art.

We ask that you please continue to keep us in prayer over the next few days as we work on these tracks. By the end of Tuesday, all the instrumental parts of the CD should be recorded. That's 13 songs in 2 days. We'll be praying for openness, creativity, generosity, and that these songs will be what they need to be to honour God and serve God's people...