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Posts by el_ben:
The Art of Succession: Part One
May 3rd, 2010
I’ve been inspired by the Holy Spirit lately to become a better leader. Isn’t it great, first of all, that I can say “inspired to become” over “convicted that I’m not?” I love what Bill Johnson posted on his twitter account a few months ago:
“In a culture of honor, we celebrate who people are without tripping over who they are not.”
I think this is true of the Holy Spirit, too. I think more often than not, what we experience as “conviction” is really the Holy Spirit attempting to “inspire” us into something, but we’ve learned so much negative language in a church ill-informed of the nature of God that we receive his Word as an indictment of our wrongdoing rather than a challenge to live in a higher truth.
Father Forgive Me, For I Have Sinned: Part III
March 22nd, 2010
(Publisher’s Note: Dear readers, I’m excited about this series, “Forgive Me Father, For I Have Sinned”. It’s written from the painful experience of a true brother who has walked the road of sin, shame, and restoration. When “TheWorshipCommunity.Com” launched, Ben Harrell (aka “el ben”) was one of our most active participants. I had the honor of being in the same church with him, sharing a place on staff with him, and calling him a friend. Though not as closely as I could have been, I’ve walked with him through the last year, always calling him a friend and brother. This series has everything to do with worship, with life, with ministry, and our walk with Christ. My hope and prayer is that the series will bring healing to those who have walked in Ben’s shoes, and will bring a warning to those who are playing with the fire of temptation and sin. If this series resonates with you, please comment and join the discussion. If you need prayer, counsel, accountability, or confidential ministry, please contact us and we’ll do our best to direct you to the best, safe place. For all of us have sinned, and fallen short of God’s glory.)
My heart pounded.  I was sweating.  I couldn’t remember the last time I felt so nervous.  The sound of guitars going through a final tuning, a cello being bowed, a light tinkling of cymbals, and of singers humming scales to each other. I looked over to Mack and he smiled at me and nodded. I took a deep breath as the drummer clicked the tempo and the electric guitar began to strum the first chords of Your Love Never Fails, the upbeat anthem that provides the name and theme of Jesus Culture’s sophomore album. I looked up into the faces of people who loved me, a church that had adopted me, and smiled. What a truly perfect ending to the story. He really does make all things work together for our good.
Father Forgive Me, For I Have Sinned Part II
November 16th, 2009
If you’re not familiar with my story, please start here with Part 1.
Author’s Note:    I need to emphasize that considering the situation, I was handled with MUCH grace. The following confessions are not intended to paint anyone in a negative light or to shift blame. I’m just sharing my story, my emotions, and my experiences.
Part Two: Rock Bottom
Father Forgive Me, For I Have Sinned: One Man’s Journey to Restoration (Part 1)
November 2nd, 2009(Publisher’s Note: Dear readers, I’m excited about this series, “Forgive Me Father, For I Have Sinned”. It’s written from the painful experience of a true brother who has walked the road of sin, shame, and restoration. When “TheWorshipCommunity.Com” launched, Ben Harrell (aka “el ben”) was one of our most active participants. I had the honor of being in the same church with him, sharing a place on staff with him, and calling him a friend. Though not as closely as I could have been, I’ve walked with him through the last year, always calling him a friend and brother. This series has everything to do with worship, with life, with ministry, and our walk with Christ. My hope and prayer is that the series will bring healing to those who have walked in Ben’s shoes, and will bring a warning to those who are playing with the fire of temptation and sin. If this series resonates with you, please comment and join the discussion. If you need prayer, counsel, accountability, or confidential ministry, please contact us and we’ll do our best to direct you to the best, safe place. For all of us have sinned, and fallen short of God’s glory.)
Review: United Pursuit Band: EP
February 19th, 2009
United Pursuit Band: EP
Every now and again, you come across music that just hits the spot. You find a spark, a flash, a reflection of creativity, raw passion, and intimacy that burns you to the core. I’ve felt this spark on only a few albums, and hardly any of them were mainstream worship recordings.
I’d like to introduce you to a couple of incredible songwriters and worshipers: United Pursuit Band. First, I invite you to head on over to their Myspace music page and listen to them right now. I suggest you begin with Story of Your Grace, which is El Ben’s favorite.
Review: Wake Up the World, Gateway Church
June 2nd, 2008
If you’re anything like me, you found Gateway Church’s last album, Living for You a pretty solid album to pull from in your church. With songs like “You, You Are God” and “Revelation Song,” Living proved to be an excellent breakout project from the Southlake, Texas-based megachurch and certainly padded this worship leader’s bag of tricks with some great new tunes. Read the rest of this entry “
