George MacDonald Being Awesome

I just read this passage from a sermon by George MacDonald in a book called George MacDonald in the Pulpit (published by Johannesen) and it reminded me again why I so love the man’s writings. Read More ›

Rabbit Room Interview Part 2: Jason Gray

Now that Jason Gray has officially released his new album, it’s the ideal time to disclose the second half of our interview with the Minneapolis-based songwriter. If you missed Part One, you can hear Read More ›

Hutchmoot Soundoff

Dear Readers,

Hutchmoot 2011 is adjourned. Tonight after everyone went home and we locked up the church, Jennifer, Pete, Shauna, Jamie and I sat around with full bellies and thankful hearts and read your comment Read More ›

Beaten Up and Carried Home: Remembering Rich Mullins

Note: I wrote this a few years ago for a CCM article. There was a limit to the word count, and I remember having a hard time not writing pages and pages about all the ways Rich’s life has affected Read More ›

Album Release: AP’s Above These City Lights (Live)

I’m pleased to announce the release of a new album: Above These City Lights (Live). (Get it here.)

We recorded it last fall on the Counting Stars release tour, and then things got busy. Not only did we immediately hit Read More ›

Avoiding Convenience: A Word to Hymn Writers

Every music minister knows the weekly anxiety of searching for the right songs for the upcoming Sunday service. The criteria may differ from church to church, but hopefully, the goal is to find Read More ›

Hutchmoot Artist-in-Residence: Justin Gerard

One of my favorite storytellers doesn’t write books. He doesn’t write songs, either. But his stories quicken my imagination and teach me about beauty and light and the mind of God. He’s an artist and illustrator named Justin Gerard, and I’m pleased Read More ›

Track 12 – Jesus, We Are Grateful

This is another song written at the songwriter’s retreat in Winthrop, WA in June 2010 (along with “The Sound Of Our Breathing” and “The Angel Of Your Presence” from the Special Edition). It’s Read More ›

Track 11 – I Will Find A Way

This is a song I worked on for about six years before I brought it to Andy Gullahorn who helped me finish it. It wouldn’t be the song that it is without him. He and Jill Phillips recorded it for their Read More ›

Track 10 – The Other Side

I wrote this with another one of my favorite songwriters, my good friend Andy Osenga. I’m a big fan of his and I hope you’ll check out his work (“Swing Wide The Glimmering Gates” is one of my Read More ›

Track 9 – A Way To See In The Dark

I had this song title for a few years and thought would make for a cool album title as the rest of the songs began to take shape – it was an idea that held all the other themes together. But this was a Read More ›

Track 8 – Nothing Is Wasted

To me, this song represents an important idea during this season of my life.  It’s something I’ve been trying to say ever since I read Annie Dillard’s Pilgrim At Tinker Creek where she wrote that Read More ›