Many of you have asked about the song “Open Hands” we’ve been using at camp the last few weeks. It’s the first single from the new Matt Papa CD and has just been released to radio. Matt and I wrote the song as an expression of surrender. Surrender is the ultimate posture of our worship. It is a surrendering of control, a surrendering of our will to the glory and purposes of the One Most High God. If the song has helped you worship, call your local Christian radio station and let them know. Matt’s CD is rock solid and releases in August.
Chasen, David and I had a great start to the summer in North Carolina. We are working with a giant staff of creative and faith-filled leaders and it’s been fun to pretend we’re a part of their team this week. The camp pastor was RYAN FONTENOT and we really loved hanging out with this guy. A powerful communicator.
I will be here at Ridgecrest a total of 5 weeks over the summer so I’ve gotten to know the local coffee shop, The Dripolator quite well. Organic, fair-trade, and every cup is a work of art. A great place to listen, reflect, refresh.
We actually received copies of the new record this week. It’s fun to actually have it in my hand. It has showed up early on iTunes as well. CLICK HERE to open iTunes and find the record. No big New Release fanfare but if you dig the new record, leave a comment to let others know what songs they should buy. We’ll have copies of the record on the road with us all summer and a proper release will come later. *NOTE* If you buy a physical copy of the new record you actually get 2 records and some other bonus features too. Inside the packaging is a promo code to download the worship record “Make It Loud” from my site as well as other random bonus features (for example a weird remix is posting before the end of July).
Folks were asking this week for some of the songs we’re using in worship and so I put together an iMix in iTunes with most of them. Some of the songs (ie “Open hands”) are too new to be on there but most are HERE: James Tealy’s Worship iMix 09 . We’ll keep live streaming worship whenever and wherever we can so check back here often to join us over the summer.
I just added some new songs to THE MYSPACE PAGE. This record is WAY more pop than I’ve done in the past. I’m extremely proud of it but nervous too. I kept it cheap and did most the production, engineering and mixing myself. That leaves me feeling a bit self-conscious about “The Hardest Step to Land.” There’s no one to blame but me! The lyrics on this record are really important to me and I’m stoked to share them with you.
“Known” is a challenge to the way we posture and pretend. It’s a call to shine some light on “all the hurt and shame you carry, all the tears and pain you’ve buried, every broken dream and every doubt.”
“Hands” is a response to some quotes that stunned me. Oswald J Smith said “We talk of the Second Coming; half the world hasn’t heard of the first.” Currently more than 56% of the world’s population has little or no access to the story of Jesus. Crazy! Jim Elliot said “He is no fool who gives up what he can not keep to gain that which he can not lose.” Love is the language the whole world speaks!
“Teach Me How to Pray” is one of my favorites on the new record. As a professional wordsmith, I am so often left wordless when I pray. I think I’m learning how to listen.
“To The Nations” is a rich worship tune I’ve been using for the last few years. My friends, the Espy brothers gave birth to this simple gem a few years back and it remains my anthem. “Send us to the nations, to the broken. Lead us to surrender. We will go.”
So I may rotate out the songs as I get a clearer sense of what you want to hear but I at least have started with a few of my favorites. I’m still aiming to have product at shows by June 2nd. That seems less and less likely with each passing day but I’m still trying! HERE’S THE LINK AGAIN.Enjoy the new tunes and spread the word.
Monday night was a long exhausting night and some of the most fun I’ve ever had. Some friends with cinematographic skillz decided we should shoot a video for one of the songs on the new record. The generous folks at THE STANDARD let us use one of their sweet old buildings to rock star up a bit. So David, Jacob, Toby and I strapped on some rawkstah clothes and played through the song 20 times while videographers Sarin and Andy found the right angles, the right balance of shadow and light.
I’m sure it will be a while before the video shows up on a youtube page near you, but in the meantime I thought you guys might get a kick out seeing some pix from the shoot. I wrote the song this past year with Aaron Blanton and Nate Sousa. It’s a call to get off our lazy butts and get to work practicing resurrection around us. “We are the hands, we are the feet, we are the face of love for the least of these.” It’s Easter, hope you are finding some meaningful way to remember God’s gift of bringing life out of death. I, of course, am all for bunnies and peeps but there must be something more.
Wow, I’m really overwhelmed by how many of you voted for the name of the new record. Actually more than just the votes, the number of well thought out reasons for your vote were the big surprise. So in the end with a vote count of 52% the title of the new record is “The Hardest Step to Land.” I’m aiming to have copies in my hand June 2nd but the actual release date will inevitably have to be later.
ALSO, a blog I’ve written about life on the road has landed on Soul-Audio. You can read it here at SOUL-AUDIO.COM. Spend some time looking around their site and you’ll find a great source for music news and reviews. I have great respect for these guys and what they’re trying to do so show em some Tealy Luv.
We have started mixing songs today and we’re shooting the band sequence for the first video starting at dusk tonight. I’ll try and post some pics from all the fun. The pic to the right is from the studio. Dave and Toby contemplating the deep relevance of the song “Slipping Away.”
We are almost finished with the new record. I am in the studio this afternoon singing some more and then we’re off to mixing, mastering, and manufacturing. In the meantime we need to decide what to call the record and I want your help. Below is a form for you to pick your favorite title. I know it’s tricky to do this without having heard the record so I’ll explain each title a bit.
The Hardest Step to Land - is a lyric taken from the song “Yesterday’s Rain.” The full line is “sometimes the right first step is the hardest step to land.” With any dream, any vision that is born in the human heart there is a hesitance in us to move into action. It seems in my life the biggest barrier to chasing after the dream is knowing what the right first step should be. In my life I have wasted years deliberating that right first step. The vision for what’s next has come but in fear I wait, deliberate, marinate.
Known - is the title of one of the new songs on the record. The lyric is “You don’t need to hide. Step into the light and let yourself be known.” The song is a call to move from fear and pretending into authentic living. “Be as you are” sang James Taylor back in the day. No more fakeness, pretending to be something you’re not. Bring your real self, the doubt, the fear, the courage, the pride, bring it all into the light and let yourself be known. I suppose any record like this is a bit of that journey as well. It’s me putting myself out there; the parts I’m proud of and the embarassing parts as well.
Sometimes Sun, Sometimes Rain - is a lyric from the bridge of a new song called Glorified. The song lyric is built around these two balanced parts. In tragedy and difficulty, somehow God is able to bring glory to himself. In triumph and beauty God is also able to bring glory to himself. The song is a call to give God the worship God deserves in a way that is bigger than our circumstances. “Sometimes sun, sometimes rain, the tragic and beautiful side by side. Sometimes joy, sometimes pain but come what may, God will be glorified.”
So add your vote and help me pick the right title for the new record. Thanx in advance for the help!
The project is designed for individual high school and college students as well as youth groups so talk to your parents or the student ministers at your church about joining me in this life-changing work.
Last summer I spent some time in Skopje, Macedonia (just north of Greece) working on a similar project and I’m excited to get back among the Roma people with some of you. They are a passionate and warm people and are among the most oppressed peoples in the world.
This comprehensive missions adventure is July 4th-12th and costs $750 plus airfare from your nearest airport. You can find all of the specifics HERE as well as details about how to register to join us. Registration has just begun so start talking to your friends and come join me! Let’s live the mission together in Greece this summer.
Making me proud! This video is of my Dad singing with the Music City Chorus. It’s a Barbershop Chorus…traditional four-part stuff but sung by a bunch of guys instead of four…and tuxes instead of vests and straw skimmers. My pop is the tall guy in the middle of the back row. Merry Christmas!
We’ve added some new songs to THE MYSPACE SITE. The first two are from the new worship EP called MAKE IT LOUD available soon. The last is Dakota’s Song (the bunny song). It’s a simple Garageband version recorded here at the house. You’ll have to add in your own “hop-hop-hoppin” background vocals.
Hi everybody. I keep getting requests for links to some of the songs we’ve been using in worship this summer. They aren’t all available on iTunes but I have created an iMix for the ones that are. Just click on the cover art to the left or JUST CLICK HEREand the iMix should open in iTunes. You can purchase whatever songs you’re looking for there. Hope that helps. See ya along the road.
Many of you have asked about the song “Open Hands” we’ve been using at camp the last few weeks. It’s the first single from the new Matt Papa CD and has just been released to radio. Matt and I wrote the song as an expression of surrender. Surrender is the ultimate posture of our worship. It is a surrendering of control, a surrendering of our will to the glory and purposes of the One Most High God. If the song has helped you worship, call your local Christian radio station and let them know. Matt’s CD is rock solid and releases in August.
Chasen, David and I had a great start to the summer in North Carolina. We are working with a giant staff of creative and faith-filled leaders and it’s been fun to pretend we’re a part of their team this week. The camp pastor was 
CLICK HERE
I just added some new songs to 
Wow, I’m really overwhelmed by how many of you voted for the name of the new record. Actually more than just the votes, the number of well thought out reasons for your vote were the big surprise. So in the end with a vote count of 52% the title of the new record is “The Hardest Step to Land.” I’m aiming to have copies in my hand June 2nd but the actual release date will inevitably have to be later.
This summer I’m joining a group of students in 
We’ve added some new songs to 