Think Outside of the Box

Me and Myles cooling out at Starbucks

A moment of your time, if you please....

What is normal, anyway? Why do some people insist on routine? Why do we expect things to stay pretty much the same, even though while we were not paying attention, the world kept spinning around last night?

As much as I like things to go smoothly, it just never seems to work out that way....and why? When we get stuck in traffic and our schedule gets changed, then we hear of a terrible storm or accident that we avoided, or have a chance encounter with someone that otherwise wouldn't have occurred, do we ever stop and thank God that He knows exactly what we need?

Are we sensitive enough to His Spirit when He whispers "This is the way, walk in it!" and do we watch for the signs of His influence, or do we curse the very roadblocks and detours that may have been set up just for us?

Lately I find myself praying, "Lord, open doors that no man can shut and shut doors that no man can open". Think about that for a minute. Are you ready for that one or do you find yourself pushing on the door that says pull, fussing all along that you are about to be late.

Let's think a little outside the box and see what adventures may await on the other side of normal. Let's get a little lost in the zone where we aren't quite as comfortable. Let's visit the Shabat of praise and live in that higher plane. If we truly want the supernatural to operate in our lives, lets not try to make it "normal" or explainable, or comprehendable, and see where it takes us.

Worth a try? (on a Monday morning, what do we have to lose?)

in the flow

Jack

Joy

Pastor Perry Burgess of Walk on Water World Outreach Church

Awesome message today by Pastor Angie Burgess at Walk on Water Church. Joy...."The Joy of the Lord is my strength". Some awesome examples of Joy today:

Roy Looney, who lost his wife of 50 years to cancer finding joy and a soul mate and announcing it to the church. Happiness is contagious, Roy.

The worship today was fantastic. People are learning how to worship and finding that "In His Presence is fullness of joy and at His right hand are pleasures forevermore".

Altar call today...obvious joy breaking out all over several people who responded, including new people. You could get used to this, right?

My Pastor, Perry Burgess is an encourager, a man who lives out his faith in front of me daily, who loves the Lord with all his heart. When he was watching his wife, Angie deliver the message today, the happiness inside of him kept bubbling over and he couldn't help but smile.

I say make somebody happy everyday, even if it is yourself.

I needed this message today. Thanks Angie for your obedience, Perry for your trust in me, Healing Flow for your awesome heart for worship, and Walk on Water church for taking this journey with us. Anyone in Northeast Georgia who is looking for a church that thinks outside the box needs to come out and experience the difference. 217 Sandy Creek Road in Commerce Georgia.

Today's set list:

Hosanna by Paul Baloche

Our God by Chris Tomlin

Glorious Day by Casting Crowns

The More I Seek You by Keri Jobe

Gotta Have Faith by Healing Flow

This blog is networked with Worship leaders all over the country on Fred McKinnon's website on The Sunday Set Lists. Check it out by clicking here

in the flow,

jack

Walkin on Water

Pastor Perry Burgess of Walk on Water World Outreach Church

Walk on Water ministries has been a faith operation from the start. I remember when the ministry was birthed and a great commissioning service at the Lighthouse in Monroe with Sam Chand and others. I was blessed to be able to lead worship on Thursday nights when the church was on Clarks Bridge road in Gainesville and the freedom we experienced there. As a matter of fact, the first original songs started right there and the beginnings of what we call "Healing Flow", the place in worship where God moves, the original praise in which our Lord inhabits, and where the lines which define worship and intercession blur.

We were there the night the Athens Mission Church began, leading worship downtown in a little church hall that filled up so quickly, and people who were hungry not only for the free food, but also for the encouragement and direction that our Pastor brings on a regular basis. We continued to come on Sunday nights with our friends and our team to join the Pastor in his groundbreaking ministry to the street people of Athens. When the call came to come to the new building for the next phase we jumped at the opportunity and continued for a year and a half. To see the Pastor's generosity and his heart for the homeless and the street people of Athens inspires you to want to do more.

So the fine people of Athens, especially the landlords in our shopping center decide that they don't like the church housing from 50-75 people an night and feeding as many as 150. The homeless church of Athens ironically homeless. What to do? Where do we go?

We are in Commerce, making the best of it at 217 Sandy Creek road in a converted garage, and God is moving. This Sunday, July 3, we will have a team from the Lighthouse church and Side Walk Sunday School, with a cookout afterwards. Free to all. Come and see what the Lord is doing and join by faith as we continue to Walk on Water!

This weeks set list:

Friend of God by Michael Gungor and Israel Houghton

Open the Eyes of My Heart (a classic)

Glorious Day (Living He Loved Me) by Casting Crowns

Jesus Messiah by Chris Tomlin

Revelation Song by Jennie Riddle

This is a part of a worship leaders network led by Fred McKinnon called Sunday Set List

Check it out and see what worship teams all over the country are doing by clicking THIS LINK

in the flow.....

Jack

Father's Day

My third Fathers Day without a father. Memories....

I would have loved to share a few more Father's Days with my dad. I find myself doing things like he would have, and saying to myself, "I look like my dad". Problem is, when working with my hands, I'm not nearly as creative as he was. I would love to share my love for bowhunting with my dad, and find what he said was true, about spending time in the deer stand talking with the Lord. In fact, last year I hunted out of his last deer stand, in sight of his final resting place. I would love for my dad to have gotten the chance to meet my grandson, Myles, who lights up my life when he sees me and calls me PeePaw.

We did spend the evening with Myles and all those old folks he lives with (my son Christopher and his lovely wife Angie, who once again came through with the required banana pudding) and Angie's parents, our good friends and now family Jerry and Cathy. Good times. Myles doesn't want us to leave, and told his PeePaw and GMa "I go in your car?". After teaching for 30 years I know many high school students who can't form such a complete sentence.

Daniel made it home from his first week of med school, but spent the majority of his time studying. Highlights of his week included his first encounter with a cadaver and realizing he wasn't in Kansas anymore. Hannah is being a good sport and even helps him study. Really. The one with the biggest adjustment here is the dog. Annie doesn't quite understand.

New material for the band is going to be more of a challenge now, but we are working on the Casting Crowns tune "Glorious Day" (Living He Loved Me). It's gonna be a keeper, fo sho.

Sunday's Set List

Meet With Me....Ten Shekel Shirt

Breath of God....Healing Flow

Call My Name...Third Day

Freedom Reigns...Jason Upton

Altar call today included a hymn medley (kinda in the Lindell Cooley, Brownsville Revival Style) with What a Friend We Have in Jesus, Leave It There, When the Roll is Called Up Yonder, and How Great Thou Art. A little bit of a stretch for us, but it reassures all the older folk that come to church that hang in there with us through Third Day and Lifehouse and Casting Crowns.

This blog and many others like it are a part of the Sunday Set lists at Fred McKinnon's website. Check out what other Worship leaders are doing here

Speaking of Brownsville, 16 years since THAT Father's Day if I am counting correctly. Has it been that long?

in the flow....

jack

Time flies

We moved Daniel into an apartment in Atlanta yesterday. Frances and I are about to be empty nesters for the first time this week. Where did the time go? We enjoyed meeting Ben, his new room mate and Kevin and Lorie, Ben's parents. We seem to have an amazing amount in common, starting with the Love we all share for the Lord, and for our kids.

Walk on Water church is operating now in the big city of Commerce, Georgia, my home town, and we are having some great services. We even had a taste of camp meeting this morning as some spontaneous old school praise broke out....such as When I Think of His Goodness, Look What the Lord Has Done, Enemies Camp and such. What fun!

The rest of the worship set this morning:

Holy is the Lord by Chris Tomlin

Treasure by Healing Flow

Mighty to Save by Hillsongs

Your Love is Extravagant by Darrell Evans

Grace Flow Down by Chris Tomlin

Check out other worship teams and set lists on the Sunday Set Lists at www.theworshipcommunity.com

Here's an original about time....

Time by Jack Balthazor (ASCAP)

Copyright 2009 Healing Flow Music (ASCAP)

Time is but a vapor

Here today, gone tomorrow

Life is so fragile

breakable, changeable

Never ending, yet sudden

Eternity unstoppable

Stops by to remind us

What is man that Thou art mindful of him?

I want to be in Your Presence, Lord

I want to live in Your time and place

You know no boundaries

Your love knows no limits

A day is like a thousand years

a thousand years is like a day

Got a minute?

Gotta Have Faith

Happy Mother's Day, Frances. (#1 Grandson Myles)

Natural Disasters, Wars and rumors of wars, Osama Bin Laden taken down, Financial disaster, and just about everyone I know facing the toughest times of their lives. Who ya gonna call, Ghostbusters?

In the midst of it all, I keep feeling deep in my Spirit man that God is about to show up and show out. The wealth of the wicked is laid up for the righteous. Everything I put my hand to will prosper (not just a scripture but also in my fortune cookie last week). Let not your heart be troubled.

So I'm sitting there, playing on my new Martin Guitar and loving it when this phrase comes up in my Spirit, "Gotta have Faith". All of the sudden faith scriptures start coming to mind and I start writing it all down. Then I start to speak faith and testify. Before you know it, a song is born. Southern Rock and Roll (quasi Lynyrd Skynyrd) style and too good to have come from me. Thank you Lord for giving me a song like this. You are too good to me. We will be debuting this song within the next week....speaking of which.....

1. Walk on Water World Outreach Church. Our Sunday morning home base. Across from the mall in Athens, Georgia in the old Wall Mart Shopping Center. If you have been thinking about visiting you better come this week. Earth shaking annoucement this Sunday. Fasten Your seat belts and put your tray tables in the upright position.

2. Atlanta Dragway, Commerce Georgia. The Southern Nationals. This years outreach at the back gate in the campground features Full Circle and James Dew on Friday night and your very own Healing Flow on Saturday Night. Mind blowing Christian Rock and Roll, Free food, and Street witnessing. Hard core Christianity. You gotta be there! Saturday May 14 6 p.m. right after the big boys run. Program note, we can't possible turn the music up high enough to compete with Top Fuel and or Funny Cars, they absolutely shake the ground when they run.

Well there you have it. Other HFM news include the first CD is just about done, with some final tweeks and minor surgery going on in Nashville. It will be done, oh yes, it will.

We have secured the right to record People Get Ready by Curtis Mayfield to be featured on the second CD, called Songs and Stories, and on the fast track for a fall or winter release. For all you lovers of the "Train Song", we will work on it while we can, Daniel is headed to Med School.

Love you guys. Pray for HF, Pastors Perry and Angie Burgess and the whole Walk on Water family.

in the flow...

Jack

Train Song

Train a child up in the way that he should go and when he is old he will not depart from it. BSV (Balthazor Standard Version).

Can I brag on my kid a little? My son Daniel is an anointed Worship leader and keyboardist. He operates in the flow of the Holy Spirit and makes his old man proud. Both of my kids are devoted Christian young men with callings on their lives and I get a real kick out of ministering with them.

Daniel does a version of an old and well recorded tune called People Get Ready. I always say it was writted by the Rev. Curtis Mayfield. It has a cult following around our church (Walk on Water ministries) and our Pastor, Perry Burgess is as obsessed with it as anybody. He requests this tune often, sometimes by saying "Daniel, time to fire up the train" or something like that.

Daniel is in the process of applying to Graduate School to study Physical Therapy. It is a very competitive field and spots in school are not easy to come by. Pray for him as he goes through this and that God's will for him will come to pass. There are some really incredible opportunities out there for him and we hope for the best.

This weeks set list:

My Savior Loves, My Savior Lives by Aaron Shust

Made To Worship by Chris Tomlin

You are My Praise by Healing Flow

People Get Ready by Curtis Mayfield

We Fall Down by Chris Tomlin

This blog is occasionally (yes, not regularly enough) a part of the Sunday Set lists on TheWorshipCommunity.com go there and check out what other worship teams are doing.

http://www.theworshipcommunity.com/sunday-setlists-140/

in the flow

jack