Disqus - Latest Comments for nathanarnold

Re: Jesus was a feminist and so am I

Nathan Arnold — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 11:16:22 -0000

I've got some examples... at least of songs that make me uncomfortable.

::Dance With Me::
Behold You have come over the hills upon the mountain
To me, You will run. My Beloved, You've captured my heart
Won't You dance with me,
Oh Lover of my soul, to the song of all songs?
With You, I will go You are my Love You are my Fair One
The winter has passed and the springtime has come
Won't You dance with me,
Oh Lover of my soul to the song of all songs?
Romance me,
Oh Lover of my soul to the song of all songs

::Your Love Is Extravagant::
Your love is extravagant
Your friendship intimate
I find I'm moving
To the rhythms of Your grace
Your fragrance is intoxicating
In our secret place
Your love is extravagant

::The Door::
As the rain falls from heaven I'm lost in your love
Your overwhelming Jesus
And were walking together holding hands
Oh it's just you and me Jesus

Seriously... there are lots that are awkward. Consequently, these were all written by dudes. haha

Re: Jesus was a feminist and so am I

Nathan Arnold — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 10:47:36 -0000

This issue is so stinking deep… For me it goes well beyond just the songs we sing.

I think it is incorrect to say that the church has been feminized. I think it more accurate to say that the 1st world has experienced an identity crisis, and that identity crisis has leaked into the church. For most of human history man has had to scrape his existence out of the dirt, working hard each day to provide the essentials of life. Essentially the truth of the world was: if you don't work you die. Men with families were providers and protectors, literally carrying the weight of their family on their backs. In Genesis 3 God locks us in a struggle with the earth to provide our food… it's part of our DNA.

In our modern world we (at least a significant portion of the population) no longer worry about necessity. What drives our culture and our work habits is fulfilling our desires. Information is the hot commodity. Supply and demand rules. Now instead of men toiling for their daily bread, we toil for an iPhone 4s so Siri can tell us if we need a coat today. This results in some (I believe) odd behavior from our male population, who no longer need to provide and now spend their time picking out pants that make their butt look good and picking out what fragrance of AXE the ladies will like the most.

By many standards I'm a "manly man". I work on my own truck, I'm building a hot rod with my dad and brother, I watch sports and hang out in pubs, I know how to build things with my hands, I own gloves and work boots... I honestly have NO issue with women leading me in worship. In fact, I prefer it. Of course, maybe that's because I'm also a worship pastor and totally in love with all expressions of art... And I was mentored by a woman when I began leading worship. I don't mind singing the word "beautiful", though I do avoid it when I'm leading. What I don't like is romantic worship… like the Jesus Culture tune that sings "Dance/Romance me oh lover of my soul to the song of all songs". I don't want to dance with Jesus or be romanced by him.

The church IS the bride of Christ, but I personally am not.

The Jesus I know and have a relationship with is deep, emotional, beautiful, nurturing, comforting… and a (pardon my french) total bad ass. He's a dude that to a scourging from the Romans and still carried a cross. He was a dude who prayed so hard he sweat blood. He was a dude who called disciples to their deaths in following him. He was not an emaciated hipster wearing a deep v tee and skinny jeans. When I worship Him I want it to reflect the Him I know. I don't want romantic expressions, I want expressions of love, admiration, wonder, hope, joy…

I also don't like holding hands in prayer… unless it's with a cute girl. Then it's fine. ; )

Re: Should your Church musicians be paid?

Nathan Arnold — Thu, 24 Mar 2011 14:05:28 -0000

One of the many arguments paying musicians, and one that has come up here many times, is that of "the heart of worship" and the feeling that paying musicians effectively eliminates that. I agree, that left to a natural course paying musicians can create an environment focused on "the gig" rather than worship. However, I do not see this as a reason to not pay musicians, but as a reason to lead musicians.

Leading a worship ministry is not shake 'n bake chicken. We cannot drop in our ingredients and vigorously shake the bag until it looks right. We need to dig in, live life with our people, and disciple the heck out of them.

I'm a worship pastor at a large church that pays musicians very well. 6 months ago when I was hired there was absolutely a "here for the gig" vibe going on. To shake them off of that I dropped the pay a small amount and set several new expectations about involvement, preparedness, heart and commitment. It hasn't been "easy", but today we've got elite level professional musicians beginning to pour into their community, teaching our younger generation, and getting lost in worship.

Pay or don't pay isn't a huge issue in my book. Will the leaders lead is the real question for me.

Re: The new 11″ MacBook Air vs. the iPad — Part 1

Nathan Arnold — Tue, 02 Nov 2010 19:22:53 -0000

My favorite is... whichever one is given to me. : ) I like both, but I think the Air is redundant since I already have a Macbook Pro. If I were to buy one I'd roll with the iPad. I would really love the digital music stand portion of their functionality. That said, they still have a bit of a stigma around them so... I'll probably wait until they become a little more widely accepted.

Re: Hello From The Hospital

Nathan Arnold — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 21:56:26 -0000

Stumptown Coffee from Portland, OR is the best. If you want some email me and I'll send you a coffee care package. : )

Re: I want to get to know you!

Nathan Arnold — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 21:01:54 -0000

My name is Nathan. I like long walks on the beach and Italian food... Oh, man that was cliche humor. I will now go punch myself. haha

Keep the blogs and music coming VB! I love what you do and the heart with which you do it. I would appreciate more gigs in the NW in the future though.

Re: Want To Get Thanked On My Album Credits?

Nathan Arnold — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 19:48:26 -0000

Really looking forward to your new album. I really have appreciated your transparency as and accessibility as a worship artist. Knowing and seeing your heart makes the words you sing ring true. - Nathan Arnold

Re: â€œWhich Acoustic Guitar Should I Buy?â€

Nathan Arnold — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 23:52:42 -0000

My dream guitar is a Breedlove Northwest Classic. Fantastic guitar, and you gotta support the home state guitar manufacturer.

Re: A New Guitar!

Nathan Arnold — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 18:45:26 -0000

LOVE your new Tele. I've been eyeing that model for months now but can't currently justify the purchase.

My main guitars are a Breedlove acoustic and a Guild Bluesbird electric which I play through my Blackheart Little Giant head and Egnater cab. I added an LR Baggs Acoustic T-Bridge to the Guild a few years back and it's a super versatile guitar when I'm just playing with a 3 piece. I still have my first guitar as well, a Martin D-15, some other guitars, a banjo and mandolin, but they don't get much use.

Question back for you Vicky. What's your pedal board look like? I'm always looking for new ideas and pedals to sweeten up my tone.

Re: Leeland Sing â€˜Gang Vocalsâ€™ on Vickyâ€™s Record

Nathan Arnold — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 03:01:00 -0000

That looks like a ton of fun. I wish I could have joined in, but I fear I am neither located in the right part of the country or cool enough as a Blackberry user. I have a small community of artists I play with and I've been diligently praying for more. I want co-writers more than anything.

Re: Co-writing With Jared Andersonâ€¦.on Skype!

Nathan Arnold — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 02:53:35 -0000

That's killer you're writing with Jared. I had the opportunity to open for him in Colorado last year and then he invited me to play some acoustic worship with him afterwards. I'm probably a faded memory for him by now, but he was super encouraging to a nobody like me. He took the time to track me down after I played and tell me I did great. Meant a lot.

As for Skype, I've got it on my computer but rarely use it. Evidently you need someone on the other end who wants to talk to you in order for it to work right? I don't know... still trying to figure that one out.

Re: Songwriting

Nathan Arnold — Thu, 21 May 2009 13:25:07 -0000

Totally with you on being more creative at night. In fact, most of the times I read your late night tweets I'm up working on something as well. Interestingly most of my ideas come in the morning, but they have to steep for a while before their ready, usually after 11 pm. Always annoying for an apartment dweller as I have to be quiet when I'm trying out new melodies and guitar parts.

Re: Sleeping Gnomes and Sabbath Rest!

Nathan Arnold — Wed, 20 May 2009 18:08:47 -0000

You're posting blogs so fast right now I can't keep up! Your last post took me a few days to process through.

Like the others above I don't believe the Sabbath is a specific day of the week. But I do think it is important to have a day where we take a break. I was thinking about what God was doing on his Sabbath after creating everything, and I'm thinking he wasn't tired, but maybe he wanted to enjoy what he had accomplished and enjoy the fruit of his labor. I think this is added to what was already said above, that we do rest and engage with God, but that we also enjoy what He has blessed us with, enjoy the fruit of our labor. (questions: is it "fruits" or "fruit" of our labor?)

As for Gnomes... I find they are great house warming gifts.

Re: A Challenging Video and Verse!

Nathan Arnold — Wed, 20 May 2009 17:49:15 -0000

It took me a bit to process through this. I actually ended up reposting this video in my own blog and tackling the subject a bit. I'd post some of my thoughts here but it'd be a bit long. Thanks for posting this VB. If any of you have time for an additional read my blog is at nathanarnold.wordpress.com.

Blessings!

Re: â€œItâ€™s All About Meeeeeeeeeeeâ€ (no itâ€™s NOT!)

Nathan Arnold — Tue, 12 May 2009 14:46:29 -0000

This is #1 reason I avoided playing my own songs for so long. I was always terrified that if something I wrote was good it would go to my head and I would lose right perspective. It took me 10 years of writing before I shared my first song with anyone and it still terrifies me that worship will become about me. Now that I am making most of my living playing music I think about this pretty much every day. I struggle promoting myself in order to get gigs (or announcing during a concert I have a CD for sale) when the heart of what I want to do is to point people to Christ, or as I like to put it "To facilitate a meeting between the earthly and the holy." I don't know if it gets easier when you have a booking agency and promoters on your side, but as an indie artist who does it all himself it's rough. I hate that I have to do it play music for a living.

In other news, are you going to share what color ears you got? Did you get them to make you some with the Union Jack?

Re: Co-Writing with Phil Danyew

Nathan Arnold — Wed, 06 May 2009 13:35:11 -0000

lol. Always edit yourself before you post. I got sidetracked in my first sentence. Please substitute "I think a topic that is needing some attention is joy." for the hack job I have in there currently.

Re: Co-Writing with Phil Danyew

Nathan Arnold — Wed, 06 May 2009 13:33:17 -0000

I think a topic that is joy. The only songs of the top of my head I can think of about joy are the old church camp song "I've got the joy, joy, joy, joy down in my heart (where?) down in my heart..." etc. and Crowders "You Are My Joy". There very likely could be many more, but not that pop into my head.

I think joy is something that is very lacking in todays world. Working these past few months at a Christian bookstore I see it is lacking in a huge portion of the church as well. A life in Christ should be one of joy, it os one of the fruits of the spirit after all. Maybe a melodious reminder would help... and the most joyful (not sure why) genre has to be folk/bluegrass. How can you not smile during a banjo filled hoedown?

Re: A New Blog For You To Check Out!

Nathan Arnold — Tue, 05 May 2009 02:52:02 -0000

Thanks Dave! I can use all the help I can get, and positive feedback of the unsolicited variety is always extra encouraging. : )

Re: A New Blog For You To Check Out!

Nathan Arnold — Mon, 04 May 2009 23:13:13 -0000

That looks like a cool site Dave! As an indie artist I'm glad you spoke up on here. I'll make sure to check it out in detail.

My blog address is nathanarnold.wordpress.com. Come on over. I've got a lot of readers, but not many commenters. Maybe you can give me some tips for inspiring conversation.

Re: Family!

Nathan Arnold — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 16:01:08 -0000

I've got a brother and a sister. They are both married and my sister has 2 kids, a 4 year old girl (who is fighting leukemia) and a almost 2 year old boy. So, I guess including my parents there are 9 of us in the immediate family.

Extended family is bigger. My dad's side there are 15. 6 of those live in the Caribbean though (they are Scientoligists) and I never see them. My mom's side there are 41 I believe? That's the gang that gets together on the holidays for an amazingly loud time. We actually have a family band at Christmas every year. It's quite the scene. (2 french horns, 2 tubas, 2 trombones, 4 trumpets, 2 oboes, 2 flutes, piano, a tenor sax and a clarinet) Following the family band it's on to the Hallelujah Chorus. I have a one of a kind family. But my grandma (the only one I have left) loves it so we keep it up.

Re: Vicky Gets Custom In-ear Monitors from Westone!

Nathan Arnold — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 15:49:53 -0000

I couldn't help but laugh watching this. The background music is totally the "tug on your heart strings" type. So my ears were telling me "you should be touched by this moment" but my eyes were telling me "she's getting ear molds". Thanks for messing with my senses today. And I hope you went with my suggestion on the Union Jacks. :)

Re: Songwriting with Stu G

Nathan Arnold — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 18:26:16 -0000

Not scared at all. The only things that scare me are heights, out of tune guitars and industrial size cans of food (especially mayonaise).

Re: Songwriting with Stu G

Nathan Arnold — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 00:11:37 -0000

Well your descriptor is something I have yet to experience, but if that's song writing at it's best I am thinking I may decline future writing sessions, especially with my guy friends... lol

Re: Songwriting with Stu G

Nathan Arnold — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 03:34:43 -0000

I have done some co-writing recently, and thanks again for the advice you gave a few weeks back. I have yet to have any bad experiences. I've had a few sessions where you do more looking at the other guy than anything else though... which is probably the reason you told me to always come with ideas. : )

Re: Mini Me!!

Nathan Arnold — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 03:20:03 -0000

Hmmm... best gift ever is a tossup. Last year for my birthday I was given my Macbook Pro. The friends that gave it to me believed in my calling and gifting as a worship leader and song writer and wanted me to have a good creative platform to work with. I hope I don't let them down. : )

The other was wheels and tires for my truck for my 21st birthday. I had been saving for them for months but my truck kept breaking down and soaking up all my money. My parents bought them for me (and got up on 3 in the morning to give them to me when I got off work).

Was going to respond to your tweet about in ear colors, then I remembered you wouldn't see it. So I'll say... you should get the blue or white ones and have some little Union Jack's painted on them.

Disqus - Latest Comments for nathanarnold

Re: Jesus was a feminist and so am I

Re: Jesus was a feminist and so am I

Re: Should your Church musicians be paid?

Re: The new 11″ MacBook Air vs. the iPad — Part 1

Re: Hello From The Hospital

Re: I want to get to know you!

Re: Want To Get Thanked On My Album Credits?

Re: â€œWhich Acoustic Guitar Should I Buy?â€

Re: A New Guitar!

Re: Leeland Sing â€˜Gang Vocalsâ€™ on Vickyâ€™s Record

Re: Co-writing With Jared Andersonâ€¦.on Skype!

Re: Songwriting

Re: Sleeping Gnomes and Sabbath Rest!

Re: A Challenging Video and Verse!

Re: â€œItâ€™s All About Meeeeeeeeeeeâ€ (no itâ€™s NOT!)

Re: Co-Writing with Phil Danyew

Re: Co-Writing with Phil Danyew

Re: A New Blog For You To Check Out!

Re: A New Blog For You To Check Out!

Re: Family!

Re: Vicky Gets Custom In-ear Monitors from Westone!

Re: Songwriting with Stu G

Re: Songwriting with Stu G

Re: Songwriting with Stu G

Re: Mini Me!!

Re: â€œWhich Acoustic Guitar Should I Buy?â€

Re: â€œItâ€™s All About Meeeeeeeeeeeâ€ (no itâ€™s NOT!)