Disqus - Latest Comments for James

Re: Your Prayer

James — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 19:57:28 -0000

Thanks, everyone, for your prayers and words of encouragement. It's just a season and we know that. God is good, and in the words of them New Kids..."we're hanging tough".

Re: Caption Please!

James — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 12:59:49 -0000

"...and that, children, is why Microsoft products are third rate and broken."

James's last blog post...Saddleback ‘08 #5: Kicking it D:? Style…

Re: Truth Is Not Good Enough

James — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 22:24:50 -0000

This is definitely a touchy subject and one that I think has merit on either side of the argument.

First of all, I applaud the young lady for preserving life in the face of her hurtful ordeal. To keep the baby must have been a difficult decision in itself.

As for 'concealing the truth'. The way I see it is this; I am certain that there are details of heaven and hell that God has chosen not to reveal to us in this life, either because the magnificence of heaven's glory us too much for us to comprehend, or the savage torture of hell that we've been spared from is too terrifying for our minds to deal with. To me, this is part of God's mercy; we know enough and we know what we need to know to make an informed decision, but there are things we don't need to know and probably shouldn't know while we are bound by our human limitations.

Is there a parallel with this chain of though that can be drawn with the decision this young lady has to face? What good would it do to tell her daughter that she was the product of rape? Should she be given the whole truth, or just enough for her to be informed but not damaged?

I don't have an answer, and I don't think anyone can have a definitive answer to this. Tough question. Great blog post.

James's last blog post...Music I Dig #2: The Spill Canvas

Re: I Need Your Vote!

James — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 11:57:22 -0000

Since you so cruelly laughed at my Drivers License debacle and the unfortunate nature of my "Is he stoned and drunk?" picture, I vote for number 2.

Oh....apology accepted...although I agree with your first comment. Freakin' hilarious.

Re: A Weekend of Jazz

James — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 13:27:06 -0000

Dude, I'm insanely jealous. I wish I could be there! I was raised on a healthy diet of jazz, blues, swing, and military bands (spot the odd one out), so I'm heavily in to a lot of the first three.

Traditionally, I love the old timers - John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Duke Ellington, Charlie Parker, Count Basie, Ella Fitzgerald, Nina Simone etc.

I also like some traditional Latin jazz, like Stan Getz, Dizzy Gillespie, Joao Gilberto.

I'm not such a huge fan of modern jazz or improv/freestyle jazz, but I do like some David Sanborn, Pat Methany, Fourplay, Yellow Jackets and Cedric Simon.

Swing is a no brainer; Frank, Sammy and Dean are the kings, and I'll dig some Harry Connick Jr often, as well as some other names from the big band era; Glen Miller definitely, Buddy Greco, Mel Torme, Oeggy Lee, Bobby Darin, Nancy Wilson etc.

And then blues. I'll dig pretty much any good blues, from the big names like BB King, John Lee Hooker, Howlin' Wolf, through modern day blues players like John Mayer and Derek Trucks.

One thing I REALLY like, and seems to be lesser known on this side of the Atlantic, is 'French Touch' jazz (sometimes known as Jazztronica). It's essentially the fusing of live jazz musicians with beats and loops and deep house sounds. St. Germain are the kings of this (check out their albums 'Boulevard' and 'Tourist'), but there are plenty of excellent artists out there; The Streetlife Originals, Solaris Heights, Trio De Janeiro, Ludovic Navarre etc. Also check the 'Paris Under A Groove' collection and the 'St Germain Des Pres Cafe' collection (not related to the other St. Germain.

Enjoy the weekend!

<abbr>James´s last blog post...Can It Be Fixed?</abbr>

Re: A Weekend of Jazz

James — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 14:12:03 -0000

What happened to my comment? It was long and lengthy and informative and the most I've written in the blogosphere all week. Hmph!

<abbr>James´s last blog post...Can It Be Fixed?</abbr>

Re: Ragamuffin Soul » 10 Reasons Why Being Authentic Sucks

James — Fri, 05 Oct 2007 14:05:53 -0000

Los, authenticity is probably the #1 most lacking thing in church today. By that, I don't necessarily mean transparency, but I mean authentic love, really meaning it when you give someone a hug or ask "how are you this morning?", actually following through on your words when you say "I'll be praying for you". Goes both ways. However, I find that authenticity breeds health. People might get offended, people might not like what they see, but that's not the problem of the person being authentic. People were offended at Jesus. People didn't like Jesus.

Your post is right on. And Tunz; you're so right. And being authentic with ourselves is the first step.

Re: Ragamuffin Soul » Home Is Where The “Room” Is

James — Sat, 13 Oct 2007 20:11:54 -0000

Hey Los...completely off topic, but I was playing Fifa 2006 on the XBox earlier today. I rarely pay attention to the songs that play in the background, but then I heard something that made me chuckle...

"Ragamuffin is the business"

A bizarre song, but you should check it out. It's called 'Tranquilo' by Merclinho da Lua. Yeah, him.

Re: Ragamuffin Soul » Best 3 Minutes Of Your Day

James — Sun, 13 Jan 2008 21:37:29 -0000

Uhhh...thanks?

Re: Ragamuffin Soul » SMS Multiple People At Once

James — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 18:29:58 -0000

SMS multiple people at once? Send MMS messages? Ahh yes...the things I've been able to do on my BlackBerry for years.

:)

You know I'll never let rest, Los.

Re: Ragamuffin Soul » Christians Make Me Proud When They…

James — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 11:30:49 -0000

...act like Christ and not like Christians.

Re: Ragamuffin Soul » My Right Arm Is Longer Than Yours

James — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 17:48:01 -0000

QuikPod.
QuikYou'reWelcome.

Re: Ragamuffin Soul » Average Age Of My Readers

James — Fri, 02 May 2008 22:02:22 -0000

29. Freaky.

Re: Ragamuffin Soul » Question of the Day

James — Tue, 06 May 2008 13:19:22 -0000

Some simple things...

1. A conference that is truly focused on helping others rather than showing off how great the organizers are and how 'together' they have it.

2. An environment that is conducive to networking and true community.

3. Worship led by the resident worship team rather than a worship "star".

Re: Ragamuffin Soul » Make Up A Word - My Word?…Smraisin

James — Wed, 07 May 2008 10:37:06 -0000

"Vomburt" - when you burp and a bit of vomit comes up. As in "Dude, I ate so much that I vomburted." The word "siccup" can also be used here.

"Barse" - A more amusing, childish and purile word for the male's perineum. As in "Dude, I've got an itchy barse in these cycling shorts". To be used in limited company.

Re: Ragamuffin Soul » Make Up A Word - My Word?…Smraisin

James — Wed, 07 May 2008 13:17:16 -0000

"Roger" - To repeat oneself about four times, just to make the point clear.

Sorry, couldn't help it.

Re: Ragamuffin Soul » Purpose Driven and Me

James — Tue, 13 May 2008 10:49:56 -0000

Los, any plans for any kind of unofficial bloggers meet somewhere local? I'll be at the conference, but I won't make the blogging classes. We need to hang and you need to show me that Quikpod :o)

Re: Ragamuffin Soul » Your 6 Word Memoir

James — Tue, 13 May 2008 11:05:10 -0000

Weird, someone asked me exactly the same thing a few days ago. Here's what I came up with:

"Ran, returned, challenged, changed, perseveringly determined."

Not sure that I'm entirely happy about it, but 6 words is a tall order. Or should that be short order?

Re: Ragamuffin Soul » Where’s Home?

James — Mon, 19 May 2008 22:55:57 -0000

Oxford, England.

Slowly becoming Orange County, California.

Re: Ragamuffin Soul » Sing To Me

James — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 19:58:22 -0000

Gregg Alexander from The New Radicals. The most underrated genius songwriter and producer ever.

Re: Ragamuffin Soul » Janice It Ain’t Funny

James — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 21:21:11 -0000

Gold. Pure comedic gold.

Re: Ragamuffin Soul » If You Could Name Your Band…

James — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 17:55:41 -0000

The Super Sonic Super Sub Atomic Rock And Roll Kung Fu Kings

or

A Million Miles To Breakfast

or

PickItUpAndKickIt

Re: Ragamuffin Soul » Ain’t Nothin’ But a C Thang

James — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 18:44:24 -0000

I turn 30 this month too. Can I get a present a day as well?

Re: Ragamuffin Soul » Best Sermon Ever

James — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 11:12:42 -0000

"Real Men Piss Standing Up"

www.youtube.com/watch?v=SDxcyqeRc-4

Re: Ragamuffin Soul » I Hate It When My Worship Leader…

James — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 12:21:53 -0000

When he/she tries to "rally the crowd" like we're at a rock concert and he/she is the rock star..

Or when he/she doesn't get that just because a person isn't raising their hands or dancing or singing or clapping or "pumping their fists" doesn't mean that they are not worshiping and doesn't mean that God isn't working on them.

Re: Ragamuffin Soul » God Can’t Show Up In TWO Songs!!!

James — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 14:50:03 -0000

I have a real hard time with the phrase "God showed up". I don't think God does show up, since he's everywhere all of the time. Saying He showed up indicates an absence of Him in the first place. I think a better phrase is "We finally tuned in to His presence".

Re: Ragamuffin Soul » Only 40% Left!!!

James — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 13:59:09 -0000

I was about to break the good news to you that you actually have 41.3% of your readership using IE, but I see someone already did that. So I won't say anything along those lines whatsoever.

I'm a hybrid user - FF and Safari.

Re: Ragamuffin Soul » God Help Us

James — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 12:19:55 -0000

Someone launch the ROFLCopter. This is too funny.

Re: Ragamuffin Soul » Give Us New Tweets

James — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 13:30:59 -0000

Me. @englishguy

No, seriously, I think @kurtjohnston is a great follow.

Re: Ragamuffin Soul » Knock Knock

James — Sun, 09 Nov 2008 21:23:34 -0000

No video, but here goes.

Knock Knock

Who's there?

Death

Death wh.......

Re: Ragamuffin Soul » Caption Please

James — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 13:17:54 -0000

"You too can use Photoshop to convincingly put pictures of cats in silly situations."

Re: Media Tip: Make those screens Pop! part 1 of 3

James — Sat, 04 Aug 2007 13:08:39 -0000

Excellent ideas, Alex. I think often we don't think intelligently enough about the simple things we can do like this to enhance the worship experience and make it more accessible to the church.

Re: Marc Cohn Shot in 2005

James — Fri, 12 Oct 2007 12:43:02 -0000

I'm a huge Marc Cohn fan, and I remember hearing about this a few days after it happened. I've not seen him live yet, but whenever he next passes through So Cal, I'm there.

Re: Recipe for Good Guitar Tone

James — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 01:49:02 -0000

That's one way of doing it. Or, you can get a BBE Sonic Stomp and get a signal that just drips with tone. Check out what I just posted...

Re: Transformers: I don’t get it

James — Sat, 27 Oct 2007 11:41:39 -0000

I'm going to guess that you think 'Sleepless In Seattle' was a good movie.

Dude...Transformers rocks!

Re: Hillsong 2007 Video

James — Sat, 27 Oct 2007 11:51:50 -0000

It's impressive, but it bugs me a bit. Isn't this Hillsong showing off a bit? A bit of a 'look what we can do!'? I mean...I don't see anything in there that really points to showing the world what music is for and where it comes from and who it is intended for. I see a show being put on for the conference attendees. Nothing wrong with that, as long as it's recognized as being what it is.

Just my humble opinion...

Re: Getting to know You (part 1): Where are You from?

James — Sun, 28 Oct 2007 21:21:51 -0000

Whittier, CA checking in...

Re: 2008 Blogroll Housecleaning

James — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 19:10:52 -0000

Linky?

Re: LOST, Coming Soon!

James — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 01:30:14 -0000

You all everybody...

Re: American Gladiators

James — Sun, 27 Jan 2008 21:21:38 -0000

Dude, come on...Wolf is awesome and Toa is just bad*ss! I love it.

Re: Igniter Tracks: Worship Backgrounds

James — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 09:10:09 -0000

Alright, I'll bite...

We tried one of these in rehearsal a few weeks ago, with the song 'One Things'. The short of it was that the rehearsal was such a disaster that we scrapped it and vowed not to try it again, for several reasons:

1. We use a click track on every song we do, controlled by our drummer. He and I communicate visually on stage if I think a spontaneous change is necessary to facilitate our worship (change the tempo, add swing, adjust the feel), and the Igniter track just restricts all of that. Also, we have no way of controlling it from the drum riser, which means communicating visually over the congregation to the tech booth in the back; not exactly a distraction-free method of communicating.

2. I'm not a huge fan of background that really move. The feedback I've received from some of the faster-moving backgrounds, and also from my own experience, is that it causes a focus to be taken off of worship and on to the cool background. We've scaled back on our moving backgrounds to simple, slower moving, transient type backgrounds, and the response has been really positive.

Now, to take a stab at answering your questions:

- tech booth, unfortunately.
- there is a 2 bar click count-in before the background starts. Not enough on faster songs.
- be able to switch back to normal, non-igniter mode quickly, and turn that click off!
- in my opinion, it's taken a good thing and made it not good anymore.
- there will always be drummers, since they just can't help themselves in associating with musicians. ;)

Re: Grading Ministry Effectiveness

James — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 17:51:10 -0000

This might sound a bit nebulous, but one thing I know we're starting to work on at The Summit is "What is our thematic goal, and what are we doing to reach it?". A thematic goal is something that every ministry can strive for. For us right now, it's "double" - double our services, double our teams, and double the size of the church, etc. By introducing a theme like that the spans every ministry in the church, it introduces a bunch of tangible, quantifiable measurements. Really good exercise that is helping us measure the effectiveness of what we're doing.

Re: Firefight! Who’s In?

James — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 18:47:52 -0000

Is now a good time to regret talking smack on twitter?

I'm in for The OC baby, and I'm bringing two battleheads with me.

Re: Purpose Driven Trip

James — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 12:40:50 -0000

I was half expecting you to show up in a kilt, playing some bagpipes, and singing "Do You Think I'm Sexy?" in a thick Scottish accent.

Seriously cool to finally get some hang time! Once the car situation is sorted out (what with one being totaled and us shopping for a replacement), I'll be heading out to Corona for some more face time with you IE blogstars.

Re: Introducing Scottish Week at BetterthanBlank

James — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 21:16:11 -0000

Clan Farquson here. Four generations ago. Also got some Clan Findlay heritage if I go further back.

I had no idea there were Highland Games in SoCal. Next year I am so going, and I'm wearing a kilt.

"We have a piper down".

Jamess last blog post..Saddleback ‘08 #5: Kicking it D:? Style…

Re: New Skin!

James — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 21:17:02 -0000

Real men wear pink.

But only girls have pink blogs.

Jamess last blog post..Saddleback ‘08 #5: Kicking it D:? Style…

Re: Introducing Scottish Week at BetterthanBlank

James — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 17:38:10 -0000

"KEEP SCOTLAND TIDY - THROW YOUR RUBBISH IN ENGLAND!"

Why do you think we had Hadrian build the wall? To keep the Scottish trash out...

Re: Scottish Week: Wednesday

James — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 10:50:43 -0000

I'm in for the rugby. By the way, that's USA Sevens, not Stevens :o)

Jamess last blog post..Music I Dig #1

Re: My First MLS Game!

James — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 12:17:53 -0000

Glad you could come to game with me bro and really glad you enjoyed it. We'll definitely need to do it again. By the way, the return Chivas game (where Chivas are the home team) is on August 14th. My season tickets don't cover that game since it's a Chivas home game, but I'll be going for sure.

Re: Oops, I Don’t Have Terminal Cancer (part 2)

James — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 14:14:08 -0000

Precisely. I didn't post on the issue yesterday deliberately because of the hysteria surrounding the issue and also just to give myself some time to process it all, but essentially I agree with what you just said. I posted my more elaborate thoughts a few minutes ago...

Jamess last blog post..The Healer Scandal

Re: Random Video: Hands Free Law

James — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 15:54:25 -0000

Dude, that's hilarious. But seriously, I totally agree. The intention of the law is good. The execution is as lame as can be.

Jamess last blog post..The Healer Scandal

Re: Oop’s I Don’t Have Terminal Cancer (part 3)

James — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 19:33:46 -0000

I'll not being able to get together with you guys. I'm too busy faking a dislocated knee and writing a song about my physical therapist to bother with you gullible lot.

Sorry...bad taste...I say we all hit The Yard House is Riverside. Get Kirkpatrick there as well.

Jamess last blog post..The Healer Scandal

Re: Spider Battle Live!

James — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 12:47:30 -0000

I did not watch this and would not watch this because spiders are freaky and disgusting and can paralyze me just be being within my field of vision. No venom needed. BUT, this is exactly what the blogosphere exists for in my opinion. Sheer brilliance.

Although...Black Widow? In your back yard? Really? I would be on the phone to pest control quicker than than Steve Irwin could say "you're a feisty little fellow". That's one nasty and dangerous arachnid.

Re: How are You using Evernote? - betterthanblank

James — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 18:16:39 -0000

I use it for pretty much anything that requires a note or a reminder or a list or just something I'll need to reference later. For example, if I'm in a meeting without my laptop, I use Evernote on my iPhone to make notes. When I'm done with the meeting, they are already sync'd with my laptop and desktop.

Also, I have a permanent note - 'Shopping List'. When I remember I need something, I make a note. When I'm at the store, I pull that note up on the phone.

Great for offline blogging too - write, save, sync, and then I can post from any computer next time I'm online.

Bookmarks, links, screenshots etc.

Many many other ways.

I have multiple notebooks and I use the 'Tags' function extensively.

<abbr>Jamess last blog post..Happy Hallow’istmas</abbr>

Re: CommentLuv or Disqus? - betterthanblank

James — Sun, 09 Nov 2008 21:25:03 -0000

CommentLuv wins it for me.

Re: The Best Guitar Case I’ve Ever Seen!…

James — Sun, 06 Apr 2008 03:13:37 -0000

The Sonic Stomp from BBE. Talk about tone. And the Fishman Aura - never plug my Taylor in to anything without it.

I'm flying back to England for a few days tomorrow as well. Happy flying; don't get your bags lost at Heathrow T5.

And when are you going to come on my podcast?

Re: This Video Is Fee-nomenally Funny!

James — Thu, 01 May 2008 15:38:54 -0000

This reminds me of the Will Ferrell/Christopher Walken "More Cowbell" sketch. Hilarious!

My favourite Youtube video of late has to be Flight of the Conchords...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WGOohBytKTU

Re: Worship Leader Addicted To Drugs….

James — Thu, 08 May 2008 14:20:13 -0000

I'm a twitterer and an @vickybeeching follower:

twitter.com/englishguy

Out of all the social networking sites, I use only Facebook, since it provides the most options for controlling what you see and who sees you.

BUT I like your 'light in the darkness' option. Sure, there's some poisonous stuff going on, but a little salt and a little light can destroy darkness.

So...when are you coming on the REVEAL podcast, @vickybeeching?

Re: London Rocks!

James — Tue, 13 May 2008 23:24:15 -0000

I went the other way...I'm English, but moved to California 6 years ago. I'm originally from Oxford, and in fact you and I have a friend in common Miss Beeching; I went to school for years with someone you roomed with several years ago.

Anyway...I love it when I go back. There's just no place like "home".

Re: FreePlay Friday - Anniversary Edition

James — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 11:24:15 -0000

Rhonda and I have been married for 4 1/2 years. I married way way up. She's the hottest chick on the planet.

Re: Sunday Setlists #9 - What Happened At Your Church?

James — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 10:36:37 -0000

I'm 3 days late to the party, but what the heck...there's my set list...

Re: Worship Leader Praise Awards

James — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 11:41:49 -0000

...and this is why I just can't stand the "worship" industry; giving awards out to some people for magnifying God better than others.

<abbr>Jamess last blog post..There’ll Be Some Changes Made</abbr>

Re: Worship Leader Praise Awards

James — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 13:53:39 -0000

The problem is that it doesn't just stop at honouring and recognizing; it also elevates people. To me, this is dangerous. To me, this is why scandals like the Healer hoax have such a far-reaching effect - the person gets elevated and praised instead of God being magnified and praised.

<abbr>Jamess last blog post..There’ll Be Some Changes Made</abbr>