“Get On Your Boots”
The likely first single, this blazing, fuzzed-out rocker picks up where “Vertigo” left off. “It started just with me playing and Larry drumming,” the Edge recalls. “And we took it from there.”

“Stand Up Comedy”
Another hard rock tune, powered by an unexpectedly slinky groove and a riff that lands between the Beatles’ “Come Together” and Led Zep’s “Heartbreaker.” Edge recently hung out with Jimmy Page and Jack White for the upcoming documentary It Might Get Loud, and their penchant for blues-based rock rubbed off: “I was just fascinated with seeing how Jimmy played those riffs so simply, and with Jack as well,” he says.

“Crazy Tonight”
“It’s kind of like this album’s ‘Beautiful Day’ — it has that kind of joy to it,” Bono says. With the refrain “I know I’ll go crazy/If I don’t go crazy tonight,” it’s the band’s most unabashed pop tune since “Sweetest Thing.”

“Unknown Caller”
This midtempo track could have fit on All That You Can’t Leave Behind. “The idea is that the narrator is in an altered state, and his phone starts talking to him,” says the Edge.

“Tripoli”
This strikingly experimental song lurches between disparate styles, including near-operatic choral music, Zooropa-style electronics, and churning arena rock.

“Cedars of Lebanon”
“On this album, you can feel what is going on in the world at the window, scratching at the windowpane,” says Bono, who sings this atmospheric ballad from the point of view of a war correspondent.

“Magnificent”
“Only love can leave such a mark,” Bono roars on what sounds like an instant U2 anthem. Will.i.am has already done what Bono calls “the most extraordinary” remix of the tune.

“Moment of Surrender”
This seven-minute-long track is one of the album’s most ambitious, merging a Joshua Tree-style gospel feel with a hypnotically loping bass line and a syncopated beat.

“Every Breaking Wave”
A swelling soul-pop song, with bright synth sounds influenced by OMD and, Bono says, “early electronica.” “You don’t hear indie bands doing blue-eyed soul [like this],” he adds.

“No Line on the Horizon”
The title track’s relentless groove began as a group improvisation. “It’s very raw and very to the point,” says the Edge. “It’s like rock & roll 2009.”

(c) Rolling Stone, 2009.

HT: ATU2.com
HT: Jason Harper

• Went to Austin Stone today for the first time. Not used to going to a mega-church and I have mixed feelings. But I love Austin Stone-such a great church.
• Yesterday Scotty Wade of Studio 914 took some family pics. They look very cool. Scotty is super talented and I’m glad he is working with HELP. After the shoot me grubbed at Magnolia Cafe. Yum yum. Pics to come soon.
• I have insomnia I guess. I wake-up 5-6 times at night. I need to do something about this.
• Last few weeks have been unproductive…I need to do something about that too.
• Looking forward to a new year…Lot’s of dreams…But I’m thinking small and not big.
• Miss Africa…I’m ready to return.
• Why does college football last so long…Reminds me of the NBA playoffs.
• Not sure if I can attend church at not speak. I thought  I would enjoy the “no responsibilities Sunday’s.” I don’t.
• I’ve watched a few movies lately: Marley & Me was decent, Traitor was great , 7 pounds was awesome and What Happens in Vegas was HORRIBLE.
• Hoping Texas wins tomorrow and Oklahoma loses Thursday.
• Not sure if we’ll be living in Austin much longer. That makes me really sad.
• It was 83 yesterday and today it’s 38…Winter in Austin means you get all four seasons every seven days. I can see Jeff Ramsey laughing at me now.
• I really need to start fundraising for HELP. It takes money to run and organization.
• I really want to learn photography. I have so many talented friends, they inspire me.
• I hope the Panthers win the Super Bowl.
• Glad the Lakers beat the Celtics. Much bigger win for us then them. We needed it.
• Let me reiterate. I’m thinking small for 2009 and HELP. That is a discipline for visionaries. It takes time to create a great organization.
• Thinking small is not easy. This year is going to require a lot of faith, sacrifice and work.
• I’m starting to look for partner churches to support HELP.
• Going back to school..Sigh!
• Have you joined our cause?
• Do you follow me or HELP on Twitter? If not DO IT.

Thanks for reading and sharing life.

My friend Jonathon Dodson blogs at Church Planting Novice and truly adds value to the church planting/missional conversation. Jonathan’s blog is filled with praxis, missional thinking, theological reflection and culture engagement. I say this is by far the best blog for church planters.

Aaron Ivey, another friend and local Austinite is one of the worship pastors at Austin Stone. Aaron’s blog is a mix of humor, missional thinking, social justice and all things worship. It’s rare to read one of Aaron’s  posts and not laugh or cry.

Eugene Cho blogs on EVERYTHING. Eugene planted Quest Church, launched Q Cafe and is now in the process of starting a non-profit to fight global poverty. Eugene spends a lot of time reflecting on current news stories and how the church can/should respond.

Bob Roberts is a mega-church pastor in Dallas and an author with multiple books about the church and global engagement. Bob is bold, thoughtful and passionate. I think Bob demonstrates a great example of what a pastor should look like. He engages culture…He’s not locked away into some corner office spouting out church wisdom from on high. Pastors and churches  can make a huge cultural impact if they so choose to.  I think Bob is a great example of that.

JR Woodward has a tremendous blog. JR is a church planter, practical theologian, mission thinker and global traveler. Every post is thoughtful and filled with a lot of practical wisdom. This blog is a great resource that truly inspires and causes deep reflection.

Ben Arment blogs about creativity and innovation. Ben is a former church planter and now works at Catalyst. Ben is opinionated, concise and posts a ton of valuable information on a broad range of topics.

Seth Godin…enough said!

Nick Asolas is a youth pastor (currently changing positions) in AZ. Nick posted some quality thoughts on youth ministry, politics and yes…sports. Nick is opinionated and not scared to hold his ground. It’s only because of the gospel what we are friends as Nick’s HATES the Red Sox and Lakers…So that makes for some good Twitter battles come Oct and June.

Texas in Africa is a blog that I always enjoy. Laura teaches at U. of Texas, activist for all things Africa and world traveler among other things. I think she has an important voice as a missional thinker who works in the education system and not in the traditional pastoral role. Her blogs are witty, researched and thoughtful.

Todd Hiestand is a church planter in the suburbs of Philly. If you’re a church planter in suburbia and you need to figure out how to create a missional community-then Todd is a key voice that you can learn from.

But I still think there is a deeper issue…Many times we look at life (even committed Christians) without a gospel-centered approach. Example: It’s easy to want to lose weight so you can look good, feel better and have a sense of accomplishment.

But what if we saw weight-loss through the lens of the gospel? Yes I want to look and feel better, but I always want to obedient to the scripture. If I eat better, exercise and care for my body, I’m glorifying God through my actions, I’m caring for the temple that God has gifted me. There is a greater reason to lose weight then look and feel, its obedience to God, its about being faithful to the gospel. 

So whatever resolution you have in the upcoming year…Try and see them through a new lens-the gospel. And remember Jesus comes to give abundant life, the gospel is always the “best” way to live. Remember the gospel is “good news.”

So go forward in the new year with a sense of conviction and allow the gospel to be the center of EVERY aspect of your life.

Shalom

My friend Bill Cummings launched a non-profit last year called Lemonaid International. He’s trying to reach the illustrious 1000 member goal for his Facebook Causes Page.

Help a brotha out and join the cause. They are doing some really cool things for kids in poverty in Guatemala.

I’m a big fan of Rick Warren.  He’s not perfect, but who is. I’ve never read Purpose Driven Life, but I did enjoy The Purpose Driven Church in the late 90’s. What I love about Rick is his progression. He started a church that shaped a new culture in Western Christianity-The Seeker Sensitive Church. That culture is both good and bad. But I truly think that movement brought back so many people who gave up on God and the church. 

Now Rick has become global. Fighting for those who live in poverty and creating a deep sense of awareness with his PEACE Plan. He takes a lot of heat because he’s involved in social justice, the church and politics. But I love it. I love how I now think of Rick Warren, not as a mega-church pastor whom people flock to see preach on Sunday morning. I now see Rick in the middle of culture trying to influence it with the gospel, and that is a dangerous place. It’s easy for your friends to become your enemy as they disagree with decisions that are made. It’s easy to make a simple statement, and that statement creates a national uproar…I can’t imagine the stress. 

I would encourage you to check out Brad Ruggles blog post on Rick Warren and Melissa Etheridge. So much to learn from that conversation. Christian can engage culture, befriend those who are different then us; disagree on key issues, and yet still build bridges that add value and mutual respect.

A lot of times churches are planted with Christians who come from great churches with great communicators. Basically they (Christians) expect great speaking. For many church planters they may be used to speaking because they where on staff at a church when they launched, and they spoke on a consistent basis. But many times the new church planter is not prepared to speak week-to-week.

For me I had not spoken for years…At times it was rough. Truthfully I think I finally found my speaking voice at Vista. I found what “worked” for me. I’m a story-teller, motivator, and passion is essential in my speaking. I can’t speak with notes and I don’t like speaking for a long time. 35-40 minutes is tops. (stop laughing-that is not that long)

Here is my rhythm:

1. 6-8 hours of study on the topic. (I’m a verse by verse guy, so that helps) 
2. Write out a full manuscript.
3. Practice speaking from manuscript.
4. Memorize all key scriptures.
5. From manuscript create a simple one-page outline.
6. Practice one more time from outline with no notes-free flow. 
7. Speak. (no notes-I do have an outline with me) 

Tim Keller is one of my favorite communicators. I just read Jonathan’s post on Keller’s preaching philosophy. Keller stated that it takes at least 200 sermons to become a good communicator. That is 4 years of speaking every Sunday. YIKES! 

“I don’t believe you should spend a lot of time preparing your sermon, when you’re a younger minister. I think because we are so desperately want our sermon to be good, that when you’re younger you spend way too much time preparing. And, you know, its scary to say this to the younger ministers… you’re not going to be much better by putting in twenty hours on that sermon - the only way you’re going to be a better preacher is if you preach often. For the first 200 sermons, not matter what you do, your first 200 sermons are going to be terrible. (laughter from the crowd). And, if you put in… fifteen or twenty hours in the sermon you probably won’t preach that many sermons because you won’t last in ministry, because your people will feel neglected.” Tim Keller

So if you’re a communicator do yourself a favor: relax. Enjoy the process and give yourself some grace. Yes, there will always be those Christians who will not be patient and allow you time and space to learn and grow-therefore they will leave your church so they can get “fed” by the seasoned communicator. (It’s not easy sitting through bad sermons, not trying to be critical) That’s OK, the important thing is for the communicator to find their voice so they can communicate effectively over the long-haul.

However, I hate that so many don’t have what I have. My prayer this morning was for anger. I don’t care what you call it, holy anger, righteous anger or holy discontent. I just want my heart to beat in the same manner of Jesus.

And I think Jesus is angry over the pain and suffering in our world. And I know he wants His followers to have the same anger. We can’t be content with being blessed, we must become a blessing. 

We have “good news” to share. We can offer hope, we can show love, we can share the story of Jesus to our world.

I hope and pray that 2009 we all become more connected to the gospel and how the gospel is displayed in our day-to-day lives. Let us become more generous with our love, time and resources.

Christmas was great for the Marlow family. We woke up early and opened gifts at home. We told the kids they could not wake us up before 7AM-we got up at 7AM exactly! Then we headed to the in-laws for breakfast with the family. After that we went back home to chill and get ready for dinner at our place. After dinner we headed downtown to see lights on 37th ST, which is basically a typical Austin event that throws out tradition and adds it’s own vibe. Who needs baby Jesus in a manger? Jesus was replaced with Obama Welcome to Austin. 

Of course I had to watch the Laker vs. Celtics game. Glad we won! Boston is a great team and we needed the confidence. 

My only gripe with C-mas was the weather. It was hot and muggy. C’mon it’s December what gives.  (I can see Jeff Ramsey laughing at me now

I’m blessed, God has been good to me and my family. Now if I can just get some sleep!