Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Monday, December 29, 2008
A plea
Hello, my friends,
I have journeyed through the first four months of my internship with Aaron Keyes. The worship school has been an amazing thing for me. I've grown a whole lot thus far, and it's not quite over yet. God has been so faithful to provide everything I've needed so far, and I'm sure He's going to continue to.
In that thought, I know that God uses people, through prayer, and through giving.
Please pray that God will bring in the money I need for these next two months.
You can get in touch with me for more detailed information. This is all I want to post for now.
Good afternoon,
-Daniel
I have journeyed through the first four months of my internship with Aaron Keyes. The worship school has been an amazing thing for me. I've grown a whole lot thus far, and it's not quite over yet. God has been so faithful to provide everything I've needed so far, and I'm sure He's going to continue to.
In that thought, I know that God uses people, through prayer, and through giving.
Please pray that God will bring in the money I need for these next two months.
You can get in touch with me for more detailed information. This is all I want to post for now.
Good afternoon,
-Daniel
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
Another week, another blog
Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen,
I would like to direct your attention to www.aaronkeyes.com/blog
There, we will be keeping you updated with postings from myself and my three fellow interns, along with some postings from Aaron.
Go to the link, subscribe to the RSS if you want to...just keep in touch through there. I'll probably still post on here infrequently, but that is where we will be doing a lot of updating for the worship school!
-Daniel
I would like to direct your attention to www.aaronkeyes.com/blog
There, we will be keeping you updated with postings from myself and my three fellow interns, along with some postings from Aaron.
Go to the link, subscribe to the RSS if you want to...just keep in touch through there. I'll probably still post on here infrequently, but that is where we will be doing a lot of updating for the worship school!
-Daniel
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Weekly? Maybe.
Here's what I'd like to do. I'd like to update this weekly with news of the internship and what I'm doing and what opportunities God brings me, and what life is like, et cetera. I think Monday or Tuesday would be a good day to do that.
Speaking of Mondays, I'll tell you about something that we had a class on last week. Aaron had Jon Stallsmith (one of the teaching staff at Grace) talk to us about the Sabbath. We went through Gen. 1 & 2, and some stuff in Exodus 17 about the Sabbath and what it means and how important it is to keep the Sabbath. We also talked from Matthew 10. (If you want my notes from that, send me an email and I'll send them to you.) All of that to say, I am trying to set aside Monday as a Sabbath rest for me. This includes things like sleep and rest; unhurried prayer; recreation and fun; relationships, especially spending time with Mary; decompressing and processing, and more. This would be the day for me to be able to put my thoughts from the past week down, or up on the internet, as the case may be. I think this is very important. This is not just for special people who are really, really spiritual. Keeping the Sabbath holy is for every Christian. We can't be too busy to have a Sabbath, it's to be a part of a holistic life of holiness.
I'll stop preaching now. Keep in mind that there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. I don't have this all together. I'm not doing as well as I should on this, or on many, many other areas.
Sunday, Isaiah and I led worship in the main auditorium at Grace. I'll find out in a little bit just how many people were there this weekend, but I know that, over the course of the three services, there were probably over four thousand people who came through the doors. That's more people than I have ever led worship for in one day.
Isaiah did a wonderful job on Sunday. Aaron was commenting yesterday about him, that he was very warm and compelling an inviting on stage, and that he felt like Isaiah connected well with the people.
Buddy preached a sermon as sort of a follow up for Craig Gross' (www.xxxchurch.com) sermon last week on the dangers of sin and especially sexual sin, namely pornography. Buddy preached from Mark 6 about Herod and his stolen wife and step-daughter, and the death of John the Baptist. His main points were that sin is never singular and that we are responsible, not only for our actions, but also for our influence. He showed a rap video at the end of his message, about a middle aged man taking a prostitute and making her a porn star, basically, and then about a young man, looking at porn on the internet, and finding this girl. It shows how far-reaching our sins are, and how interconnected sin is. After the video, he prayed and then we came up for the response and worship. In the 5:15PM service, he didn't even pray, he left while the video was going, so I got to do the whole transition. That is a tough place to transition from. It was very intense. I'm thankful that I got to do that, it was a great experience. It was a lot of pressure and a lot of fun, and I felt the weight of responsibility for all those people. I prayed that I would lead well. Aaron was really encouraging about what he saw me do yesterday. The response of the people in the congregation was also good. I do think that most of the people are really comfortable with Aaron leading, and it was a curve to have Isaiah and me there, instead of him.
All in all, yesterday was an incredible experience...so much more than I can say.
I'm headed out now. Tuesday mornings are staff meeting at Grace, and I want to go with Aaron.
At the beginning of the internship, he talked about how his vision for the school is that it would be like Elijah and Elisha. One of the things that stuck out to all of us about the story of the passing of Elijah's mantle was the no matter what Elijah said, nearing the end of his time on earth, Elisha wouldn't leave his side. I want to learn as much as I can from Aaron's leadership, and his example. I want to go where he goes and see how he walks out his life, not just in ministry, but in every day.
Keep praying for me. Thank God, provision for tuition for October has come in. I have about a third of the tuition for November, and none for Dec.-Feb. Keep praying, and if you have to give, please pray about contributing to my ministry and my training and education.
If you read this, you're probably in my group of friends and circle of influence. Chances are, you're in thoughts frequently. Know that I care about you and appreciate you.
Cheers,
-Daniel
Speaking of Mondays, I'll tell you about something that we had a class on last week. Aaron had Jon Stallsmith (one of the teaching staff at Grace) talk to us about the Sabbath. We went through Gen. 1 & 2, and some stuff in Exodus 17 about the Sabbath and what it means and how important it is to keep the Sabbath. We also talked from Matthew 10. (If you want my notes from that, send me an email and I'll send them to you.) All of that to say, I am trying to set aside Monday as a Sabbath rest for me. This includes things like sleep and rest; unhurried prayer; recreation and fun; relationships, especially spending time with Mary; decompressing and processing, and more. This would be the day for me to be able to put my thoughts from the past week down, or up on the internet, as the case may be. I think this is very important. This is not just for special people who are really, really spiritual. Keeping the Sabbath holy is for every Christian. We can't be too busy to have a Sabbath, it's to be a part of a holistic life of holiness.
I'll stop preaching now. Keep in mind that there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. I don't have this all together. I'm not doing as well as I should on this, or on many, many other areas.
Sunday, Isaiah and I led worship in the main auditorium at Grace. I'll find out in a little bit just how many people were there this weekend, but I know that, over the course of the three services, there were probably over four thousand people who came through the doors. That's more people than I have ever led worship for in one day.
Isaiah did a wonderful job on Sunday. Aaron was commenting yesterday about him, that he was very warm and compelling an inviting on stage, and that he felt like Isaiah connected well with the people.
Buddy preached a sermon as sort of a follow up for Craig Gross' (www.xxxchurch.com) sermon last week on the dangers of sin and especially sexual sin, namely pornography. Buddy preached from Mark 6 about Herod and his stolen wife and step-daughter, and the death of John the Baptist. His main points were that sin is never singular and that we are responsible, not only for our actions, but also for our influence. He showed a rap video at the end of his message, about a middle aged man taking a prostitute and making her a porn star, basically, and then about a young man, looking at porn on the internet, and finding this girl. It shows how far-reaching our sins are, and how interconnected sin is. After the video, he prayed and then we came up for the response and worship. In the 5:15PM service, he didn't even pray, he left while the video was going, so I got to do the whole transition. That is a tough place to transition from. It was very intense. I'm thankful that I got to do that, it was a great experience. It was a lot of pressure and a lot of fun, and I felt the weight of responsibility for all those people. I prayed that I would lead well. Aaron was really encouraging about what he saw me do yesterday. The response of the people in the congregation was also good. I do think that most of the people are really comfortable with Aaron leading, and it was a curve to have Isaiah and me there, instead of him.
All in all, yesterday was an incredible experience...so much more than I can say.
I'm headed out now. Tuesday mornings are staff meeting at Grace, and I want to go with Aaron.
At the beginning of the internship, he talked about how his vision for the school is that it would be like Elijah and Elisha. One of the things that stuck out to all of us about the story of the passing of Elijah's mantle was the no matter what Elijah said, nearing the end of his time on earth, Elisha wouldn't leave his side. I want to learn as much as I can from Aaron's leadership, and his example. I want to go where he goes and see how he walks out his life, not just in ministry, but in every day.
Keep praying for me. Thank God, provision for tuition for October has come in. I have about a third of the tuition for November, and none for Dec.-Feb. Keep praying, and if you have to give, please pray about contributing to my ministry and my training and education.
If you read this, you're probably in my group of friends and circle of influence. Chances are, you're in thoughts frequently. Know that I care about you and appreciate you.
Cheers,
-Daniel
Post Script - The internet went down this morning as I was typing this, so here it is now. Update: I didn't get to go to staff meeting. We had Vania, who babysits the Keyes kids, come down and do a workshop on good ways to keep the basement clean and orderly...very mickey mouse, but still fun. Enough for now. Comment and stuff.
Monday, September 22, 2008
9.22.08
Yesterday, I led worship with Aaron at Grace Fellowship. It was the first time I've been on stage in the main services at Grace. I played keys and led two songs. We had three services yesterday, and all of them were really good. Here's the set-list we did.
Glorious One by Fee, which I led
A Shield About Me by Eoghan Heaslip
Give Us Clean Hands by Charlie Hall, which I led
Made Me Glad by Miriam Webster with Your Name by Paul Baloche
Not What My Hands by Aaron Keyes
We had the founder and pastor for xxxchurch.com, Craig Gross, speak yesterday. He basically gave an overview of their ministry and shared the dangers of sexual addiction to pornography and how it, like any sin, keeps you from being able to do what God wants you to do. You should check out their website and maybe search for some of their media interviews. One thing that I love about their ministry is that they show love to every person they meet, no matter what lifestyle they live. Craig told about how he is friends with Ron Jeremey, notably the most famous man in the pornography industry. I love how they talk about it with such openness, and it has begun to change the way most Christians view and treat people who have struggles with sexual sin. Our job is to show love and to disciple people, not to look down on them and alienate them even more. I'm not going to preach to you, I just want to share what I feel about the message yesterday. Check out their website.
I'm super excited, because Isaiah and I are leading worship at all three services at Grace next weekend. Aaron has an event on Thursday night, when Grace's worship ministry usually rehearses, and he is leading worship at Midtown Community Church on Sunday night, so instead of having to rearrange rehearsals, and then leave Grace early on Sunday evening, he's just having Isaiah and me lead for Grace this weekend...without him. I'm nervous about it, but I'm extremely excited. I'm praying that I don't get too caught up in making sure that everything happens perfectly, but that I focus on hearing from God about what songs to do, and that we do a good job in preparing and leading, so that God is most glorified by what we do. I'm also praying that the Holy Spirit, as we lead, will pull on hearts to seek God more. I can't remember who said it, but someone was saying that it's important to remember to pursue excellence, not perfection. I hope that makes sense to you.
Oh...Aaron's basement is finally almost finished. The kitchen is done and usable, as are the bathrooms. Those are the important parts that have been missing for the past two weeks. Thankfully, we're self-sufficient now. I feel better about it, becuase I don't feel like we're encroaching on Aaron and his family as much. They have been so gracious to us so far, but I don't want to run out of favor, ya know?
My time here is up, but as it is any time, if you want to know more about what's going on in my life, just ask.
-Daniel
Glorious One by Fee, which I led
A Shield About Me by Eoghan Heaslip
Give Us Clean Hands by Charlie Hall, which I led
Made Me Glad by Miriam Webster with Your Name by Paul Baloche
Not What My Hands by Aaron Keyes
We had the founder and pastor for xxxchurch.com, Craig Gross, speak yesterday. He basically gave an overview of their ministry and shared the dangers of sexual addiction to pornography and how it, like any sin, keeps you from being able to do what God wants you to do. You should check out their website and maybe search for some of their media interviews. One thing that I love about their ministry is that they show love to every person they meet, no matter what lifestyle they live. Craig told about how he is friends with Ron Jeremey, notably the most famous man in the pornography industry. I love how they talk about it with such openness, and it has begun to change the way most Christians view and treat people who have struggles with sexual sin. Our job is to show love and to disciple people, not to look down on them and alienate them even more. I'm not going to preach to you, I just want to share what I feel about the message yesterday. Check out their website.
I'm super excited, because Isaiah and I are leading worship at all three services at Grace next weekend. Aaron has an event on Thursday night, when Grace's worship ministry usually rehearses, and he is leading worship at Midtown Community Church on Sunday night, so instead of having to rearrange rehearsals, and then leave Grace early on Sunday evening, he's just having Isaiah and me lead for Grace this weekend...without him. I'm nervous about it, but I'm extremely excited. I'm praying that I don't get too caught up in making sure that everything happens perfectly, but that I focus on hearing from God about what songs to do, and that we do a good job in preparing and leading, so that God is most glorified by what we do. I'm also praying that the Holy Spirit, as we lead, will pull on hearts to seek God more. I can't remember who said it, but someone was saying that it's important to remember to pursue excellence, not perfection. I hope that makes sense to you.
Oh...Aaron's basement is finally almost finished. The kitchen is done and usable, as are the bathrooms. Those are the important parts that have been missing for the past two weeks. Thankfully, we're self-sufficient now. I feel better about it, becuase I don't feel like we're encroaching on Aaron and his family as much. They have been so gracious to us so far, but I don't want to run out of favor, ya know?
My time here is up, but as it is any time, if you want to know more about what's going on in my life, just ask.
-Daniel
Saturday, September 13, 2008
BLOGS
Good afternoon, fellow human beings.
This here is an update on how the "Aaron Keyes Worship School" (A.K.A. "The school") is going.
We've been very busy the last two weeks since we got started. Aaron's basement is almost finished. We have been sleeping down here for almost a week now. The painting is all done except for a very, very little bit of edging. The electrical work is all done. The kitchen isn't done and there is no plumbing down here.
We've led worship several times at several places so far, and we'll be doing even more in the future. I'll be leading this Sunday with Isaiah at a church in Covington, and then helping lead at a youth event in Grayson.
Let me tell you about the thing in Grayson. Grayson UMC is starting a weekly youth worship service on Sunday nights, and we met on Wednesday with the Youth Pastor and the Middle School leader to begin planning for it. The school is basically going to be doing worship for this service every week. The way this will look is that probably two of us will go every week to lead for them. We're going to be basically starting from scratch with the students, as far as worship is concerned. We're going into it assuming that they don't know anything about worship. This is going to be a wonderful learning experience for all of us involved. The youth leaders there have never done anything like this, nor have their students, and we have the opportunity to really shepherd this group of students in worship every week. It's going to be awesome. I'm pretty excited about it.
Really though, leading worship is the minority of our time spent for the school. The majority of the emphasis is on truly and deeply studying the Bible, not just what it says about worship or music, but just understanding the Bible, in general. Aaron wants us to know more than just how to be good song leaders, but to learn to be pastors in worship. My heart is to learn how to orient my whole life to be focused on true worship to God.
Did you know that the first time the word "worship" is mentioned in the Bible is when Abraham is going up to sacrifice Isaac? That should tell us something about the emphasis of worship in the Bible. That worship is about obedience, and sacrifice...and not primarily about music. Check out Genesis 22 for yourself. See what you think it tells us about worship. Also, look for the parallels to the story of Christ.
In the next couple weeks, we're going to be getting a different place for a blog set up for the school. There will be our calendar, as well as our study assignments and our thoughts on leading worship. I'll be getting you a link to that.
Take care, keep praying for me, and seek God. He desires you. Really.
-Daniel
This here is an update on how the "Aaron Keyes Worship School" (A.K.A. "The school") is going.
We've been very busy the last two weeks since we got started. Aaron's basement is almost finished. We have been sleeping down here for almost a week now. The painting is all done except for a very, very little bit of edging. The electrical work is all done. The kitchen isn't done and there is no plumbing down here.
We've led worship several times at several places so far, and we'll be doing even more in the future. I'll be leading this Sunday with Isaiah at a church in Covington, and then helping lead at a youth event in Grayson.
Let me tell you about the thing in Grayson. Grayson UMC is starting a weekly youth worship service on Sunday nights, and we met on Wednesday with the Youth Pastor and the Middle School leader to begin planning for it. The school is basically going to be doing worship for this service every week. The way this will look is that probably two of us will go every week to lead for them. We're going to be basically starting from scratch with the students, as far as worship is concerned. We're going into it assuming that they don't know anything about worship. This is going to be a wonderful learning experience for all of us involved. The youth leaders there have never done anything like this, nor have their students, and we have the opportunity to really shepherd this group of students in worship every week. It's going to be awesome. I'm pretty excited about it.
Really though, leading worship is the minority of our time spent for the school. The majority of the emphasis is on truly and deeply studying the Bible, not just what it says about worship or music, but just understanding the Bible, in general. Aaron wants us to know more than just how to be good song leaders, but to learn to be pastors in worship. My heart is to learn how to orient my whole life to be focused on true worship to God.
Did you know that the first time the word "worship" is mentioned in the Bible is when Abraham is going up to sacrifice Isaac? That should tell us something about the emphasis of worship in the Bible. That worship is about obedience, and sacrifice...and not primarily about music. Check out Genesis 22 for yourself. See what you think it tells us about worship. Also, look for the parallels to the story of Christ.
In the next couple weeks, we're going to be getting a different place for a blog set up for the school. There will be our calendar, as well as our study assignments and our thoughts on leading worship. I'll be getting you a link to that.
Take care, keep praying for me, and seek God. He desires you. Really.
-Daniel
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
A
Hey everybody, I want to tell you what's going on with my internship with Aaron Keyes. Here's a little blog to tell you about it so far. This is just a simple overview, not with a lot of detail.
I'm hoping to be able to post a blog once a week or so, and I think it will get easier, once we get settled in.
Last Wednesday, I met at Grace Fellowship church at 6:45 to meet up with my new roommates, my new mentor, and a whole bunch more leaders at Grace. Jeremey, Brett, and Isaiah are my "schoolmates". I had actually picked up Jeremey from the airport before we went to Grace. At grace on Wednesday night, we met leaders and saw how the children's and middle school programs happen.
After the service, we went to Aaron's to see his house. The basement where we will be living is not even close to being done at this point. They had just put up sheetrock that day. We crashed that night upstairs in their guestroom and their kids' room.
On Thursday, we basically just got ready and left for Destin, FL. We went with Aaron and his band to play for a NorthPoint Community Church singles' retreat at the Hilton SanDestin Beach Resort. It was a HORRIBLE place to stay...not. It was awesome, actually. They took such good care of us, and we didn't even do that much all weekend. We got to spend a good bit of time with Aaron and his guys, and seeing them lead worship was great.
We got back early Monday morning, and spent all day priming the walls downstairs. Today we had an early morning prayer meeting, followed by a session with Aaron, with him just opening the bible to us and sharing his heart for the next six months. We'll be spending A LOT of time reading and studying. This is cool.
This catches us up. The next few days will still be kind of hairy, because we're still not moved into the basement, and so we don't really have a place to call "home". That will come soon, though.
When that happens, I'll be keeping you posted a lot more often.
Pray for me, I still need lots of provision in the area of finances.
More to come, for sure,
-Daniel
I'm hoping to be able to post a blog once a week or so, and I think it will get easier, once we get settled in.
Last Wednesday, I met at Grace Fellowship church at 6:45 to meet up with my new roommates, my new mentor, and a whole bunch more leaders at Grace. Jeremey, Brett, and Isaiah are my "schoolmates". I had actually picked up Jeremey from the airport before we went to Grace. At grace on Wednesday night, we met leaders and saw how the children's and middle school programs happen.
After the service, we went to Aaron's to see his house. The basement where we will be living is not even close to being done at this point. They had just put up sheetrock that day. We crashed that night upstairs in their guestroom and their kids' room.
On Thursday, we basically just got ready and left for Destin, FL. We went with Aaron and his band to play for a NorthPoint Community Church singles' retreat at the Hilton SanDestin Beach Resort. It was a HORRIBLE place to stay...not. It was awesome, actually. They took such good care of us, and we didn't even do that much all weekend. We got to spend a good bit of time with Aaron and his guys, and seeing them lead worship was great.
We got back early Monday morning, and spent all day priming the walls downstairs. Today we had an early morning prayer meeting, followed by a session with Aaron, with him just opening the bible to us and sharing his heart for the next six months. We'll be spending A LOT of time reading and studying. This is cool.
This catches us up. The next few days will still be kind of hairy, because we're still not moved into the basement, and so we don't really have a place to call "home". That will come soon, though.
When that happens, I'll be keeping you posted a lot more often.
Pray for me, I still need lots of provision in the area of finances.
More to come, for sure,
-Daniel
Monday, July 14, 2008
Latest News, Funding Updates, Songs for Sale
I got an email update from the registrar for Aaron's worship school this evening. I'll show it to you.
It is my pleasure and delight to send this email out to you all. Congratulations. My prayers for you will continue and intensify. Let me know if you have specified prayer needs. Aaron's wife Megan leads an amazing prayer team that will be honored to lift you to the Father.
Here are some details for the next few weeks that you will find helpful.
First month's tuition (September) is due now. Tuition ($1000.00) is due on the 1st of each month, starting in October.
School will start Aug 27. You will be attending the 722 Beach retreat in Destin starting on August 29th with Aaron. Brennan Manning is the guest speaker. To ready your hearts for this event we have ordered you one his books “Ragamuffin Gospel” that should come in tomorrow. I will mail them to you” out of towners”. Daniel and Brett let me know if that works for you as well. Summer reading dudes!!
You will have Thanksgiving week off (Nov. 24-28) and 2 weeks at Christmas (Dec.22-Jan. 5) Aaron will be discussing your possible involvement with our holiday gathering...more on that later.
The school session will end the week of Feb 23
Please feel free to contact me with your questions.
I was overjoyed to get this email today. I'll be honest, I've been very, very, discouraged about the finances for this internship over the last few weeks. If you remember, I was under the impression that we would be required to turn in half of the total tuition up-front. That would be $3,000. I was having a hard time seeing how that was going to happen. Thank God that is not the case. He has been so faithful in being creatively providential for me. This was not the way I thought it could happen, but it is definitely miraculous! Thank you for praying for me.
I almost have the first month's tuition right now, which is great! I am still in need of a lot of help for the following months. I have a feeling I will be walking by faith every single month, but this is no new experience for me. Please continue praying for me and consider any ways you might be able to help...even if it is very little.
That brings me to my other news: My new EP, entitled "You", is up on MySpace. Also, now I have a Snocap Mystore on my myspace page. There, you can buy the songs from "You". This is going to be an influential way for people to support me throughout the time of this internship.
The songs on "You" are worship. They are my heart to Him. My prayer is this
Lord, I want my life to be all for You.
All for You, Jesus.
-Daniel Cowan
P.S. you can get them here too.
It is my pleasure and delight to send this email out to you all. Congratulations. My prayers for you will continue and intensify. Let me know if you have specified prayer needs. Aaron's wife Megan leads an amazing prayer team that will be honored to lift you to the Father.
Here are some details for the next few weeks that you will find helpful.
First month's tuition (September) is due now. Tuition ($1000.00) is due on the 1st of each month, starting in October.
School will start Aug 27. You will be attending the 722 Beach retreat in Destin starting on August 29th with Aaron. Brennan Manning is the guest speaker. To ready your hearts for this event we have ordered you one his books “Ragamuffin Gospel” that should come in tomorrow. I will mail them to you” out of towners”. Daniel and Brett let me know if that works for you as well. Summer reading dudes!!
You will have Thanksgiving week off (Nov. 24-28) and 2 weeks at Christmas (Dec.22-Jan. 5) Aaron will be discussing your possible involvement with our holiday gathering...more on that later.
The school session will end the week of Feb 23
Please feel free to contact me with your questions.
I was overjoyed to get this email today. I'll be honest, I've been very, very, discouraged about the finances for this internship over the last few weeks. If you remember, I was under the impression that we would be required to turn in half of the total tuition up-front. That would be $3,000. I was having a hard time seeing how that was going to happen. Thank God that is not the case. He has been so faithful in being creatively providential for me. This was not the way I thought it could happen, but it is definitely miraculous! Thank you for praying for me.
I almost have the first month's tuition right now, which is great! I am still in need of a lot of help for the following months. I have a feeling I will be walking by faith every single month, but this is no new experience for me. Please continue praying for me and consider any ways you might be able to help...even if it is very little.
That brings me to my other news: My new EP, entitled "You", is up on MySpace. Also, now I have a Snocap Mystore on my myspace page. There, you can buy the songs from "You". This is going to be an influential way for people to support me throughout the time of this internship.
The songs on "You" are worship. They are my heart to Him. My prayer is this
Lord, I want my life to be all for You.
All for You, Jesus.
-Daniel Cowan
P.S. you can get them here too.
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
Official Notice
Hello, Everyone!
I'm very sorry it's been so long since my last blog. There has not been much news to report to you. I only have a few short minutes tonight to write, but I want to let you know a few things.
We have been waiting the final call from Aaron Keyes and the worship school to know for sure, officially, if I have been invited to be a part of the internship for the fall. The last we had heard was that we would know around the first of July. Well...today, Aaron called my cell phone and it went something like this...
*ringtone*
Daniel: Hello?
Aaron: Hey, Daniel? It's Aaron.
Daniel: Hey! Aaron, how are things?
Aaron: Great, man, I'm doing great. How are you?
Daniel: I'm doing good...what can I do for you?
Aaron: Well, I just wanted to call and let you know that we are really excited about spending time with you this fall.
Daniel: That's great! I'm excited about it too.
...etc.
All of that to say that I have official notice now.
FUNDRAISING UPDATE- I have about a thousand dollars raised as of right now. I have a few people who have said they would like to help, but haven't known yet just how much they would be able to help with. I still need to raise a lot of money. As I said before, it's going to cost $6,000 total...and I need to have half of it up front, when we start in August. Please...please, please be in prayer for me. I do not have within me the capabilities to come up with this kind of money. If I get to do this, it will only be because God has orchestrated it and spoken to people's hearts to invest into my life and my ministry. Thank you to those who have already been able to do that. Your expressions of love mean more to me than I can really say tonight.
I am not anxious for anything, but in everything, with prayer and petition, I'm presenting my request to God...
With excitement,
-Daniel Cowan
I'm very sorry it's been so long since my last blog. There has not been much news to report to you. I only have a few short minutes tonight to write, but I want to let you know a few things.
We have been waiting the final call from Aaron Keyes and the worship school to know for sure, officially, if I have been invited to be a part of the internship for the fall. The last we had heard was that we would know around the first of July. Well...today, Aaron called my cell phone and it went something like this...
*ringtone*
Daniel: Hello?
Aaron: Hey, Daniel? It's Aaron.
Daniel: Hey! Aaron, how are things?
Aaron: Great, man, I'm doing great. How are you?
Daniel: I'm doing good...what can I do for you?
Aaron: Well, I just wanted to call and let you know that we are really excited about spending time with you this fall.
Daniel: That's great! I'm excited about it too.
...etc.
All of that to say that I have official notice now.
FUNDRAISING UPDATE- I have about a thousand dollars raised as of right now. I have a few people who have said they would like to help, but haven't known yet just how much they would be able to help with. I still need to raise a lot of money. As I said before, it's going to cost $6,000 total...and I need to have half of it up front, when we start in August. Please...please, please be in prayer for me. I do not have within me the capabilities to come up with this kind of money. If I get to do this, it will only be because God has orchestrated it and spoken to people's hearts to invest into my life and my ministry. Thank you to those who have already been able to do that. Your expressions of love mean more to me than I can really say tonight.
I am not anxious for anything, but in everything, with prayer and petition, I'm presenting my request to God...
With excitement,
-Daniel Cowan
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
Providence and Faithfulness
Hi everybody.
I have some more information on funds for Aaron Keyes' worship training school for this fall. As I said before, the school is going to cost $1,000 per month for six months, which is a total of $6,000. I had been hoping that we could pay monthly so that I could raise the support in monthly pledges from many different people. However, I just found out from Aaron's administrator that they are going to need us to get them half of the total amount up front. So I'm going to have to have $3,000 in hand by the middle of August.
Let me just take a second to tell about God's faithfulness in my life. Every time God has led me to do something, he has provided a way for me to do it. He has never, ever failed me in this area.
-When I was thirteen, I was scheduled to go on a mission trip to Chicago, Illinois. On the night before we were supposed to leave, my sister and I were still horribly short on money for the trip. The church called everyone who was going down to the front of the church so they could pray for us and commission us. I felt very silly going down there, because I didn't really think I'd be getting on that plane the next day. As we were praying, a wonderful older man in the congregation came up behind Beth and me, and put his hand on our shoulders and said quietly, so only we could hear him, "You guys will be ready to go tomorrow, everything's taken care of." !!!!!! We had all the money...the night before!!
-During the summer after my sixteenth birthday, I was asked to accompany a worship leader for the summer and play keyboards with him and his daughter as they traveled to lead worship for a few different mission trips and gatherings and such. This six week trip should have cost me hundreds of dollars, but God provided for me through this leader.
-Last year, I spent six months living in Monroe, GA, renting a house that cost me $600 a month...plus utilities. The reason I moved there was because I had felt compelled to work, for a time, with a church in the area. So I packed up and found a place to rent. I still worked in Dahlonega, but I lived in Monroe on the weekends for church. I honestly don't know how I paid rent and bought food and gas and am still alive. God is the only one to whom I can give credit for any of that.
All that to say that God is faithful and providential. He is Jehovah Aman and He is Jehovah Jireh. I have no doubts that if it is God's will for me to be involved with this internship, then He will make a way.
I am still thinking that some might be able to contribute on a monthly basis, but to make that work, so that I have enough money up front, I would like to begin finding some that would begin contributing now, and give for six months, starting with May. This way, if I can find enough people that can give on a regular basis, I should have the money that I need by August.
About the CD. My friend's computer crashed, so we haven't been able to record in two weeks. I'm not sure what happened. However, and fortunately, my keyboard tracks are still there, so we are hoping to take a quick trip up to Nashville in the next two weeks, and record the vocals and finish it up so that I can get it duplicated and get it in with the application, and start getting it out to sell to you guys. I am really praying that the CD will be a big help in raising money.
One other thing about money...pray about this too, if you will. There are a few other things that I need to take care of financially, so that I can go to the school this fall. I have a few debts from the past few years, including my car loan, and a credit card that I need to pay down so that I don't have the payments to make while I'm not working full time.
I plead with you to pray for me about all of this. I'm convinced that prayer really does make a difference.
You're loved,
-Daniel
I have some more information on funds for Aaron Keyes' worship training school for this fall. As I said before, the school is going to cost $1,000 per month for six months, which is a total of $6,000. I had been hoping that we could pay monthly so that I could raise the support in monthly pledges from many different people. However, I just found out from Aaron's administrator that they are going to need us to get them half of the total amount up front. So I'm going to have to have $3,000 in hand by the middle of August.
Let me just take a second to tell about God's faithfulness in my life. Every time God has led me to do something, he has provided a way for me to do it. He has never, ever failed me in this area.
-When I was thirteen, I was scheduled to go on a mission trip to Chicago, Illinois. On the night before we were supposed to leave, my sister and I were still horribly short on money for the trip. The church called everyone who was going down to the front of the church so they could pray for us and commission us. I felt very silly going down there, because I didn't really think I'd be getting on that plane the next day. As we were praying, a wonderful older man in the congregation came up behind Beth and me, and put his hand on our shoulders and said quietly, so only we could hear him, "You guys will be ready to go tomorrow, everything's taken care of." !!!!!! We had all the money...the night before!!
-During the summer after my sixteenth birthday, I was asked to accompany a worship leader for the summer and play keyboards with him and his daughter as they traveled to lead worship for a few different mission trips and gatherings and such. This six week trip should have cost me hundreds of dollars, but God provided for me through this leader.
-Last year, I spent six months living in Monroe, GA, renting a house that cost me $600 a month...plus utilities. The reason I moved there was because I had felt compelled to work, for a time, with a church in the area. So I packed up and found a place to rent. I still worked in Dahlonega, but I lived in Monroe on the weekends for church. I honestly don't know how I paid rent and bought food and gas and am still alive. God is the only one to whom I can give credit for any of that.
All that to say that God is faithful and providential. He is Jehovah Aman and He is Jehovah Jireh. I have no doubts that if it is God's will for me to be involved with this internship, then He will make a way.
I am still thinking that some might be able to contribute on a monthly basis, but to make that work, so that I have enough money up front, I would like to begin finding some that would begin contributing now, and give for six months, starting with May. This way, if I can find enough people that can give on a regular basis, I should have the money that I need by August.
About the CD. My friend's computer crashed, so we haven't been able to record in two weeks. I'm not sure what happened. However, and fortunately, my keyboard tracks are still there, so we are hoping to take a quick trip up to Nashville in the next two weeks, and record the vocals and finish it up so that I can get it duplicated and get it in with the application, and start getting it out to sell to you guys. I am really praying that the CD will be a big help in raising money.
One other thing about money...pray about this too, if you will. There are a few other things that I need to take care of financially, so that I can go to the school this fall. I have a few debts from the past few years, including my car loan, and a credit card that I need to pay down so that I don't have the payments to make while I'm not working full time.
I plead with you to pray for me about all of this. I'm convinced that prayer really does make a difference.
You're loved,
-Daniel
Thursday, May 1, 2008
Training, Humility, Opportunity, Plans
Since late last summer, I have been feeling very strongly that I should step back from full-time, all-the-time ministry leadership and seek training in leading worship. I have led worship for the past six plus years, and have done so with little training. I have had a few people that have spurred me on here and there, but there hasn't been someone who would intentionally and proactively pour into my life for a long period of time to help me grow in leading worship. I struggled for a long time about the idea of going to college to study music and ministry, and it seemed that God kept closing the doors. So, finally, I decided I needed to take myself out of leadership and find someone, somewhere that I could put myself under for a time of mentoring and training.
I started attending Grace Fellowship church's Sunday evening service in Snellville, GA soon after I left my place in an Assemblies of God church in Monroe. The worship leader there is Aaron Keyes. I had heard of him before, but not been around him enough to know what kind of leader he is. It didn't take long for me to be really impressed with him. Not only is he a well-accomplished, well-experienced musician and leader, he's a worshipper. He is very effective at communicating the truth through songs and the words he speaks. I have seen many worship leaders and they (like many in the Christian circles) usually fall into one of three catergories: Truth, Freedom, Excellence. Those who are strong in Truth usually lack the style of accomplished performers and the freedom in worship of the more charasmatics. The ones who thrive in Freedom often are more lax in technicality, and even more often miss the mark when it comes to theological soundness. The "Excellent" ones are very proficient musically, but lack expression in worship, or are often "too scripted", and are sometimes shallow or sugary in their lyrics. I have seen a balance...a healthiness in Aaron's worship, and in talking with him, in his speech and lifestyle.
When I talked to a friend of mine that sings with him frequently, she said that his heart is to train worship leaders. He knows he's not going to be another Chris Tomlin or anything, and that his heart is for the local church and to equip leaders for the local body.
I tell you all that to tell you why I felt very strongly last fall that Aaron is someone I would like to pursue getting to know. I want to glean from his leadership and his knowledge and experience. I decided I would try to approach him and suggest the idea of a possible mentorship. I did meet him and tell him who I was and what I was after, but that's as far as it got. Then one day, I got a phone call from a friend of mine telling me that Aaron had posted a blog on his myspace that told of a worship school/internship that he was wanting to start this year. This blew my mind.
This internship seemed like exactly what I was looking for. He's wanting to do intense life-on-life discipleship and training in worship, music, bible teaching. I was so excited. I emailed his contact point, Carrie, that afternoon and made sure that I would be kept up to date with every bit of new information.
They sent out a three-page document describing Aaron's vision for the school. (Read It) They've also now gotten the applications out to all of us. He also has a video on his myspace telling a little about it. Here's a bit from the application describing what the internship will entail on a day-to-day level.
Grace Worship School Details
HOUSING
The goal and plan is to have four guys living in the basement of Aaron's new home. If we decide to take
more than 4 guys for this program we may place a few in Buddy Hoffman's (the Pastor of Grace) basement,
where a few other pastoral interns/staff also live. The cost of housing and utilities will be covered by your
tuition. The contingency plan in case neither of these options remain viable is to rent a couple of nearby
apartments. This too would be covered by your tuition costs.
DAY TO DAY
We will have regular 'courses' that we'll be working through, with teaching, assignments, papers, and all the
rest. We'll study everything from Biblical surveys to developing worship sets to how to write better songs.
We'll cover a lot of ground. We'll work on vocal pathological health, and we'll focus on becoming better at
our instruments. There will be daily time set aside for solitude, study, and meditation. We will also be
booking you into as many places as possible to go and actually lead worship. Furthermore, we will get you
involved in serving ministries at or around Grace. There will also be opportunities to travel with Aaron and
his band to certain events and to serve him, the band, and the event hosts. Be praying that God provides a
tour bus for this. We fully expect Him to do just that. Also, we'll be hearing from scores of other worship
pastors, leaders, and song-writers who are passing through Atlanta as well.
We'll also frequently have 'guest leaders' come in and share their hearts and challenge us with what God's
putting onto their own hearts; we're hopefully expecting to glean from a beautifully broad spectrum of
leaders such as Jason Upton, Steve Fee, Rita Springer, Stuart Townend, John Mark McMillan, David Platt,
Gerrit Gustafson, Don Potter, Kristian Stanfill, John Hartley and many others.
FINANCES
As you would expect, it will cost money to make this school happen; as such, there will be a tuition of
$1,000 per month. This will cover housing, utilities, books, administration, travel, and special
events. However, Grace Fellowship Church will be paying a $500/month stipend to you for day-to-day
expenses, meals, etc. We are setting it up this way so you won't have to get a part-time job; we want to be
sure you will able to devote all of your time to learning, leading, and becoming a better worship pastor.
So ultimately it's going to cost you $500/month: You'll pay $1000/mo, and you'll receive back $500/mo to
live on. Considering that many churchgoers won't hesitate to spend $2500 for a one-week mission trip, the
cost of this school is as low as could possibly be expected. All told the school will cost $6,000 per student
for the entire 6 month term, and in that time each student will receive back a total of $3,000.
So...I need prayer. And I need to raise a lot of money. I am finishing an EP within the next few weeks hopefully, and will be selling them for $10 each to help raise money. There is no way I can do this alone. I am fully convinced that this is what I want to do. Please pray for me, and pray how you might be able to invest in the ministry that God has been developing in my life.
In His love,
-Daniel Cowan
I started attending Grace Fellowship church's Sunday evening service in Snellville, GA soon after I left my place in an Assemblies of God church in Monroe. The worship leader there is Aaron Keyes. I had heard of him before, but not been around him enough to know what kind of leader he is. It didn't take long for me to be really impressed with him. Not only is he a well-accomplished, well-experienced musician and leader, he's a worshipper. He is very effective at communicating the truth through songs and the words he speaks. I have seen many worship leaders and they (like many in the Christian circles) usually fall into one of three catergories: Truth, Freedom, Excellence. Those who are strong in Truth usually lack the style of accomplished performers and the freedom in worship of the more charasmatics. The ones who thrive in Freedom often are more lax in technicality, and even more often miss the mark when it comes to theological soundness. The "Excellent" ones are very proficient musically, but lack expression in worship, or are often "too scripted", and are sometimes shallow or sugary in their lyrics. I have seen a balance...a healthiness in Aaron's worship, and in talking with him, in his speech and lifestyle.
When I talked to a friend of mine that sings with him frequently, she said that his heart is to train worship leaders. He knows he's not going to be another Chris Tomlin or anything, and that his heart is for the local church and to equip leaders for the local body.
I tell you all that to tell you why I felt very strongly last fall that Aaron is someone I would like to pursue getting to know. I want to glean from his leadership and his knowledge and experience. I decided I would try to approach him and suggest the idea of a possible mentorship. I did meet him and tell him who I was and what I was after, but that's as far as it got. Then one day, I got a phone call from a friend of mine telling me that Aaron had posted a blog on his myspace that told of a worship school/internship that he was wanting to start this year. This blew my mind.
This internship seemed like exactly what I was looking for. He's wanting to do intense life-on-life discipleship and training in worship, music, bible teaching. I was so excited. I emailed his contact point, Carrie, that afternoon and made sure that I would be kept up to date with every bit of new information.
They sent out a three-page document describing Aaron's vision for the school. (Read It) They've also now gotten the applications out to all of us. He also has a video on his myspace telling a little about it. Here's a bit from the application describing what the internship will entail on a day-to-day level.
Grace Worship School Details
HOUSING
The goal and plan is to have four guys living in the basement of Aaron's new home. If we decide to take
more than 4 guys for this program we may place a few in Buddy Hoffman's (the Pastor of Grace) basement,
where a few other pastoral interns/staff also live. The cost of housing and utilities will be covered by your
tuition. The contingency plan in case neither of these options remain viable is to rent a couple of nearby
apartments. This too would be covered by your tuition costs.
DAY TO DAY
We will have regular 'courses' that we'll be working through, with teaching, assignments, papers, and all the
rest. We'll study everything from Biblical surveys to developing worship sets to how to write better songs.
We'll cover a lot of ground. We'll work on vocal pathological health, and we'll focus on becoming better at
our instruments. There will be daily time set aside for solitude, study, and meditation. We will also be
booking you into as many places as possible to go and actually lead worship. Furthermore, we will get you
involved in serving ministries at or around Grace. There will also be opportunities to travel with Aaron and
his band to certain events and to serve him, the band, and the event hosts. Be praying that God provides a
tour bus for this. We fully expect Him to do just that. Also, we'll be hearing from scores of other worship
pastors, leaders, and song-writers who are passing through Atlanta as well.
We'll also frequently have 'guest leaders' come in and share their hearts and challenge us with what God's
putting onto their own hearts; we're hopefully expecting to glean from a beautifully broad spectrum of
leaders such as Jason Upton, Steve Fee, Rita Springer, Stuart Townend, John Mark McMillan, David Platt,
Gerrit Gustafson, Don Potter, Kristian Stanfill, John Hartley and many others.
FINANCES
As you would expect, it will cost money to make this school happen; as such, there will be a tuition of
$1,000 per month. This will cover housing, utilities, books, administration, travel, and special
events. However, Grace Fellowship Church will be paying a $500/month stipend to you for day-to-day
expenses, meals, etc. We are setting it up this way so you won't have to get a part-time job; we want to be
sure you will able to devote all of your time to learning, leading, and becoming a better worship pastor.
So ultimately it's going to cost you $500/month: You'll pay $1000/mo, and you'll receive back $500/mo to
live on. Considering that many churchgoers won't hesitate to spend $2500 for a one-week mission trip, the
cost of this school is as low as could possibly be expected. All told the school will cost $6,000 per student
for the entire 6 month term, and in that time each student will receive back a total of $3,000.
So...I need prayer. And I need to raise a lot of money. I am finishing an EP within the next few weeks hopefully, and will be selling them for $10 each to help raise money. There is no way I can do this alone. I am fully convinced that this is what I want to do. Please pray for me, and pray how you might be able to invest in the ministry that God has been developing in my life.
In His love,
-Daniel Cowan
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