happy birthday isaiah. you rule.

for 24 years i haven't known how to read.

i always thought that reading meant: looking at words as you go down a page.

i am beginning to realize that reading means: understanding sentences as you go down a page.

about 6 weeks ago, the book of Hosea rocked me. i never really understood what was going on in the story. it's crazy!!! Hosea becomes a living metaphor for the relationship between Isreal and God. and it's not a pretty sight. the most beautiful part of the book to me is at the end of chapter 2. God tells Hosea to name his children: "No Mercy" and "Not my People" (which is strange). however it set's up a huge picture of mercy. Isreal is unfaithful and suffers the consequences, but God says that in the end, "I will have mercy on No Mercy, and I will say to Not my People, 'You are my people', and he shall say, 'You are my God'.

God's faithfulness to a people so unfaithful is remarkable. and it is a hope that transfers to all who trust in Him. 

this lead to a great study of the minor prophets, which lead to wanting a new bible, which lead to wanting to read through the bible again, which lead to conversations about prophecy, which lead to a more accurate view of the old testament, which lead to starting Genesis, which lead to amazement. 

putting my new found knowledge of how to read to use, i am beginning to see how great God's Word really is.

thanks God.

the future of worship music

a friend asked me this week if i had an idea about who the next big worship leader would be.
and it got me thinking about the future of popular worship music. (and usually thinking about the future includes thinking about the past)

i think we have gone through a few phases in the past decade.
in the 90's some bands started writing songs that began what might be called "modern worship". sonic flood, delerious, and some others started writing songs that broke away from the marantha and vinyard sound. songs like i could sing of your love forever and in the secret were emerging with incredibly popular "me-focused" themes. and throughout the 90's bands were popping up left and right with new albums and new songs and many of them were focused on our response toward God. to list a few: light the fire again, hungry, breathe, trading my sorrows, lord you have my heart, in the secret, i could sing,
as i see it, this started to frustrate some people and many started refocusing on the ancient hymns, put to rock band music. passion put out a hymns CD, and many of the big names (tomlin, crowder, redman) recorded hymns, and played them at their shows. this made hymns "cool" again. from this resurgence, came a much needed focus toward the character of God in modern songs. and i think that is where we are at today. there a so many great songs that have been written in the past 3-4 years. songs that start and end with the greatness of God. and other songs that start with a focus on God's character, and end up with a personal response.
so that's the lyrical side.

the musical side is interesting:
worship music is pop music. as much as crowder and hillsong united and i would like to think it's not, the songs that are being written are pop music.
99 percent of worship music follows an ABABCBB pattern. (verse, chorus, verse, chorus, bridge, chorus, chorus). and usually it includes a opening guitar riff that comes in precisely similar places: riff, verse chorus, riff, verse, chorus, bridge, chorus, riff. and to add to that, the penultimate chorus is almost always a break-down chorus that builds back up for the last chorus. (sometimes, the bridge is the breakdown instead of the chorus)
and the reason everyone does this is because it works.
i've been leading worship for a congregation for a couple years now, and i have seen first hand, that this cookie cutter structure works well. especially if it's in the key of C and has a big chorus note of an E. to name a few that follow this: majesty, how great is our God, you never let go, happy day, king of wonders. (of course, not many people can sing them in this key, so i bring all of these down to A or Bb)
i think we are going to get sick of this though.
i love all of these songs, but i dont know how many more of these types of powerful anthemic ABABCBB songs can be written.


the other element in looking at the past decade of worship music is personalities:
first there was maranatha, vinyard. then came sonic flood, delerious. then came passion, tim hughes, and hillsong. that's where we are at now, sorry everyone else, it's: tomlin, redman, crowder, hughes, and hillsong. churches have been looking to the biggest names to create the songs that will define their year. and for the most part, i think the big names have been doing a great job. but i think there is going to be a shift.

thinking about the lyrics, the structures, and the personalities,
what's next

ease of recording and publishing is changing everything.
i think we are seeing and going to see a flurry of small-time artists writing some terrible songs, ok songs, and great songs. and these small-time artists are going to be able to get there songs recorded and out there to some local churches and conferences. everyone wants to be the next big name, but i think we are entering a time where the big names will die down and the local artists will get to create songs for the local churches.
and structurally, i think that some are going to follow the cookie cutter structure, but others are going to try and pioneer some new and fresh creativity. and hopefully we will find some fresh ideas that work really well.
lyrically, my hope is that we have found a good balance. a balance between the rock solid foundation of the character of God, and then responding as individuals and as a congregation. this is the sweet spot for song writing. this is how king David wrote songs. this is how we worship God in life. truth leads to response.

back to blogging.

writing is helpful.

for me.

to express. 

to think externally instead of not thinking internally. my mind shuts off easily. my fingers and hands and feet and eyes get lazy and turn toward things that don't matter. 

eternal things matter. 

my prayer is the prayer of the hymn:

"turn your eyes upon Jesus/look full in His wonderful face/and the things of earth will grow strangely dim/in the light of His glory and grace."

a prayer to Jesus, but speaking to your soul. sometimes, shouting to your soul. like David did in Psalm 42: "Why are you cast down, O my soul. Hope in God."

shouting to my soul, or singing to my soul: 

TURN

SEEK

and thing that don't matter will grow dim.

broken hallelujah 2

wow. sunday night was awesome. the only way i can summarize it is: the sound tech had to turn the band louder because the congregation was singing so loudly. 

the night just seemed to incorporate alot of what Christians should be doing: praising God loudly because they love Him, laying hands on a missionary and praying for Him, confessing sin, taking communion, bringing pants and socks for people who need them in the community, fellowshipping with each other, and singing some more.

i left the night just being grateful that God just seems to do stuff. i mean, we as a band picked some songs and prayed for what should happen and made an announcement, but unless God does something with the hearts and hands of those who come. none of what we do matters. i was just so grateful that God actually moves among His people and changes lives and changes hearts and motivates hands and feet for his work and guides and directs His church.

the night was broken into 3 parts: lifting our hands, opening our hands, and using our hands

here was the setlist:

holy holy holy

let God arise

happy day

mighty to save

here is our King

Jesus paid it all

from the inside out

majesty

You never let go

on our side

i saw the light

how long (pants and socks offering)

(prayer for Costya)

God of this city

hosanna

love is alive

the stand

praise God.

weekly.song project

so. most of my internet/blogging/expressions of stuffs have been rerouted to our family website: www.toneyfam.com because of this little guy.

but i have started a weekly song blog that takes a look at a song we do at GVC. its a fun little project, so you can check it out if you want: www.gvcpodcast.com

Christmas CD 07

the red and green piano’s have united. at last, it is christmas. and that means, a quick recording project that herald our favourite christmas songs. this year, we recorded “o come let us”, complete with trumpet, triangle, guiro, glockenspiel, and holiday bells. followed by, “hark the herald”, back-porch style. the song begins as if you were playing a record and fades into a modern recording. then, there are two originals: a simple acoustic, harmony driven song, and then a lullaby for Isaiah, from Isaiah 9.

check out

www.davidtoneymusic.com

to hear the songs

feet to love

right now, my baby is crying. he has one desire: milk. and soon he'll stop crying, cause he'll get some. he has no idea that the communities around him are crying for much different reasons. this has hit close to home for so many of us. so much destruction. so much displacement. so much uncertainty. so much unbelief. and we are crying with those who have lost homes, pets, and irreplaceable memories.

and through this all we know that God is sovereign over all things. He is ruling as we speak. His vision is bigger than ours. His power conquered sin and death and His grace flows moment by moment. He is active in restoring souls for eternity, and lifting heads for the present. He is beautiful when smoke fills our eyes, or when we can see islands on a clear day. He is the hope-giving, light at the end of every disaster. He never lets his people go, and He is the only giver of infinite gladness, an eternity of joy.

i pray that God would give me and courtney and isaiah and all of us, a heart for those suffering. and hands to lift rubble. and eyes to see need. and arms to hug people. and lips to encourage. and feet to love.

check out gvcfamily.blogspot.com for fire info and ways to help.

hospital days

most isaiah info will be posted on our website, but i'll put a few more posts up.



unreal.
he is beautiful.
God didn't need to make him healthy, but He chose to. our baby did not deserve to be healthy and beautiful. he is already sinful. but God's grace is amazing. already, he is a picture of the grace of God.
i pray that Isaiah would know the saving grace of God intimately at an early age. that he would learn to seek after the face of God and desire to worship Him in everything he does, at an early age

thanks doug and cindy for coming up to see him.


the coming weeks are going to be exciting.
i can't wait

baby outside of stomach

check out our new family website, with photos, blogs, letters to isaiah and more.
web.mac.com/thetoneyfamily

baby in stomach

awesome pictures
check out more: www.jasminestarblog.com

broken hallelujah (reprise)

our voices need to respond to something. we see great baseball plays and we shout. we see great performers and we cheer.
our hearts need to respond to something. we cry at great films. we get choked up when the music rises in intensity. we enjoy giving love when we love someone.
our minds need to respond to something. we get stimulated when a conversation or book interests us.
our hands need to respond to something. we want to help when we find a cause worth helping. we want to work when we realize we need to provide.
but our voices and hearts and minds and hands were ultimately designed to respond to God. His infinate value is the greatest thing we can respond to.
when our heart and mind is broken and God pours His infinate grace over them, our voices respond with hallelujah and our hands respond with "what shall i now do"

i pray that in the wake of any broken hallelujah that we experience, we will respond with open hands.

sunday night was awesome. for many reasons, but mainly because God broke hearts and restored them with His grace. and we wanted to respond.

here was the setlist:
Holy Holy Holy
"My King" audio track
Indescribable
O Praise Him/Here is Our King
His Love is Alive
Prayer Time
All Creatures
This is my Father's World
From the Inside Out/How Great is our God
Desperate for You
Silent Prayer/Confession
Here I am to Worship
Amazing Grace
Group Prayer/Confession
O No, You Never Let Go/Majesty/Shout to the Lord/The Stand
Clap Your Hands Hallelujah
Happy Day/O Happy Day
I Saw the Light
On Our Side

broken hallelujah

september 23rd
6:30 pm
a time to worship God together at night.
awesome.
this will be the first in a series of worship nights titled: broken hallelujah.

broken hallelujah is a representation of the worship that i desire to take place every second of the day.
every second, we ought to be broken before God: confessing that He alone is God and sovereign King and holy and righteous and worthy of praise and satisfying and truly beautiful.
and every second, our hearts ought to be responding with a hallelujah, that we have been forgiven much and brought into a relationship with this holy God. a relationship that we did not deserve, but has brought God joy to give us and has brought us joy to receive.

every sunday is a broken hallelujah as a corporate body of believers.
every week is a broken halleujah as we work and worship God in our day to day activities. glorifying Him in our eating and walking and hanging out.

O God, i pray that every moment our hearts would be broken before You and responding with a joyful Hallelujah.

road trip. houseboats

God is good and real.

from napa valley: i learned again how great my wife is and how much i love traveling with her.
from the redwoods: i saw enormous trees with deep roots, which made me want to be deep and rooted and strong and tall, standing for Jesus with arms high and heart abandoned in awe of the One who gave it all.
from the oregon coast: i learned that i don't have to pump my own gas and that God created a vast ocean with vast rock formations with vast amounts of awe and wonder.
from portland: i saw a city filled with art and a community of believers that take art seriously and take glorifying their supremely artistic God with an artistic passion.
from creekside at courtney's uncle's house: i fell in love with reading. and getting lost in a story from Donald Miller and getting lost in the theology and passion of John Piper
and from houseboating with my old high-school group: i saw a group of kids encountering the real Jesus in a real and passionate way. and i saw the Spirit of God break people's hearts and heal people's hearts and stir in people's hearts as we sang Hosanna in the highest. and i saw a group of kids and leaders decide to stand up and surrender their souls to God and sing, "all i am is yours". and mean it.

it was a good 2 weeks.
i am excited for my ministry at green valley church. and excited to live for God. and excited to have a baby.

marvin gaye. motown. worship music.

every once in a while, some musical artist or musical genre will come to my life and change it.
a while ago, radiohead came to me and guitar tones, complex layering, odd chord progressions, and innovative song writing, changed my musical outlook.
some time later, sigur ros came to me and dynamic change took on a whole new meaning.
then, sufjan stevens came and gave me a whole new set of chord changes and voice-layering ideas, and the banjo of course.
obviously these are just a few, but the newest one is: motown.
not cheesy motown, like hey mr. postman. but the good r/b and soul of marvin gaye, stevie wonder, al green, sly and the family stone, and so on.

it's the future of worship music.
not that worship music is going to sound exactly like it, but take some influence from it.

i mean how long can we keep on doing the same chord progressions with the same song structures.

there are some brilliant patterns of chords and melodies that are going start influencing the way i write and i think the way other people write also.
along with a similar gospely type feel with lots of tambourine and soulful melodies.

i would say check out "in the groove" by marvin gaye first. its amazing

i'm excited.

journal from chicago

wed:11am

i decided to journal my trip because it has started off so terrible. you know, sometimes you go to these things and they are supposed to be magical, but so far, it has been far from that.
i got my car last night ready to experience the city of Chicago with anticipation, excitement, knowing it was going to crash on me. but a good crash, like a great wave at the beach. it hits you and you feel great, exhilarated, pummeled. this crash however, ended up in frustration, as if the whitewash was holding me under for too long.
i am realizing i am out of practice for writing. that wasn’t a great metaphor

i get into giordonos at 9:55 (they close at ten), and they tell me they can’t seat me; but i can order take-out. so i go to the take out window, and they are out of pizza. GIORDONOS! all they have is pizza. many other little frustrations happened like getting extremely lost, finally ending up at a pub that had no pizza, getting lost again, feeling really tired from everything, and then getting lost again. all things that aren’t a big deal, but sometimes the non-big-deal-things hit me the most.
i finally get to my hotel room and pull an idiotic move, i stay up late watching a movie on tv. by this point i am so out of conference mode. and i paid for it in the morning.
my alarm didn’t go off and because i had stayed up late, i way overslept, and missed the part of the conference i had anticipated the most: david crowder band.
i feel alone,
i feel sad,
i know i am being very self-focused, but hey, that’s how i feel
the next session is starting….

wed:1pm

this is my Father’s world. O let me ne’er forget
that though the wrong seems oft so strong, God is the ruler yet.
this is my Father’s world: the battle is not done:
Jesus who died shall be satisfied,
and earth and heav’n be one.
“This is my Father’s World”

4 You hold my eyelids open;
I am so troubled that I cannot speak.
5 I consider the days of old,
the years long ago.
6 I said, “Let me remember my song in the night;
let me meditate in my heart.”
Then my spirit made a diligent search:
7 “Will the Lord spurn forever,
and never again be favorable?
8 Has his steadfast love forever ceased?
Are his promises at an end for all time?
9 Has God forgotten to be gracious?
Has he in anger shut up his compassion?” Selah

10 Then I said, “I will appeal to this,
to the years of the right hand of the Most High.”

11 I will remember the deeds of the Lord;
yes, I will remember your wonders of old.
12 I will ponder all your work,
and meditate on your mighty deeds.
13 Your way, O God, is holy.
What god is great like our God?
14 You are the God who works wonders;
you have made known your might among the peoples.
15 You with your arm redeemed your people,
the children of Jacob and Joseph. Selah
“Psalm 77”

“If God had favourites, i think His favourtie would be King David, because he was genuine, and his art was genuine.” -Bono
“You have to live in the contradiction, in the duality of the lament and the praise” -Bono
“Where tragedy and comedy collide: the gospel lives” -Erwin Mcmanus
“This is all that i can say right now” David Crowder

You never let go, God. thank you.
i am sitting by a fountain at willow creek church. and God is good. i am not jumping. but God is good.

wed:5pm

finally giordano’s pizza. it’s like biting into happiness

wed:7pm

well, i missed crowder in the morning, but he’s about to play at their wednesday night service. so excitement ensues. they’ve got their fender Rhodes out, as all should. and a pantload of pedals on each side of the stage. and the banjo of course
and here they are…


thurs:130pm

well…crowder was pretty awesome, but donald miller was better: he gave a picture of life as story. and told some awesome stories along the way.
it was one of those messages that i don’t really remember what he said, but i know i want my life to be defined by something more.
am i living a great story? not a Hollywood worthy story, but a great story: a life that develops themes of morality and justice.; a life that grows in its desire for God; a life that matters for eternity.
my story is very flawed
but am i trying, am i growing, is my sanctification developing, is my passion deepening

today are the breakout sessions
and my next one is starting…

thurs:6pm

wow. great session
“engaging the heart: building a great picture of God”
everything i wish i could say to myself everyday and to everyone on the worship team.
leading worship on sunday is about connecting with God and connecting other people with God. everything must be intentionally funneling to this. everything.

so, obviously a lot has changed since my first journal entry. God has been working in me. honestly, it’s been lonely: i have talked to one human being since being here and she was a Canadian. nothing against Canada, i like Canada, and Canadians, just not ice-hockey.
but God has been showing me how to deepen my relationship with Him and deepen my ministry at the church. God is good.
and i am at giordano’s again.
hooray.


fri:4pm

Solomon was wrong.
why do we believe Solomon when he says, “there is nothing new under the sun?”
we don’t believe him when he says, “everything is meaningless.” or when he says that there is nothing worth pursuing other than eating, drinking, and being merry.
it is always interesting when you believe something to be right about the world and in 10 minutes someone can change your mind. Erwin McManus did that today
there have always been wars, there has always been loneliness, there has always been a desire for love. some things are cyclical,
but the truly great inventions, and great thoughts of the world have been busting out of the cycle.
Kind David was a cycle buster
Joshua and Caleb were cycle busters
Jeremiah was a cycle buster
Jesus was a cycle buster

“some men are born great, some attain greatness, and other have greatness thrust upon them” Shakespeare

i don’t have to try hard upon hard to be great.
i just have to be willing for God to thrust any sort of greatness upon me. and he already has: he has given me himself, the supremely artistic creator of all things
hooray

why is ginger ale so much better on an airplane

why are the beatles so awesome

every great band has a moment to make something truly lasting. sometimes two moments.
some record that has lasting greatness. that you can listen the whole way through and be amazed in every song. not just a good album, but an album that impacts the world or a subculture in obvious ways for years and decades.
pink floyd had two moments: dark side of the moon and the wall
radiohead had one moment: ok computer
U2 had one, maybe two: joshua tree (maybe achtung baby)
jeff buckley had one: grace
stevie wonder had songs in the key of life, bob dylan had blonde on blonde, nirvana had nevermind and so on.

but the beatles had so many moments, its unbearable.
5 of vh1's top 11 albums of all time are beatles albums
the world of music would be completely different without the beatles
i would say it is a safe bet to say that the beatles had 6 of these "moments"
help!
rubber soul
revolver
seargent pepper's
the white album
abbey road

the last one is my favourite, but all of them are really masterpieces.
and even before these historically great albums, the first 4 albums spent an average of 2o weeks at number one in the uk. thats crazy.

also, if you have a chance to see the cirque de sole show "love" in vegas, you should see it. its amazing. a whole show done to a medley of beatles songs remastered and combined together to make a fantastic experience.

my baby has male parts

the arrow helps out
we went to the doctor and saw a little boy.
we are excited.

songs

there are six songs up now.

contentment divine: 2003. a song of surrender to God. He is all that can truely satisfy. not blogging. not music. not even courtney. true satisfaction starts with Him and enables the love for courtney or music or blogging. its got a jacked up chord structure.

revelation 7: the best song to come out of the revelation project. a gospel song. the choir probably comes in too loud, but o well. i rushed the production. but is still like the song.

revelation 11: my homage to sufjan stevens. backporchy type of feel. featuring the little red piano and my foot stomping on my guitar case with a tambourine duct taped to it.

rain: this is my favourite song i have ever written. i was in a band called "the fellows" when i wrote and recorded this song.
the lyrics are:

i was alone on the concrete breathing in shoe
and through my pants my skin was red bleeding and wet
i fell down in the rain yeah

and the people have cried out
for a king with flesh and style
but a kingdom filled with dirt
has more style than its worth

and the people shouted loud
for the goddesses to be brought out
and the rain began to fall
O yeah come one

and the people will cry out
for longer than their gold is around
to a king in beggar's clothes

where the children laugh and clap their hands
and the fatherless rise from drifting lands
and the kingdom come with lifted eyes
its got more style than this earth

its a two part song. the first is about me falling down in the rain. and the second is about alot of things: fleshly desires. the media. our future hope. a contrast of kingdoms. etc.

you are what i care about: inspired by psalm 119:37. acoustic version. full version coming in a bit.

this my heart's cry: the song i wrote when i was 17 after reading the intro to Desiring God by john piper. for a long time, it was the only song i wrote that i would play in front of people.

hillsong united

check out this worship band.
passion. loud. soft. loud again. and soft again. great songs. great playing. great artistry. unique sound. anthemic choruses. warm sounds. good drumming. australian.

i'm very into them right now.
"look to you" is a good place to start or "united we stand"
they have a new cd coming out this month "all of the above"

www.hillsong.com/united