Review: Darrell Evans (+free song); Video:Inteview with Carl Tuttle; Book Review: Simply Jesus

Welcome to Digital Worship News, Edition 72. This issue includes 3 different resources. First is a book review of "Simply Jesus", a great read from scholar and pastor NT Wright. Second is video interview of friend, Carl Tuttle, that I've called "Worthwhile To God"- a powerful and encouraging testimony of God's value for us. Don't miss it! Finally, is a review of Kim's pick for the best studio worship recording ever! Yes.. that is right, I pick one album that I think is the best studio recording in history. And it is... "Freedom", from worship leader/songwriter Darrell Evans - also included is a free song download from this album!

blessings,
Kim Gentes

...Wright does a brilliant job of explaining what he considers is the "real Jesus", one based on the historical context of the social, political and religious forces at work in the time of Jesus on earth. He does this primarily by explaining the three main forces driving the context for the narrative of the Gospels. The first force is the Roman empire and its dominating political and military control that crushes down on the middle east and the people of Israel. The second force is the ethos and history of the Jews, especially as it has been galvanized by the Maccabean dynasty, whose rebellious origins are the archetype for a series of nationalistic uprisings meant to free the Jews from a stream of dominating overlords (including the Greeks/Persians, Egyptians, Syrians, Parthians and Romans). The last great force is the self-critical voice of the prophetic tradition of the Jewish prophets. Wright explains each of these "forces" as a type of storm system which come together in the time and story of Jesus appearance to contribute to a kind of "perfect storm". Jesus positions his message- the kingdom of God- as the singular clear response to this perfect storm.

It is in the midst of this meteorological metaphor that Wright explains Jesus vocation with this brilliant language:

What I love about this book is that the author is very clearly speaking to "everyman" here, and yet he still takes the opportunity to teach valuable history and theology. This book is poignantly underpinned by Wright's foundational understanding of Jesus as the herald announcing, enacting and resetting our definition of God as the new king progressively taking over earth...

Read more here...

In the last 13 years, I've had the priviledge of becoming friends with Carl Tuttle. I have always appreciated his candor, his experience and his heart. None of us has "done it all", but Carl's experiences have helped me (and a lot of others) understand some truths deeper because he has been through some difficult times and after each of them found himself falling towards Jesus each time.

Today, Carl lives in Southern California and attends Southlands church. In this video, Carl shares some of his story. I am thankful, it has encouraged me in my journey, and I wanted to shared it with you. I hope it encourages you in your journey as well. Carl Tuttle shares some of his journey and what he has learned.

I encourage you to watch this video and share it with others...

Over the years, I have heard literally thousands of worship CDs. I have evaluated a few hundred projects personally, and ended up writing over 100 professional reviews. Of all the albums I have heard, I don't know of a better studio recording on a worship project than this incredible album by Darrell Evans. It is now about 15 years since Darrell shocked the world with Freedom in what amounts to the standard in a studio worship recording. Listening to this project now, I am still overwhelmed by a sense of God's presence, still hurled into worship authentic praise, and still taking to my knees and crying right along with the sincerity and reality of the music and lyrics in the songs on this album.

I place this project even above some of the other iconic recordings such as Shout to The Lord (Hillsongs), Lift Him Up (Ron Kenoly), Hungry (Brian Doerksen), Sonicflood (Sonicflood), Intimacy (Matt Redman), Arriving (Chris Tomlin), Passion: Better Is One Day (Passion), Worship (Michael W. Smith) and others. I recognize that some of these albums mentioned are "live" productions, but they nonetheless left an indelible mark on worship in the church worldwide. And yet, I believe Freedom stands alone as the landmark studio recording. Why? For five reasons.. read complete review here...

...This project not only wins my "Editor's Choice Award", but is my pick for the Best Studio Worship Recording- ever! Ya, really.

ALSO! Get a Free Song Download of MP3 & Chord charts for "Trading My Sorrows" by Darrell Evans. Click here to download the free song MP3 and chord chart!