June 30, 2006
June 29, 2006
Filed under: Music Videos — josh @ 8:00 am
Demon Hunter hit it big by the time their second album, Summer of Darkness rolled around in 2004 and their video for the song Not Ready to Die lit up MTV’s Headbanger’s Ball, subsequently propelling them into a place rarely ventured by Christian metal bands. Demon Hunter was BIG, and their next album would be even bigger.
Ryan Clark, the bald-headed lead singer for the band, had this to say about the Headbanger anthem, “This song explores the feelings we all get concerning death. We know that through our hope in Christ, life everlasting awaits us after our time here on earth comes to an end. But sometimes I get the feeling that I have yet to achieve all that I should with the life I’ve been given here. The lyrics explain “If only 33 years can save my life, I’ve had 24 more to make things right”. This means that Christ gave 33 human years living on this earth and in that time He died for us all, covering our sins. And if I needed some time to come to terms with that, I’ve had 24 years to do so. I think everyone has a certain bitter-sweet anxiety about death, and I think that’s very natural, even inevitable. In this song I speak about this anxiety and how, regardless of not being ready, I know where my fate lies. In the song I explain, “When I’m taken home and you’re still here, just clear your mind and dry your tears.” Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. 2 Corinthians 5:1″
Read the lyrics to the song and watch the music video below.
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June 28, 2006
Filed under: News — admin @ 4:49 am
There are no Bibles or hymnals in the pews at Eagle Brook Church in Lino Lakes. In fact, there are no pews. Instead, worshippers settle into theater-style chairs in the 2,100-seat sanctuary and gaze upon three giant video screens ticking off a digital countdown to the 6PM Saturday service.
Clad in jeans and toting cups of coffee, they are not just there for an hour of Christian song and prayer. They are part of a technological revolution that’s changing how churches across the country express their faith and reach their congregations.
That’s because Eagle Brook’s weekly service will resonate far beyond its walls. It will get digitized and downloaded, rebroadcast on the Internet and iPods, e-mailed and blogged about.
Churches nationwide are introducing podcasts, posting sermons on the Internet, offering virtual tours and opening online stores. Many also are relying on e-mail to communicate with members. The number of church Web sites has nearly doubled in the last five years.
Meanwhile, services such as FaithMobile are allowing the devout to carry God in their pocket, offering cell-phone ring-tones for $1.99 a month (choose from “Amazing Grace, “Jesus Loves Me” and other favorites) and daily Bible verses for a few dollars more.
Some traditionalists may be upset or uneasy with the emerging cyber-church, but they’re in the minority, said George Barna, president of the Barna Group, a California consulting firm that does surveys on the subject of religion.
Churches, he said, have a long and successful history of using new technology to spread spiritual messages.
“Look at the printing press. That was the new technology of its day,” Barna said. “And what was it known for? Printing the Bible.”
When the clock hits zero at Eagle Brook Church, a six-piece band kicks in with a Christian rock song. Close-ups of the musicians flash on the screens, mixed with song lyrics and still shots of doves, clouds and mountains.
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June 27, 2006
Filed under: News — admin @ 6:13 am
When it comes to their financial condition, a majority of congregations in the United States consider themselves financially healthy. But increasingly more congregations worry about their finances.
A new survey of 884 randomly sampled congregations of all faith traditions in the United States has found that 57 percent of congregations report that their financial situation is good or excellent. This represents a notable drop since 2000 when 66 percent of congregations said their situation was good or excellent.
The financial health of congregations varies considerably by faith community, the new survey found. Less than half (48%) of Old-line Protestant congregations reported that their financial situation was good or excellent, compared to 62 percent of Other Protestant congregations and Catholic and Orthodox parishes.
These figures are from the just released Faith Communities Today 2005 (FACT2005) survey. The survey updates results from a survey taken in 2000.
This new survey information appears in “Insights into Financial Giving,” which offers tips on why financial giving is considered important, to help congregations as they plan their financial campaigns. For example, Money Matters: Personal Giving in American Churches, a recent study of church finances, identifies four basic motivations: Thankfulness and Altruism, Reciprocity with God, Reciprocity with the individual’s faith group, and Giving as an extension of the self.
“Insights into Financial Giving” poses the “bottom line questions” and asks congregations to consider which are appropriate to them, which take priority and what steps they would take to respond to them. One says, for example, “Remember that people give to people and not to budgets and shortages. The first rule of fundraising is to ask. Do you ask personally and connect the contributions to how they concretely assist people in their spiritual, physical, and other needs?”
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June 26, 2006
June 23, 2006
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Wrapping up our excursion into the world of Demon Hunter music videos (for the time being anyway. The music video for One Thousand Apoligies is in the making) is the final Demon Hunter single, the anthem for ever-lasting life in Christ, Undying. 
This song is off of Demon Hunter’s latest album, The Triptych (trip·tych [n.] 1. A work consisting of three painted or carved panels that are hinged together. 2. A hinged writing tablet consisting of three leaves, used in ancient Rome. [From Greek triptukhos, threefold]), an album released with three special edition covers, and the hot video quickly became a staple of MTV’s Headbanger’s Ball for metal fans everywhere. 
View the full video, lyrics and Ryan Clark’s comments on his inspiration for the song and it’s meaning below.
