Pastor B Culture, Oakwood, Parent Cue, Students, Summer

Owl City Summer Tunes

Check Out Interlinc Article Here

“One of the most important relationships in my life is the one I have with my dad. I imagine to everyone else, he is just a normal guy: friendly, down-to-earth, patient, laid-back, even-keeled, a man of few words – but to me, he is a hero. I wrote this song as my way of saying, ‘Hey dad, I love ya.’” – Adam Young

No matter where he goes, Owl City mastermind Adam Young is constantly creating music. It doesn’t matter if he’s backstage before a gig or sitting in an airport terminal, the singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist will typically be penning tunes on his laptop. His third full-length album nods to that process with the highly apropos title Mobile Orchestra [Republic Records]. Following up his acclaimed 2012 studio album The Midsummer Station, the record sees Owl City progress once more, veering off the beaten path in the process. “Mobile Orchestra is all about variety,” he asserts. “In the past, I’ve set out to make albums that were designed to be a singular listening experience, flowing from track to track. This time around, the songs are like ten rabbit holes that go off in different directions. I had never approached a record like this. I wanted to clear the slate and forget what I knew in order to create a new experience. I spent two years working on it, and it had the time to grow in between every idea. That’s why there’s so much going on.”There was no rush for Owl City. These songs got the chance to evolve as he built them and then sought out the right co-conspirators. The first single “Verge” merges his bright, buoyant production and shimmering vocals with a booming soulful refrain from Aloe Blacc. It blurs the lines between electro, alternative, pop, and R&B all at once, while remaining perfect for the dance floor. “You’re thinking about those moments in life where you’re on the edge,” explains Adam. “It’s like the last day of your life as you know it, and tomorrow everything is going to change. It could be a college graduation. It could be a new career. It could be your wedding day. You’re not sure how it’s going to go, but you’re confident that you’re going to hit the ground running. We reached out to Aloe out of nowhere, and he was so gracious and kind to lend his incredible talent to the track.”

At the same time, the band steps completely outside the box altogether on “Back Home” with country star Jake Owen. “That’s probably my favorite because it was so fresh for me to try something else,” he admits. “I’ve done acoustic tracks before but never like this. I’ve been a big fan of Jake’s for a couple of years. I listened to a lot of his records, and he was a gateway into the country world. We married this pop sensibility with his voice and told a story about how it feels to come home—especially after a long trip or, in our case, tour.”

Then, there’s the love letter to all things nineties with none other than Hanson’s “Unbelievable.” Wanting to capture a nostalgia for the era, Adam reached out to the pop powerhouse, and they cooked up this jovial anthem. “That one is so much fun,” he says. “It goes through everything we love about that era, and Hanson fit perfectly.” Elsewhere, “Thunderstruck” with UK trance diva Sarah Russell proves utterly propulsive and club-ready. As Adam assembled the music, the entire vision came into focus in late 2014 for Mobile Orchestra. “What each of these collaborators does is so different from what I do,” he continues. “It felt so right and natural to reach outside of my comfort zone and join forces with artists away from my world. That process was awesome. Once these people got on board, it really gave the project steam. The train was finally moving.”

The train really never stopped though. The Owatonna, Minnesota native remains an avant garde hitmaker in his own right. With total album sales over 2.5 million and single sales surpassing 18 million globally, his smash “Fireflies” from 2009’s Ocean Eyes received a five-times RIAA platinum certification in addition to going #1 in 26 countries. “Good Time” featuring Carly Rae Jepsen went Top 4 in the U.S. and racked up sales of close to three million. He composed the theme song for filmmaker Zack Snyder’s Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole and an original tune for Disney’s Academy Award winner Wreck-It Ralph, while Owl City’s music has seen placements everywhere from The Croods and Veggietales to Smurfs 2.
Even with all of the collaborations on Mobile Orchestra, everything still stems from Adam’s vision in the end. “I’ve always got that laptop out,” he remarks. “You can do so much with layering, tones, and sounds. It’s literally like an orchestra in a box. If you just take the time to breathe life into it, it can be beautiful.”

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Pastor B Oakwood, Parent Cue, Students, Summer

Why I have a Passion For Middle School Camp

Wayyyyyyy back in 2000, Sarah Loftin, me, and Laura didn’t know that we would be leading students together in the yaers to come!

The amazing Spring growth combined with the consistent rain reminds me that God can do amazing things in His perfect timing and in the right season. Right now, my season of life involves two amazing kids, my wife, and all the fun as well as stress that comes with it.  As the Middle School Pastor, I also find myself reflecting on my Middle School and High School season of life.  I ask myself, what was vital to my Spiritual Growth at that stage of life?  One major part of my Spiritual Growth was Summer Camp.  I still remember my 8th grade Summer as I made public the decision to follow God’s call into ministry.  God had been planting so many things in my life up to that point, and during that season, He sprouted a passion for spending time in His Word daily.

It was not by chance that God led me to Pacesetters Camp at Dallas Baptist University my Junior Summer.  I had many thoughts about my life in Christ, but for some reason Pacesetters was like the fertilizer to the passion God had been placing in my heart.  I found a camp experience that challenged me and stretched me to not only talk about Jesus, but take action for Jesus.  I remember that God impressed on me His compassion for the lost and the lowly that I was literally WRECKED for Him.  What God had been planting in me had risen up as a Passion to follow Christ.  From that point forward, that Passion turned to many steps of action at my church.  I saw the vision for my life.  I began to understand that God could use me to help the lost and the broken where I lived.  He had begun framing me to become a Servant Leader

We have been blessed to have the Pacesetters Leadership Camp plant that same seed of Servant Leadership in our Middle School students here at Oakwood.  That Servant Leader Camp, under the Glowing Heart Ministry organization, is still based in the Dallas, TX area.  Today, it has expanded to the donated campground called Focus Pointe Camp in Alba, TX.    Our students are challenged each afternoon to serve the surrounding communities near the camp and apply what they are learning about Jesus with action.  My prayer is for students to know the heart of the Father by finding Jesus, growing deeper in that relationship and showing the world around them His Love.

Pastor B Culture, Oakwood, Parent Cue, Spring

Reckless Love – Passion Video Devo

Have you been overwhelmed by the LOVE of JESUS lately?

In a world where we crave true love, look for authentic relationships, and seem to fail at the pursuit so much, it is refreshing to be reminded of the Love that Jesus Christ gave away for you and for me.  Jesus, himself, spoke of how this love works with those who follow him in John 15 below:

John 15:9-13

9 “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love.  10 If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love.  11 I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.  12 My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.  13 Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.

“To lay down one’s life for one’s friends” paints a picture of TRUE RECKLESS LOVE!  As Jesus spoke to His disciples, he meant for their impact to be simple, LOVE.  This overwhelming love from the Father was poured out in the loving sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the Cross, so that we might be overflowing with the love of Jesus.

How can the overwhelming love of Jesus be an overflowing supply to your family, your friends, and those in your day-to-day life?

THANK YOU, JESUS, FOR YOUR RECKLESS LOVE FOR US!!!

Pastor B Oakwood, Parent Cue, Spring

Parent Cue: The Secret of Superman

When I was a kid, I was obsessed with Superman. Seriously! I still remember the day my parents handed me a box from Sears and Roebuck that contained a red cape, blue tights with a red-and-yellow “S” shield on the chest. When I put it on, something magical happened. It transformed me from a shy six-year-old to a super hero with unique powers.

I was more powerful than my dad’s parked car.

I could leap tall fences with a single bound.

I was faster than our speeding fox terrier.

Looking back, I am absolutely positive that I could jump higher, run faster, and do more whenever I put on that suit. That was the year I got in trouble with my mom for running across the roof of our house in my red cape and underwear. It was just one of those days when I had to get suited up fast, so I left the tights off and just went with the cape. And don’t ask me how I got up on the roof. You should know. I flew, of course. At least that’s what I remember.

I don’t actually recall when I stopped believing in Superman, but his story did convince me of something that is true.

Good will ultimately win over evil.

READ MORE ON PARENTCUE.ORG

Pastor B Culture, Oakwood, Parent Cue

How Much Is Too Much Social Media Use?

How Much Is Too Much Social Media Use?

Even though they’re no longer a couple, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie both recently confirmed they put safety measures on the Internet to provide boundaries for their children. They definitely plan to keep watch on their social media use as their children age. Apple CEO Tim Cook recently suggested he wouldn’t want his nephew on a social network. Years ago, Apple Founder Steve Jobs said he didn’t want his kids to even own an iPad. Why? It’s simple. Children’s health experts all agree that excessive use of digital devices and social media “are harmful to children and teens.”

On the other hand, so many of tomorrow’s jobs are going to be dependent on graduates having skills on computers and screens…

Read More Here

Pastor B Culture, Holy Week, Oakwood, Parent Cue, Spring, Students

Artistic View of the Stations of the Cross

I love to be inspired and look for creative ways to be reminded of the journey to the Cross during Holy Week.  Scott Erickson has a great way of merging today’s value in Art and the Spiritual Journey we all take to the Cross.  Hope this inspires you this week as well.

    Pastor Brandon

The Stations of the Cross began as a practice that pilgrims would have when they were retracing Jesus’ finals steps in Jerusalem up to the hill where he was crucified. Wanting to share that practice and experience with people who couldn’t make the trip to the Holy City, they created these stations of meditation that became in itself a tradition. Today, you can find this tradition on the inside of many churches.

This journey to the cross is not only a meditation of Jesus accomplishing what he came to do –  the redemption of  humanity through his own willful sacrifice – but it’s also a contemplation of Jesus silently participating in some of the worst aspects of being human.  We see him being tempted. Betrayed by a friend. Convicted in an unjust system. Pain.  Mockery.  Public humiliation.  Broken family relationships.

He was one who was not separate from our own pain.

I don’t think our deepest question is “Is there a God?”

IS GOD REALLY IN THE MIDST OF ALL OF THIS?

check out more from artist Scott Erickson here 

Pastor B Culture, My Life, Oakwood, Parent Cue, Winter

A Parent’s Guide to Understanding Sex and Dating

From Pastor Brandon

After ministering to Middle School Students for a decade, I am now on the parent side, along with you, asking how I can speak Godly Wisdom into my own two children before they enter Middle School, so that I might be focused and equipped to hand them over to the loving Father in this phase of life.  With all the messages our culture is speaking on the issue of sex and dating, this short Parent Guide is a simple tool for you to use in preparing for a conversation with your preteen or growing teenager.  Mark Oestreicher is a Middle School expert, and Joel Mayward is a fresh voice, as both take steps to give you a brief theology on sexuality, reveal cultural myths, as well a church myths, and give specific helps for each gender, setting boundaries, and dealing with personal sexual issues.  This book is a great springboard into diving in deeper on certain issues and pointing me in the right direction to face the truth in our modern day culture.

Description

Helping your child make wise choices about sex and dating requires more than just one chat. It’s about building bridges of ongoing dialogue throughout the teenage years.

But youth workers Mark Oestreicher and Joel Mayward realize many parents don’t feel comfortable or prepared to have these kinds of conversations. That’s why they wrote A Parent’s Guide to Understanding Sex and Dating—to equip you to initiate healthy, honest discussions with your teenager. This book will also help you understand some of the relevant trends and issues in today’s youth culture.

Your role as a parent is to do more than provide your teenager with information about sex and dating. You have the opportunity and the calling to help your child live wisely and honor God in this sometimes tricky, occasionally awkward, and always vital area of life.

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