The journey begins all the way back in 1997. I was 15.

I had grown up in Christian home, attended a Christian school and had accepted Christ at an early age. For whatever reason, though, the connection and understanding that God wanted to have a relationship with me hadn’t clicked yet. I started going to a new youth group and one fateful Wednesday night my heart was captured by what it meant to passionately pursue Christ. That night I went forward and responded to an altar call and that’s when I say I began having a relationship with Christ.

They were playing a song during the time of response that really seemed to echo the emotion of the moment for me.

The words to the song were simple: My Jesus, my Savior, Lord there is none like You… All of my days, I want to praise the wonders of Your mighty love…

I went up to the youth pastor following the event and asked him what song it was. He took me back to his office and handed me the Shout to the Lord CD. He told me to make an attitude of worship a lifestyle and gave me that CD to get me started. [There again, the influence of youth pastors!].

I pretty much played that CD until my family couldn’t tolerate it anymore. I loved it. The songs and the music were giving a theme to the new life and excitement I was experiencing. I read on the back about the church where the CD came from, it was a church in Sydney, Australia, called Hills Christian Life Centre.

Later that year, for my birthday, my parents got me a few more of their CDs and a video of one of their live worship recordings, All Things Are Possible. I was mesmerized by it.

Circa 1997

To look at it today it is a bit dated and silly… brass instruments in worship, choreographed choir in silk fluorescent shirts, the 90s hair…  but what I loved about it was that I saw church that was being creative and trying new things. There was a heart behind what they did that resonated with me and I couldn’t get enough.

The rest is history.

Hills Christian Life Centre is now known as Hillsong Church and their songs are sung by churches and believers around the globe. And if you know me or have read my blog you know how much I am influenced and inspired by the work Hillsong is doing. More than the music, though, it’s the heartbeat of a local church that’s committed to reaching people in new and creative ways and that is committed to empowering the next generation that inspires me. Their songs are literally an echo of the work God is doing in and through their church.

Hillsong Today:

So What’s the Big News?

I’ve been invited to speak at a national church media conference in May in Australia and will be spending about a week in Sydney with some of my friends at Hillsong Church.

I have dreamed of going there for a visit and never imagined it would come on the heels of having the honor of speaking to a group of national church media leaders. I’m so excited, humbled, and even more excited. I can’t wait to see first-hand what’s happening in the church in Australia and at Hillsong Church. It’s going to be surreal to have the chance to hang out with some people who have had a huge impact on my life from afar.

I’ve been bursting at the seams to share this news and am truly humbled and thankful for this great opportunity.

I’ll post more details about the conference when they are available. And believe me, I’ll be keeping you updated throughout the trip! I can’t wait!

So now, the countdown begins to my journey down unda’!

Hillsong United will break some charts today with their sophomore studio realease, A F T E R M A T H.

I got my copy of AFTERMATH about a month ago and haven’t been able to stop listening to it.

Admittedly, I’m a huge fan of Hillsong United so this review will be a bit biased. BUT, I will say that I generally prefer live projects over studio projects. I love it when the crowd seems to overwhelm the musicians and singers and makes a song of their own in live projects… there seems to be so much corporate energy and passion that is oftentimes not as present in studio albums. That being said, AFTERMATH follows Hillsong United’s first successful studio album Saviour King where we were introduced to Hosanna and Saviour King… both of which are standards in most churches today. Although the passion on these projects is contained to a studio they don’t fail to deliver heartfelt anthems for the Church.

This album is a fresh new sound from UNITED and will no doubt top sales charts and set lists for church worship services. It’s fresh, edgy, original, and at times absoluetely breathtaking.

The thing I love most about Hillsong United is that unlike many groups or bands out there, they are rooted in and committed to their local church, Hillsong Church based in Sydney, Australia [now with locations around the world including New York City]. Hillsong United isn’t a typical band and they don’t do concerts… they are group of musicians and songwriters who love Jesus, are committed to their local church and travel the globe leading people in worship experiences that leave you utterly and completely in awe of God’s presence. It’s not your typical church music and it’s not what you’d expect from a Church group but it’s the sound of a new generation of believers proclaiming the hope and freedom they’ve found in Christ and they can’t stay silent.

“The message of Jesus Christ is eternal, yet He continues to reveal Himself in new ways… giving us what we need to be followers and disciples of Christ for this time in history,” says Hillsong United frontman Joel Houston. “Life with God is fun, its an adventure, it is grace, freedom, peace and everything in between. Whether you are listening to our newest album or our very first, our prayer and passion is that you are empowered to live life with God, encouraged to stay on the course and excited about all that He has for your future.”

On the title of the album, AFTERMATH, Joel Houston says, “The cross is a paradox. What was a symbol of failure and death is now established forever as a symbol of life and victory. The crucifixion was a gruesome and traumatic event and at the moment of surrender as the storm clouds gathered and the skies went to darkness it would have seemed to all who were witnesses, especially His followers, that all hope was lost – the so called ‘Son of God’ humiliated and tortured, dying as He hung upon a cross. But unlike any historical event that has ever taken place before or after, this moment would change everything – Forever. Because of the cross we no longer have to live entangled in the fallout and the wreckage of our lives, or the worst the world can throw at us. We have been lifted out of the ashes and into the LIGHT of the aftermath. We find hope, peace, freedom, and life, and we can know with assurance that He is with us no matter what comes our way.”

A few songs that stood out to me on this project:

• Take Heart – This song wrecked me in a good way. It’s a dramatic introduction to set the tone for a great album. This song talks about God’s faithfulness and calls us to take heart, hold on to hope and take courage through all seasons of life. It’s heartfelt, epic, passionate and ends reflectively with strings. I seriously listened to this song on repeat for about 2 days before I listened to the rest of the album. It’s that good.

This album has a fresh sound, will encourage you and remind you of the truths of God’s Word, and will give you a new song to sing. It will take you on a journey and beyond the creativity, musicianship, and lyrics, it will leave you with a great sense of awe… of God, His love, and the hope we have living in AFTERMATH of His grace.

Even if you think you’ve heard Hillsong United before, you haven’t heard anything like this and you owe it to yourself to get found in the AFTERMATH.

Hillsong United is hitting the road across the USA starting in March… check and see if they are coming near you!

To celebrate the release of AFTERMATH, I’m giving away a few [legal!] copies… it’s too good to keep to myself!

Here’s what you need to do to win:

1 – Make sure you are following me! I’m @timschraeder

2 – Tweet this: I want to be found in the #AFTERMATH. I entered to win a copy of @hillsongunited’s new CD! Details here: http://bit.ly/hudrIF

3 – Leave a comment below [to confirm you did the first two steps] and let me know your favorite Hillsong United song and why you love it so much.

NOTE: I have to approve each comment so hang tight if yours doesn’t show immediately!

I’ll randomly pick a few of you throughout the day. You will a valid USA iTunes account to claim your prize!

For the first five [and sometimes very awkward] years of my life as a church communications guy, I was priviledged to serve at Riverside Community Church in Peoria, Illinois. Riverside was planted in out of a church I grew up in back in August of 2000. It was an amazing opportunity to serve on staff there during some of the formative years of the church and to see it grow to expand its ministry through Dream Center Peoria. Riverside is truly a church that is making a difference and an impact in its community.

Leaving was definitely bittersweet… the opportunity to live in Chicago and work at Park was amazing, but leaving a place that had been home and had given me the opportunity and experience to grow in my gifts and talents was definitely not easy.

One of the things I loved [and miss] about Riverside was their worship. People worshipped God passionately there. And, in December, Riverside released their first worship CD, Worship//Service.

To be honest when first heard about the recording I was kind of unsure of what to think… I mean, it seems like everyone these days is recording something… but when I listened I was completely blown away. The music, the lyrics, the passion and heart behind this project shine through and it is honestly one of the best live worship recordings I’ve heard lately [besides Hillsong of course!].

Worship//Service was recorded live at Riverside and a majority of the tracks are originals, written by worship leader [and one of my best friends from back in Kindergarten] Austin Luhring.

I had the chance to ask Austin a bit about the project and am excited to share one of the tracks from Worship//Service with you!

Austin, before we get into the CD, share a little bit about your background and how you got involved leading worship…

Well, I got into the actual leading of worship when I was 17, close to 10 years ago now.  I just started to play guitar, learning chords as best I could from who ever as well as watching the worship leaders in church, where they put their hands etc. My youth pastor began to pour into me, giving me different opportunities to lead and play back up guitar.  Singing was never really strong or comfortable from what I can remember. I went on to serve at a church in Chicago for 5 years where God really allowed me to walk through the most trying years of my life as of yet.  It was in this time as a musician I developed loads but more importantly He was developing my Spirit to hear His voice, to be sensitive to His spirit and He REALLY removed the scales from eyes as to what “worship” really is.

He eventually pulled me back to Peoria where I’m from to lead our church, Riverside.

In hindsight, it’s so interesting to remember the hard stuff and realize that it was all preparation.  It was the Refiner doing His work.  He’s so good, so faithful.

Explain the title Worship//Service … what’s the story behind that?

Worship//Service really came out of a realization of how far the church’s perspective of true worship had gone from God’s desire.  We recently had a spiritual breakthrough in our church.  It’s not inner, it’s outer.  It’s not about us, it’s about Him.  It has everything to do with not us.  Through this whole process of our first recording He kept saying, “Serve!”  ”What you have done for the least of these, You have also done for Me”  We really want God’s heart.  There is no performance, there is only Presence.  That is the goal, the aim, the heart of worship!

The Dream Center is one of the biggest areas of serving and worshiping God that has been raised up out of the church.  It exists to meet the needs of the people of Peoria, there is housing, after school programs, food organizations, outreach.  You can find out more about what we do at www.dreamcenterpeoria.org

Worship is service.  Serving God, loving people, meeting needs.

What was the whole recording experience like? From the sound of the crowd on the CD, it seemed like it was epic.

We began planning about a year ago.  One night our pastor announced to the church we would be recording our first album, which took all of us by surprise. So we had just a few months to write a few more songs and work on arrangements. So after many different variations of a set list and the band finalized we began rehearsals about 3 months out.

We had the team lead worship for the 3 weekends of the whole “worship” series doing only the songs that were going to be recorded that way we had tons of time to work with each other, for the church to learn it all and to be getting excited about it all.

You could really sense the anticipation on the weekends leading up to the day of the recording.

The morning of, it was an amazing feeling to walk out in front of our entire church in the auditorium for the first time together.  One service, one body, ready and excited to sing and praise God.

We really have God to thank for the whole thing.  We did corrections on one bass line, one electric guitar lead, and one vocal.  Other than that, it is as it was!  That is our church, that is their voice.  It was such a privilege to lead it.  Oh and it was loud:)

For being a debut CD this is pretty incredible… what is your hope and prayer for this and what’s the possibility of future recordings?

My hope is just to really develop a culture here in Peoria.  I want to see Peoria, America, the world be won in the name of Jesus, for the sake of Jesus.  I hope that what the Spirit did in me will go out and do in others.  I believe other people will now write and go deeper in their relationship with Christ and as one voice we will lift up His praises.

As far as other recordings, absolutely.  I’m busy now writing and trying to write differently and deeply.  Just trying to please Him and allow the Spirit through us to draw God’s people unto Himself.

Well, thanks to the people at Riverside, I’m excited to share a track from Worship//Service with you, one of my favorites from the project called I Am Nothing.

Download Your Free Track Here

If you like what you hear, which I know you will!, then consider downloading the CD from iTunes!

The saying goes “if it plays in Peoria it will play anywhere…” and from the sound of it, what’s playing in Peoria is a new sound the Church needs to hear.

Spread the love!

“I can’t stand your religious meetings.  I’m fed up with your conferences and conventions. I want nothing to do with your religion projects, your pretentious slogans and goals. I’m sick of your fund-raising schemes,  your public relations and image making. I’ve had all I can take of your noisy ego-music.  When was the last time you sang to me? Do you know what I want?  I want justice—oceans of it. I want fairness—rivers of it.  That’s what I want. That’s all I want.”

- Amos 5:21-24, The Message

I have no words [ that's rare ].

I’m just getting back from the movie theater after having my world absolutely rocked by what I just saw.

Two years ago when Hillsong United announced they were making a documentary I had no idea what to expect, and what I witnessed tonight without a doubt was one of the most beautiful, creative, compelling, thought-provoking pieces of art/cinema/story I’ve seen the Church create.

It played tonight only in theaters in the USA and Canada and will release soon in Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. I was able to catch in the heart of downtown Chicago with some of my friends from Park and City Church.

We’re All in This Together is part-documentary, part-apologetic for social justice, a picture of a generation and the Church waking up to see that things aren’t right… and a challenge to do something about it.

It shows the journeys of Hillsong United across the globe, but more importantly the inward journey God took them through to begin to see the cultures and people of this world through His eyes. It includes footage taken from their travels around the globe and includes interviews with the United team and guests including Brother Andrew, Martin Smith [of Delirious], Gary Skinner, Zach Hunter, Jamie Tworkowski, and many others.

This movie is a call to the Church to wake up and see that maybe we’ve been missing the point.

Maybe that in us building what we’ve built, we’ve neglected the key thing God has called us to do. That maybe that in trying to communicate the Gospel we’ve complicated a very simple message: LOVE. That maybe in trying to advance the cause of Christ we’ve alienated people from seeing and hearing about Him and His love. It was a call for us to see the world how He sees it and to be the Church He’s called us to be… with open hands and hearts to demonstrate His love and compassion to our neighbors and to the world.

This message isn’t a lofty idea or a fading thought, it’s our calling. It’s what God commanded us to do. I think we’ve just been overwhelmed with the task or felt paralyzed by our own sense of insignificance to do something… but I think this film is going to serve as wake-up call to the Church to see the role God is calling us to play.

Social justice is such a fad right now. Celebrities are talking about, politicians are standing up for it, and everywhere you look people are behind some kind of cause. But this isn’t something new, it’s been God’s heart for humanity all along. God has called us to stand for justice… to speak for those who have no voice… to bring freedom to those who are captive… to care for the orphans and the widows… to care for the sick, the poor and the elderly… to right that which is wrong. That’s the ultimate expression of what it means to love our neighbor as ourself.

This movie was not about Hillsong United… it was about all of us.

About midway through the movie I busted out my phone and started Tweeting what I could get from the movie… this was the first time I’ve ever taken notes during a movie! But, I knew there were so many people who couldn’t be there that need to hear this… so, I’ll shut up with my reflections… here you go…

• Maybe the human race [ for possessions, fame, power ] isn’t meant to be a race at all.
• The deepest human need is to know who you are.
• Loneliness is one of the most extreme forms of poverty.
• This moment is the moment we have to do something.
• Too often we dwell in the past or focus too much on the future that we miss this moment.
• The future will be written by the way we respond to moment that’s in front of us.
• We all share the same moment.
• If what happens inside the four walls of the church doesn’t make a difference in the streets that people travel to get there, then maybe we are missing the point.
• We’ve trained ourselves to look past the needs.
• Injustice and indifference walk together hand-in-hand.
• Ignorance isn’t just sleeping through the fire, it’s really just fanning the flame.
• Our generation has lost the meaning of the word love.
• Love has been reduced to define what makes us feel good.
• Love has become all about us.
• At the core of who we are, every single human being craves the same thing… love.
• Jesus is the ultimate expression of God’s love to humanity.
• The message is simple… love.
• The Church and Christians have messed up the message.
• We’ve complicated and misconstrued it.
• Jesus didn’t die to give us religion, He died to give us love.
• Our weakness is a place for God to show His strength.
• God’s picture for the Church for us to be the light to the world around us.
• Isaiah 58:9-10 - ”If you do away with the yoke of oppression, with the pointing finger and malicious talk, and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed,  then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday.”
• The church does not exist to meet our personal needs, the church exists to meet the needs of the world around us.
• For too long the Church has made a big deal about the small things, and a small deal about the big things.
• Preaching does not come from the pulpit, it comes from the people of God living their lives out for Him – Brother Andrew
• We don’t just attend church, we are the church.
• The church exists for those outside of it.
• The greatest use of life is to spend it for something that will outlast it.
• Talk is cheap, put feet to your vision.
• If we want to make history, we have to remember history is ultimately His Story.
• If we want to make history, we need find our place in His Story.
• The love of God cannot be measured but it can be demonstrated.
• Jesus is found in unexpected places.
• We need to preach the Gospel with our actions.
• We’ve made a dangerous division between what’s sacred and what’s secular; nothing is secular, everything belongs to God.
• If you are not a part of the solution, you are a part of the problem.
• God’s work must be our own work.
• What we are not, He is.
• We are all in this together.
• These three things remain… faith, hope and love.
• The greatest of these is love.

So where do you go from here?

Well, Hillsong United has created a new website, www.i-heart.org. The site focuses on 20 of the top causes they see in the world and seeks to connect people with ideas to solutions and create a network of people around the globe who can work together to combat injustice. I’m still exploring the site but I think it’s a pretty sweet idea.

This started and ended in the Church…

The thing that stood out to me most about this movie was that this all came out of one local church and a handful of people who are passionate for God and honoring Him with their gifts, talents and creativity. There wasn’t a huge studio or massive amounts of money backing this, it was literally a group of young people who wanted to make a difference and did something. Throughout the entire movie they kept going back to the local church and the importance it plays in making all of this happen. Immense props go to Hillsong Church, Brian and Bobbie Houston, Joel Houston and the entire team at Hillsong… what you guys are doing is changing the world. You are all seriously an incredible example of a Church that is creating culture and empowering the next generation to live out all that God has created them to be. I’m so in awe of what God is doing through them and their obedience to God’s call.

Closing Thoughts…

If you missed it… I’m sorry. Hopefully there will be an encore presentation — or maybe it will find it’s way to DVD soon. Regardless, find a way to see it.

This movie wrecked me [and all of my friends] in a good way. On the way out of the theater one of my friends said, “Wow, who wants to be normal? Not me!”

I think that sums it up.

The need is huge, but we serve a great, big God… and we’re not alone.

We’re all in this together.

Hillsong United’s feature length movie, The I-Heart Revolution: We’re All in This Together is hitting hundreds of theaters across the USA for one night only on Wednesday, November 4.

The night will feature the full-length movie as well as worship with Hillsong United LIVE from Sydney.

This is going to be an absolutely EPIC night you do not want to miss.

Click here to see a list of theaters and check out the I-Heart site for details and information and get your tickets today!

It’s official, Hillsong United’s full-length movie, We’re All in This Together, is going hit theatres in the USA for one night only in November.

The film has been years in the making and will be for the Church what Call + Response was for everyone else.

The movie is part of a movement started by Hillsong United called the I Heart Revolution.

I-HEART is a movement of people helping people – showing the love of God in practical ways, wherever need exists. Right here, real soon, you’ll find an online community with the sole purpose of offline action – sharing ideas, being inspired, shoulder to shoulder, part of the solution – transforming local initiatives into a collaborative global impact. But in the meantime, let’s take time to look beyond ourselves and truly see others…Their worth, their needs, their future. Because it’s together that we love… and think… and act. As one, I-HEART.

The concept was first introduced through the I Heart Revolution CD + DVD from Hillsong United last year and the movie will serve as a springboard for a broader global movement that is going to be launched by Hillsong United and Hillsong Church.

On the I-Heart blog, Hillsong United frontman Joel Houston shared,

I-Heart is part apologetic, part documentary, part call to action, the film is a story made up of many stories, told by many voices, no individual voice any more or any less important than any other, yet every voice working together to ultimately tell the ONE story – A story that involves everyONE; that seeks to capture our collective and idiosyncratic purpose in ONE.

And so… WE’RE ALL IN THIS TOGETHER will officially be launched this November. We’re taking it into cinemas for ONE night only – our prayer; that the Church across the earth would rally together and do whatever it takes to see as many people as possible gather at the same time in cinemas everywhere and be stirred and inspired by the message of Christ, to ultimately work closer together in seeing the real needs of humanity collide with a love that can only be found in God who by definition – IS Love.

W.A.I.T.T. isn’t for a second about Hillsong UNITED.. It doesn’t serve to document the music and the adventurous nature of travel, nor has it been designed even to quench our thirst to be entertained.. This is a ultimately about YOU -  It’s about all of us.. And so our hope is that we would ALL get behind it..  We never had a big budget.. No corporate sponsorship or professional help.. It has been pulled together by a small team of incredibly selfless and dedicated people who have tirelessly given of themselves and persevered to make it a reality.. And our prayer is that we all as individuals would play our part and take it upon ourselves to see as many of our friends, youth, churches mobilised to be a part of this event.. It has the potential to be HUGE!!

More details including locations + theaters will be posted soon, and I will of course post them when I find out more.

Joel’s closing comments on the blog were:

I don’t know where this is all headed.. But I’m convinced, that if we all choose to play our part and continue to work together in loving God and loving others with everything, that there is no end to what we can see established for the Kingdom and the glory of God in our lifetime.

I couldn’t agree more.

Stay tuned.