failing forward (song)

Time to share a new song!

I’m not sure if I heard someone first use the phrase or if it just came to me one day. But the idea of “failing forward” has become an important part of how I view my walk with Christ.  This is a balanced approach instead of doing what many Christians do – tend towards extremes.

Some see their love walk with God as a mission, a goal to be attained and an end to be reached. Did my daily bible reading – check. Prayed for at least 15 minutes – check. Didn’t cuss, drink, smoke or have gay sex – check. Now what’s on TV? The problem with task-oriented Christianity is that Christianity, by nature, is not a task. Its a relationship. Spouses who treat their significant others as items on a to-do list have marriage problems. Similarly, Christians who treat their walk with God as a daily objective won’t ever get as close to Him as their hearts desire. Its not what’s He’s asking for and they’ll never be happy because they’ll always fall short of the self-imposed chores they’ve created.

Which brings us to our next extreme: the spiritually lazy. These folks have realized that they will never be able to keep the list of rules needed to be a “good Christian” so they quit. I’ve heard this sometimes referred to as “greasy grace” where someone just does what they want and just assumes the “grace” of God will cover it. Of course what they really are counting on is mercy, not grace, but its an unbiblical mercy. They have learned to not be task oriented (that’s good) but instead they are content with no spiritual growth (that’s bad).

Instead of these two extremes, I believe God is calling us to live a life “failing forward.” With this mentality, the Christian understands that they can never please God with a check list and knows they will make mistakes. However, instead of wallowing in their shortcomings, they choose to embrace the love relationship Jesus provided (thru scriptural grace) and continue moving forward through their shortcomings. This way the objective is not perfection, but movement in the right direction. This is what will bring true growth.

So I wrote a song about it! Music and lyrics are below. It’s just a rough home demo so don’t expect the quality of my EP or anything. I hope it ministers to you!

Failing Forward

//

It’s OK to not be OK

It’s all right to not be all right

Your father knows your frame is dust

So now He’s asking you to trust

//

Jesus sees us

As we are in Him, covered by His blood

Jesus meets us

Right where we are, offering His love

And His grace is our reward

As we run to Him failing forward

//

Don’t count your sins, repent and then forget them

Come on, get back up and don’t lose your momentum

‘Cause God’s not shocked and does not get worried

He already knows you fall short of His glory

//

It’s a process that I’ll never quite complete

But still I seek His holiness in me

And if I fall I’ll crawl until I’m on my feet

Because there’s only one direction toward only One I need:

Forward, failing forward

the best compliment I could ever receive

I like getting compliments. Who doesn’t? If you’ve read the book “The Five Love Languages” by Gary Chapman, I am an off the chart “words of affirmation” guy so I need to hear it! 🙂

When I started making music years ago, I’d often receive compliments about the music itself – my songwriting, the instrumentation, my playing ability, etc.  And that’s awesome. It always feels good to have someone recognize the effort you’ve put into stewarding your God-given abilities. But without taking away anything from those compliments or the intentions of those who gave them, I’ve always longed for more. I don’t want to be a just good musician or decent songwriter. I want to create connection points between the listener and God that spurs eternal change in the life of the hearer. Man, that’s what really moves me. So when I hear that my music or counsel or teaching has done that for a person, my day is officially made.

These past few weeks I’ve received two of these “best possible” compliments and I’m still floating. The first one came after being part of a city wide worship event when a friend told me that as I began to sing and lead the people in worship she could “feel the presence of God come in the room so strong.” How cool is that?! It’s so much better than hearing that I sounded good or looked cool. As I sang, she had an encounter with the Living God – the Maker of the Universe and the Uncreated Source of Love. Wow. It blows my mind.

Then, one of my friends posted a blog called “How Jamie Nunnally’s CD Helped Save My Marriage.” Go ahead and give it a read. In it she tells the story of how in a moment of decision one of my songs came on and helped spur her on to make the right choice. Its hard to say how that makes me feel – humbled, ecstatic, dumbfounded, overjoyed. One thing it does do, though, is make me want to write, sing and record even more. If one of my songs can bring someone happiness in a moment, then that’s awesome. But if my music can help create lasting, permanent God-change, then wow – I want to be a part of that!

After hearing these two recent compliments I was reminded that a while back I made the decision that if I thought something positive about someone I was going to go ahead and say it. Outloud. To them. While I do chicken out from time to time I know it’s God’s heart that we build each other up as often as possible. The world system is all about tearing us down – we need to be lifted up. We need to talk about people to their faces how we would talk about them if we were at their funeral. Notice that someone got a new hair cut? Just tell them! “Hey you got a new hair cut – nice!” It doesn’t have to be a big deal. The more we build each other up, the more confident we will all be to walk in the calling God has for us.

I pray that as I continue to find my way through life I will engage in every ministry opportunity set before me – whether its leading people in worship or whether its telling someone I barely know that their shirt is cool. Hopefully then when I finally see God face to face I will hear His ultimate compliment – “Well done, good and faithful servant.”

we are yours (song)

Time to share another song! This one is called “We Are Yours” and is intended to be a declaration of being “all in” when it comes to God. I wanted to supply words for the congregation, youth group and retreat attendees that had made the quality decision that their lives are going to be spent seeking the face of God. One of my friends who previewed the song for me said that it sounded surprisingly “dark” compared to my other stuff. It was a great compliment. 🙂 With all the things of the world vying for our attention and affection, I think its time for the church to get a little intense and shake off the things that hold us back. After all the declarations are said and done, the bridge brings the song together with a heartfelt prayer for more of Him. I hope you like it!

To all my music snob friends: yes, I know the bass is sharp. Yes, I know the drums are too busy on the 2nd verse. Yes, the tempo is a tad fast. And yes it needs some solo work on the after-chorus turnarounds. Thanks. 🙂

Enjoy!

We Are Yours

We are the seekers; we are chasing after You

We are relentless; we’ll never cease in our pursuit

We are forgiven; we are the objects of Your grace and mercy

And now we’re hungry for more than what our natural eyes can see

We are an army; our weapons are the ways of love

We are expecting to see Your Kingdom flood the earth

We are so thankful, relieved and grateful that You’ve saved our lives

And now we’re ready to be a people that reflect Heaven’s light

//

We are Yours, We are Yours

We are Yours, We are Yours alone, Lord

//

We are the restless; we’ll persevere until we see

We are rejecting all that the world is offering

We are Your children, we’ve seen Your heart and we have felt Your hand

And now we’re asking, give us the power to fulfill Your plan

//

All consuming fire, loose Your flame among us

Burn a new desire, let Your glory fill us

an open letter to all of my facebook friends

I recently read a blog called “Facebook is Making Us Miserable” that talked about the negative aspects of Facebook we sometimes don’t consider. In addition to Facebook being a time-waster (which we all didn’t need someone to tell us that!), it talks about how users’ tendency to post mostly-positive information can create jealousy, comparison and unhealthy competition among friends.

I am guilty of this positive-only posting. When I consider which picture to post on Facebook its usually the most flattering one that I choose. I’m an off-the-chart optimist and can’t stand complaining, so you’ll rarely hear anything negative from me, even if I’m currently struggling with something. I consider Facebook a fun, superficial place to interact with friends so I only occasionally post anything serious. Of course, I don’t think the solution is for us all to post mundane stuff (“just wiped my nose for the 3rd time today!”). Nor do I think it should be a venue to air all of our complaints and annoyances. Yes, Facebook is shallow. Public places are supposed to be shallow and filtered and Facebook is a public place. We don’t talk about our bowel movements with the cashier at Wal-Mart do we? The correct answer, hopefully, is no.

My life is not perfect. I assume everyone knows this but in light of aforementioned blog, I’d like to alleviate any confusion and clear up any misgivings anyone might have due to being my Facebook friend. Here are some things you should know:

We don’t have a ton of money. Tiff and I have all of our needs met but please understand we are a one-income family of five and I’m not a doctor or lawyer. Sometimes we wonder how we’re going to pay for stuff and pretty regularly we go into “lock-down” mode a few days before our next paycheck. We have nice things – a great house, good cars, etc. But many of the nicer things we have were acquired under special circumstances. For instance, the family car we currently drive is something we never could have afforded if our last one hadn’t gotten totaled by a guy with good insurance. God blesses us and takes care of us financially so we’re not going to go around posting about any negative financial situations. But please know that we, like everyone else, live on a tight budget and it can be stressful at times.

Our kids don’t always act right. We love our children and they’re really good kids. We make an effort to discipline them consistently while loving them unconditionally. However, our kids are like all kids and from time to time they have bad attitudes, misbehave and do immature things. When I post a picture of them on Facebook, they are smiling and happy, not angry and throwing things. That smiley, happy picture was posed. What you don’t see in that pic is me threatening them with their very lives if they don’t HURRY UP AND SMILE SO I CAN GET A FREAKIN PICTURE OF THEM WITH THEIR GREAT-GRANDMOTHER!

My marriage requires a lot of work. I love my wife so much it scares me. We do have a great marriage but I gotta say we work really hard at it. We decided years ago that we were going to “live to out-give” each other and that’s not always fun. Its very normal for me to not do something I want to do for the sake of peace in our marriage. I’ve given up possible job changes, don’t watch as much sports as I want to, don’t spend money on certain hobbies, etc. all in order to invest in “us” instead of just “me.” And she does the same – she works really hard to lay her life down for me as well. Sometimes it gets difficult and we have to hash out disagreements and issues that come up. So when you see that pic of us smiling or that gooey sweet post about being each other’s soul mate, realize that I don’t post about the times when we disagree on a money or parenting issue. Neither do I post a pic of me not doing housework cause I’m too self-absorbed to realize she feels overwhelmed. But those things do happen.

I don’t always feel confident. Just like you, I sometimes question the path I’m on. I wonder if I have what it takes to make it in this world and I question if I’m truly doing what God has called me to do. Sometimes I don’t feel fulfilled. Other times I’m confident. Sometimes I hear clearly from God. Other times I don’t. So if something I post on Facebook make you think “Wow, Jamie has is figured out” then please know that I don’t. And I know good and well that I never will. And that’s OK.

In light of all of this, you need to know that I’m not going to change how I post on Facebook. My pictures will be posed and will be as flattering as possible. The quotes from my kids will be cute and funny, not disrespectful and angry. I will post the cool revelation I might get during my prayer time, but I won’t post every time I don’t get anything from God. So in case you’re ever tempted to compare your life to mine or anyone else’s, please know that Facebook does not give you the whole picture and should not be used as a measuring stick as to whether or not you’re doing OK in life!

Happy superficial posting!

vfc live: so close to me

My home church, Victory Fellowship Church, has just released a new worship album! It’s called “So Close to Me” and features 79 minutes of music and 13 songs.

The CD was recorded live at the church during a night of praise and worship and features many original songs among other favorites of our congregation. This is an actual live album – not one that was recorded live then re-recorded in the studio. A few things were fixed here and there in post-production but there are no overdubs and you can find mistakes if you’re looking for them!

I’m so proud of the praise team at VFC. They are truly a group of servants who genuinely want nothing more than to please the Father. It’s rare to find authentic worship musicians with no pride or ulterior motives and I feel incredibly blessed to be able to lead this team! We pray that as you listen and worship along with us, the same thickness of His presence we felt in our sanctuary that night would find you right where you listen. Check out one the songs on the CD called “Alabaster Jar” below.

We are asking for $10 donations for this CD in order to raise money for new sound equipment. If you’d like to get a copy, they are available at our church or just click HERE to donate $10 (Paypal, Credit/Debit) and pay to have it shipped directly to you.

the secret to christianity

Have you ever wondered if there is some secret to Christianity that you haven’t uncovered yet? Maybe you see other Christians hearing from God all the time, confident in their faith and doing great while you feel like you’re barely getting by. Some Christians they feel like they’re on the outside looking in. Everyone else “gets it” while they struggle. Everyone else wears their Christianity like a perfectly sized coat while their spiritual clothes just don’t fit right. So many feel that if they could just uncover that special truth, have that one mountaintop experience, or understand that one eye-opening concept – then they’d finally feel like the rest.

Well, I am here to tell you today that I, Jamie Nunnally, posses that super special secret. Are you ready? Really, ready? Cause this could change your life. You’re sure? OK, here it is:

THERE IS NO SECRET.

Seriously. The secret to Christianity is that there is no secret to Christianity. There’s no bestseller book by the latest Christian author you have to read, no sermon you must hear and no divine revelation you must receive. Being a Christian is done by faith. By sheer definition, faith means you don’t always “get it” but you’re willing to trust anyway. It means you don’t always feel like a Christian but you still believe Jesus is saving you. We are called believers, after all!

So if there is no secret, how come we don’t always feel like its working for us but working for others? Well first off, your walk with God is not based on what you feel – its based on constant interaction with God regardless of how you feel. This is the essence of Christianity: Get up in the morning. Spend some time with God (worship+word). Go to work/school/whatever God has set before you and do it as an act of worship to Him. Love (serve) others as best you can. Call on God when you fail. Share Him when you feel prompted. Enjoy your life. Go to bed. Get up in the morning. Wash, rinse repeat.

That’s it. The life of a Christian is a life of being constantly aware of God in your daily life, asking Him to guide you and obeying the best you can. There’s no secret that all the other “good” Christians have. They’ve either been at it longer than you so they’ve had more practice or they’re faking it. Either way, don’t compare yourself to others. That’s not fair to you since you know all your faults but you only know about others what they let you see.

So that’s the secret: there is no secret. Don’t spend your Christian walk chasing after an unattainable benchmark. Just sync up with your Father, through Jesus, and learn to let the Holy Spirit lead you. Do it consistently, everyday and watch how God begins to move in your life.

eternity (song)

And now for something completely different.

When I was recording my album Forever, I decided to record a song I had written years ago called Eternity. The song is a whistful reflection on the difficulties of comprehending the idea of eternity/infinity/forever. I don’t know about you but I can’t quite seem to wrap my head around the concept. I even remember being little boy thinking about it and crying because it didn’t make sense to me. Years later, my oldest son and I had the exact same conversation I remember having with my mom when that happened: we simply do not possess the ability to fully understand eternity. We just have to trust God and believe that he’ll take care of us when we die. Eternity is a gift and He’s not going to give anything to us that’s not good!

Musically, this one was really fun. The whole song is built around an odd middle-eastern sounding vocal run that just showed up in my head one day. I almost called the song “Eternity in G” because the whole song is just one chord and simply finds melodic runs within that one key (a la The Beatles’ Tomorrow Never Knows). But that just seemed a little pretentious. For instrumentation, I just went with the middle-eastern feel and used percussion instead of drums and vocal harmony instead of lots of other instrumentation.

Ultimately, the song didn’t make it on the CD for a few reasons. First, although I thought the song might fit thematically with the “Forever” concept, its really not a worship song and that’s the whole point of the album! Secondly, this song is almost impossible to sing. I could never recreate it live and I feel like vocally, this version is barely even good enough to share publicly, much less put on a CD. To be honest, I think the writer in me bit off a little more than my musical abilities can chew with this one.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy it and I hope the song awakens a longing in your heart to not be afraid eternity, but to embrace its beautiful uncertainty.

Eternity

I can hardly understand the concept of eternity

When time and space collapse into a Limitless Infinite Being

//

I can barely comprehend the notion of infinity

When all our moments merge together and history will never cease

//

I can scarcely apprehend the thought of this reality:

There will never be a time where you and I will cease to be

© Jamie Nunnally 2010

now is the time (song)

Just finished a new song called “Now Is the Time.” This is meant to be a fast praise song/opener for a contemporary worship service. I wanted to write something that captured the essence of making a quality decision to follow Jesus. I wanted a no-turning-back-once-and-for-all-I’ve-made-my-decision song where we could declare together “God, I’m done with doing things my way – it’s all about you from here on out.”

The bridge to this song was written by my good friend Jim Courtney. He got the lines “I lift my hands with purpose…” one Sunday morning when the praise team was in prayer before the service. He just handed me the scribbled lyrics and I immediately knew they’d make a great summarizing bridge to this song which, at that time, was about half-written.

Hope you enjoy. Its just a demo, but I think you can get the idea of the song. VFC’ers, you might wanna go ahead and learn this one. 🙂

Now is the Time

I’m ready to answer the call

I’m ready to give my all

I lay aside the weight of sin

I’m pushing on and pressing in

//

Now is the time, today is the day

I’m getting tired of being in the way

Oh Jesus, It’s all about You now

Now is the time for stepping aside

I’m leaving my independence and pride

Oh Jesus, It’s all about You now.

//

I’m ready to run the race

I’m ready to take my place

I lay aside the weight of sin

I’m pushing on and pressing in

//

I lift my hands with purpose

I raise my voice to sing

The life that I’ve been given

Becomes my offering

© Jamie Nunnally 2011

hope remains (song)

I just finished a new song called Hope Remains and I wanted to share it with everyone. Still trying to decide if its congregational and appropriate for Sunday morning worship or not. Feel free to weigh in. Our praise team at VFC was supposed to do it for special music last weekend but it just didn’t work out.

Lyrically, I wanted to focus on hope – that eternal, remaining gift from Heaven that seems to always take a backseat to faith and love (1 Cor. 13:13). I wanted to write an anthem that showed what it looked like when we emptied ourselves – our fears, questions and insecurities and just held on to the hope of our salvation through Jesus. The song ends with what is hopefully a very rousing and effective declaration that no matter what life hands us, we will cling to hope and let it be the anchor of our souls (Hebrews 6:19).

Musically, I tried to keep it simple enough to sing but interesting enough that it didn’t sound like everything else. The turnaround and bridge chords/melody are extremely pop-typical so I tried to make the verse and chorus chords/melody a little more unique. And I love the guitar part on top of the chorus (“All that I am…”) – it just sounds so pretty to me.

Ok, so here are the excuses: I recorded all the instruments in 2 hours and all vocals in 30 minutes so its not like this is gonna be high quality, people! But hey, it didn’t cost anything! 🙂 I hope you enjoy the song and pray that you’re encouraged to hold fast hope!

Hope Remains

Hope is rising up and strengthening my faith

The fear that held me back has now begun to fade

 //

All that I am I give away, ‘til nothing is left, just hope remains

//

Hope is sinking in and keeping me secure

And as I trust and wait, I patiently endure

//

All that I am I give away ‘til nothing is left, just hope remains

I’m confident that God will save and as I believe, my hope remains

//

So when the pressure’s building and I can feel the weight

I know my God still loves me I won’t hold back my praise

When disappointment finds me and things don’t go my way

My joy will not be stolen, no one can take my faith

And I won’t stop pursuing,  no I won’t be afraid

Though I’m not sure what’s coming I know that hope remains

//

Whoa, hope remains

summer snow – our wedding song

It only took 12 years but I finally did it!

I’ve been wanting to do a full-instrument recording of the song I wrote and sang to Tiffany at our wedding for a while now. After I finished recording my worship CD, I set out to record our wedding song, Summer Snow. I had to resist the urge to rewrite it – some things about it absolutely drive me crazy. Although imperfect, it does capture the mindset of my 21-year-old newbie head over heels and crazy in love self. (For record I’m still head over heels and crazy in love, but hopefully a little better songwriter!)

After the recording was finished, I created the CD art, had a few CDs manufactured and gave it to Tiff this past Valentine’s Day. Both the packaging art (with lyrics) and recording is below. I hope you enjoy it!

CD Cover

Insert w/lyrics

CD Image

Back of case