Desiring God Blog : Posts on Don't Waste Your Life

Three weeks ago I had the privilege to hang out with pro skater Brian Sumner to do some filming for DWYL. I gave him a few copies of A Sweet and Bitter Providence. He gave a copy to a fellow skater and musician, Josh Harmony.

Amazingly, Josh recorded a song inspired by what he read. I thought it was beautiful and he was generous to share the song with us. The song is called "Mara Naomi."

The lyrics are below. Josh has an EP available in iTunes if you are interested in more of his music.

Mara Naomi - listen to audio (right click for download options)

ive thought about you and the way you must have felt.
the bitterness of the hand that you were dealt.
how you're a long ways from your Bethlehem.
and you long for the touch of your husband
Elimelech, you'll never forget.

later on your two sons had taken…

Continue Reading →

In chapter 7 of Don’t Waste Your Life, John Piper challenges us to live in a way that proves that Jesus—not money or possessions—is our treasure. He argues that Jesus calls us to a wartime lifestyle and a hazardous liberality (like in Mark 12:42-44). Consequently, one of the core values of Desiring God is Radical Generosity.

Desiring God seeks to partner with ministries that share this value, ministries like Come&Live!. Come&Live! exists to live simply and give generously. Their mission is “to establish the kingdom of God within a community of musicians.” They give away all of their music to display radical generosity. Fans are encouraged to share and copy their music.

There are several ways you can partner with Come&Live! to help them accomplish their mission:

• Become a prayer partner that will lift them up regularly.
• Join them for FastFr…

Continue Reading →

Here is the full video of the "Hip Hop for Haiti" concert (featuring Lecrae, Flame, Json, DJ Essence, and DJ Official) that took place in Minneapolis last month.

(RSS readers may need to click through to see it)

The concert was put on to raise awareness and money for the churches who are still suffering from the tragic 7.0 earthquake in Haiti.

To still help the church in Haiti, visit Churches Helping Churches.

Desiring God produced the music video for LeCrae's new song, "Far Away," over the weekend. It is now available for purchase, along with the mp3, for only $4.99.

If you want to buy just the mp3, it is available in iTunes for $.99. It is ranked 46 in Hip Hop as of now. Let's try to move it into the top 10!

Buy either of these now and all proceeds will go to Haiti relief.

For those who can't make it to Hip Hop for Haiti tonight, we will be streaming the concert live online. Join the crowd in Minneapolis by watching online and by giving to Churches Helping Churches.

You can also join the crowd on Twitter using the #HH4H hashtag.

Chart-topping hip hop artist LeCrae recorded a new single to benefit relief efforts in Haiti. He'll be performing this song live for the first time at Hip Hop for Haiti in downtown Minneapolis tomorrow night.

Come join us! We will be filming the music video during this live performance. You will also be able to purchase an advance copy of the song with 100% of the proceeds going directly to Haiti relief efforts.

I went with the Churches Helping Churches media team to Haiti last week to identify the needs of the churches and help raise money to meet their needs. The things I saw, the things I filmed, and the people I met are still with me. I am haunted by the horror I saw, and yet the palpable hope of homeless and hungry Christians amazed me.

If you live in or near Minnesota, I want to personally invite you to a concert Desiring God is sponsoring called Hip Hop for Haiti on Friday, February 5, 2010. Order your tickets online. 100% of all the money will go directly to churches in Haiti through Churches Helping Churches.

Don't Waste Your Life is partnering with Reach Records, Lamp Mode Records, and Club 3 Degrees to host a benefit concert to help the churches in Haiti rebuild and reach out again. Christian hip hop artists Lecrae, DJ Official, Flame, Json, and DJ Essence will be performing.

This concert will take place at Club 3 Degrees (Downtown Minneapolis, MN) on February 5 at 8pm. Ticket price is $10, and we recommend buying them in advance since it will likely be a sell-out show.

In addition to the ticket price, there will be several opportunities to give throughout the night.

One hundred percent of the money—from the tickets, merchandise, and all other gifts—will go directly to Churches Helping Churches, a ministry "created to address the immediate and long-term needs of churches when disaster befalls a country, region, city, or people."

Mark Driscoll and Jam…

Continue Reading →

God has used Don’t Waste Your Life to change the course of many lives since 2003. In the Spring of 2006, I had a chance to interview Chad Johnson about how it was impacting him. Little did he know that God would call him to leave his successful position at Tooth & Nail Records and start a non-profit music label called Come & Live! this year.

Come & Live! is an expression of the major themes of Don’t Waste Your Life (radical generosity, risk taking love, making others glad in God, missions, living simply for the sake of giving, etc). The basic idea is that the label is like a missions agency, the musicians are like missionaries, and you do not have to pay for the music. I am encouraged by how God calls men and women in different industries and cultures to find ways to make others glad in God within their context.

You can download for free without…

Continue Reading →