andrew.cherry

Found this band on my buddy's blog. Really powerful stuff, a bonafide hand-lifter.

check it out:



andrew

My dad always told me when I was growing up that when it came to me you could count on cartwheels in victory or tears in defeat. I always resented that as kind of an excessively simplistic way of describing my artistic personality. Whether or not I wanted to admit it I was guilty of kind of residing on the extremes of things.

I think we do that with God sometimes.

Our interaction with God is so dependent on our emotions sometimes.
When we allow our perspective of God to be fueled by emotions, then we are really limiting the power of his affection in our life.

comment and we'll talk about that.

psalm 51:10 - create in me a pure heart, and renew a steadfast spirit within me



This past week was a terrific week of worship leading. I had a chance on Tuesday to lead at CharlotteONE. The band and I had a really neat time of worship. I had the lovely Sara Scott leading with me, Tim Morrison on Drums, Nolan Verner on Bass, Trenton Starnes on Keys, and Zach Griffin on Electric. Stuart Hall from Atlanta brought an awesome message debunking the myth of the God of "Careless Grace". People seemed very responsive to both the worship and the message. I'm anxious to get back there soon.

CharlotteONE is a citywide gathering of young adults and singles in the heart of Charlotte. Its a terrific ministry that has really created a more unified body of christ in Charlotte. Check it out every Tuesday this fall at First United Methodist Church in Uptown Charlotte.

our set was :

1) Wonderful King - David Crowder
2) How He Loves - John Mark McMillan (Kim Walker version)
3) Mighty To Save - Hillsong
4) When I Think About The Lord - James Huey (Shane and Shane version)
5) Your Love Does No Wrong - Andrew Cherry
6) All Because of Jesus - Steve Fee






Sunday I was privileged to be with my church family at Southbrook : Monroe. It was a bittersweet time as I announced that I was stepping down from my staff position. I will miss seeing the folks down there every week. Zach Griffin and I did an acoustic set. If you go to Southbrook Church and haven't checked out the Monroe Campus yet, DO IT! They meet every sunday at 10 AM at Benton Heights Elementary School on Concord Ave.

we played :

1) Awesome Is The Lord Most High - Chris Tomlin
2) God of This City - Chris Tomlin version
3) Glorious One - Steve Fee

It was a great week.

andrew


while i wrote this i was listening to coldplay

I was driving a few months back, on the way to the studio to do some overdubs. I Turned the radio off to spend some time with the Lord. He brought to mind this passage. Matthew 23:37-39

"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing. Look, your house is left to you desolate. For I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, 'Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.'

I spent some time thinking about this. The distress Jesus is very evident in this passage. The idea of him desiring to gather us together, to hold us close to himself really floored me. When I got to the studio (which I had been to every day for the past month). I noticed for the first time that it was right next door to a funeral home. In the same glance I saw a two women walking. They were going towards the funeral home. They were clearly overcome with grief, I assumed because of a loss of a loved one. As soon as that thought entered my mind, the Lord again pointed me again towards that passage in Matthew. I remembered the passion behind Jesus' words, and then I understood. Like a family who has lossed a loved one, Christ mourns our rebellion, and our unwillingness to accept his plans for us. He desperately wants to hold us close, but we are so wrapped up in our own issues we fail to realize this. Or we do realize this and ignore his call altogether. In a simple act of letting go we are given the gift of the Sprit of God. With that gift comes healing, the power for change, and a peace incomprehensible.
I want to be the kind of person that God can gather underneath his wings, but I know that I am probably the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are meant to encourage or guide me. This song I believe is a cry from the heart of God to his people. Let me hold you, let me draw you into my presence, let me heal your broken bones, and let me remove the scales from your eyes. He loves us. And wants for us to desire to be near to him. ponder that

to listen to the song i wrote in response to this go HERE

this past weekend was the beginning of a new era.

I started my itinerate worship leading ministry on Sunday.
A scary yet exciting move in response to the calling I have felt on my life for the past 6 months.

On Sunday I was able to partner with Ridge Church in Matthews, NC. Chris Brown and the rest of the team of staff and volunteers do an extraordinary job of creating environments that really enhance the presentation of the Gospel. Ridge is a strategic partner of Northpoint Community Church in Alpharetta, GA. We heard from Northpoint's pastor Andy Stanley for the message. Andy spoke out of Romans 12 on truly being a part of the body of Christ. It was a great challenge for believers who had maybe just heard the Gospel, and for those who have been around the Christian world for a bit longer.

If you are looking for a church home and are in the Matthews area I would highly suggest Ridge Church they meet on Sunday morning's at 11AM at the Levine Senior Center in Matthews.


I was privileged to work with a great band of guys. Matt Nethery on Electric, Skylar McNabb on Drums, and Brett Banks on Bass. These guys were extremely talented and had great hearts of service and worship. I hope to work with them again in the future.
The presence of the Lord was very evident as we worshipped.

The setlist was : "Solution by Hillsong United". I wasn't always a big fan of this song but as I was learning the words really was encouraged by the message and the depth of the lyrics. A standout line is " politics will not decide, if we will rise and be your hands and feet". Good stuff. We then moved into "All Because of Jesus by Steve Fee", and "Majesty by Delirious". We closed out the message with an awesome song off of Leeland's new album called Count Me In. All in all a great morning.


Its a bittersweet feeling for me. Making the transition from staff member to volunteer at my home church Southbrook was a very hard decision, but I know it was the right one. Pastor Rob and the rest of the staff have been fantastic in helping me and supporting me in what I really feel is God's calling on my life. I have felt the Lord leading me for quite a while that my ministry here on earth wasn't meant for just one church, but rather that I help churches all over the city, state, country by leading worship, encouraging their volunteers, and giving there staff members well needed breaks. But my calling is two fold. I feel that a big part of what I do needs to be engaging the secular artistic community and being an example of the light of Christ in a culture that is overshadowed by darkness. So, be praying for me in this new venture that my integrity would hold strong, that I would be able to financially support myself, and that God would continue to mold and shape me into a man after his own heart. I'd be lying if I said that I wasn't a bit nervous but I know that God will be faithful to finish the work he began in me. I will be updating more regularly these days to keep you all posted on whats going on with me.

andrew


(while writing this i was listening to the album leaf)

I see and hear many people talk about this thing called unity. Saying they want our country to be united. Heck, our Pledge of Allegiance closes with the line "One nation under God, indivisible with liberty and justice for all". I don't come across many reasonable people who don't want a country that cannot be divided. One where every man, woman, child, would be able to receive liberty and justice. So why is there so much disunity caused by politics? Unfortunately somewhere along the lines we got a little side tracked and forgot the cornerstone that our nation was built upon. That we would be under God. Submitted to and passionate about his will and his plans. I am talking mainly to Christ-Followers. Why do politics divide us so much? Is it because some people are flat out wrong? And the other half are the beacons of truth we should all look to? I don't buy that. If we are submitted to Jesus we find that he leads us to our convictions. We don't take generational ideology and format it to suit our needs and prejudices. We pursue the heart of God by digging in to his word. And, by trying to find out what are the things Jesus really cares about.

I feel the need to apologize if I contributed at all to disunity in the body of Christ because of my political endorsements . It was never my intention to sway anyones personal or political convictions. My goal was perhaps to start an honest discourse among Christ followers about what it means to be the church in this day and age and how that should affect our politics.

My prayer for us as the body of Christ is that we would truly seek God's heart on all issues. And that we would truly be an indivisible community of believers who don't digress to petty arguments about issues of limited importance. And that we would model in our agreement and our disagreement a healthy respect for each others opinion. To get a group of a hundred believers in and them all to have the same exact political position is virtually impossible. But to have those same people in a room agreeing about the essentials that we all are sinners, that we all need Jesus, that we all need forgiveness, and that Jesus is the only way to receive eternal life, I feel is very possible.

God help us be focused on the things that unite us rather then the things that divide us. Help us care about the things that you care about and work for the things you have challenged us in your word to work for. Help us be people who model Micah 6:8. Because no matter who we vote for you still challenge us to act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with you God. We love you Lord.

I would love to talk to any of you about these things. Please feel free to send me a message or leave a comment below.

andrew


i was listening to the band hammock when i wrote this

I want to be like a child
Naked before you
Transparent in everything I do

So take my heart this bitter stone
Heal the flesh so faith can grow

Take this song, as simple words of love

Cause you are holy, holy, holy, God

So make my heart your vessel lord
Breath your wind into my sails

Make my life a simple song of love

Cause you are holy, holy, holy, God

What can I give but everything
What can offer but control of me
Jesus you deserve to hold my reigns
Define my direction



Periodically, i’ll ask people close to me what they would write a worship song about if they had the chance.
i asked my good friend mike this a couple of months back and he said..... That he would get back to me. a week later i had completely forgotten about that conversation. mike came to me and said " andy, i’ve thought a lot about what you asked me the other day". i blanked and had no recollection of what i had asked him then he he said this (more or less) : "i would want the worship song i write to reflect a desire for simplicity in faith, to return to the point of a pure, stripped down, organic love affair with Jesus. That knocked me on my tail. We have a great tendency to move the opposite direction. We making things more and more complicated, letting our pride in what we have created ferment inside of us until we forget our original reason for loving the Lord. Jesus says in Matthew 18 2-4 "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven."With that child like faith comes a complete transparency. Its intimidating to think about being that vulnerable with someone. God offers us reassurance though his word. In Hebrews 7: 18-19 it says, "The former regulation is set aside because it was weak and useless (for the law made nothing perfect), and a better hope is introduced, by which we draw near to God". Us imposing all these liturgies and doctrines honestly sometimes will distract us from the faith God has put inside of us. Let us together move closer into the knowledge and the understanding of God’s faithfulness, his perfection and move away from all of the pretense that keeps us away. That’s what this song is about. My journey to a childlike faith. Check out this description of Abraham by a theologian named A.B. Simpson and be encouraged.

"Abraham’s faith reposed in God Himself. He knew the God he was dealing with. It was a personal confidence in One whom he could utterly trust. The real secret of Abraham’s whole life was in his friendship with God. He knew God to be his great, good and faithful Friend. Taking Him at His word, he stepped out from all that he knew and loved and went forth upon an unknown pathway with none but God. In addition to trusting in the Word of God, have we learned to lean our whole weight upon God, the God of infinite love and power, our covenant God and everlasting Friend? We are told that Abraham glorified God by this life of faith. The truest way to glorify God is to let the world see what He is and what He can do. God does not so much want us to do things as to let people see what He can do. God is not looking for extraordinary characters as His instruments, but He is looking for humble instruments through whom He can be honored throughout the ages."

God, strip away the things keeping us away from you. Whether we think they are positive or negative, they can be a distraction from you.

hosea 2:1

Say to your brothers, "You are my people," and to your sisters, "You have received mercy."

Do we look out for one another?

When was the last time you went to bat for someone?

Frequently we are so concerned with ourselves that we forget to that our brothers and sisters often to need someone to say to them that "You are my people".

Jesus desires for his people to be in relationship with each other, close community where when things go bad we don't run for the hills we hold fast next to each other and brace for the storm. The problem we face though is that we things go wrong, even when there is a clear spiritual attack happening we don't pray together, we don't turn to God's word to see what he has to say. We blame each other, finding so much sawdust in our brother's eye. The devil hates it when we are united in the truth that Christ offers so he will do anything to screw that up. So naturally we all become wary of each other. We stop trusting our heavenly family and start trying (unsuccessfully) to live as lone rangers. How can we build community in the face of imminent spiritual attack? The answer is simple but incredibly difficult. We center our community not on common interests, our tastes in movies, or our age. But instead, we put at the center of our community the idea that Christ is the great Uniter, and if we are all moving towards him then we are also moving towards each other. Easier said then done I know. God is worth us being a united family. Moving forwards in him and for him.


While writing this I was listening to Iron and Wine's new record called "The Shepherds Dog"