AUDIOBOOK of "Broken Record" is now on iTunes!

I am very excited the iTunes access for the book is now up and running.

I'd love to hear feedback from any of you who download the audiobook. Did you like it? Where did you listen to it? Was it easy to listen to? What should I do different on the next one? Keep 'em coming?

You can buy the audiobook by using the button below.

Broken Record Audiobook is Here!

Click on the picture above or here to download the audiobook from CDBaby! The audiobook will be on iTunes and other outlets soon. I will let you all know.

My New Book is Here!

I am excited to announce my new book is done and available online! “Broken Record: Enjoying the Music of Relationship Through the Hisses, Pops, and Scratches” is an easy read and a humorous yet insightful tool for relationships.

Relationships are like records. Remember those things? Vinyl? Larger than a CD? Some would argue the purest audio recordings are vinyl records. But, they are fragile. Records require special care. You can't toss them around, leave them in the sun, or let them get dusty.

Still, they develop hisses, pops and scratches. It's inevitable.

And, because life is what it is, our relationships get hisses, pops, and scratches—it’s the nature of the beast.

This book is about the records we have saved for and purchased, the ones we have been entrusted with.

It’s about properly taking care of them and playing them over and over again until they become part of us.

Become a relational audiophile.

Learn to listen carefully to the music, to appreciate it beyond the initial, most obvious instrumentation.

Fall in love with it, maybe all over again.

Here’s what the publisher says,
Relationships are difficult. We all have them and we all struggle at times to overcome, or at least get past, the inevitable conflict. Great friendships sour, good marriages crumble and fray, business partnerships that flowed so smoothly break up badly. Often, all we need are some basic tools, to help us through the rough patches to a stronger relationship on the other side of the conflict. Sometimes we already know what to do, but in the heat of the fight, we forget to listen and to use our words lovingly.

In Broken Record: Enjoying the Music of Relationship Through the Hisses, Pops, and Scratches, author John Voelz invites us to sit with him and listen to his record collection–those relational pieces of vinyl that are irreplaceable, invaluable, and that lend color and meaning to life. Through this metaphor, humor, and illustrative story, Voelz takes through nearly every type of conflict a relationship can suffer. He hands us the tools we need to get through the problem while reminding us again about how to take care of our relationships. Listen again to the beautiful music behind the hisses, pops, and scratches that made you “buy the album” in the first place.

I invite you to check it out! The book has a PG-13 caution because of the subject matter, stories and real-life examples that occasionally use language that may not be suitable for children. This book is currently being used as a teaching atlas for the series of the same name at Westwinds Community Church where we have a standing PG-13 label on the weekend gatherings. We pride ourselves in talking about real-life stuff in real-life ways as we interact with the real-life Jesus.

You can purchase the paperback by clicking here

Or, you can purchase the book as an E-Book here . . .


Broken Record: Enjoying the Music of Relationships Through the Hisses, Pops, and Scratches

Check out my publisher's website here!

The Kindle version, Amazon site, and audiobook are coming soon. Stay tuned.

Worship Rises in Canada

I know a lot of Canadian jokes. I share an office with a Canadian. I live in a state that borders Canada. The jokes I didn’t know before meeting him, he filled me in on. I know about moose, beavers, Bryan Adams, and Celine Dion. I watched the Olympics.

The jokes are all in fun and they aren’t really true but nevertheless my Canadian friends have to work extra hard to dispel the myths that they all smell like maple syrup and keep a pair of ice skates in their car for when a game of hockey breaks out. Well, maybe that last one is true.

Plus, I don’t joke much anymore because it eventually gets to where I call them “America Junior” and they trump me with “Canada’s Underpants.”

And with that . . . the following is NOT a joke.

Worship leader Chris Vacher, a Canadian, had a great idea. Chris and a bunch of his buddies that lead music in their churches started getting together and writing tunes with a few things in mind: indigenous worship, camaraderie, Canadian churches, the church worldwide, stretching each other’s artistry, etc.

They called their writing group, “Worship Rises.” Out of this group, they released a four song EP that showed up on iTunes in the states yesterday. You can buy the EP for a whopping $3.96 here.

Buy it on Amazon here.

Chris shared a little on his blog today about the album and the buzz surrounding it.

Follow Chris on Twitter.


Chris has become a good friend of mine over the last few years and I am proud of him. I want you all to know about the album not because he is my friend, not because we scratch each other’s backs in cyber world, not because he is paying me, but because I believe this is an example of what it looks like when God’s church takes their heads out of their self-absorbed rear ends.

I went to Ireland a few years back and the church I visited did songs they had written. About “the troubles” and the political struggles of Ireland, about living in their world. I fell in love with Ireland and the Irish church that day. Because, I was brought into their story. This EP makes me think of Canada, my neighbor to the North and it makes me smile that they took a risk.

This album and movement teaches us or reminds us--who are music people in our churches--of some great lessons:

1. Indigenous worship is honest, tells a story that is familiar and approachable, and has a special “je ne sais quoi” for the local church that is different than plug and play worship where we pick songs that the other cool kids are playing. Give thought to your music. Tell YOUR story.
2. With that said, it is a wonderful thing to then share your story with the world. They may say, “Hey, that’s our story too.”
3. Magic can happen when we rub shoulders with like-minded people in our greater communities. When is the last time you had lunch with another pastor in town (not from your church)?
4. THE church matters more than YOUR church because THE church is JESUS’ church and Jesus is what matters. Personality, style, doctrine, methodology, tastes . . . they grow strangely dim with a kingdom mindset.

Way to go, Canada. Now, let's talk about the Nickleback problem. Can you help there, Chris?

Steve Taylor's Cash Cow

One of the creepiest and coolest songs and videos from one of the creepiest and coolest Christian musicians ever. I miss Steve Taylor. He was ahead of his time.

Talking Dog and Smiling Dog

I took this video on my iPhone on vacation last week. These dogs are at Black River Books in South Haven, MI. That's my family "ooing" and "ahhing" in the background.