fresh tunes...

hey all-

wanted to make you aware of a recording project i was recently apart of at Northpoint Community Church in Atlanta, GA. we did a live worship record there a few months back...probably one of the coolest recording experiences i've ever had. the whole record ("Louder Than Creation") turned out great. I'm particularly fond of the live version of "God Is With Us" that i've posted for your listening pleasure on my page. this record is an AWSOME resource for any worship leader looking for great corporate music to use in their local church. for more info on the new recording project go to:

http://resources.northpoint.org/store

happy listening.
michaelO

3:51 PM - 1 Comments - 2 Kudos - Add Comment

youtube clip of women in labor singing psalm 23
Current mood: ecstatic

i was recently made aware through a myspace message from a friend that there is a youtube clip floating around of a women singing Psalm 23 from my first record "Long Arm Of Love" while in labor. my wife and i sat on our couch teary eyed watching this. i can't tell you what an honor it is to know that music that the Lord gave you to share with others is being used in this way....you gotta check this out....and have a kleenex box handy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z3WA9iHz5ww

8:05 AM - 7 Comments - 10 Kudos - Add Comment

stand tour....

hello from michaelo-

just wanted to drop a note to say that we had the first show of the spring "Stand" tour with Michael W. Smith and I last night in Poughipsee, N.Y. last night. Full house...folding chairs everywhere. There was a TON of energy in the room last night. a bunch of folks who were ready to engage in worship showed up in a GREAT way. It was a great way to start off the spring. the tour is fairly "acoustic" in nature. it's a great setting for the songs from Michael W's new record to be heard. i play "on the third day" and "first love" from my new record...that's pretty cool too. but i'm biased.
also...we had 118 kids sponsored through compassion international last night.....KILLER. i'm praying that God stirs the hearts of folks that come to shows to be involved in what compassion is doing around the world. and if last night's response was any indication of how the rest of the tour is going to go, we're in for big stuff.

i will say that it was abit shocking to get on the plane in nashville where it was 70 degrees outside and get off the plane in N.Y. where it was a balmy 25..give or take a few.

i hope that those of you who have the new record "where fear and faith collide" are enjoying it and that i hope that God uses what's been ruminating in my heart in my mind over the last few months in your lives. if you don't have the record...i hope you get it.

i'll try and keep you posted as things progress on the road here. thanks for being apart of the journey for me.

many blessings.
michaelo

9:08 AM - 5 Comments - 8 Kudos - Add Comment

Stories behind songs from "Where Fear and Faith Collide"

Click on each of the links below to hear Michael Olson's story behind the songs of Where Fear and Faith Collide. Don't forget that the album hits record in less than a week. FEB 13!!!!

"Tell Me Again"

"On the Third Day"

"Our First Love"

Click here to pre-order the record.

Take Care,
MO Web Team

11:20 PM - 2 Comments - 6 Kudos - Add Comment

finished record and what's to come

hey all-
it's been alittle while since my last update on the process of making this new record. perhaps it's because i've been working like a dog to try and finish it. BUT....i'm happy to anounce that i recieved the master early last week....and it's GREAT. the past month has seen both producers (nathan dantzler and jason ingram) and i through the final tracking process as well as the mix. the artwork has come together nicely as well. there's a huge level of excitement here at the Olson house, as well as among the folks at the label about this new music.

one story in particular about the new record has stood out to me as noteworthy. michael w. smith was given an advanced copy of the master due to his involvement with the label. i was told that he had tears in his eyes after hearing one of the new cuts called "first love." it's amazing to know that the music is effecting people in such a deep way already. i can't wait to hear the stories of how God uses this music in the lives of others after it comes out.

for now...it's a count down until february 14th....a great day for another reason as well!! many blessings on you guys as we enter into the holiday season.

much love.
michaelo

9:52 AM - 5 Comments - 1 Kudos - Add Comment

update .2

Hey all!!!
As promised here's the next update from the world of Michael Olson. There have been some exciting things that have happened in the last few weeks.

First of all we're about halfway through with the Michael W. Smith summer tour. We've had a ton of fun in Ocean Grove, NJ, Columbus, OH, and Oklahoma City, OK. The New Jersey show was amazing. It was in this town right on the coast...literally a block away from the beach. Ocean Grove is a summer vacation spot, so there were a ton of people there. The show was pretty much packed out as well. We had an awsome time of corporate worship together...topped off with Michael W. playing "Friends" on a pipe organ at the venue. LONG STORY...for another time!! I'm looking forward to the coming shows. August proves to be a busy month. We play in Rockford, IL and West Allis, WI on this coming Monday and Tuesday to kick it off.

This past weekend was the first weekend of the summer that Michael W. didn't have shows scheduled, which afforded me the opportunity to go out and play some of my own stuff. I had a great time at Powerfest in Marinette, WI and at Celebration Church in the twin cities. I got the chance to play some of the songs that will be on the new project, due out in February. They are going over really well!!! I'm totally pumped.

Probably the coolest thing that went down in the past few weeks was the opportunity that i had to track a new song with a producer in town named Nathan Dantzler (tree 63). We had a trial run at working together which proved to be a rewarding experience. We worked on a song called "Helpless" which will be on the new project. It came out GREAT and it was a blast to work on. We tracked the whole thing at his house...i played drumkit and acoustic guitar. Matt from the RKT band "The Turning" played electric guitar, and one of nathan's budies came in to lay down a bass track. We (Nathan, myself, and the folks at Rocketown) were totally impressed with how the tune came out. Can't wait for you to hear it!!!! we're getting closer and closer to being full speed ahead on working on this CD....having meetings about artwork, etc. Pretty exciting stuff!

If you've got some extra prayer time handy...i'd love your support in that way. There's alot of decisions to be made while making this new music, and we want to be lead by the Lord the entire way.

God Bless you guys!!!...and I look forward to seeing you in the coming year.
Michael O.

9:31 AM - 6 Comments - 8 Kudos - Add Comment

update...

hey everybody!!!
just wanted to drop everyone a quick update on what's happening in the world of michael olson. first of all, thanks for signing up for this mailing list. this is a great way for rocketown and i to communicate with you about the exciting things that are coming this fall and winter. for those of you who haven't yet signed up on my email list...please stop by www.michaelolsonmusic.com and sign up!! we can't wait to share some new music with you...more about that later.

i've been having an AWSOME time on the road this summer playing drum kit for michael w. smith. we're about 6 shows into the summer tour, and every one of them has been great. i just got back at 2am this morning (monday july 17th) from a busy weekend playing with michael in ocean city, new jersey and columbus, ohio. i've been encouraged by the spirit of corporate worship at each of these shows. it's been awsome to share that experience with so many people on the road.

i've also been playing some of my own shows in between michael w's dates....these have been GREAT as well. my good friend and guitar player, ben gowell, and i have been playing some new tunes at these shows and we've been extatic to see the reaction to them....which leads me to the following.....

i'm excited to announce that this fall i'll be working on a project due out in february of 2007. the writing process for this upcoming release has been one of the most difficult...yet rewarding...experiences that i've ever had. what's come out of it is GREAT!!! i'm excited to share some of the things that God has been doing in my heart with you through this project. i'll be keeping you posted on the life of this upcoming record, as well as the MWS tour, by way of these email updates. feel free to drop me a line at my web forum, myspace, or email and let me know how things are going in your world.

many blessings.
michaelo

2:37 PM - 6 Comments - 8 Kudos - Add Comment

i think HE was right...

last weekend my wife and i traveled down to atlanta to play an event called "september saturdays." it was fun....it was a fun event....but the event is not the focus of this entry.

while we were down there we stayed with my brother-in-law, his wife, and his daughter. they are great people...cool to hang with if you ever get the chance. he is on staff at a big church in the atlanta area called "northpoint community church," which is a great place...if you ever get the chance to visit. the church is pastored by andy stanley, who has authored many books and speaks all over the place at everything. we decided to stay the night on saturday night in atlanta so we could spend a little quality time with the fam. along with those plans came the opportunity to attend northpoint on sunday morning.

andy stanley started a teaching series on prayer that sunday morning. it had sort of a catchy, hip title (like "P3 communications"...modeled after a cell phone company i suppose). in this series, his goal was to unpack the portion of scripture i know as "the lord's prayer" in order to teach the congregation how to pray more effectively. his focus the week that we were there was the verses leading up to the actual prayer. hold on...let me go get my bible so i can recite is accurately:

matthew 6:6 "but when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your father, who is unseen. then your father, who sees what is done in secrect, will reward you. and when you pray, do not keep on babbling like the pagans, for they think they will be heard becuase of their many words. do not be like them, for your father knows what you need before you ask him."

now....i've got to confess something. i've been on this personal journey of discovery in my faith walk. for the last few years i've been questioning everything that i ever been taught about christianity to find out for myself what really is true. i've been challenging the idea of church i grew up with, i've been questioning the purpose of church, etc. one of the patterns that i've found myself getting into during this process is trying to find an accurate definition of prayer. becuase i'm so prone to the easy route...i've tended to focus more on some of the stuff the apostle paul taught on prayer. stuff like....you can pray anywhere, at anytime, for anything....pray without ceasing...you know this kind of stuff. let me stress....this kind of stuff is GREAT, and TRUE. BUT, i think at the heart of the issue, prayer is a discipline that must be learned. like training for a marathon. it's not something that will always come naturally, although there are times when it is easier than others.

Jesus said, "when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your father, who is unseen." andy pointed out the difference between this and...pray where ever you want to. (and....like andy.... i'm prone to think that Jesus had abit of a corner on the market when it came to knowledge about prayer.)

the last few weeks for me have been difficult. starting a career like this (or starting anything for the first time) is draining. i've been brought through various cycles of emotion. i've had moments of dispair, moments of excitement, moments of "what do i do next?" i've found that if i don't have some sort of an anchor in my day, a time to go into my room and close the door and be alone with God, i can be swept away in thinking that this whole process (this new career) is entirely in the hands of some industry head-hancho and God has nothing to do with it. this is a bleak....but it's not the truth.

when i get the chance to close myself off to the physical world (which is a lesser reality) and open myself up to the spiritual world (which is the ultimate reality) i get a different perspective on things. i realize that all is not left to chance, God is at the helm, and he knows my name. this has become very necessary for me...as it should have been a long time ago. when i'm alone, i'm not easily distracted if i don't want to be. i have a better environment in which to open my heart to God fully so that he can shine his light on the dark places of who i am. i'm also in a better environment in which to hear from him accurately.....and i live on every word that comes from his mouth.

let me encourage you to do something......find a time and a place to pray, and let it be sacred. don't allow your relationship with Jesus to be relegated to a "when i feel like it" mentality. it's much to important than that. when you pray, go into your room and close the door, and try to reach the unseen....you will be rewarded with the hope that there is a God at the helm and he knows your name.

much love.
michaelo

8:02 AM - 8 Comments - 8 Kudos - Add Comment

break the mold.

When my wife and I were first married we lived in a small, one-bedroom apartment in a section of Minneapolis known as “uptown.” We loved living there, mostly because it was a great place to observe people. We saw uptown as a very eclectic neighborhood full of young people with extremely varied thoughts on life, politics, and God. It could be thought of as a place resembling Athens, Greece in the time of the apostle Paul, where philosophers would gather and debate their views in public forums. In much the same way, it wouldn’t be uncommon to walk into one of the many coffee houses along Hennepin Avenue and overhear someone sharing their ideas on the origin of life and what meaning (or lack thereof) they derived from these ideas.

However, in this neighborhood, I sensed an antagonism toward the traditional idea of God that I grew up with. Evidence of this could be seen in the slogans plastered around town on the back of rusty car bumpers and worn out t-shirts. I thought to myself, “how can such an open society be so closed to the love of Jesus? Did He do anything to deserve this reputation?” It didn’t make sense. I’ve been fortunate to have known Jesus for almost the entirety of my nearly 27 years of life, and of all the reactions He has drawn out of me I can safely say that antagonism hasn’t been one of them. I came to a sobering conclusion: this antagonism that I was sensing wasn’t a reaction to Jesus himself, rather it was a reaction to what people have stereotyped Jesus to stand for.....a closed-minded list of do’s and don’ts imposed by middle aged men wearing oversized reading glasses and bad kneck-ties.

Bottom line: what people need is a chance to see Jesus for who He really is, Love. I’m challenged to live my life in such a way that people will have the opportunity to see through the stereotypes into the true nature of Christ. I believe that the Holy Spirit is at work in all the world constantly drawing people to Jesus, making it plain for people to see who He really is, and drawing them into the family of God. Habakkuk, the Old Testament prophet wrote “For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the Glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea” (Hab. 2:14). If this is true, than it’s not a matter of if the people in uptown will know Jesus, it’s a matter of when....and when makes all the difference in the world. Am I living my life in such a way that Christ is reflected accurately? Are you?

12:33 PM - 1 Comments - 0 Kudos - Add Comment

Thoughts on the life of a Giver

One of the biggest challenges that I’ve faced in the journey of my Christian life has been my tendency to be introverted with my faith. I have an intellectual bend that at times draws me so much into a state of solitude that I forget about the rest of the world around me. I’ll also confess that I’ve been so afraid of unbelievers pigeonholing me into the mold of a Bible-toting fanatic that i’ve allowed the pendulum to swing too far in the opposite direction, rendering me ineffective as a witness of Jesus’ love. I believe there are times for solitude, and there is a need for sensitvity toward unbeliever’s so that we don’t repel them from coming closer to Jesus. But, I don’t believe that we should allow those things to cause us to live imbalanced Christian lives.

When I read the gospel accounts I’m confronted with the Jesus who gives. He would often be on his way to spend time alone with his Father when He encountered a blind man, a leper, a crowd of hungry people hanging on His every word. Although He guarded the time He spent in solitude and prayer as precious, often (seemingly more times than not) He stopped and healed the blind and diseased, and fed the hungry. In His times of teaching and instruction he told the story of the Samaritan who had pity on the man who fell into the hands of robbers on his way from Jerusalem to Jericho. The Samaritan dressed the man’s wounds and took him to an inn where he could be taken care of and payed for all the expenses. This giving Jesus ruffles the feathers of my solitude, and challenges me to live a life which follows his example.

There are people that we encounter virtually everyday who are spiritually blind, emotionally leperous and starving for the saving knowledge of Jesus. It may not seem obvious to natural eye, but it is the truth. We are called to be the hand that heals and feeds these in Jesus name. I’m challenged by the words that Peter uses to describe the heart of God, “He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentence” (2 Peter 3:9). I want to demonstrate the inclusive nature of Jesus to those around me. I want to give the life that Jesus has given me away.

12:35 PM - 2 Comments - 2 Kudos - Add Comment