The Tone Shepherd

04/08/2025

"Your grace is enough" is a better line than "I'll see you do it again."

I'm not hating on the miracle songs, but the overwhelming amount of popular worship songs that talk about what God can do FOR us instead of songs that talk about what He can do IN us is shocking.

I'm not calling for elimination but balance.

Read on for more.

22/07/2025

I feel blessed beyond my merit with the guitars I've been able to play and own in my lifetime. But the Jennings Voyager with Lambertones Crema/Grinder is my current fav! Here's a full video explaining and showing why!

I've played a LOT of great guitars over the years and own several of the most coveted axes in the world...and yet, the guitar I vibe with the most right now ...

17/06/2025

Instagram devos aren't effective.

Why?

Because immediately after your convicting moment, you keep on scrolling.

And then it’s out of your mind as quickly as it came in.

Here's a challenge.

Scroll until you come to something that challenges you.

Then STOP.

Pray.

Then put the phone down…and meditate.

It doesn't have to be my posts (there are a lot better out there). Any post that helps you grow in your faith and leaves you with something to ponder...

ACTUALLY PONDER IT.

(That’s all I got for today…so try it—scroll until you find gold. Then cash it in)

02/06/2025

"The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it,
the world, and all who live in it"
Psalm 24:1 | NIV

As disciples of Jesus, the lens in which we view our "stuff" is critical to living a Kingdom life.

I struggle with this often because I, personally, have lots of stuff.

So it's helpful for me to constantly put my possessions in the sifter of stewardship and see what falls through and what stays on top.

19/05/2025

Of course there's time for reverence and devotion and stillness…

But over and over again in scripture we’re given the mandate to offer demonstrative enthusiasm for the Lord when we gather.

In fact, it’s one of the greatest ways the older generation can pass on their faith to the younger.

Could you imagine a room full of ENTHUSED 80 year olds?!

08/05/2025

Can we have a thirst for more and be wholly content in what we already have?

I think we can.

But it’s not easy and it will take a healthy dose of intentionality.

Read on to process with me on this delicate subject. When you’re done, I’d love to hear how you wrestle with this!

10/04/2025

As we worship leaders prepare our hearts for this Easter season, I was struck by a sober reality in scripture—one of the men, whose primary responsibility was to mediate the presence of God to His people, was instrumental in sending Jesus to the cross.

The one who should've been closest to God couldn't have been further away.

If we are not careful, we also can have our pure view of God clouded by tradition, hustle, preposition, power, influence, and selfishness.

01/04/2025

I’m coming to believe the purest form of “worship” we can experience this side of Heaven is about how we tend our “soil”.

How do you perceive the intersection of discipleship and worship?

27/02/2025

At long last! IK Multimedia has delivered on their number one request for ToneX software...a real time EDITOR!

That's right, now you can tweak all your settings on your ToneX One or big box ToneX right from the comfort of your own office chair! The Editor is a separate app entirely, separating from the previous ToneX software, and puts every hardware control immediately at your fingertips. Strum, drag an EQ k**b, and hear exactly how those changes are affecting your tone, IN CONTEXT of your full pedalboard rig. It's marvelous.

The Editor is everything we had hoped it would be and makes ToneX the undisputed king of portable amp and drive captures (as if they weren't already)!

Full video on my YouTube channel

26/02/2025

UA OX - $900 shipped

This thing is a beast. Sincerely, great tones can be had from it and UA knows their stuff!

This has some light scuffs on the top as seen in pictures but the face is mint.

Reason I'm selling: I'm committed to the philosophy that, when I capture amps, it will always be with real amps/cabs/speakers/mics.

Though I considered keeping this just for live use 'cause it does sound really good and is a great way to get a real amp on stage. Not sure anyone does better speaker modeling than UA.

Bonus info: The money from this sale will fund our family's mission trip to Mexico! See last pic 🙌🏼😭

17/02/2025

Shots fired.

It’s time for millennials to practice Catholicism for a few months to re-learn the value of practice.

But for real, I do believe my generation misunderstood some things about “authenticity” and these are some scattered thoughts on the idea.

Peterson’s quote here is gold.

04/02/2025

This scripture is prophetic for my church. I don't use that word often or lightly, but I do feel it accurately describes the weight of our current state.

Our worship gatherings are sweet and sincere, touching and emotional...but they're lacking in passion and power.

The right posture of this one Samaritan stands out to me as a strong admonition for my church.

I hope it encourages you as well.

Luke 17:11-19