Anybody else out there ever wish that the Easy Button was actually something that worked and not some funny little gadget some people put on their desk?
Could anybody else out there find a real, daily use for it, if that wonderfully, round, red button was a reality and not a piece of fiction?
I know I could....especially on days like today when it seems every time I turn around there is something there to be done!!
Isn't that something that we all wish for.....that things would be easier to accomplish, jobs able to be done quicker, or even better to have someone or something else around to do those tasks for us? I know it sure would come in handy sometimes.
But I was reminded the other day as I read through the Creation account, that what sometimes looks like the easy way out or the "quick fix" can sometimes be the worst option imaginable.
I'm sure that that's how Eve saw the fruit from the tree in the garden.....an easy button of sorts....a way to get the results she wanted in a quick, no effort required, super easy way.
And we all know how that turned out.
A lot of times, I think God doesn't want us to take the easiest paths because it does us no good....we learn nothing from instant gratification.....we forget the value of things if no sacrifice is required to achieve our goal or whatever we might be after.
This doesn't sit well with most of us.....Why would a "loving" God want to make life harder on His children instead of granting all of our dreams and desires?
Answer is real simple......we can't handle it.
And without the journey...without the headaches....without the back-breaking, mind-numbing work that we must do.....without the conflict....without the trials,........we stay the same.
Our God is a loving God who does want the best for us.....and we must trust Him to bless us in life when we are able to handle it and grow from it............not when we can do nothing but be spoiled by it.
You remember that Easy Button.....I don't think I really want it...........I know I don't need it.
And neither do you.
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Friday, January 8, 2010
My thoughts on Dora the Explorer
I HATE Dora the Explorer!!!!
I HATE Dora the Explorer for the following reasons:
1). Dora the Explorer absolutely screams every word that she says.
2). When on a flight where a child is watching Dora the Explorer DVD's on a laptop and not wearing headphones, then everyone on the plane is forced to hear Dora the Explorer scream Spanish words the entire flight.
Have you ever been, let's say, at the mall and seen some atrocious child making a huge scene and screaming at everyone including their parents.....guess who taught them that skill.....
Dora the Explorer
Or maybe your child runs off into the woods or the wilderness to go on a huge adventure with nothing but their backpack and a strange-colored monkey friend....and you end up having to search for your child hour after hour......you know who's to blame for this one don't you?
That's right, Dora the Explorer
Does your child talk to you in other languages and expect you to understand them?
It's all because of Dora.
I am officially launching the KDC.....that's right the Kill Dora Coalition is now being formed and I am looking for bright minds to help me plot the demise of this annoyance to humanity. Let me know if you have what it takes to aid in this quest.
I'm out.
I HATE Dora the Explorer for the following reasons:
1). Dora the Explorer absolutely screams every word that she says.
2). When on a flight where a child is watching Dora the Explorer DVD's on a laptop and not wearing headphones, then everyone on the plane is forced to hear Dora the Explorer scream Spanish words the entire flight.
Have you ever been, let's say, at the mall and seen some atrocious child making a huge scene and screaming at everyone including their parents.....guess who taught them that skill.....
Dora the Explorer
Or maybe your child runs off into the woods or the wilderness to go on a huge adventure with nothing but their backpack and a strange-colored monkey friend....and you end up having to search for your child hour after hour......you know who's to blame for this one don't you?
That's right, Dora the Explorer
Does your child talk to you in other languages and expect you to understand them?
It's all because of Dora.
I am officially launching the KDC.....that's right the Kill Dora Coalition is now being formed and I am looking for bright minds to help me plot the demise of this annoyance to humanity. Let me know if you have what it takes to aid in this quest.
I'm out.
Thursday, January 7, 2010
Wayne Chism ballin!!
Ok so if you've had a conversation with me at all this season about UT basketball then it comes as no surprise to you when I say that I generally don't like our Vols team this year. I felt that way long before our 4 "scholar" athletes got busted for playing a real life mission of Grand Theft Auto, so don't think I'm just jumping on the bandwagon here. Already in the early part of the season I had witnessed too much laziness, too much misappropriation of talent, too much thuggery (thank you JP Prince....who talks trash at the tip??!!), and too much selfish play. I thought this team was destined for a repeat of last season's team.....you remember the team that showed no heart, no passion, and no killer instinct. I was ready to accept the fate of another under-achieving, waste of a season.....but then the greatest thing that could have happened to this team did!!!
4 Vols who thought that they were invincible to the outside world got a reality check and woke up something in their teammates
Now I'm a realist here folks....I don't think that our team is all of a sudden gonna beat Kansas, or dominate Kentucky....but I do expect them to play with an energy, passion and fervor that we haven't seen since Lofton and JaJuan were the leaders of this program. I have already had good friends close to the program tell me just how much the practices have changed this week. Instead of Tyler Smith being the team leader by default...(the only thing he leads this team in is full body tatoos)...leaders are being identified by their actions and words.
I don't know what the rest of this season holds for the Vols but I would much rather watch the bunch that last night elevated their play and finally fought a little bit.....I would rather watch a focused and passionate Wayne Chism, Scotty Hopson, Bobby Maze, Kenny Hall, Renaldo Woolridge, Skylar McBee and ......yes even JP Prince..........then to watch the 4 morons who tarnished the reputation of our team, school and coach be allowed back only to infect this team again.
The Vol nation is an easy one to please as a player.....show up....play hard.....appreciate the opportunity that you've been given.....and make a big shot or two from time to time.
Let's hope that this situation serves as a wake-up call to not only our basketball program but to all athletes and coaches not just at UT but across the whole country....(at least in the the SEC since that's all that matters anyway)
Wayne Chism for Heisman!
4 Vols who thought that they were invincible to the outside world got a reality check and woke up something in their teammates
Now I'm a realist here folks....I don't think that our team is all of a sudden gonna beat Kansas, or dominate Kentucky....but I do expect them to play with an energy, passion and fervor that we haven't seen since Lofton and JaJuan were the leaders of this program. I have already had good friends close to the program tell me just how much the practices have changed this week. Instead of Tyler Smith being the team leader by default...(the only thing he leads this team in is full body tatoos)...leaders are being identified by their actions and words.
I don't know what the rest of this season holds for the Vols but I would much rather watch the bunch that last night elevated their play and finally fought a little bit.....I would rather watch a focused and passionate Wayne Chism, Scotty Hopson, Bobby Maze, Kenny Hall, Renaldo Woolridge, Skylar McBee and ......yes even JP Prince..........then to watch the 4 morons who tarnished the reputation of our team, school and coach be allowed back only to infect this team again.
The Vol nation is an easy one to please as a player.....show up....play hard.....appreciate the opportunity that you've been given.....and make a big shot or two from time to time.
Let's hope that this situation serves as a wake-up call to not only our basketball program but to all athletes and coaches not just at UT but across the whole country....(at least in the the SEC since that's all that matters anyway)
Wayne Chism for Heisman!
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
My thoughts on Deliberate Rebellion
Alright so it's day 3 of Music Orlando and let me just tell you that Orlando might be the most boring city in America when the temperature drops below 40 degrees.....it seems like everything they have to do down here involves a lot of walking.....outside.....so I'm bonding with my hotel room each evening, but anyways.....
So I'm currently sitting in another music reading session this morning and we just heard a rocking, foot-stomping, "Glory" shouting Southern Gospel barn-burning song. This song got a lot of the folk's blood-boiling and you could almost see foam and saliva running from their mouths....however I was not one of those folks. Song wasn't my cup of tea because it had no identifiable melody anywhere in it, but this post is not about the flaws of Southern Gospel music..it's about thievery!!
So this guy a few rows ahead of me was very close to going into cardiac arrest at the end of the song due to his immense excitement and love for the piece. Now, let me explain to you quickly how a music reading session goes...you show up, they give you packs that have one copy of each piece of music that you will be hearing and looking at, you sit down at a table and a company rep from each publisher comes up and directs you through each piece. If you like a piece then you keep it......if not then you put it in the box at the back of the room on your way out where it goes back to the warehouse.
Well there were several other guys around this guy who felt the same way I did about the song, and they put their copy of the music into their personal discard pile....and that's when the other guy who we will just call Thief, went to work.
Thief began going down his table and the surrounding tables right in his area picking up copies of the song that people were going to be discarding to the box in the back. At music conferences, this practice is frowned upon because it's........basically stealing music. Thief was trying to gather enough copies of the song to form a complete choir set for his church so that he wouldn't have to spend the appx. $30 bucks it costs to buy a piece.
Luckily Thief came to my table and reached for my copy without even asking.....but Thief did not get my copy because my young hands were much faster than his. Thief asked if I was going to use it and I replied that no I wasn't and I would be putting my copy in the back. Well Thief kinda chuckled and went right about his business scoring copies.
Thief was deliberately doing something wrong, right where everyone could see it, and was having a good time doing it!! I was like, "Wow this guy is a jerk"....I was hoping one of the Music Florida thugs would have him "taken care of" but it didn't happen.
Then I had a reality check.....how many times have I done something that I knew was wrong, and I did it deliberately.....and probably enjoyed myself immensely while doing it!!
It got me thinking that this is an area that gets a lot of us believers into a lot of trouble. I think God understands when we slip into sin....not saying He likes it or encourages this practice, but I fully believe that He is aware that it's gonna happen due to the fact that we're.....well we're human.
What I mean by "slipping into sin" are all those times when we have a reaction to a situation, a reaction that happens in the blink of an eye, and maybe that reaction doesn't quite line up with God's will,.... or all those times when a conversation or a thought process suddenly slips down the opposite slope of holy and righteous thought or speech, and we end up saying something or thinking and dwelling on something that we are usually later ashamed of....those moments where we slip into a sin without planning out our actions or reactions......it's those times that I believe God understands our inadequacies as humans.
But what about all those other times....you know the times when we plan out a deliberate act of rebellion against God's will....or we take that step in a process that we know will obviously lead us away from God's will.....or even the times when our whole body, soul, stomach, conscience and everything within us tells us that something is not a good idea, but we go ahead with it anyway because we think that we can manage it, handle it, or work it out on our own to somehow benefit us in amazing ways? It's in those times that I feel that God really wants to take us out behind the wood shed for a little tough love.
We see Scripture full of stories of people just like us, people who couldn't control their human desires and people who deliberately rebelled against God in some way shape or form......and have we forgotten how those stories end?.......usually not great....if you've forgotten go back and read the book of Genesis as a little reminder.
I don't know if I'll ever be mature enough, intelligent enough, spiritually-grounded enough to totally stop all my deliberate rebellion against the Lord, but if I had to make one New Year's Resolution then this is it:
Lord please give me strength to stop my deliberate rebellion, my deliberate disobedience of You and help me to regain a reverent fear of You!
I encourage you guys to join with me on this one....
And by the way, you remember Thief.....well he just spilled his coffee all over himself so my morning is complete and the vengeance of the Lord is swift and just!
Have a great Wednesday folks!
So I'm currently sitting in another music reading session this morning and we just heard a rocking, foot-stomping, "Glory" shouting Southern Gospel barn-burning song. This song got a lot of the folk's blood-boiling and you could almost see foam and saliva running from their mouths....however I was not one of those folks. Song wasn't my cup of tea because it had no identifiable melody anywhere in it, but this post is not about the flaws of Southern Gospel music..it's about thievery!!
So this guy a few rows ahead of me was very close to going into cardiac arrest at the end of the song due to his immense excitement and love for the piece. Now, let me explain to you quickly how a music reading session goes...you show up, they give you packs that have one copy of each piece of music that you will be hearing and looking at, you sit down at a table and a company rep from each publisher comes up and directs you through each piece. If you like a piece then you keep it......if not then you put it in the box at the back of the room on your way out where it goes back to the warehouse.
Well there were several other guys around this guy who felt the same way I did about the song, and they put their copy of the music into their personal discard pile....and that's when the other guy who we will just call Thief, went to work.
Thief began going down his table and the surrounding tables right in his area picking up copies of the song that people were going to be discarding to the box in the back. At music conferences, this practice is frowned upon because it's........basically stealing music. Thief was trying to gather enough copies of the song to form a complete choir set for his church so that he wouldn't have to spend the appx. $30 bucks it costs to buy a piece.
Luckily Thief came to my table and reached for my copy without even asking.....but Thief did not get my copy because my young hands were much faster than his. Thief asked if I was going to use it and I replied that no I wasn't and I would be putting my copy in the back. Well Thief kinda chuckled and went right about his business scoring copies.
Thief was deliberately doing something wrong, right where everyone could see it, and was having a good time doing it!! I was like, "Wow this guy is a jerk"....I was hoping one of the Music Florida thugs would have him "taken care of" but it didn't happen.
Then I had a reality check.....how many times have I done something that I knew was wrong, and I did it deliberately.....and probably enjoyed myself immensely while doing it!!
It got me thinking that this is an area that gets a lot of us believers into a lot of trouble. I think God understands when we slip into sin....not saying He likes it or encourages this practice, but I fully believe that He is aware that it's gonna happen due to the fact that we're.....well we're human.
What I mean by "slipping into sin" are all those times when we have a reaction to a situation, a reaction that happens in the blink of an eye, and maybe that reaction doesn't quite line up with God's will,.... or all those times when a conversation or a thought process suddenly slips down the opposite slope of holy and righteous thought or speech, and we end up saying something or thinking and dwelling on something that we are usually later ashamed of....those moments where we slip into a sin without planning out our actions or reactions......it's those times that I believe God understands our inadequacies as humans.
But what about all those other times....you know the times when we plan out a deliberate act of rebellion against God's will....or we take that step in a process that we know will obviously lead us away from God's will.....or even the times when our whole body, soul, stomach, conscience and everything within us tells us that something is not a good idea, but we go ahead with it anyway because we think that we can manage it, handle it, or work it out on our own to somehow benefit us in amazing ways? It's in those times that I feel that God really wants to take us out behind the wood shed for a little tough love.
We see Scripture full of stories of people just like us, people who couldn't control their human desires and people who deliberately rebelled against God in some way shape or form......and have we forgotten how those stories end?.......usually not great....if you've forgotten go back and read the book of Genesis as a little reminder.
I don't know if I'll ever be mature enough, intelligent enough, spiritually-grounded enough to totally stop all my deliberate rebellion against the Lord, but if I had to make one New Year's Resolution then this is it:
Lord please give me strength to stop my deliberate rebellion, my deliberate disobedience of You and help me to regain a reverent fear of You!
I encourage you guys to join with me on this one....
And by the way, you remember Thief.....well he just spilled his coffee all over himself so my morning is complete and the vengeance of the Lord is swift and just!
Have a great Wednesday folks!
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
My Man-Crush on CJ
Just in case you haven't heard, the representatives for Titans running back Chris Johnson are working with the reps for Usain Bolt, the supposed "fastest human alive", and working towards setting up a possible foot race between the two. No details have been set, and I don't think they have talked any specifics yet, but let me just tell you....
I have a huge man-crush on Chris Johnson
In no way shape or form is this affection for him attached to his looks...I mean have you seen the guy with his helmet off?....if not just imagine a cross between Predator and one of the Na'vi from Avatar....but in all my days of football watching, never have I watched someone more dangerous than this guy, maybe with the exception of Barry Sanders. I mean he literally is a legitimate threat to take it to the house every time he touches it.....The Titans would be in the playoffs this year if they had just handed him the ball every down during their first six ballgames. Anyone who's ever watched a Titans game with me undoubtedly goes to sleep with my voice screaming "Give the ball to CJ", or "Go CJ Go" or "CJ, I love you" stuck on repeat in their brains!
If they set this race up and CJ manages to win, I will more than likely have to leave my job, home, and family and make my life mission to follow him wherever he goes....
Just giving you guys a heads up.
I have a huge man-crush on Chris Johnson
In no way shape or form is this affection for him attached to his looks...I mean have you seen the guy with his helmet off?....if not just imagine a cross between Predator and one of the Na'vi from Avatar....but in all my days of football watching, never have I watched someone more dangerous than this guy, maybe with the exception of Barry Sanders. I mean he literally is a legitimate threat to take it to the house every time he touches it.....The Titans would be in the playoffs this year if they had just handed him the ball every down during their first six ballgames. Anyone who's ever watched a Titans game with me undoubtedly goes to sleep with my voice screaming "Give the ball to CJ", or "Go CJ Go" or "CJ, I love you" stuck on repeat in their brains!
If they set this race up and CJ manages to win, I will more than likely have to leave my job, home, and family and make my life mission to follow him wherever he goes....
Just giving you guys a heads up.
Monday, January 4, 2010
Thoughts on America
So tonight at Music Florida, we had a choir (which I will leave nameless to protect the innocent) from the Florida area come in and do a "World Premiere" of a new patriotic musical that was just recently released. First off, for those of you who have never been to a "World Premiere" of a church choir musical, let me tell you that you have not lived a full life...it's just like going to a Hollywood movie premiere or a huge rock concert except that no one there is famous and everybody is wearing church polo shirts (except yours truly, thank the Good Lord). Anyway the choir sounded great but I couldn't get over what they were wearing....
The men were dressed in dark slacks and blue polo shirts....not too shabby men!.....
But the ladies....THE LADIES....were all wearing these long-sleeve button down shirts that were one of three colors. Your choices were Electric Blue.........Hot Pink, and I'm talking about the hot pink color that 4th and 5th grade girls wear (and Miley Cyrus)....or this awful Lime-ish, Puke-ish green color.
Now if this had been a kids choir, where the kids had no choice in what they were wearing, I could roll with this. If the parents of these grown men and women had forced their adult offspring to perform in these fashion choices in fear of being grounded or having their curfew moved up then I could tolerate it. But that wasn't what was happening here. I have to assume that some adult, being of sound mind....probably one of the choir members with good "fashion sense" picked these outfits out. I'm sorry but no one over the age of 15 should EVER wear these colors ( a big "Sorry" to anyone who is offended by this thought, but it's for your own good!) unless you plan on staying on your couch with absolute no chance of anyone witnessing that you own them or have ever had them on! Therefore anyone wishing to have a say in choir costuming at FBCG will have to pass a strict color coordination exam and understand that any missteps could result in excommunication!
Now back to the point....the musical they did was awesome. It stirred those good, goose-bumps on your arms, just want to hug a Veteran, patriotic feelings that just kinda lie around in our guts until we hear a really good version of the National Anthem at a ball game, or we catch Tom Hanks saving Private Ryan again on TNN, or until the month of July hits and we have a legitimate reason to try to set the sky on fire with all those "perfectly safe" fireworks and sparklers!
I had one of those moments while sitting in the Nashville airport waiting to board the plane to Charlotte on Sunday night. As I was rocking to some Crowder with my huge noise-cancelling head phones on, I noticed several young soldiers hanging out as well, dressed in their camo fatigues. Of course I assumed these young (and I mean young, they looked fresh out of high school) men and women were returning from a Christmas leave. I had no clue of their final destinations, but there was an immediate respect for them that rose up in my mind. Also at the gate was a large family just hanging out and tossing a football around. Of course, I naturally thought they were just a regular family that was returning home from visiting in Nashville for one reason or another. I was wrong. As it came time to board the plane, the gate became a very emotional place....It wasn't one large family, but rather two families....and they weren't returning home from a pleasure trip to Nashville....but instead these two families were there to send their two sons.....best friends it appeared....off to boot camp.
I cannot tell you how difficult it was to witness these mothers and fathers saying goodbye to these two brave young men. The parents were giving it their best shot....they were fighting tears back with all their might in hopes of trying to be strong in front of their sons...but it didn't last long. I found myself fighting back my own emotions and my heart immediately went out to these families. The two young men hugged their moms and dads, smiles on their faces, telling their parents that they would be fine and they would call as soon as they could....and then they grabbed their small backpacks and headed down the ramp to the plane.
I'm not one who usually pays much attention to politics and I never weigh in or share my opinions on political topics....and I don't plan on doing that now. I'm not here to say that the war in Iraq is either right or wrong....we all have our own thoughts and arguments on that one.
But one thing I think we can all agree with, with no doubt is that no matter your thoughts or feelings on the war, the government, the president, or anything else in Washington DC,......the men and women who fight for our country are amazing people who should have every ounce of our respect and should constantly be in our prayers.
I know I haven't remembered and respected these brave men and women anywhere close to the way I should have, but I can tell you this.....Brandon Webb and Josh Hammonds....those two young guys headed to Fort Jackson for basic training who I was blessed enough to talk to for a short time on the plane will have one more extended family member back in Nashville praying for them...
I plead with you to put a stronger focus on praying for our troops....there's a very good probability that you know someone.....a friend, spouse, family member, somebody who is serving right now. I urge you to add that person to the top of your prayer list and to lift them up daily...
And if you don't know anybody personally...I'm sure Brandon and Josh wouldn't mind having a few more prayers being lifted on their behalf
G'night world.
The men were dressed in dark slacks and blue polo shirts....not too shabby men!.....
But the ladies....THE LADIES....were all wearing these long-sleeve button down shirts that were one of three colors. Your choices were Electric Blue.........Hot Pink, and I'm talking about the hot pink color that 4th and 5th grade girls wear (and Miley Cyrus)....or this awful Lime-ish, Puke-ish green color.
Now if this had been a kids choir, where the kids had no choice in what they were wearing, I could roll with this. If the parents of these grown men and women had forced their adult offspring to perform in these fashion choices in fear of being grounded or having their curfew moved up then I could tolerate it. But that wasn't what was happening here. I have to assume that some adult, being of sound mind....probably one of the choir members with good "fashion sense" picked these outfits out. I'm sorry but no one over the age of 15 should EVER wear these colors ( a big "Sorry" to anyone who is offended by this thought, but it's for your own good!) unless you plan on staying on your couch with absolute no chance of anyone witnessing that you own them or have ever had them on! Therefore anyone wishing to have a say in choir costuming at FBCG will have to pass a strict color coordination exam and understand that any missteps could result in excommunication!
Now back to the point....the musical they did was awesome. It stirred those good, goose-bumps on your arms, just want to hug a Veteran, patriotic feelings that just kinda lie around in our guts until we hear a really good version of the National Anthem at a ball game, or we catch Tom Hanks saving Private Ryan again on TNN, or until the month of July hits and we have a legitimate reason to try to set the sky on fire with all those "perfectly safe" fireworks and sparklers!
I had one of those moments while sitting in the Nashville airport waiting to board the plane to Charlotte on Sunday night. As I was rocking to some Crowder with my huge noise-cancelling head phones on, I noticed several young soldiers hanging out as well, dressed in their camo fatigues. Of course I assumed these young (and I mean young, they looked fresh out of high school) men and women were returning from a Christmas leave. I had no clue of their final destinations, but there was an immediate respect for them that rose up in my mind. Also at the gate was a large family just hanging out and tossing a football around. Of course, I naturally thought they were just a regular family that was returning home from visiting in Nashville for one reason or another. I was wrong. As it came time to board the plane, the gate became a very emotional place....It wasn't one large family, but rather two families....and they weren't returning home from a pleasure trip to Nashville....but instead these two families were there to send their two sons.....best friends it appeared....off to boot camp.
I cannot tell you how difficult it was to witness these mothers and fathers saying goodbye to these two brave young men. The parents were giving it their best shot....they were fighting tears back with all their might in hopes of trying to be strong in front of their sons...but it didn't last long. I found myself fighting back my own emotions and my heart immediately went out to these families. The two young men hugged their moms and dads, smiles on their faces, telling their parents that they would be fine and they would call as soon as they could....and then they grabbed their small backpacks and headed down the ramp to the plane.
I'm not one who usually pays much attention to politics and I never weigh in or share my opinions on political topics....and I don't plan on doing that now. I'm not here to say that the war in Iraq is either right or wrong....we all have our own thoughts and arguments on that one.
But one thing I think we can all agree with, with no doubt is that no matter your thoughts or feelings on the war, the government, the president, or anything else in Washington DC,......the men and women who fight for our country are amazing people who should have every ounce of our respect and should constantly be in our prayers.
I know I haven't remembered and respected these brave men and women anywhere close to the way I should have, but I can tell you this.....Brandon Webb and Josh Hammonds....those two young guys headed to Fort Jackson for basic training who I was blessed enough to talk to for a short time on the plane will have one more extended family member back in Nashville praying for them...
I plead with you to put a stronger focus on praying for our troops....there's a very good probability that you know someone.....a friend, spouse, family member, somebody who is serving right now. I urge you to add that person to the top of your prayer list and to lift them up daily...
And if you don't know anybody personally...I'm sure Brandon and Josh wouldn't mind having a few more prayers being lifted on their behalf
G'night world.
Music Florida - Morning 1 thoughts
So I've been on the job at FBCG for two months now and how do you celebrate your 2 month anniversary at a new church.....you go to a MUSIC CONFERENCE IN FLORIDA! Now there are lots of reasons that you do this.
1) It's in Florida...Orlando to be exact....so there's no better place to be in the month of January when you want to escape the cold weather right?
2) You get to miss Monday morning staff meeting
3) You get to sing choir music with a ton of worship pastors and refresh your heart and passion for worship and get some new ideas and a new direction for your ministry!
Totally an awesome week ahead right! Plus after watching two grown women relieve themselves in the middle of Broadway on New Year's Eve (that's right....they went No.1 in the middle of the street with hundreds of complete strangers forced to watch in total disgust!) I felt it essential that I get away and recover from this traumatic experience.
So this brings us to Florida....First thing on tap this morning are several audio seminars on mixing, sound, lighting, etc... I woke up this morning pumped to get the day rolling! Headed down to the lobby of the Ramada Orlando Celebration Resort and Convention Center and grabbed my $11 french toast bites and joined a few of my fellow conference goers for a quick sit down breakfast. That's when things went totally wrong....
As the conversation went through the regular routines (what's your name, where you from, what church you at, how long ya been there, how many on roll, what's your attendance) we finally began to actually discuss some music. One of the older gentlemen was named Carl and Carl has been a minister of music at the same church in Decatur, GA for 28 years....that's right 28 years. Carl began to express how he believed that all the dying churches across the South could easily save themselves if they would just get back to their roots.....aka Southern Gospel.
Now if you know me, or even if you don't, Southern Gospel music normally makes me want to permanently deafen myself....it's just not for me, and not for a lot of people if my thinking is correct....mainly it's not for most people under the age of 35. Now I'm not saying that there aren't some people who are younger who enjoy it.....we're just talking majority here, folks. Just like Carl was talking majority when he suggested that the solution to dying worship ministries or even stagnant worship ministries was more Southern Gospel.....I just can't help but imagining Carl at his church in Decatur prodding his musicians for "More Southern Gospel" in a very Christopher Walken-ish way (More Cowbell!)
Well it finally came my chance to talk about my thoughts on music and I mentioned that our church does two services and that I really pull a lot of our music and my inspiration from Hillsong United. Their response? Total silence. They had no clue who I was talking about. They had no clue that a church named Hillsong Church even existed. My stomach dropped and I hung around for another minute or two and then luckily I was saved by a text message and found my escape opportunity.
Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to say that I've got the market cornered on what ALL churches everywhere should be doing in worship. I'm not saying that every church needs a rocking band on stage or has to be singing "Break Free" at 8:30 in the morning.
What concerns me though is that it seems so many churches and worship pastors are still living in 1986....I mean are there that many ministers who have quit believing in a fresh word from the Lord?.....can that not also apply to our worship style? If the pastor at your church got up every morning Sunday and gave the exact same sermon week after week, would you think he was spending enough time in preparation? Or what if your pastor led your church in a year long study of the book of Genesis, and upon completion, he dives you right back into the exact same study of Genesis over, and over, and over again....would your heart be excited and stirred week after week? I hope the answer to both of those questions is a resounding, yell at the top of your lungs, NO!!
So why are so many churches views on new and modern worship still so skeptical? I mean have these guys read the Psalms? Have they ever happened over Psalm 33:3? Is God not so powerful that he couldn't work through the Black Eyed Peas if he chose to? (I'm sure we could find some way to change Boom Boom Pow into a evangelistic tool right?) Our God will never change, but that doesn't mean the way that we reach folks shouldn't either.....less we forget that Jesus was a rebel when he started His public ministry...Of course I'm not talking James Dean Rebel stature here...but the way He spoke, the way He taught, the way He interacted with people, in fact even the type of people He interacted with was fresh, different, not the status quo........So why does our church music have to be status quo? Well I can promise you one thing, we won't be rolling that way at FBCG, I'm just saying....
Anyways, that's my sermon for the week....I promise, that upcoming posts this week will be much lighter...until then....have a good one
1) It's in Florida...Orlando to be exact....so there's no better place to be in the month of January when you want to escape the cold weather right?
2) You get to miss Monday morning staff meeting
3) You get to sing choir music with a ton of worship pastors and refresh your heart and passion for worship and get some new ideas and a new direction for your ministry!
Totally an awesome week ahead right! Plus after watching two grown women relieve themselves in the middle of Broadway on New Year's Eve (that's right....they went No.1 in the middle of the street with hundreds of complete strangers forced to watch in total disgust!) I felt it essential that I get away and recover from this traumatic experience.
So this brings us to Florida....First thing on tap this morning are several audio seminars on mixing, sound, lighting, etc... I woke up this morning pumped to get the day rolling! Headed down to the lobby of the Ramada Orlando Celebration Resort and Convention Center and grabbed my $11 french toast bites and joined a few of my fellow conference goers for a quick sit down breakfast. That's when things went totally wrong....
As the conversation went through the regular routines (what's your name, where you from, what church you at, how long ya been there, how many on roll, what's your attendance) we finally began to actually discuss some music. One of the older gentlemen was named Carl and Carl has been a minister of music at the same church in Decatur, GA for 28 years....that's right 28 years. Carl began to express how he believed that all the dying churches across the South could easily save themselves if they would just get back to their roots.....aka Southern Gospel.
Now if you know me, or even if you don't, Southern Gospel music normally makes me want to permanently deafen myself....it's just not for me, and not for a lot of people if my thinking is correct....mainly it's not for most people under the age of 35. Now I'm not saying that there aren't some people who are younger who enjoy it.....we're just talking majority here, folks. Just like Carl was talking majority when he suggested that the solution to dying worship ministries or even stagnant worship ministries was more Southern Gospel.....I just can't help but imagining Carl at his church in Decatur prodding his musicians for "More Southern Gospel" in a very Christopher Walken-ish way (More Cowbell!)
Well it finally came my chance to talk about my thoughts on music and I mentioned that our church does two services and that I really pull a lot of our music and my inspiration from Hillsong United. Their response? Total silence. They had no clue who I was talking about. They had no clue that a church named Hillsong Church even existed. My stomach dropped and I hung around for another minute or two and then luckily I was saved by a text message and found my escape opportunity.
Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to say that I've got the market cornered on what ALL churches everywhere should be doing in worship. I'm not saying that every church needs a rocking band on stage or has to be singing "Break Free" at 8:30 in the morning.
What concerns me though is that it seems so many churches and worship pastors are still living in 1986....I mean are there that many ministers who have quit believing in a fresh word from the Lord?.....can that not also apply to our worship style? If the pastor at your church got up every morning Sunday and gave the exact same sermon week after week, would you think he was spending enough time in preparation? Or what if your pastor led your church in a year long study of the book of Genesis, and upon completion, he dives you right back into the exact same study of Genesis over, and over, and over again....would your heart be excited and stirred week after week? I hope the answer to both of those questions is a resounding, yell at the top of your lungs, NO!!
So why are so many churches views on new and modern worship still so skeptical? I mean have these guys read the Psalms? Have they ever happened over Psalm 33:3? Is God not so powerful that he couldn't work through the Black Eyed Peas if he chose to? (I'm sure we could find some way to change Boom Boom Pow into a evangelistic tool right?) Our God will never change, but that doesn't mean the way that we reach folks shouldn't either.....less we forget that Jesus was a rebel when he started His public ministry...Of course I'm not talking James Dean Rebel stature here...but the way He spoke, the way He taught, the way He interacted with people, in fact even the type of people He interacted with was fresh, different, not the status quo........So why does our church music have to be status quo? Well I can promise you one thing, we won't be rolling that way at FBCG, I'm just saying....
Anyways, that's my sermon for the week....I promise, that upcoming posts this week will be much lighter...until then....have a good one
First Post....Man this is intimidating..
Blogging.....what is this weird phenomenon that has taken over our culture? Evidently thousands of people must think that other people are genuinely interested in THEIR thoughts and opinions, and so as not to deprive the people of what they want, these same people created "blogs". Not real sure where the word "blog" came from, but I gotta think we could have come up with something better. When I hear the word "blog" the first words that come to my mind are "log" or "blob"....neither of which are really exciting or attractive. I mean what if we had named them "sharfs" and instead of "bloggers" we could have had "sharfers".
Of course, changing the name would have no effect on the purpose of a blog....it's still just people...sharing their thoughts, their agendas, their complaints, or in my case their nonsense with other folks....all in hopes that it might mean something to someone, out there (Anybody remember that song from American Tail?...a cartoon classic ballad for sure).
So here's my blog....and man what a really lame first post this is turned out to be!
Of course, changing the name would have no effect on the purpose of a blog....it's still just people...sharing their thoughts, their agendas, their complaints, or in my case their nonsense with other folks....all in hopes that it might mean something to someone, out there (Anybody remember that song from American Tail?...a cartoon classic ballad for sure).
So here's my blog....and man what a really lame first post this is turned out to be!
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