Worship Concert 2007

As usual (but not for long!), it has been a VERY busy last few days. Much to report and a lot on my brain, but I'll keep this short for today since I still have a video to produce and burn out in the next 5 hours. YIKES!

We're having our annual "Worship Concert" this weekend:

It's a fun time, but TONS of work. Props out to our great team who makes all of this happen. I know every church brags about their music, so I won't stop the trend now. Our music team is UNBELIEVABLE!! We currently have close to 40 vocalists and musicians that rotate during the month. I'll get more into that in a different post.

Needless to say, this group of folks have it going on! They are talented, dedicated and willing to do "whatever it takes" for God. I love that attitude! As a matter of fact, to be on the team you MUST have that as part of your DNA. We work our butts off to make sure that God is the focus, not us. We don't always get it right, but I can tell you that the team is pumped about sharing the TOP 10 Worship songs of 2007. Meadow Heights Church voted on their favorites and this weekend we're counting them down. Don't miss it!!

I'll post the Top 10 lists after the weekend is over for anyone interested!

Serving - Here and Now

“Even to your old age and gray hairs I am he,

I am he who will sustain you.

I have made you and I will carry you;

I will sustain you and I will rescue you.”

Isaiah 46:4 (NIV)

It was awesome to watch Greg Amelung as he started his first week here at Meadow Heights. The excitement and passion, the extra little “giddy up” in his step – all signs that someone is doing exactly what God has made them to do.

Is that how you have felt about serving God lately? Excited? Ready for the next challenge? Bryan gave us an incredible challenge this past weekend – serve God with all your heart; Here and Now. Or as Paul tells us:

“So here's what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him.” Romans 12:1 (MsgB)

We had a great response from those turning in their commitments. But can I be honest with you? It’s not enough. God calls all of us to serve Him. It’s not optional. It’s not whether or not you feel like it. It’s not “I’ll serve Him tomorrow.” It’s our responsibility to serve Him here and now.

“Once more you'll see the difference it makes between being a person who does the right thing and one who doesn't, between serving God and not serving him.” Malachi 3:18 (MsgB)

My challenge for you this week is to serve God – each and every day. It might be through worshiping Him, helping a neighbor, finding a ministry at church. Whatever that looks like for you, go for it! Today – here and now. God is always there for you; He came and He rescued. Serving our God should be a natural response to His loving grace. What are you waiting for?

The BIG Idea

I just finished a "webinar" sponsored by Leadership Network. They hosted this online event for the "Big Idea" book by our friends at Community Christian Church in Naperville, IL. There was both a phone and web-based component, and the technology worked very effectively.

I have done many conference calls over the years, but not a combo "call and PowerPoint" live at the same time. Very interesting concept! I can see huge applications for the church at some point, especially for training purposes, meetings, etc.

Kudos to Leadership Network for hosting this, and for Dave, Jon and Eric for their work and the info they presented today.

You can check out more information on the Big Idea here.

You Version

Lots of announcements today!!

This one just came in:

Terry and his team at LifeChurch have been developing a new online Bible resource called "You Version." This doesn't look like your plain ole' online Bible either - it's slated to take full advantage of Web 2.0 complete with audio, video and the works. I can't wait to see this in action. If you guys need Beta testers - count me in!

You can read more details at this blog. Be sure to visit the You Version site and sign up for email updates.

NewSpring Resources

Tony announced today that NewSpring Church will begin offering resources online for...get this...absolutely FREE!! I love this approach to ministry. When will churches discover that this is not a competition? We are all in this together!! I applaud NewSpring and their efforts!

Be sure and check out their resources here. Oh, and be sure to thank them as well!

A New Strategy?

Seth has a great post on marketing (posted below). How does this strategy relate to the church?

Why doesn't Puma or Adidas (or even Nike) pay the management of the SF Giants to bench Barry Bonds before he hits the record? Now you'd have a brand that really stood for something.

Why don't local businesses buy $50 worth of quarters now and then and feed all the meters in town... just put a little flyer under the windshield wiper.

Once you change the rules, the sponsorship opportunities are endless.

[Brandon has a warning, though, for anyone thinking about parking meters.]

Steak or Buffet?

Steven kicks it up with this post. I've never eaten at a Ruth's Chris, but I hear it is incredible. We used to have a great little steak place in Columbia, MO when I lived there. You picked your own steak out of the cooler, took it to a big grill and cooked it just the way you liked it - complete with some garlic Texas toast! I've heard of a few other places like that one.

For those of you in Fredericktown, I'm not sure how we can relate. Maybe Olympic Steakhouse to...hmmm...the Pig? Or possibly Tunes Steakhouse to A&M?

I'm so glad we've already addressed this obstacle at Meadow Heights Church. We focus on only five things: weekend experiences, All Stars Children's Ministry, 24-7 Student Ministry, Life Groups and mission opportunities. We don't always get it right, and some of these areas are still under development, but what you see is what you get.

What you won't see: Sunday night church, Wednesday night church, men's ministry, women's minstry, singles minstry...the list could go on and on. Not that any of those things is bad, it's just that we only focus on the five and try to do them with excellence.

Let's continue to focus on the "steak" and leave the buffet to everyone else!

Matt and the Mac

I'm sitting here next to Matt in the tech booth during one of our weekend experiences. One of our techs (John) brought in his new MacBook. If you've been following this blog, you probably know that I've been considering purchasing a Mac. I've always said that I would never, ever own a Mac - true to form for a diehard PC fanatic.

Let me just say this...

"Times are a changin'!"

The MacBook is schweet! I'm totally in to anything new and challenging - this fits the bill. The interface is incredible, the design of course is phenomenal, and this thing is stinkin' quick!

Matt is a Mac guy, and he tells me that I won't be sorry if I go this route. For now, I'm going to sit back and enjoy toying around on this machine. We'll see what the future holds!

Here and Now

Nearly 100 students will be returning home from camp tomorrow. I love what Bryan asked all of us to pray - that our kids would come home safe, but dangerous. I can't wait to see how "dangerous" my fourteen year old has become!

Don't miss this weekend!! Jeremiah will be sharing about his experience at camp, and we'll also hear from a couple of volunteers and a student or two. We're continuing the theme from camp called "Here and Now." Sometimes I find myself in the "there and later" camp. There's always tomorrow. That's an easy way of saying, "God...I've got it all under control. I'll just do what I want to do, when I want to do it."

We've been praying that our kids will get dangerous, but what about the rest of us? It's easy to pray for our kids, but it's another thing altogether to get dangerous ourselves. It's difficult to obey God in the here and now. It's easy to put things off until tomorrow. It's difficult to follow Jesus.

What "camp" do you find yourself in today? "There and Later" or "Here and Now?" One is safe, the other is dangerous. The choice is yours.

Spiritual Dividends

This guy nails it again with this post. I love how this guy thinks. I've never met Steven and he would have no idea who in the world I am, but the cat has some great thoughts about following Jesus. AND...he's not afraid to talk about it!

If you haven't read his blog - subscribe today. You won't be disappointed!

Just One Post

I don't often cite a post in it's entirety, but this one is well worth it. For those of you who haven't started a blog or have let yours expire, I hope this will give you some encouragement. For those of us who continue to grind out a post here and there...KEEP YOUR MIND WIDE OPEN!!

From Seth Godin:

A lot of people have blogs. But most people don't.

I think you should. Even if you only have one post in you.

Having a blog is pretty daunting, especially if you don't like blank paper and are the sort of person that hates falling behind. I can imagine that the idea of posting 50 or 300 times a year is a little bit nuts for many people.

But what if there's just one thing you need to say, but you can say it clearly and well and in a way that hasn't been said before? What if you've got one great blog post inside of you, and, even better, you're willing to update that post as you learn more and gain more insight?

An entire post about a certain kind of fossil. Or the misuse of a certain word. Or about a key difference between two kinds of bluetooth...

Why not?

22 Confessions...

For all you Dell lovers out there (that's not me!) - you might find this post interesting. It's been getting a lot of press (and Diggs!) recently - both from readers and from the Dell corporation itself. Be sure and check out both of Dell's responses - the before AND after. Happy reading!

Simply...Innovate!

Tim and Kem (Hey! That rhymes!) have started a new podcast for the Innovate Conference. You can find it here. Tim and his ex-partner in crime Tony used to record one of my favorite podcasts - the "Simply Strategic Show." You can still find past episodes here.

I Spy...

Check out this pic from Gary Lamb. How stinkin' cool is that? The guy in the pic is reading Andy Stanley's book, "How Good Is Good Enough?" It's a great book...very thin and very easy to read but very THICK on practical application for your life. We had all of our Life Groups read this book and it had tremendous impact. Highly recommended!

Willow Arts Conference

The Willow Arts Conference just wrapped up. It would have been great to be there, but here are a few links to recaps of the event in case you missed it:

Willow Arts Conference Blog - this site has all the info, including video clips and highlights

Dave Ferguson and Eric Bramlett - these two made several appearances at this year's event

Tim Stevens - as usual, some great thoughts on the conference

Kem Meyer - another Granger cat, she hosted a "cup o' coffee" breakout session on blogging

These are just a few of the blogs I follow. For tons of blog references, go here and type in "Willow Arts Conference" and you'll find more links than a sausage company.

Sex God

I just finished "Sex God" by Rob Bell. Before you razz me about being a fast reader (I just finished this review), let me just say that this book is an incredibly easy read (in terms of time, not content) and will take the average reader (that's me!) only about 3-4 hours to consume.

Sex God is an interesting book to say the least. For those of you who don't know, I am a HUGE Rob Bell fan. Check out this photo of my son Seth and I during a past trip to Mars Hill Church in Grandville, Michigan:

I have been following him since I became a follower of Jesus. I love his insights into the delicate fabric of scripture, specifically his take on the Greek and Hebrew roots of today's translations. I share a common interest in this area of knowledge as well.

Sex God captivated me from the start. I love chapter one. It gets a little weird from there. Bell is obviously concerned about the world, it's politics, and the atrocities that plague it. There were a few parts in the beginning where the soapbox became noticeable to the reader. It quickly passed, but the thoughts stick with you. I was compelled however, to continue thinking about my goal of traveling and helping others across the globe. Rob's passion definitely finds itself in sharing Jesus with a suffering world.

The book continues by explaining the connection between God, sex and just about everything else in the world. Both singles and marrieds will find content of interest with this book, so I highly recommend this for both audiences. There were points that I was smiling from ear to ear, others that brought me to tears, and another where I just had to thank my wife for choosing me from over 6 billion people in the world (quite a thought...if you stop and think about it for your own relationship!).

Bell will definitely stimulate your thinking and provoke some interesting conversations. Take time to read this book - I don't think you'll be disappointed. Stick with it, get past the political grinding near the beginning, and enjoy his unique style of writing and blend of wit, humor and of course, biblical foundation.

I'm A "Pro"crastinator!

Greg points us to this site. Man can I relate! Take time to read the definition of "structured procrastination" - you just might find a bit of yourself in there (and a good laugh as well!).

We'll be wrapping up the "Who's Kidding Who" series this weekend. It's been a great series - we've had tons of comments on how God is working on moms, dads and kids alike and it's been amazing to see transformation and changed lives.

I'm pumped about this weekend as Bryan takes a new and different look at the "prodigal son" story. The band will be kickin' it with the Daughtry tune "Home" - it could very well be a defining moment that will rock our church family. All I can say is this - don't miss this weekend!!

Don't forget to check out the Who's Kidding Who Blog and leave a comment. Let us know how this series has impacted you or your family and some practical ideas that may help others. We'll leave the blog up a few extra weeks for anyone that wants to join in the discussion.

See you this weekend!

The Blogging Church

I just finished reading "The Blogging Church" by Brian Bailey and Terry Storch. A very good read. I enjoyed the straight-ahead, no frills approach to the writing - very reachable for any audience.

If you are new to the blogging world, this book is a must for you. This book is also required reading for any pastor who is contemplating starting a blog - some great gems for you to consider before you begin.

For those of us who have been blogging for awhile, no incredible breakthroughs, but some great reminders about blogging. It really gave me clarity as to the "why's" of blogging, although I must admit that I am probably a cross between a personal and ministry related blog. While the authors suggest that this is not all bad, I tend to go back and forth to often (which might explain my limited readership?).

One last note - I have resisted the RSS feed for over a year now. I am from the "old school" where I like to visit each page individually. This has been quite easy with Firefox's tab feature - open all blogs I follow in tabs simultaneously and then click through very rapidly. HOWEVER...I am really working on streamlining my use of technology, so a few days ago I subscribed to all of my favorite blogs (24 total) via Google Reader. So far it has saved me a tremendous amount of time!!

Thanks to Bailey and Storch for their work on this book - get it and check it out for yourself. Whether your a newbie in the blog world or a seasoned veteran, you won't be disappointed with this book.

WWDC 07

WWDC 07 kicked off today. You can read a great recap of Steve Jobs' keynote here. Or Terry points us to a recap here.

Not any HUGE announcements this year, but there were some interesting thoughts:

• Some big games will be released for Mac - are they trying to capture a share of this market?
• Leopard looks stinkin' awesome!! Some additional interface designs that look phenomenal including a better search function.
• Time Machine - one click backup - simple, easy and very effective.
• Some other odds and ends: iPhone details, Leopard price points, etc.

Overall a solid keynote but nothing earth shattering. The future however, looks incredible. Or to borrow a phrase, "the future's so bright I gotta wear shades!"

Skills Our Kids Need To Know

I wrote about the "zen habits" blog recently and I have been a big fan ever since. This article is a must for those of us with kids. Probably nothing shocking, but a great reminder of our duties as parents. Remember that schools and churches are there to supplement what we do as a parent, not replace. Society has a hard time remembering that sometimes. I think all of us are guilty as some point or another.

UPDATE: I've noted that this site is occasionally not accessible for some reason. Keep with it - you won't be disappointed! I'm sure they'll get the bugs worked out soon. NOTE: This blog author is living in Guam.