inWorship

It's Official

2007-08-22T15:45:00.000-07:00

The blog is moving. Everyone enjoys the new blogsite and I do to so there:)

The content at the new address is exactly the same. I have imported all posts, comments and categories from this blog into the new one, so all that new is look and address.

Here's what I would ask:

1) If you have me linked anywhere in your blogs (linked in a post or a blogroll) and you are able to, please switch my address to http://brenttrf.wordpress.com

2) If you are a subscriber, I am humbled. Here is the new feed:
http://feeds.feedburner.com/wordpress/GtAN

3) If you are not subscribed to this blog or my new one and would like to be, read this great post discussing how to subscribe. If you already have an RSS feeder/reader, would you be willing to add me to it?

4) Tell all your friends about the new address. This will be my last post at Blogger, but it will always be active in case you need to refer to this post for the addresses.

Thanks for any sort of inconvenience this has dealt you. I appreciate this community, lurkers and all!

Check Out The New Blog

2007-08-21T23:46:00.000-07:00

Ok, here's the deal. I've been working on a blog over at Wordpress. My wife has too. I have always really enjoyed the look and feel of their blogs. I have built a blog at Wordpress and I need you to check it out and see what you think.

Just follow this link and look through. Then comment there and tell me which blog you like better. I will make the decision to move based on what Y'all tell me to do.

I haven't changed the content of the blog, in fact you will see exactly the same material there as you do here. it is just look and feel.

Let me know!

Media Cool...God Bad?

2007-08-21T11:59:00.000-07:00

So, I am excited about the next 2 weekends at Table Rock. We are going to be spending 2 weekends talking about unwinding. If you want to see the bulletin for the series, head over here. I am excited because we are reaching out to the neighboring community. We have invited neighbors to join us. I am excited about visitors, people who don't come to church, people who have never been or would never go back because of what the church has been to them.

A couple of us were talking about who we are as a church this morning. We aren't cutting edge and innovative like Lifechurch. We aren't charismatic like Fellowship Church. We don't have the money that Lakewood has. And you know what...who cares. I am not discounting any other ministry, I am accounting for who we are and who God has asked us to be. When we started the church, Pastor Tom prayed that God would use Table Rock to be a refuge. A place for hurting, broken and dismissed. When we evaluate what brings people to Table Rock, sometimes we can say it is the teaching or the music. But people most certainly say it is the "come as you are" attitude and welcoming spirit. God has given us the desire of our hearts for Table Rock. We are a refuge.

I love media (Audio, Video, Projectors, Lights, Online Web Tools...Blogs!) But none of this should ever be why people come to our church. Hopefully I say this correctly so it makes sense. What should draw people to God's family is the people of God's presence in the community around them. If people come to Table Rock because we have great sound or cool videos or loud music, we are breeding expectations that draw attention away from the message of the Gospel. People come to church expecting good sound, great videos and loud music. When we don't deliver, they leave or even worse they just stick around and complain. But, when people attend Table Rock because we are a church that welcomes them as they are, expressing our interest in them as people, and then we turn around and care for them in their need, I believe those people will be changed by God's Spirit and will turn around and do the same. They will hear the message of the Gospel (whether by word or deed).

Media is a powerful and dangerous tool for expressing the message. It is something we use weekly and will continue to communicate the gospel. But, Table Rock will not be a church that fluffs up the gospel message with lights and sound just to attract visitors. That's the day, I need to reevaluate my leadership as a Worship and Media Pastor.

All I See Is Beauty

2007-08-17T23:38:00.000-07:00

This is my wife. Today, August 18th we have been married 16 years. She will hate this picture (she hates every picture) but maybe it is my fault, because I can't see anything but beauty in her.

When I first saw her, I was very much attracted to her. I didn't know her yet, but I wanted to. When I found out she did not know the Lord, I had to be patient, because I knew if I got involved, I would stay involved. I wanted this relationship so bad, but I wanted it to please God. He blessed me. All I see is what God has given me. A beautiful, confident, gifted woman of God!

I had faith she would come to know the Lord and she did. When I got to know her, it was obvious to me that this was the one. She makes me better...she makes me want to be better...I have to be the best for her. She has always encouraged my walk with the Lord. When I have failed in my spiritual leading, she has reminded me to lead. When I have made mistakes, she was always waiting for me to learn and grow from what I had done. Whenever I am weak, she is picking up the slack. We work!

Tammy, I love you so much. As a "completely NON-metro sexual" I should be embarrassed to say this...I am tearing up, BUT I am not embarrassed. I am not embarrassed to cry with you or for you. I am not embarrassed to take on someone or something for you. I am not embarrassed ever to call you my wife and best friend. I am not embarrassed to try harder and to admit I am wrong for you.

Happy Anniversary! I love you Tammy! I am so looking forward to hitting 50 years with you!

Dad and Book Update

2007-08-16T22:53:00.000-07:00

Thought I'd let you all know that my Dad went home today. They released him a day early. They felt he is doing very well. He feels much better. He is Still a little week and does not have a great appetite, but he is home. I think they are wanting to come down here to Medford this weekend to get away and check up on work around their house here. Praise the Lord for his quick healing!

The book I've been reading this week for "Reading Rainbow" was put on hold for a couple of days during all the events with my Dad, but I will be picking back up tomorrow and should have a review by Sunday. So far it has been very challenging...in a good way. It's not hard to read, but what is written is taking a lot to digest. I am really enjoying it. Check back for the review.

Do What You Will

2007-08-15T21:59:00.000-07:00

There is a song by Desperation Band called "Ready Now". I love the phrase, "I'm ready now, Do what You will."

An hour after we got back into town from seeing my Dad, I was on my way to soccer practice with my son. As we were driving along I felt comfortable. It was interesting. All I had to do was be back in town and I was comfortable. It was what I knew. I was in my "hood"...sorry.

Then I began to think about some of the things I have been reading lately. So many challenges to step out of my comfort zone and to be someone I haven't been. I then began praying. How do I start this? What should I be doing? Where should I be looking? If I am so comfortable with my lifestyle here, how am I ever going to know what to do? Do I have to move to be out of my comfort zone? Then I heard a loud and clear voice, "It's not what you do, it's who you become." Wow, where did that come from? I knew it was God, He was very clear. I suddenly knew what I had to do...nothing! I can't do anything to gain God's character in my life. He has to do it. Now, I understand that does mean I need to surrender, to Him, in everything. So I do have to do something. And I am "Ready Now".

As we were pulling off the freeway, I turned up the radio and this song was playing...

You come like you promised You would
I want to surrender for good
I know that I need You
And I don't want to keep living life alone

So take my heart
and make it new
make it true
And make it like You
Take my hands
I lift them high
They're Yours not mine to do
Do what you will
Do what you will
Do what you will

I'm ready now

WOW, what a conformation. Here I am, I'm ready, do what You will.

Look at the life of Christ. We all seek to be like Him...right? It was never about what Jesus did, it has always been about who He is. It wasn't about having Lazrus back, it was about His glory shining through. It wasn't about an issue of blood, it was about His mercy. He didn't come to die on a cross, He came to be a Savior! I had to think about that last statement for a while. The cross is a symbol that the world seems to love. They are willing to take on the comfort of an icon around their neck, but are they willing to surrender to the Savior that was nailed to it. I will never discount the cross and what it means to me as a Christian. But it isn't my salvation, Jesus is!

So, I surrender, I lay down, I am Yours, I am ready now, do what You will.

Youth Pastor Fined By FCC for Slip OF The Tongue

2007-08-15T10:30:00.001-07:00

I don't know how many of you saw this last year. But if you haven't watch this first...

So, I guess there is this "prank" group that likes to prank religious people. I watched a couple of their videos and I'm not really sure what I think. Anyway, they decided to prank this Youth Pastor that had a slip of the tongue. I did think this was funny. It is a little long, but it just made me squirm. What would you do if something like this happened to you?

Eugene, Oregon...Go Ducks!

2007-08-14T19:58:00.000-07:00

So, now that we can breathe in a little, we enjoyed a relaxing day here in Eugene, Oregon. My wife and I lived her for 2 1/2 years and my folks have been here for 17. My dad has been the Senior Pastor of First baptist Church since the fall of 1990. Which puts his retirement into perspective. He's been here for a while and it has been a wonderful place for him to end his Pastoral career.

So Eugene is a College town. University of Oregon is here and we happen to be huge Ducks fans. We've gone through a tough time here the last couple of years with the football program, but the basketball team did just fine this year. I actually really enjoy this town. Lots of boutique shops and restaurants and lots of culture for Oregon. Of course with that culture comes some interesting people. This is a huge missions field here. Eugene is one of the least churched areas of Oregon. About 6-8%. Incredible isn't it.

Anyway, my Son is the biggest Duck fan of all. We are staying at a hotel next to the hospital which is adjacent to the University, so we took some time walking him around today. This is where he wants to go to school. We had a great time with my brother and family and my Mom as well.

Dad is doing well, but is anxious to go home now. They probably aren't going to release him untill Friday. He was feeling a little worse this afternoon, but that is expected with all he went through today. He just wants to be well and gets down easily when things aren't moving fast enough. Of course Dad and Mom are planning to travel down to Medford to be in our neighborhood this Sunday once he's out so they can start moving furniture into their house down there...We'll see!

So, I thought I'd leave you with pictures from today. Thanks everyone for continued prayers and encouragement!

Nice view behind the hotel.

Ducks of course!

I am not sure I should be offended by this

My boy at the University gates

Checking out construction on Hayward field. Home of Prefontaine and the US Track and Field trials.

Home of the Final 8 basketball team. MacArthur Court

I took this pic last fall when my boy and I went to a football game. I am sure he'd want the pic posted here. He loves him some Duck football.

We walked through the cemetery on campus. Most of the people here passed away in the late 1800's or early 1900's. I would love to know some of the stories. There is a family buried here. Both children under the age of 1 and Mom died in the same year a couple of months a part. Dad is buried there with a cement slab that just reads Father and no other story. I would love to know the story. This one caught my attention as well.

Remember "Animal House"? This is one of the homes used in the movie. Yup, it was filmed here. the main house from the movie is long gone. It was demolished years ago.

My Dad's church owns two houses on campus a Sorority (The Trinity House) and a Fraternity (The AO House). Very cool. This is the AO House (Alpha and Omega).

We had dinner with the whole family (minus Dad of course) at Pearl Street Ice Cream Parlor (originally a Farrell's). I love this place. Greasy burgers, BLT's, Huge fries and Ice Cream to die for. My daughter and I shared this.

This is as far as we got!

Post Surgery Update

2007-08-14T10:02:00.000-07:00

Well, I think we have some good news today. They performed the angiogram on my Dad at about 7:30 this morning. We were told about 1 1/2-2 hours. To my surprise about an hour in, I went down to his room to grab my Mom her sweater and my Dad was there in his room awake and alert. It concerned me a bit that the surgery went so fast. Once I got back to the waiting room, the doctor was there talking to my Mom.

When my Dad had his bypass surgery, they did 5 bypasses. They new within a short amount of time that 2 of the bypasses had not taken. Our main concern in this process today was that the other 3 were failing as well. The doctor let us know that all 3 are in perfect condition. He noticed a lot of vasculitis in the original veins, which was expected. Lupus can attack the veins and scar them and they clog. The doctor was very confident that my Dad's heart is strong and he is not concerned at all of any heart damage or heart attack possibilities. The pain my Dad has been experiencing is caused mostly by the vasculitis. They are going to begin a process of daily pain management and lifestyle changes that should help my Dad be comfortable and allow him to live well for years to come.

There is so much positive in what happened today. I believe that God has answered my prayers of some good years for my Dad and Mom to retire. Also, I believe that my Dad will be well and able to leave the church here with a couple good weeks of teaching and leadership before he goes.

Thank you for everything you all are doing. the emails, calls, comments and most of all prayers have been heard loud and clear and I am grateful to you and to our God who heals and loves his children.

I will post later today and tomorrow with any updates!

More Info On My Dad

2007-08-13T21:52:00.000-07:00

Many of you have been checking the blog for updates and I thank you. I apologize that this comes late in the evening, but some very good friends of ours, here in Eugene took us out to a great dinner. Excellent food and excellent company...Thanks Jeff and Amy!

We spent some time with my Dad this afternoon and we were there when the doctor stopped by so we were able to hear first hand what is happening and how he is doing. When we go there HE LOOKED GREAT! Tammy was here last week and at that time my Dad was looking and doing horrible. The new antibiotics have taken his temperature down to the 99 degree range. Better than the 104 temp he was dealing with for a couple of days. The doctor said that his X-rays look about the same, but he was happy with that. He would be concerned if had gotten worse, but he did not expect there to be a noticeable difference even if he was getting better. It takes time to clear Pneumonia. The doctor said my Dad has a lot against him (lupus, low immune system, medications that actually hinder him getting better quickly), but he is doing well. He is probably about 50% better. They are going ahead with the angiogram first thing in the morning. He will be in surgery at 7:45. They are expecting the surgery to take about an hour. I will do my best to post info as soon as I get it tomorrow.

Thank you SO MUCH for all your prayers. We are so grateful to have friends as all of you!

Update and Next Book

2007-08-12T20:26:00.000-07:00

I just want to say thank you all so much! I just sounded southern...maybe I shouldn't frequent Mandy's blog so much :). I really do appreciate all the thoughtful calls emails and comments regarding my Dad. I was overwhelmed at church this morning. So many of you care and it shows. Thank You!

We have a long way to go, but he was doing a little better today. The doctor's gave him a new antibiotic and they felt that X-rays showed it was helping with the Pneumonia. We will head up in the morning to be with them for the Angiogram surgery on Tuesday. My mom is doing well. She worked at church all weekend. I know my Dad misses being able to be on stage teaching the church he is about to retire from. It is something he loves to do and does well. If any of you would like to hear him preach, you can check out the his latest teaching here.

In the midst of everything going on, I do not want to take a break from the amazing reading journey God has me on. I began a new book last night for the "Reading Rainbow". "The Dangerous Act of Worship" by Mark Labberton will be this weeks book. I saw this reviewed over here. It looked like something I really need to dig into after coming off the book I read last week.

So, thank you for the prayers. It is amazing to know that my Dad is being lifted up. Literally all over the world. I will post tomorrow with updates.

edit-that's a crap load of links...hopefully they are beneficial for you.

I'm Asking For Prayer

2007-08-10T22:49:00.000-07:00

Some of you have followed along on either my blog or my wife's blog. If you have you know that my Dad has had a rough year health wise. He has been fighting an extreme case of Lupus. It has taken it's toll on him. Today he went back into the hospital. About 2 weeks ago he had a massive seizure caused by his fight with lupus. During his seizure, he aspirated and now is fighting pneumonia. We heard from my mom tonight that he is not well. The doctor's are concerned as he is needing to have an angiogram done as soon as possible to possibly put stints in to alleviate stress on his heart due to the damage lupus has caused to his arteries. Things have been progressing downhill over the last couple of months and I don't like to think negatively, but things are not getting better. The doctor's are concerned he will make it through the angiogram, because his system is so weak. They need to get him in on either Monday or Tuesday and the pneumonia is holding them back. He is 6 weeks from retirement, brought on by his health. I don't have a specific to pray for, just that as God leads us through this time that we would be patient, sensitive to His Spirit and that we would know how to provide for my Dad and my Mom in all of it.

Baby Leino

2007-08-09T16:56:00.000-07:00

I was looking through my blog reader today and I read a post by NewBoxes. After reading his post I immediately went over to check out the blog he referred me to.

There is a blog for Baby Leino. Issac Leino is a little guy that was born to loving parents in February of this year and he went home to be with the Lord this last Sunday evening. Issac was born with many medical issues and his parents decided to create a blog archiving his journey. As I read through post after post, I was impacted, saddened, in awe and most of all encouraged by this little family that found such hope and faith in God through this journey. And seeing the response to the blog, God has used them to impact 1000's.

When you have a chance read through Isaac's journey. It will bless you

"Reading Rainbow" Book 7 - Week 7

2007-08-09T11:56:00.001-07:00

This week for "Reading Rainbow" I read "Under The Overpass" by Mike Yankoski. I was referred this book by my best friend/older daughter Rachelle. She works with FCA and has been taking some amazing foreign missions trips. Thank Shell!

I say I read this book this week , but the reality was I read it in a day. I came home from work on Tuesday and started reading. I spent a little time with it and loved it. I took off that evening for some volleyball and when I returned I dug back into the book. I then could not put it down. I finished about 2:30 in the morning. I've never done that before. I was hooked with the story this book had to tell. I was so anxious to hear what would happen next, who the next character they met would be and if they were going to get enough money to eat today.

This book is basically Mike's journal from his trip. He was challenged while sitting in church one day that he was not sure his faith would withstand a true test. He then went on for the next year planning his trip to leave everything behind and live on the streets with the intention of seeing how God would work in and through Him when there was absolutely nothing for him to rely on except God.

The people he and his traveling partner Sam met were diverse. They met rude people, kind people, homeless, addicts, convicts, ministers and everything in between. What a way to see people. They saw people at their most vulnerable point. Not just the people living on the street with them, but the people around them making a decision as to what to do with this homeless man in front of them. I think that is the most challenging thought for me. How do I care for those in front of me.

This book wasn't a "how to care for the homeless" book. Mike did take time to share with us his thoughts on all of that, but it was more A journal of a journey. It was Mike's "fleece" before God to reveal Himself. It was Mike's personal test to approve His trust and faith in God. Here are some quotes from the book.

"I felt my frustration rising until I realized how unentitled I really was. No one deserves mercy. And no one walking by owed a dime. Mercy, is by definition, undeserved, or else it isn't mercy."

" A hungry man can be a fast learner. When you come to a table with nothing but need, you are grateful for things you might have pushed aside before. And when you kneel hungry and broken at His table, you receive a grace from Him you might at some other time, have completely missed."

"I wonder how much we miss because we are unwilling to pick it up...It's like asking God to bless your day, then when He puts a needy, smelly person in front of you that you could really help, you wonder what you did to deserve such rotten luck."

"Why do we so often overlook obvious ways to show the love of God we so proudly proclaim?"

"Having everything 'just because you can' is a trap. It numbs and blinds the human spirit. It can separate us from our calling and our privilege as Christians in this needy world.

"Sitting there with Sugar Man, I felt my carefully established definitions of a Christian, crack and expand. Here was an admitted addict and user openly proclaiming Christ in his community and asking how he could serve us...what's your definition of a Christian? Is it broad enough to encompass the drug dealers, pimps, prostitutes and broken people of the world? We all struggle with personal ways in which sin plays itself out in our lives...Why do we reject the loving, self-sacrificing, giving, encouraging, Jesus-pursuing drug addict, but recruit the clean, self-interested, gossiping, loveless churchgoer?"

Marriage Meme

2007-08-09T10:29:00.000-07:00

Some of you may be saying...What the heck is a meme? I know I did the first time I saw it. Simply, a Meme is a series of questions passed around from blog to blog. There are a whole lot of other definitions to it, but we will leave it at that.

So my wife and I have a friend named Mandy. She tagged us yesterday to participate in this meme. Mandy is a worship leader a a church in New England. She is attending seminary. She authors two blogs, one personal and one that highlights the discussion regarding blended worship. Mandy asked me yesterday how I have time to read books...back at you :)

Anyway, I am to tell you 8 things about my marriage. I am sure these will be quite profound and littered with depth and wisdom...or not.

1) I am married to my dream girl. I dated a few girls through my high school years. One I was very serious about. And let me preface, they were all wonderful women. When I met Tammy, and got to know her I had found everything I was looking for. I didn't even know I was looking for it. When she and I got together, God blessed me. She makes me a better person.
(I could probably stop right here, but I will continue on :)

2)Tammy and I met at church. When she walked in (remember this was 1989), she was an LA Gear ad. She wore a tank top with a high cut jean jacket, a jean mini skirt and LA Gear high tops. I melted.

3) Our first official date was in a car driving back from JesusFest in Riverside. We then went to In-N-Out and had dinner at like 1AM, after that we headed to her and her rommates apartment and stayed up all night talking.

4) We were engaged after 5 weeks of dating. I was not the one who "popped" the question. But my answer was yes! We didn't marry for another 10 months.

5) Our favorite thing to do is to enjoy Friday mornings together. I have Friday's off. During the school year when the kids are gone, we have nothing to focus on but ourselves. We may window shop, run errands or grab our computers and go down to the local WiFi coffee shop and relax. We may not even talk much, we just love to be together.

6) The best vacation we ever had was to Hawaii. One year we had a tax refund that allowed us to go to Waikiki and spend a week there. That was one of the most relaxing things we have ever done together. We have been back since with the whole family (In-laws included). it was amazing...but not as relaxing. It is my goal to spend our 25th there.

7) We will be married 16 years on the 18th. I our 16 years of marriages we have lived in 5 apartments and 6 houses. That is ridiculous!

8) The greatest thing about our marriage is that we are best friends. i have never once wanted to hang out with someone more than my wife. We love to talk, think through ideas, we are both dreamers, we both have a passion for our gifts and our relationship with God, we have amazing children that bless us every day and we love who God is making us into. Love ya Tam!

Next Book - Week 7

2007-08-07T14:42:00.001-07:00

The next book I will be reading for "Reading Rainbow" will be "Under The Overpass" by Mike Yankoski.

Here is an excerpt from the back cover of the book.

"Mike Yankoski's life went from upper-middle class plush to scum-of-the-earth repulsive overnight. From the United States Capital to San Diego, Mike and his traveling companion, Sam journeyed as homeless men for five months. Not for a project or even in response to a dare. He needed to know if his faith in God was real-if he could actually be the Christian he said he was apart from the comforts he'd always known.

So with only a bag on his back, a guitar in his hand, and Sam by his side he set out. And like any traveler in a foreign land, he returned a different man."

I think this should be good!

Daily Dose Of Imagery

2007-08-07T10:56:00.000-07:00

I have a link for the Daily Does Of Imagery Blog in my Blogroll. I Don't know if you've checked it out, but you need to. I am a fan of great photography. The ability to know your equipment and what it can do, use the natural lighting that God provides and then frame up exactly what we need to see, is amazing! This guys has done this well. Everyday there is a new picture he's taken and they are always exactly what I described. Todays picture is gorgeous. Makes you want to disappear from city life forever.

Check Him Out!

"Reading Rainbow" Book 6 - Week 6

2007-08-06T10:46:00.000-07:00

Last week I read through 2 books. I spoke of the first here and then I made mention to the second here. The second book was “Stand Against The Wind” by Erwin McManus. It is interesting to read this book the week after I read through Bill Hybels book. They both are essentially speaking to the same thing, the character of God, alive and well within us. I told Pastor David today that it was as if someone handed Hybels and McManus the sermon notes and I got to here them both teach the same sermon. Needless to say, this book, as was Hybels, was very impacting. It is hard to read through these books and really soak everything in. I am going to find myself looking back through every once in a while and reminding and rereading things, just so they stay fresh.

Anyway, the first page of the book begins with our challenge to really live. Erwin made the statement that to truly know God is to have His character in our lives. I have heard Erwin speak a couple of times and have read one of his other books. He is so passionate about us as believers living fully as God intended. He is concerned how “the world” has completely affected us and limited us to living this way. He says, “To discover what it means to be truly human, the only one we can turn to is God.” He goes on to say, “A person God Himself deems as wise is one who not only hears His voice, but immediately begins to act upon His instruction.” I love that statement. It is a challenge. It is not enough to hear, but we need to also act. Erwin said, “You cannot follow Jesus and remain the same...It’s nothing less than leaving the fake for the real.” There is the overwhelming message in this book. “Real” life is not the aches and pains, the ups and downs, the family issues and joys. It is the character of God “alive and kicking” in our everyday life. God intended for us to live through “life” not as sitting ducks, but as beacons of hope and love.

Erwin speaks to aspects of God’s character and how to allow God’s character to transform our lives. He says that it starts with a complete surrendering to God...a “revolution of the soul”. Here are some great quotes from the book.

Humility – “When a person has an attitude problem, what he or she really has is an arrogance problem.”

Gratitude - “When we are grateful, we are most fully alive. Gratitude allows us to absorb every possible pleasure from a moment.” “When we embrace bitterness, we reject grace.”

Perseverance – “Transformation is both the miracle of God and the stewardship of man.”

Integrity – “Integrity is not just about who we are, but who we seek to become.” “Integrity is not about being ‘flawless’ but being ‘falseless’.”

Belonging – “When a person is whole, he or she sees love as limitless. We are designed to be conduits of love; the problem is we’ve been disconnected with the Source of love.”

Courage – Re: Joshua 1:1-9 – “God’s part...I will never leave you nor forsake you, and Joshua’s part...be strong and courageous.” “It was God’s promise, but it was Joshua’s responsibility.” “When God speaks, it requires immediate attention.”

Generosity – “generosity isn’t about how much we give but about how much it costs us.” “The generous see themselves as stewards of God’s treasures. They are not cautious in giving themselves away.” “They are the true investors in the human spirit.” “In giving they find themselves rich.” “The givers are unexplainably full.”

Fear of God – “When the fear of God is absent from our lives, we become slaves to lesser fears, and your fears define the boundaries of your life. When you fear God, you are subject only to Him.” “When we fear God, we find the freedom and courage to pursue dreams far too big for ourselves...God’s gift to us is Himself.”

Sex camp...WHAT?!?!

2007-08-05T15:46:00.000-07:00

So most of you know (Thanks Tam), that my son and I went camping the last couple of days. We had a chance to stay up at our churches new camp facility at Howard Prairie Lake. What a beautiful setting. This picture is the view from the beach at the camp. This is a side story, but our church has signed a lease with the county to operate the facility as a church camp. It needs a ton of work, but it is fun to see what has already been done. It should be officially operational by next Summer.

The staff at church were giving me a hard time, because they new the intent of the this trip. The plan was to talk with my son about the "birds and the bees". Pastor Ron affectionately entitled this trip "Sex Camp". I am not sure I can go with that one :)

Anyway, I wasn't at all nervous about talking to my son about this, but I definitely wanted to be appropriate and had questions of how much info is enough. I am not going to go into details on this post, but I think it is safe to say that the info I did give was more than enough. He responded numerous times with, "that's not right", "ewwww" and my favorite..."this is awkward". If you ask him, I am sure he would tell you the same, but I am thankful that he respected the talk and listened well.

Pastor Tim (Who was up at camp working while we were there, He is in charge of seeing the camp through), graced us with his presence at our evening smore-out. He was also kind enough to extend the talk my son and I were having. While we were sitting there, I asked my son to tell Tim what we had talked about. after he explained it the best he could, Tim made the statement, "so you understand the Bee-thing now". My son looked confused, so Tim went on. "You know how a bee sticks his stinger in you to sting you and when the bee pulls away the stinger tears off and then the bee dies? Well that is what happens." THANKS TIM! I think at that point my son officially freaked out. He still is asking me if Tim was serious.

I am not sure what to say???

"Reading Rainbow" Book 5 - Week...6

2007-08-02T10:32:00.000-07:00

So this week I've been reading through, "God's Blogs" by Lanny Donoho. I started picking away at this earlier in the week, then last night I started reading and couldn't put it down. Needless to say this is a quick read.

So, I think this is one of the most creative books I've ever read. the whole premise is that God is blogging and here are excerpts from that blog. God is pouring out who He is and what he intends for us, He is dispelling myths and wrong thinking and He speaks boldly and honestly to those that have done a disservice to him and his church. I do wish that hearing from God was this simple. Wouldn't it be great if their was a daily update.

Anyway, this book was fun, there are little nuggets of truth and encouragement all over through book. I think the author may take some liberties with theology(just my opinion), but it is not really sacreligious. There are great thoughts from start to finish. Every chapter is kind of a glimpse into God's thoughts on a specific subject. The chapter entitled Tsunami's responds to the questions, where is God when there is tragedy. This chapter ends with the statement, "Some people are asking me, 'Where are You when disaster hits?' I'm asking you the same question." Here are some qoutes from chapters I really enjoyed.

Anger - "Next time you feel yourself tighten up, and you know your face is red, and you're ready to yell or lash out, and you know that your anger is just abbout to take over, think about what it is that you want that you can't have (the thing that is making you angry). Then try to remember: The only way to really get what you want is to give up."

In His Image - "If you've read my book, you know that you guys...all of you...we're created in My image." "Reflections happen best when you are standing near to that which you want to reflect (That which you were made to reflect)."

Bubbles - (I think I am going to write a whole new post on this one. It really speaks to the "Christian Culture" discussion that we've had lately.)

Death - "...and then someday when you sit in a doctor's office and you hear what to so many is sobering news...you might even smile. Because you decided a long time ago to live like you were dying. And that included getting to know Me...and that means that you already know there is no such thing as death for you...

There is just moving from your house to mine. I'll see you soon."

Another thought on this book is that it is visually a lot of fun. think of a scratch pad a writer would use to scribble down thoughts, highlight mistakes and circle main points. This book is printed this way. i would definitely recommend this book. It's light and easy to read and it is packed full of great little thoughts and sayings. you could use this almost as a little daily read. Just pick a chapter a day, it would take about a month to go through in that routine.

Christian On-Air Personalties Are From Mars...Or Are They?

2007-08-01T13:29:00.000-07:00

Based on a lot of the discussion the other day over here, here and here.

I thought this was kind of another...thinking about it...post.

I Want To Really Live

2007-08-01T11:35:00.000-07:00

After reading My last book and also digging into one of the new ones I am working on, I am convinced of our need to be changed to reflect the character of God. I wouldn't say this is a new revelation for me but one God is having me focus on more intently. I love this quote from the McManus book I am reading. "God formed us in his image and then breathed life into us. God's life in us is sustained by character. When we lose the character of God, we lose the life of God in us. But to have his character, we must first die to ourselves, because to become like Him is what it means to really live."

I read this today and I was prompted to pass this info along to you. Let God examine your character. If we are not becoming more like Christ, He is not "living" in us.

Next Book - Week 6

2007-07-31T11:42:00.000-07:00

So this week I am reading through a fun book. It is "God's Blogs" by Lanny Donoho. The premise of this book is that God has something to say and he wants us all to hear it. So, God has started a blog :) It takes time to hear God speak(truths from His word) about His character, His love for us, His passions and desires. It should be a lot of fun. I will start digging into it tonight.

Table Rock on Facebook

2007-07-30T22:20:00.000-07:00

If you are not famliar with Facebook, it is time to check it out. It is a new contender in the online community movement. I've been playing with it for about a month now. At one time I was a part of MySpace and found it to be too juvenile and sexual. It was not the place I wanted to blog and find relationship. Face book was originally created to connect students at a college, but now has grown to one of the largest and definitely fastest growing online community. It's kind of fun to invite friends and meet new people, like-minded people and reconnect with old friends. I've created a new group on Facebook for Table rock Fellowship people. If you'd like to join and add me as a friend, head here. If you are an attender of TRF and you'd like to join the Table Rock Fellowship group, head here. If you'd like some great practical info on getting started with Facebook, head here, here and here
Enjoy!

Jesus...On Sale, Aisle 6

2007-07-30T10:42:00.000-07:00

Have you seen shirts that have the really clever phrases that speak of our "Christian" culture? I am sure you have. There are all kinds. Some look good, some look terrible. Some are clever, some are dumb. I have been ranting in my head lately over what seems like and increased volume of "Christian" marketing. It drives me nuts that there is a "Christian" music style. What is that anyway? Does that mean that it is a certain musical style? Does it mean it is because the lyrics are Christian? Does it mean that the person performing or writing the songs is Christian? (unfortunately, most CCM experts would say that last one does not define a Christian musician.) See my confusion/frustration. We (and I say this, because I support this industry by buying it's products) have successfully created a box in which we have placed the Gospel of Jesus and then have slapped a price tag on it. Has the marketing of Jesus truly spread the Gospel of Jesus? Has a t-shirt, claiming that "Jesus Is My Homeboy", led someone to the transforming Grace of God? Maybe? If none of these "products" were available, would the Gospel of Jesus still be heard and preached...Yes.

This is all something that is extremely confusing and also frustrating to me. I have bought into the Christian celebrity. If so-and-so has written it, it must be God breathed and valuable, especially cause it's the biggest and most expensive item here. I don't know how you guys feel about all this. Please hear me. There are amazing authors and songwriters and poets and teachers out there. we need to hear from these people. There is a ton of wisdom that can be gained by their experiences with God. In the same way, are we limited to this knowledge and wisdom by how much we can spend or what a publisher or record label or radio station thinks we should read, see or hear? It is a maddening circle.

I have been so encouraged lately to hear of churches like Life Church and New Spring and many others that have decided that there resources should be free and there should not be a price on getting the Gospel of Jesus into their community's hands. I respect this so much. I have been thinking about, what if, our church offered all the sermon CD's for free? Have we limited the spread of the Gospel by a price on a CD? I know the heart of our staff and they would be horrified if that were the case. I don't know if it is, but it is something that should be discussed.

So anyway, I don't know if I gotten anywhere with this besides taking on a good rant. I read this post today and it made me think more about what has been on my mind for the last week. I was referred to that post by this guy here. Take some time to read these articles and comments. I'd like to hear what you think.

God's Beauty Through A Child

2007-07-29T17:03:00.000-07:00

Today at church, I was talking to one of our electric players and he reminded me of this young girl named Akaine (thanks Al). I remembered reading about her a long time ago. Al sent me the link to her website. This 12 year old girl had a life changing spiritual transformation when she was 4. This transformation lead her Atheistic parents to the Lord. At the age of 4 she began painting and writing poetry and is considered to be one of the 20 greatest artist/poets alive today. She is surrendered to the fact that God gave her a gift and this gift is to be used to display God and His love to others. She is 12!!! I love this. I am going to try and get a hold of one of the books she has co written about her life. Yes, one of the books she has co-written. This story and this girl are amazing! This picture is one of her famous paintings. It is called "Prince Of Peace". She painted it when she was 8!

"Reading Rainbow" Book 4 - Week...5

2007-07-28T13:54:00.000-07:00

So I had to take last week off from reading due to my crazy schedule during the fair. But I am back up and running.

This week I read through the book "Who You Are When No One's looking" by Bill Hybels. Here is the basic overview. Easy book to read. A quick read actually. Great simple insight into character and how it affects our life. It is a book that challenges us to evaluate and take the next step to seeing our lives transformed buy God's power.

Bill spent the first half of the book focused on specific character traits. Each chapter was dedicated to a specific trait - Courage, Discipline, Vision, Endurance. The second half of the book was dedicated to forms of love - Tender Love, Tough Love, Sacrificial Love, Radical Love. The way Bill writes and teaches is very simple to understand. Anyone could read this book and walk away with a challenge and a better understanding of what scripture says about our character in Christ. I really appreciated the chapter on Discipline and Vision. Both of which are areas of my life that God is working overtime on. The chapters dealing with love begin by declaring our need to be living lives of empathy and then continues on to see how that looks in dealing with work, relationships and then further on into dealing with issues and trials. There is an excellent balance of turning the other cheek and speaking the truth in love. Both extremely valid, both necessary. In chapter 9 Bill discusses Matthew 5:39-41 from the sermon on the mount. It is one of the best practical teachings on that passage I have ever heard or read.

Anyone can read this book. I would definitely recommend it. It is practical, challenging and speaks in love. Bill truly cares about the character of the Christian community. You hear and feel this with everything he writes.

Here are some great quotes from the book...

Courage - "Every single day we make choices that show whether we are courageous or cowardly. We choose between the right thing and the convenient thing, sticking to a conviction or caving in for the sake of comfort, greed and approval. We choose to either take a carefully thought out risk or to crawl into a shrinking shell of safety, security and inactivity. We choose either to believe in God and trust Him, even though we do not always understand His ways, or to second-guess Him and cower in corners of doubt and fear."

Discipline - "Delayed gratification. Advanced decision making. Accountability. These six words define discipline and tell how to achieve it."

Vision - "Vision is the God-given ability to catch a glimpse of what God wants to do through your life, if you dedicate yourself to Him."

Endurance - "You build endurance by learning how to crash through quitting points." "That is when ordinary people like you and me become extraordinary in God's sight."

Love - re:Matthew 23:13-33, "Jesus said these things because they were true. His words were upsetting, difficult to receive, tough to swallow-but true."

"He or she must believe that truth telling is more important than peace keeping...that the well being of the other person is more important then the current comfort level in the relationship."

"True personal fulfillment never comes through self-gratification."

"Jesus is the exact opposite of a thief. He does not come to rob, but to give. He does not break into anyone's life; He stands at the door and knocks. If invited in, He wanders around the house placing precious objects on the mantels, on the shelves and in the cupboards. He fills up the person's life with everything life is worth living for: purpose, fulfillment, meaning, love, peace, confidence, security and even freedom."

Tagged

2007-07-27T13:09:00.000-07:00

So I received a challenge from my wife today. She was "tagged" by another blogger to answer some questions and post them up. She then "tagged" me to do the same. So here we go...

5 things I wanna do before I die:

1-Be debt free
2-Travel around Europe
3-See Tammy's mom and family come to know the Lord!
4-Give my wife the amazing honeymoon we never really had
5-Experience all drivers on the road driving as well as I do

5 things I can do:

1-Snore, loud.
2-Have Ice Cream everyday (I shouldn't and I don't, but I could)
3-Sit for hours on my computer doing things like this and let my day waste away
4-Drink coffee anytime, anywhere
5-Take a mean slap from my wife...like a man!

5 things I cannot do:

1-Not get upset at the drivers on the road around me
2-Eat and enjoy eggplant
3-The splits (ouch)
4-Listen to my son eat with his mouth open
5-Not use my computer for one day

5 things that make a woman attractive to me:

1-Relationship w/God
2-Confidence
3-Easy going
4-Interested in learning
5-Laughs at my jokes

5 celebrities I crush on:

I had some great answers for this, but I really only have one crush. I am madly, deeply in love with my wife. No this is not trying to earn points, I just can't say there is another, in any way, because there isn't. By the way, everything on the "What makes a Woman attractive" list...she has...and more.

Deep Thoughts From My Son

2007-07-26T23:33:00.000-07:00

I am so tired. I can't get into a normal schedule this week. All the late nights last week have screwed up my sleep patterns. We have been at my parents house the last 4 nights painting. That's exhausting. I am so sick of paint. I have paint all over me and I am too tired to pick it off.

We are going to bed and my son just walks in. He is really good at whining at night. Remember, this kid is 10 and he still whines, but only at night. For some reason, when the clock hits 9 PM he comes down with all sorts of ailments, every muscle in his body starts to hurt and he can't stop coughing. So he is standing here by the bed talking to his Mom and he is whining, cause the movie we just watched made him a little scared. We just watched "The Last Mimzy". Cute kids movie...not at all scary, seriously. His mom is trying to offer suggestions to help him sleep. Maybe a light on? He then replies with "I can't sleep with the light on, because at night, the light is too stimulating and it makes me pee".

I don't know what else to say...

Kutless PRS Contest

2007-07-24T13:07:00.000-07:00

So the band Kutless is holding a contest. They are looking for people to join them for one song only at their major festival dates this Summer. They will pick 6 winners, one for each festival. they will videotape the performances and host them on youtube. They will then pick the best of the 6 and that person will win a guitar and some other nice prizes. One of our guitar players for the worship team at TRF decided it would be fun to try out. This is his tryout video.

My Son and a Video Camera

2007-07-23T23:45:00.001-07:00

This is what happens when a 9 year old gets a hold of a video camera!

Mixing It Up - Thoughts

2007-07-23T20:31:00.000-07:00

Fair week is insane. It is a high energy, non-stop party. It is not some crazy frat party, but it is a gathering/party that only happens once a year for many people and they take advantage of it. I am not as tired as I thought I'd be, but I am pretty gone. I really enjoyed myself. I love engineering! So, to do what I love 14 hours a day for a week, is pretty awesome. I love the crew I worked with and Garon(owner of the sound company) is an awesome Christian guy that loves what he does as well. So here are some thoughts from the week...

-There are some great country tunes, but I still am not a huge fan of country music.

-Coors Light smells like pee

-Have you ever seen a cow take a shower and then get blow dried with an 18" comb and an air compressor? I have.

-13 year old girls can dress like sluts(does that sound harsh? Oh well, I am a Dad and I mean it.)

-I have never seen so much crack in one place in my entire life!!!

-If you ever have a chance, you have to try a deep fried candy bar. But don't say I didn't warn you.

-I hate "musician attitude"! I refuse to have that in our worship ministry.

-I really missed my wife

-I really missed my kids

-Carnies should have their own country...or should I say planet.

-Why is it okay for cows to crap wherever they want and no one cleans it up?

-What really happened in the 60's and 70's, cause everyone that really "lived" in that age, seem to not be able to remember anything.

-Are there no dentists in our valley???

I could go on forever, but maybe I should stop there. It could get even uglier. So I said I'd post a couple of pics, but I have one I want to post right now. Here is my bro running the stage on Saturday night with Joan Jett in the background. He's a stud!

Mixing It Up - Day 6

2007-07-22T21:10:00.001-07:00

It is finished! That is all...

Mixing It Up - Day 5

2007-07-22T01:11:00.000-07:00

I'm exhausted!

This was a long day. I think mostly cause my body is getting tired. I seriously leave my chair at the console a total of about 30 minutes in the 14 hour day. We have 6-7 bands a day and there is 20-30 minutes time between a band ending and a band starting. It's crazy.

We stayed late tonight to pack the main stage out. Joan Jett and the Blackhearts were on the main stage tonight. I am really proud of my brother. They roped him into running Monitors for the concert. After the concert, the manager(who was also the keyboard player) said it was one of the best monitor shows they have had and got my bro's phone # and gave my bro his business card. Very cool. Maybe some options down the road. My bro has worked hard and he is good and it is getting noticed...nice!

So, it is 1:15. My first band was this morning at 10AM. My first band tomorrow is at 10AM. I just walked in the door, had a glazed donut and now I am going to take a quick shower and go to bed.

I'll fill you guys in with more details and pics tomorrow!

Goodnight.....

Mixing It Up - Day 4

2007-07-21T00:37:00.000-07:00

I can't believe day 4 is gone. Only 2 more days. It has flown by. We had a pretty quiet day today. No big events on the main stage. They had "Fair-A-Palooza". Kind of a big gig for local bands. My brother mixed FOH for them and had a great time on the main system. For any techies out there, the main system is...

18-L-Acoustics DvDosc Cabs
10-L-Acoustics SB28 Dual Subs
Monitors are L-Acoustics 12XT's
Lab Grubben power amps
FOH Console-Yamaha PM5d
Mixing Console-Soundcraft Series Five

Cool stuff!

Tomorrow night is Joan Jett and the Blackhearts. that should be a kick.

Mixing today for me was, a bluegrass quintet, Brass Band, 2-Blues bands and 2-Country Bands. Nothing fancy, but some solid groups. I had a lot of fun with one of the blues bands, "Masters of the Obvious". Funny guys, lots of jokes from stage and they had a great lead player, so that was fun. It was very sweet, Taylor Rose was back today. She was playing the small stage today and she and her family came over to say hi. Nice family.

Food was OK today, although the Mac-n-Cheese was good. And I had an awesome chocolate chunk cookie! No big bands, so they slacked off a little.

Alright, tomorrow I get to "herd cats" again. I cannot believe the "Old Time Fiddlers" are back for a 3rd time. I guess they've kind of grown on me. Tomorrow should be fun. I've got 2 loud rock bands! I like!

My Girl

2007-07-20T09:58:00.000-07:00

I love my little girl! She is not so little anymore...13...but she'll always be my little girl. She has been gone for 2 weeks at camp and came back yesterday. When I got home last night, I got the biggest hug. I am so proud of her. She loves to make people smile, she is always helping someone and her love for music and worshiping God is amazing. She's been leading worship at TRF for the Jr High and the Kids Worship. She writes her own songs and they are awesome. She shared one with me last night that she wrote at camp. I love her and I just wanted to let everyone know!

Mixing It Up - Day 3

2007-07-20T01:14:00.001-07:00

Well, I said I would try and have some pictures tonight, but I think I will wait till the end of the week and upload them to my Flickr account and then you can go at them.

Today was cool...good food again. Burgers for lunch...nice. It has been beautiful weather. It did rain the first day, but has been great since. Normally fair week is in the 100's, but it has been in the 80's. that makes me happy, cause I tend to sweat.

Today I started out by "Herding Cats" again. I started with the Old Time Fiddlers. Don Mattox was back so that was cool. Then a little break in the action. We had Brad's Reptile World, showing off snakes and lizards and gators...oh my. I am serious about the gator. They had a baby alligator that everybody got to pet and play with. Thankfully no one lost and eye. After the reptiles, we had a Southern Rock Band, a 12 year old named Taylor Rose and 2 Country bands(country, country, country). When I am done with the fair I will have a day of nothing but Metallica and Disturbed to clear my mind!

I have to take a second and talk about Taylor Rose. This girl was a doll. She and her family(Dad, Mom and Little Sister) were all in the band. Dad played acoustic and harmonica, mom played Bass, Little Sis played Mandolin and Taylor Played Acoustic, Fiddle and sang. She can sing! She'd really good. She has a great country voice and she loves what she does. The family has been to Nashville twice and have met with some managers and she is on her way. She was so sweet. She came up to me while one of the country bands was playing(they stayed to hear the next band) and tried to hand me money for running sound. She said that she was very grateful and that I did a good job and she wanted me to have this. I was honored. I politely told her that I was already being payed and I couldn't take her money, but I would love a CD. Her eyes lit up seeing I was interested in her music...and I was. She came a little while later and handed me a CD and a signed promo picture. How cute is that. I hope she does well and I hope she never loses how much she loves what she does. Here is the promo pic...

Finally, I end this post with a question. Ladies help me with this. Why are women interested in getting half drunk and then making fools of themselves in front of a live band and audience. Guys have a ton of us stuff we do that would definitely be labeled as stupid, but this is something we don't do. Anyway, I'd love to get your thoughts. If you want the story on this one, you'll have to wait. Too much to write right now. I'll just say that I did have to eventually call security and have the stage cleared. Yes...the stage cleared.

Last thought...this talk reminds me of a funny shirt I saw someone wearing today. It said, "All of us have the right to be idiots, you are just abusing the privilege."

Book Update - Week 4

2007-07-20T01:10:00.000-07:00

Well, I do not believe I will be able to finish my book this week. With my schedule right now, I have zero time to read. I am leaving the house by 10AM and not returning till 12AM. I do not have more than 5 minutes break at the fair right now and when I get home, I am spending 30 minutes catching up with you and the family and then crashing...getting up around 9 and doing it again. It is a crazy schedule that I am doing OK with, but I will not have a chance to read. I will pick the book up again on Sunday PM and I should finish it by Tuesday PM, so I may try and get 2 in next week. I have failed a the 10 in 10, but I still think I can get a total of 10 in by the end of 10 weeks. thanks for hanging with me!

Mixing It Up Day 2

2007-07-19T00:27:00.000-07:00

So today was fun! To start out, the food rocked today. For lunch I had Chicken Marsala, Salad and Fruit. For dinner I had, Beef Stroganoff, Baked Potato, Salad and for dessert...Tiramisu. Awesome. The main act tonight was Phil Vasser with opening act Josh Gracin(the American Idol dude). The crew had a great day with these artists and their staff. A lot different than last night's chaos with the Lynard Skynard crew.

There was a strange event today though. Behind the main stage area is a small pond. My boss(this week), brings his houseboat during the fair and just sleeps on it, because of his need to be around 24 hrs a day. He was sitting on the boat and heard someone screaming that a lady was drowning. Sure enough a lady was in the water behind his boat. He headed out to her, just in time to grab her as she was going under and pulled her to shore. The lady was blue and not breathing. The EMT's showed up and eventually she was doing well. Turns out she was high on Meth and she and her boyfriend were trying to cross to the other side of the pond and it was too cold and she almost drowned. Talking to my boss was interesting. He is still pretty shaken up, but really felt(because of a bunch of things leading up to the event) that God had placed him there today just to save that ladies life. Pretty cool.

So, I mixed a solo acoustic act today. He was actually one of our weathermen a couple years back. Nice guy, strong personality, I'll leave it at that. After that, we had a group of about 25 senior citizens called "The Old Time Fiddlers". I was warned that mixing this group would be the equivalent of "herding cats". Great analogy...dead on! There were a couple in the group that were very talented, but, only a couple. I get to open with them again tomorrow. The next band was called "The Screaming Gulch". These guys were a scream. They are a rockabilly band with an emphasis on crazy. Very funny guys and great musicians. Kind of a treat was that Dave Maddox of the original Maddox Brothers sat in for a couple of songs. This guys is a legend. Johnny Cash once opened for the Maddox Brothers. Check them out.We had a great country band today. Nice mix of modern and traditional country. The vocalists were great and the band was tight. Next to last were the "Rhythm Kings". These guys are amazing. They are a blues band. they are tight, loud, and Dave, the lead singer has got a great deep rich blues voice. Very fun. I have to say now that as the day went on, the PA got a little louder as each band got up and as each band got better. At the end of the blues set, I thought I couldn't go louder, but the last band was amazing! It was a solo act with a great band. Her name is Debra Arlyn. I would say she is a cross between Maroon 5 and Alysha Keys. If you haven't heard of Debra, I really believe you will. She has an amazing voice, she's a great keyboard player and I can't say enough about her band. I would expect to hear her on the radio at anytime. I hope they make, it, cause there is a niche for them. They sounded great!

So tomorrow brings some new bands and new adventures. I will try and get more pics up tomorrow. We've got a bunch.

Mixing It Up Day 1

2007-07-18T00:38:00.000-07:00

I believe that most people who write blogs are always looking for a story. After a day at the Jackson County Fair, I have 100's. That place is crazy. Constant activity, people of all types, teenagers trying to hook up with other teenagers(this is really funny to watch!) and cows. Lots of cows and pigs and goats(oh my...).

I had a blast today. The "job" was pretty easy today I will be mixing 7 different acts a day. Today I only had a bluegrass duo, a blues duo, 2 guys with acoustics, a clown, a dance troupe and a country band. I was bummed there was only 1 band, but tomorrow I have 7 bands, starting with a bluegrass/fiddle group consisting of 12 "seniors". that should be fun. The closing band tonight went 20 minutes past there time, but the crowd from the Lynard Skynard concert had just let out and they were beer'd up and rowdy, so the band kept playing. It was pretty fun. Lots of Hank Williams and a little Garth to close it up. I'm not much of a country music guy, but after seeing it live, I think I get it a little bit.

Some bummers though. the fair board has been making really poor decisions...in my opinion...over shows coming in, marketing and there is just a general "biting the hand the feeds you" thing going on. My brother was policing the FOH engineer for the Lynard Skynard concert and there was almost a brawl over volume regulations(the Lynard Skynard crew was not too nice!!!). After doing his job, my bro found out that the Fair Board had asked them to do one thing and had told the Lynard Skynard crew another. They fed my brother to the lions...NOT COOL! I do believe there will be some things going down between the sound company and the fair. It's too bad. Garon Lee Sound(who I am working for this week) is run by a great crew of guys with complete integrity. If you ever need anything for live sound and rental...call Garon Lee Sound in Jacksonville Oregon!

Alright, back to the good. Here are some pics...

Here is my ride for the week...

Notice what it says...CEO and VIP Shuttle...Pimpin'

Dinner...Salmon...Green Room...Skynard knows how to eat, or at least they know what to ask for.

This is my offcie for the week!

Mixing It Up

2007-07-16T17:58:00.000-07:00

So I am on vacation this week (kind of) to do something I love. Many of you know that before I was a Pastor, I worked as an audio engineer. I did mostly studio work, but spent quite a bit of time mixing live bands. I miss it, but my responsibilities at TRF let me keep my hands in it.

So this week I will be mixing the dinner stage for the Jackson County Fair. I am really looking forward to being outside all week (looks like we will have cooler weather) and also meeting people from around our region. It will be a great opportunity to tap into the Southern Oregon music scene and see what's going on. Even if it is a little "Southern Oregon"...it should be fun.

I'm basically working from 10-10, so I will post up each evening with some pics of what the day looked like. You should have something in your email or reader when you get up each morning.

I am also reading through this weeks book for "Reading Rainbow". I've got a couple chapters down already, and it's a smaller book, so I'm not stressing about this one, even with my fair schedule.

Wish me luck...and I am sure I will need a little patience dealing with some of the infamous "music" crowd.

Links and Stuff

2007-07-15T20:23:00.000-07:00

So I was hanging out with my computer wondering if I should try to think of something cool to say and I've got nothing. It's Sunday PM and I'm a little brain dead. So here's a little basic info and some cool links to cool things that other people have said.

Mom and Dad are here. They got the keys to their house today. They are moving down here to be near us and we are excited. Dad is retiring after 43 years as a Pastor. WOW! I have to say, I have an amazing example and leader in him to model my life and Pastoral career. He has been the Pastor of First baptist Church of Eugene for the last 17 years, so it has been an awesome ministry to end his career on. Unfortunately it is mostly health that is causing the end to his run. I am sure he and my mom will get involved down here and God will still use the both of them in amazing ways.

I have to say CONGRATS! to Bran, Nevvy, Shawn and my bro. They are all involved at church and in ministry with me and they have all had babies in the last week! Crazy!

So I've been reading through some of the blogs I receive via my reader and here is some cool stuff that came through today...

I've really enjoyed the spiritual wisdom and humble attitude of Perry Noble at New Spring Church. He just had a little girl recently so a lot of his posts have talked about her. Here's a great link to some of his Sunday PM thoughts.

The guys over at Lifechurch.tv have put together a site called YouVersion. it is an interactive online Bible. Check out this link and read more about it. I am excited to put this to test when it is officially launched.

I saw this post over at Mandy's Blog originally and it linked to an article talking about one cable companies decision to "punish" their delinquent customers. You might get a kick out of this!

Finally...this just ticks me off. Terry Storch posted this on his blog. This is our "Christian" community hard at work. Whether we agree with a Hindu prayer in the Senate, is not the issue here. The issue is how some so-called believers choose to "combat" what they disagree with. In doing so, they continue to trash the name of Jesus and the world insists on wrapping me up in the same package as them. You can check the link out here.

Next Book - Week 4

2007-07-15T15:44:00.000-07:00

For the next installment of "Reading Rainbow", I will be reading,
" Who You Are When No One's Looking" by Bill Hybels.

I am excited to read through this book. Bill is a leader of leaders and I am sure he will have a lot of wisdom and challenge to those in leadership to live life with integrity. It isn't a very large book, so it should be easy on my head, unlike last week. I won't have a lot of free time this week. I am taking some vacation time to do something I love, but I'll post about that later.

So look for the review later this week!

StumbleUpon

2007-07-14T11:26:00.001-07:00

So I was reading this post here (Thanks Matt for the Buzz list) and thought it would be cool to check into one of the online services he mentioned. StumbleUpon. I've been playing with this for the last day or so, and I am addicted. Essentially, StumbleUpon lets you classify your interests and then allows you to see websites...blogs...etc, that correspond to your interests. I have been sitting here all morning clicking the "StumbleUpon" button and seeing all sorts of amazing websites, blogs, art and tech stuff. Very cool. In the long run, it may even bring me some traffic to my blog, so it is win, win.

If you want to check it out, head over to the StumbleUpon website or click the StumbleUpon link in my left navigation bar. This will take you to my personal page on StumbleUpon.

"Reading Rainbow" - Week 3...Book 3

2007-07-13T18:06:00.000-07:00

OK...my head hurts.This book was intense.

This week I read through "Simply Christian" by N.T. Wright.

First of all, let me get the basic critique out of the way. I said earlier this week that this was more of a "month" book than a "week" book. I needed to read things twice or even three times to let it soak in and many times I did not have the time to do so. This book was really hard to read for me. He spoke in long run on sentences with often 3, 4 or even 5 ideas running around in that one sentence. This book was definitely not simple and with all the thought and theology that went into this book, I would say that Christianity is definitely not simple.

So, that is the bad...but there was a ton of good. The reason this book was so intense is that Wright spent a lot of time explaining the views of Christianity (often by comparing the views of other religions to it) to point out that Christianity in it's pure form IS simple. Here is a statement from the book...

"At the heart of the Christian ethic is humility; at the heart it's parodies, pride. Different roads with different destinations, and the destinations color the character of those who travel by them."

Christianity is simply living out a life dedicated to the world God has created for us through His Son Jesus. Wright spent time looking at different theologies (Pantheism, Deism) to show how we can often go astray by how we feel or what we think, versus what is true through God's eyes and Word. I love the intent in this book, which I saw as stripping ourselves of everything culture and society have made of Christianity and getting back to it's true purpose. Our lives are an opportunity to share Him with others. Wright spoke to the churches role, worships role and relationships role in our faith walk.

I appreciated his constant reminder of our life in Christ being "alive". An amazing story that we are a part of and have the opportunity to write chapters into. I also appreciated his discussion on the translation of scripture. Is it literal or metaphorical? Is it abstract or concrete? Could the bible at times be abstract in explaining literal truth? See why my head hurts!

Here's the deal on this book. This is a deep book that only taps into certain discussions of Christian theology. He gives, at the end of the book, More options to dig deeper (I'm going to wait on digging into those options, by the way). If someone wants to keep this education going, it could be endless. But, my bet is that if we asked Wright, he would tell us, stop reading into everything and live the life. I really got that from him. Wright is brilliant and is using his brilliance to speak frankly and honestly to all self-proclaimed Christians. He is tired of seeing us "Christians" screw up the life God has intended for us. Unfortunately we often do this through our convictions and beliefs (think of the suicide bombers). We can get so caught up in theologies and traditions (all of which can be very valid and worshipful) that we forget to actually live as Christians. He wanted to make sure we knew that we don't have to wait for some far off time to go to some far off heaven to experience God. God is here...now.

Here are some quotes from the book...

"Christianity is all about the belief that the living God, in fulfillment of His promises and as the climax of the story of Israel, has accomplished all this-the finding, the saving, the giving of new life-in Jesus. He has done it."

"The pain and tears of all the years were met together on Calvary. The sorrow of heaven joined with the anguish of earth;the forgiving love stored up in God's future was poured out in the present;the voices that echo in a million human hearts, crying for justice, longing for spirituality, eager for relationship, yearning for beauty, drew themselves together in a final scream of desolation."

"...the resurrection of Jesus doesn't leave us as passive, helpless spectators. We find ourselves lifted up, set on our feet, given new breath in our lungs, and commissioned to go and make new creation happen in the world."

"We are called to be part of God's new creation, called to be agents of that new creation here and now. We are called to model and display that new creation in symphonies and family life, in restorative justice and poetry, in holiness and service to the poor, in politics and painting."

"When you see the dawn breaking, you think back to the darkness in a new way. "Sin" is not simply the breaking of a law. It is the missing of an opportunity."

Blog Milestone

2007-07-12T21:06:00.000-07:00

I had to take a sec and say thank you to all who come here and put up with my bantering. Today this blog reached 2 small milestones. This is post 101 and this site has now had 1,000 visitors. That's kind of cool.

When I started this blog, it was not my intention to gain a lot of attention, and trust me...I am a long way from a lot of attention (Check out Los...he's at 230,000 visitors!). But I am very grateful for the attention I have gotten from all of you. It has been fun to watch over the last month how more and more of you are getting involved, commenting, subscribing and keeping me going. I started this blog with the intention of challenging myself to be disciplined to something. I say that it has been a success. BUT, it has been a success, because you guys have kept me going.

Thanks to everyone hanging out!!!

All this talk makes me think of this video post here...check it out. (Click on Volunteer Appreciation Night and watch the "Because Of You" Video - Nevin...this is for you baby!)

Book Update

2007-07-12T13:46:00.000-07:00

So I am going to be close to finishing the next book in the "Reading Rainbow". This book has been intense. I probably bit off a little more than I should have chewed, seeing as how I am reading this in a week. This is probably more of a "month" book.

With that being said, it has been intriguing to read. My Dad and I had a great discussion last night, spurred on by the book, about the divinity of Jesus.

So, look for the review tomorrow!

Funny Signage

2007-07-10T13:55:00.000-07:00

I saw this the other day over here.

The caption read...

"it did catch me a bit off guard to find out that they do not allow dogs to smoke cigarettes when cats are nearby"

The SHLOG

2007-07-10T12:40:00.001-07:00

I wanted to take a second to remind you guys of a great Blog. Shaun Groves has been on tour this year to promote the Word of God and the work of Compassion International. His journeys have been great to read about. Like this one today. Very encouraging and a great example to someone like me, who is trying to learn to be more of a conversation person. I've really enjoyed his dry humor and his honest insight into loving a world in need.

Just wanted to give him a nod.

Check him out!

I Remember Being 10

2007-07-10T09:14:00.000-07:00

Even more than that, I remember Summer Vacation! I miss Summer Vacation. It's not always that fun to leave in the morning to work before everyone is up, knowing that they will be swimming or BBQ'ing or going to the park or doing nothing.

Anyway, this is not necessarily about me...

My son had a friend sleep over last night. They are best buds. They decided to sleep outside in a tent under the stars. It's been pretty warm here, so it seemed like a great idea to enjoy the evening. We did have a long discussion about how we did not want to see them at 2 in the morning claiming they are scared and have to move indoors. no way, it was all or nothing. Well, they made it. I went out this AM to wake them up and this is what I saw...

They had obviously come into the house and raided it for snacks. But what puzzled me was these two items...

They explained to me that they had gone through the garage and had found items that would allow them to set a trap for any intruders.

SO, I need your help! If you see a shiny man walking around with perfectly pressed pants and smelling of chicken...call the POLICE!

Next Book - Week 3

2007-07-08T14:45:00.001-07:00

This week for "Reading Rainbow" I will be digging into the book "Simply Christian" by N.T. Wright.

I started this book on Friday PM and have gotten through the first 4 chapters (of about 16). This is going to be an intense book. This book is a deep thinker. I am finding myself reading a little slower to make sure I don't miss anything and sometimes reading things twice. I don't want to miss anything. I've been using little post-it notes to mark things and I've already gone through a stack of them. It may be difficult to fit the whole review in one post, so I may give you a couple. It has been great to hear Wright's passionate desire to know Jesus and to study Him authentically. he spent time in the first chapter explaining incorrect world views of Christianity that I think were right on.

Anyway, I am looking forward to sharing this one with you on Friday!

They Hate The Church

2007-07-07T10:41:00.000-07:00

I am always very intrigued by what non-Christian/religious people think of our little Christian world. In talking to some, there is often a sense of interest, but more in the story of Jesus than in what our church is about. God is definitely teaching me how to relate to those who don't like the church. How do I listen when I so desperately want to just shake them. I'm learning.

I wanted to post a link to an interesting article. I was reading this blog and saw a link to an article and I read and read. It is an article written for the "The Stranger" and online newspaper in Seattle. that should clue you in that this discussion by non-Christian people is going to be pretty non-Christian. The writers attended 31 different churches in one month and then wrote their reviews. As I read through them, most were written from the sense that the writer was never going to be interested in the church in the first place. May not be a very unbiased...but interesting none the less.

If you choose to read through this article, please be warned that it is pretty harsh and there is some abusive language. Which means that you should probably read through this article. This is the mission field we live in right now. Remember, we don't evangelize...God does, but we need to be his vessel and light.

Check out the article here

Sorry...I had to

2007-07-07T10:15:00.000-07:00

This is too funny to pass up. Tam came across this while researching for a post of hers. I couldn't resist. Remember, all hate mail can go to Pastor Ron.

personalDNA

2007-07-06T19:04:00.000-07:00

This has been running around the blogging world the last couple of days. My wife took this test yesterday and I finally took it today. It is scary how true it is. As Tam and I read through my results, she kept saying, "Oh my gosh, that's right". Anyway...

My personalDNA Report and you can take the test here.

Let me know what you guys find out!

Reading Rainbow - Week 2...Book2

2007-07-06T10:24:00.000-07:00

This week I focused on "The blogging Church" by Brian Bailey and Terry Storch.

I was actually pleasantly surprised with this book. I knew going into this book that I was in for a lot of great information and disciplines in creating and maintaining a blog. I did not expect how creatively it was written. I think we have certain expectations for "how-to" books and this one surpassed my expectations.

If you have started a blog or are just thinking about it, grab this book. There is a lot of focus on churches creating and using blogs, but not to the extent that it leaves the individual out. The writers took time to teach us a little history as well as give us clear detailed info on the how, why and where of the blog world. Chapter 9 & 10 focus on starting a blog and then building a blog well. I love chapter 11 titled "Build A Really Bad Blog". It's kind of the how-to in reverse.

One of the coolest things in the book was hearing from bloggers around the country about their take on blogging and how it has affected their lives or the lives of the businesses/churches they are involved with. I enjoyed hearing the real world ideas.

This book really starts from the beginning by asking 3 questions...
-Is it a tool or a toy?
-What problem are you trying to solve?
-What is the return on ministry?

The writers go on to explain that "Blogs are tools, not toys. Blogs help solve real problems. Blogs deliver a true return on ministry."

I also appreciate the hopeful message from start to finish. As churches and Christ-followers, we have an amazing opportunity to share our story with others. The blog world is open and ready for the taking. This book consistently draws you back to intent. The writers want you to be excited about who God is in your life and they want that to burst out on your blog.

I would highly recommend this book to anyone thinking of or already in the blogging world. It's very easy to read. It is not extremely technical. And when it does get technical, they have done a great job of explaining themselves so no one gets left behind. It has real life stories and history. It is a quick read. I thought this would take me longer than some of the other books I have planned for the "Reading Rainbow", but this read very smooth.

If you want to check in on the writer's blogs, take some time to say thank you for their book.

Terry Storch is on staff at Lifechurch.tv in Oklahoma

Brian Bailey is on staff at Fellowship Church in Dallas Texas

Here are a couple of great quotes from the book...

"Church is the last place where you should invest a lot of time pretending to be perfect. The standard has already been set, and everyone has been found lacking."

"Whether online or in person, reaching out is about risk. Walking across the room and introducing yourselves involves risk, and the blogosphere is no different."

"If we want to have any hope of communicating with on another, and learning from one another, we have to realize that we're all self-centered sinners, trying to do the best we can in this life for our family, our community, and ourselves."

"When passion, mistakes, answered prayers, and struggles are shared openly and honestly, people can connect with the church beyond the weekend services."

Proud Husband!

2007-07-05T20:51:00.000-07:00

I am extremely blessed to know my wife. She is wise, funny, gorgeous and an amazing friend and mother. She is an awesome writer and I am excited to announce that she has her own blog now. i love her thoughts. i love the way she writes and now I love that I can share that with you.

Go check her blog out!!!!

Click Comments

2007-07-05T19:12:00.000-07:00

You may have noticed that the click comments are taken down. I had a good time trying them out, but I realize that they probably aren't helping accomplish my goals. My main goal on this blog is to get others involved in the conversation process. With click comments, this may have kept some from actually commenting on the topic at hand. Instead it only gave favorable options.

So, jump in...get involved. When you read a post and you have a question, comment and ask. When your read a post and you disagree...or agree, comment and let's hear your voice. I want to converse with people, not just talk at you.

There was a great post over here today. It speaks to this. Take time to read the post and the comments. It lets you see how we bloggers feel about people responding to what we say. By the way...I won't say who was the "Quoted" blogger on Anne's post ;)

Buy an iPhone...Kill a Kid

2007-07-05T11:45:00.000-07:00

I've been reading an awful lot about the iPhone. Rightly so, it is big news and is a very cool little gadget for us techies. I've been reading about people who have one, people who want one and to my dismay...people who think the people I have previously mentioned should rethink there Christianity if they purchase one.

My wife and I were discussing this last night and frankly I wasn't nice to some people regarding their posts. I wanted to write this great post on whether or not it is right to own a $600 phone. I wanted to sound intelligent while at the same time speaking the truth...aggressively...in love. It started to remind me of the last election...Don't vote for something you agree with...just vote against everyone you don't agree with. I don't like that kind of attitude. I don't like the finger pointing in the Christian community and I don't like people telling me what Jesus would do when I try to order a Big Mac and fries. Frankly, the iPhone is not the issue and should not be used to sell, agree with or even disagree with a certain philosophy. It should not be used to guilt people into believing they just killed off 100 kids because they wasted the money elsewhere. And it should not be gloated over like some sort of "Columbus Conquering America" attitude.

I personally would love an iPhone. It will be my choice if and when I purchase one. It will not change the needs that others have or my responsibility to those needs. Yes, I said responsibility. The Bible is very clear to my responsibilities as a Christ Follower to those in need around me and abroad. I am doing my best to make decisions that allow me to be used by God correctly. I have and will make mistakes and I will choose correctly as well.

So, after I cooled down, I read this great post over at the SHLOG. I want to link to it so that you can hear his heart...that I believe is also my heart. It is well written.

It's a Baby Girl!

2007-07-04T13:12:00.000-07:00

My brother and sister in law are now proud parents to a little girl. She was born yesterday at 1PM. She was 6lbs 6oz and 18 1/2 inches. We visited last night and she is adorable. She is really strong too. She wiggled right out of the blanket wrap I had her in. Her little brother Elliot helped give her a bath yesterday. Very cute!

Kid Pics!

2007-07-04T12:38:00.000-07:00

Alright I've picked 2 of my favorite pics. I promised my daughter that I would redeem them by putting something "nicer" on the site.

Here ya go...They are pretty dang cute!

Mad Church Disease

2007-07-04T10:45:00.000-07:00

One of the blogs I subscribe to is FlowerDust.net. Anne Jackson is a writer. I have appreciated her blog and have enjoyed reading through her thoughts. Anne is writing a new book that I wanted to get the info out on. This book will deal directly with burnout in ministry. I had a chance to email her and explained that I have been fortunate to work in a church environment where the staff are very aware of the dangers of burnout and how much of our lives can be spent doing "ministry" work.

Anyway, go check out the Mad Church Disease Website and look into it. Help support Anne and ministry workers as we work together doing God's work. You can take time at the site to read up on all the info as well as take a survey. The survey is for Pastors...families of people in ministry as well as volunteers. I know a lot of you fall under one of those categories.

I have also posted a banner in the sidebar of my page. So if you come back some day looking for a link, It's right there under my ugly mug.

Urban Legend DVD's

2007-07-03T23:22:00.001-07:00

Hey, you guys are going to want to check out the DVD's available this weekend at TRF. They will be awesome. They are $5 and all the proceeds go to the youth ministry.

Check it out here...

Pics of the Family

2007-07-03T23:08:00.000-07:00

My daughter made it clear to me today that we need some "nicer" pictures on the blog. So tomorrow we will be taking some time to go through some "nicer" pictures of the kids for you. I will post them up here to prove that my kids can look "nicer".

By the way, I love to hear my daughter sing and play her guitar. She is in her room right now playing and singing the song "Captivate Us" by Watermark. Amazing song...amazing daughter. God has really gifted her. It will be fun to see how she lets God use her gifting. If you didn't know, she leads worship for our Junior high group at TRF. My son has been drumming with the KIDS church team as well. I love to see them doing what they love, to serve God.

Ok...so I am proud of my kids! "nicer" pics will be up tomorrow.

HAPPY 4th!

More Fun With iPhoto

2007-07-02T21:24:00.000-07:00

I was looking around my computer tonight and I noticed these pics. I think without me knowing, my kids have been messing around with iPhoto. I was literally laughing out loud! I am still shedding a tear in hysterics over a couple of these! My kids are killing me.

iPhone...Retraction

2007-07-02T19:00:00.000-07:00

I have to go ahead and write some sort of retraction regarding my iPhone post. I was informed today that there indeed was a line at our local AT&T Corporate store. There were about 80 people in line. Forgive me. I would say that I am now unworthy of an iPhone, but I would be lying.

The pic I gave you was of our local Apple dealer where the Cingular store in the mall told me the "lines" would be. They were incorrect. Our local Apple dealer is not carrying them. Only our corporate AT&T store...so I guess you know where to get them ;)

Next Book - Week 2

2007-06-30T19:54:00.001-07:00

My next book for the "Reading Rainbow" will be "The Blogging Church" by Brian Bailey and Terry Storch. I've really enjoyed reading Terry's Blog so this should be fun. this will be more of an education on blogging vs a spiritual journey, but it should keep me pretty full with all the info. Pastor Ron is reading through this book as well, so this will be a great opportunity for both of us to compare notes. Watch out blog...I am sure it is in for a nice makeover...in a good way.

"Reading Rainbow" - Week 1...Book 1

2007-06-29T20:15:00.000-07:00

So here is the first post for the "Reading Rainbow"! I am very excited to inform you that I finished the first book. Trust me, this is a great day. So let's get on with it.

This weeks book was, "The Coffeehouse Gospel" by Matthew Paul Tuner.

The focus of this book is the techniques that we as Christians use to share our faith. Matthew's heart is that we as a Christian community often do not consider the effect we have on others when we share our faith. It is often programmed and taught in specific fashions that discount the feelings and even the value of those who do not know Jesus. Matthew made the statement, "It is a major fumble to speak the gospel in any way other than lovingly, mercifully and graciously." This book speaks to the importance and even the necessity of relationship and story in the sharing of our faith. I loved another statement he made, "An invitation to become a follower of Jesus is a personal and intimate message. Not meant to be auctioned off nonchalantly or delivered by car salesman-like men and women who couldn't care less what your name is or where you came from".

This book really spoke to my heart, because I have always felt myself to be a failure at sharing my faith. Matthew was very encouraging and yet stressed with great importance our duty as Christ followers to share our faith with others. I love this statement from the book. "The art of evangelism is not one to be mastered; It's more lifestyle than duty and more natural process than calculated function of necessity. It's God's resounding request for His followers to participate in His story". This book challenged me to reevaluate both my process and my thinking in when and how I share my faith. It's easy for me to freeze up when I have a chance to share. even a better possibility is that the chance for me to share will go right by without me ever noticing it. Matthew made this statement, "How many times have you felt God nudge you and you ignored it? I often wonder what I missed in the process. What would God have done in my life or the life of the man/women if I had simply said, 'yes I'll obey You'".

I really appreciated Matthew's ability to see things simply and then write about it in a practical easy to understand fashion. The book was easy to read and easy to apply. There were some great questions to ponder as well as opportunities to do some work on my end to dig into my own stories of faith and how then to share them. The 7th chapter was a great resource for what we should know as we take the time to share.

I encourage all of you to grab this book if you can. I look back in my life of growing up in church and there is so much deprogramming that needs to take place. Salvation is not a process of 3 steps and a prayer and we are good. Evangelism is not about me telling someone if they walk out that door and get hit by a bus that they are going to hell. Sharing my faith takes communication. It takes as much if not more listening than it does talking. I am excited to share my faith after reading this book. Not because I have a new faith, but I have a new confidence in Who's I am and I want people to know about Him. I'll leave you with 2 more statements from the book.

"Human beings do not evangelize. God is the one in the business of evangelizing. His people are the witnesses of His truth." "It is a Christ followers goal to reach out to those who do not know the loving kindness of God!"

iPhone

2007-06-29T16:01:00.000-07:00

If you haven't heard of the national phenomenon called the iPhone...you have been hibernating. Welcome back. Anyway, the iPhone is being touted as one of the greatest electronics debuts this decade. It has been hyped into being the #1 story all over news stations and talk shows...besides maybe a couple items on Ms. Hilton. It is one of the most forward thinking creations Apple has ever come up with. It is actually getting great reviews. Today is the day the iPhone debuts and is available for purchase!

So, when we stopped by the mall today, I thought I would chat to the Cingular guys about it. The iPhone is only being sold at certified Apple dealers, so you won't find one available at the Cingular store...even though it will run on Cingular's network. I guess it is an Apple thing. Anyway, I noticed first of all that there were not many people in the Cingular store. I thought maybe the store would be busier than normal trying to get info on the iPhone. Nope!

After talking to the guys at Cingular for a while about the phone, we headed across town to run some more errands. Out of curiosity, the family allowed me to drive by Connecting Point...our local Apple dealer. The Cingular guys said I could buy one there...which I am not planning on doing at this time. Wouldn't you know it. The biggest...most hyped...most popular item in America today...is of no interest to our local community. (see pic) There are no lines...no big banners...no news crews...NOTHING!

MEDFORD IS SERIOUSLY BEHIND THE TIMES! I notice this all the time. Sometimes even more after I have been out of town for a little while. I was talking to a couple last week that just moved here from Dallas and they were actually getting a kick out of the fact that we are probably 5-10 years behind the rest of America in culture. I guess that is good for those who think they can see into the future, we could really take Medford by storm.

In conclusion...all this to say, I think it is pretty funny that there have been lines forming around the country for days and there is ZERO hype at all in our little community.

On a side note, I think I read somewhere that this month is the inaugural iPhone/Pastor appreciation month. So in light of this, I would be happy to receive any and all gifts of cash that would allow this Pastor to purchase said iPhone :)

"Reading Rainbow"

2007-06-27T21:33:00.000-07:00

Alright, I have decided...the name shall be Reading Rainbow. That just seriously cracks me up! Now I have to think of a prize for the winner. Maybe...

Anyway, great ideas!

Deep Truths by Pop Artists #3

2007-06-26T17:53:00.000-07:00

"Slowly walking down the hall
Faster than a cannonball
Where were you when we were getting high?"

-Oasis

Crazy Day

2007-06-26T17:24:00.001-07:00

So today we started the first annual Soccer Bible Camp. Sponsored by TRF and FCA. It was a blast, but also exhausting. We have around 70 kids and we kept them going for 3 1/2 hours. It was fun getting to know some of the kids that I don't see normally. We spent time going through soccer basics and drills. We had snacks and we had some teaching time with our Kids Pastor and our Creative Director. That was cool. I love to see the passion that kids at this age (6-13) have. It is amazing how joyful kids can be and when we grow up as adults how lost all of our innocence is. Not trying to get us down, just thinking.

Anyway, that burned half my day and then I had to get to the office to pick away at things for this weekend. Including editing for the final episode of Urban Legends. I know a lot of you are anxious for that. It should be fun and maybe a little shocking. you'll have to come to a service this weekend and check it out.

I am going to take some time this evening to lay low and read more of the book I am digging into. Matthew Paul Turner's book "The Coffeehouse Gospel" has been great so far. I am almost half way through. I wanted to be farther considering my schedule, but I'll do some catch up tonight. Plan on me blogging about the book this Friday. that will be D-Day for "Adventures in Literature". Of course I have gotten some interesting ideas for another name, so that name may change soon.

Alright, off to my evening schedule and some rest, before going at it again tomorrow AM with the Soccer camp.

What's the Name

2007-06-25T11:41:00.001-07:00

You guys have got to help come up with a name for the "reading adventure" I am on. One of our Pastors came into the office today and said, "How's it going? I'm keeping you accountable. Don't mess up." Of course some of the may be paraphrased. After he left, I started thinking. if you guys are going to hold me accountable, you've got to at least come up with a name. No this isn't an ultimatum, but...help a guy out.

What's a great name???

Adventures in Literature

2007-06-22T22:07:00.000-07:00

I spoke about this a couple of weeks ago. First of all, I need a better name. Maybe you guys can come up with something better than "Adventures in Literature". Let me know.

Here's the deal, and you guys can keep me accountable. My plan is to read 10 books in 10 weeks. Starting this week, I will read 1 book a week through August. I will read it and then blog about it. I am not a very good reader. I tend to start a book, but not follow through. One of the purposes of this blog is to keep me disciplined. I am sure 10 books in 10 weeks will be a stretch for me, but I like a challenge. I haven't chosen all 10 books yet, but I've got some books picked out for the first couple of weeks.

I am going to start with The Coffeehouse Gospel by Matthew Paul Turner

Here are a couple more I will be reading...
They Like Jesus, But Not the Church by Dan Kimball
The Gospel According to Starbucks by Leonard Sweet
Simply Christianity by N.T. Wright
The Blogging Church by Brian Bailey and Terry Storch

Hold me accountable! This should be fun and extremely exhausting...in a good way!

Fun with iPhoto

2007-06-21T14:38:00.000-07:00

I've seen this a couple of times on other blogs. Thought I'd pass along my inspirational iPhoto's...

Ouch...Truth can hurt.

2007-06-20T10:25:00.000-07:00

I saw this over at Shaun Groves blog. I've really appreciated his honesty and I love his sense of humor. I was going to embed the video here, but you need to go check out his blog. Anyway, this video really puts into perspective what we have and how ungrateful we are. More than that, how awful living conditions are for millions around the world.

Here is the link...

Let Me hear From You

2007-06-19T22:39:00.000-07:00

Deep Truths by Pop Artists #2

2007-06-19T21:47:00.000-07:00

"Take my hand listen to the man
You have a plan don't even risk it
What do you want - a biscuit?"

-LL Cool J

America Does Not Have Talent...Well, At Least They Can't Sing Or Dance

2007-06-19T21:09:00.000-07:00

So, I am sitting here watching "America's Got Talent". Of course I think the irony is that most of America wants to believe they have some sort of entertainment talent. Clearly most of us don't! It is entertaining still.

It reminds me of one of the characters in Mosaic's "Scribble". The Mosaic team performed this for us on the last day of the Arts Conference. It was incredible. If you ever have a chance to see it...DO! Anyway, this one character in the performance was determined to be a star. He would see all of the talented dancers and performers and that was what he wanted to do. In the end he learned that we all have talents, but sometimes they are not talents that are visible or even what we want. The fact was, this character was the stage manager for the performance. Without him, the whole thing would never have taken place. He was extremely valuable and talented, he just wasn't up front for all to see.

Why do we like to be "up front"? We are so in need of approval. We want to be stars. We want people to love us. Erwin McManus spoke after the performance and he made a statement that basically said that we are so desensitized, we don't realize the beauty that God has placed inside each of us. I think we are always looking for glory, but God shares His glory with no one. Stardom only lasts for a day. God's Glory and beauty will last forever. He has placed that beauty inside of each of us. We have got to let His approval of us be enough. Then, God's Glory will shine through us as we display the beauty He has placed inside each of us.

Saturday night at Willow Creek

2007-06-16T15:17:00.000-07:00

We figured if we were coming all the way to Chicago, we might as well stay for church at Willow Creek. Tammy and I are siiting in the church getting ready for their Saturday night service. They are celebrating Father's Day pretty big. They've go a huge car show tomorrow that includes 100's of custom vehicles. It should be fun. I wish we could stay for it. TRF had some custom cars on the property last year and they were beautiful. Of course Willow had to one up us. They've got the custom cars, but they also have this...

That is a $400,000 Ford GT. It's pretty cool. Anyway Tammy and I got to spend last night in downtown Chicago. I'll talk more about it later, but here is a great pic from our hotel room...

Arts Conference - Video Links!

2007-06-15T14:45:00.000-07:00

Willow Creek has had a running website for real time blogging and resources during the conference. I have here 5 links. They are links to each main sessions blog page. The first three have the Main sessions from the first day with highlights. They run about 2 minutes on the highlights, but it is a great look into what was going on. The last 2 links do not have the highlights videos up yet, because they were just a couple of hours ago. I am sure they will be up soon though.

This is actual highlight video from the sessions. Speakers, drama, music and all.

ENJOY!

Session 1

Session 2

Session 3

Session 4

Session 5

Last Session

2007-06-15T10:54:00.000-07:00

This is ending way too soon. Tom, Ron and I were blessed to be able to go to Dallas last year for an amazing leaders conference and it changed me in amazing ways. That does not begin to describe what God is doing here in me right now. Tammy just asked what was the thing I got out of it. My answer is that it is time to start from scratch again. God is in the job of building and changing. This time here has been a time of self evaluation that has led me to believe that there is so much stuff in my life that is hindering who God has created and called me to be. It is time to knock down the old and let God build the new. I don't know what that means or how this looks, but it is not my job to decide that.

We ended today with a presentation of "Scribble". It was a Drama/Dance performed by the Arts team at Mosaic in Southern Cal. Erwin McManus then took the time to challenge us with the reality of what we had just experienced. I saw Ermin at the leaders conference last year, but this time it felt like he was home and with peers and there was some incredible wisdom. Here are some of things I am taking with me...

"Our live are intended to be extraordinary, but are lived in the ordinary and mundane"

"Solomon was wrong - 'Nothing New Under the Sun'...See Isaiah 43:18-19"

"When we live with our own sight,, everything eventually becomes standardized. When we live through God's eyes, everything is new and alive."

"We keep waiting for someone else to create the environment by which we engage the world."

WRONG QUESTION - What kind of church do we need to be?
RIGHT QUESTION - What kind of future does our church want to create?

Day 3 - Arts Conference

2007-06-15T08:50:00.000-07:00

This is the 3rd day of the conference and we had our 4th main session today. It was an incredible time of reflecting on our ministry work and the difficulty to be honest in it. We often approach ministry with justification and we make it religious and legalistic. in doing this, the danger can be as we face pain and struggle it is a contradiction to what we think our lives are supposed to be. we were reminded to "Praise Him in the Storm".

Music: Willow Creek Worship Team. Very Powerful worship today!

Speaker - Donald Miler
Donald is the author of "Blue Like Jazz". Pastor Tom has mentioned this a book couple times at TRF. What a gifted prophet of the Gospel of Jesus. I don't say that often, but I am convinced of God's hand on Him. He willingly and passionately extended that gift to us through His words of wisdom. Here are some things I am taking home with me...

"To be human is special, profound a miracle!"

"We don't like mystery. we want to come to conclusions logically. God is a mystery."

"Justification of a decision is the not the same we came to the decision"

"Truth and meaning go together"

God's reality is bigger than any word can describe. To say we can describe God with words is arrogant and assumes that truth can actually be encompassed within our heads."

"Are we trying to get heaven into our head or our head into heaven?"

"Our relationship with God has to stay relational or it becomes rational. we have to realize that there is no rationalizing God's truth. He is truth...period!"

Some Pics from the Conference

2007-06-14T17:07:00.000-07:00

These are just general pics of Willow Creek. I posted a few yesterday of the Auditorium. these are of the bookstore, one of the numerous lounge areas, A small part of the Foyer, the coffee bar, the Water Wall, The Food Court we ate in and the view of their lake from the food court. this place is pretty crazy...

Day2 - Arts Conference

2007-06-14T13:54:00.000-07:00

Well, today felt like it started way too early. The time difference here is 2 hours later, so mornings feel really early! Did I say that twice? It is early!

Anyway, we had breakout session today. These are sessions where we take more focused time with smaller groups of maybe 15- a couple hundred people. I took the tech route and Tammy took the spiritual route. Do we see a routine here? I love me some tech...

The 3 sessions I was a part of today dealt with Blogging, Stage Lighting and Tech Team Building. As expected, they were packed full of great info, passion and lots of fun ideas.

I really enjoyed my session with Kem Meyer on blogging. She was very kind to TRF regarding our website and I have always enjoyed her blog, so it was fun to meet her and thank her for her encouragement and example.

The 2 other session were lead by experts in their fields and were very informative. It was fun to see the new toys in lighting. Watch out TRF Staff, I think next year my budget will be bigger.

Kem if you are reading this, that last paragraph is in no way saying that you are not an expert in your field...please no "flaming" or should I be using Trolling here?

I do have to add this. The food and snacks at the convention center where the tech sessions were held...ROCKED! It was great to walk out of my last session to giant chocolate chip cookies and smoothies. Here is a pic with the camera phone...

Guest Blogger:Tammy Hodge

2007-06-13T14:52:00.001-07:00

I have many fears in life.... I fear that while dining with my husband in a
public restaurant he may leave to use the restroom and leave me stranded,
eating alone, oh my - how awkward! I fear ants - I know! I fear sending my
son to camp knowing he packed his suitcase without my help or guidance. I
also have a fear of flying. No, actually, I have a fear of crashing.... My
husband and I flew into Chicago last night for The Willow Creeks Arts
Conference. The flight was fairly uneventful. The Lord and I did manage to
get our plane through a terrible storm - ok, so I was praying real hard when
the Pilot came on and demanded his flight attendants sit and buckle up for
safety! Do they have to announce that over the loud speaker? Come on!!! I
asked God, like one would ask a parent of disorderly children, to get His
clouds under control. The landing was successful, obviously, the baggage
retrieval system was incredible and the speed at which the Rental Car
shuttle Bus arrived was like nothing I've ever witnessed before! Our courtesy driver, who remained nameless through our journey, quickly observed two, helpless out of towners and picked us up within seconds to shuttle us to our rental agency. I now have a new fear to add to my pathetically growing list - I fear a nameless, relentless, lead footed, possibly blind in the left eye, clearly nothing more to live for crazy Shuttle Bus Driver! Brent and I were the first victims to board our demise. As he spotted other helpless folk I was working so hard from my seat to will to them through the window not to board - "Save yourselves!!!" As we drove through the airport I quickly realized stop signs are clearly for decorative purposes. Oh - and marked lanes? Who cares! Did you know the shoulder of the road is actually the passing lane? He was passing invisible cars for 4 miles! When we got into to town he calmed down a bit - but not before nearly clipping a Retirement Shuttle Van who apparently was in the wrong place, an actual lane! All this and more, but he did get us safely to our destination. Safely physically - emotionally, I am spent and in need of major counseling!

Session #3

2007-06-13T14:38:00.000-07:00

This session started with the Willow Creek Worship team playing a great instrumental. We then took some time to hear some stories from attenders regarding "disasters" that have taken place in worship services. Very funny.

Speaker: Dan Kimball
Panel of People: Dan Kimball, Nancy Beach, David Loveless, Brian McClaren, Sally Morgenthaler, Efrem Smith, Shauna Niequist

This session focused on Dan's new book "They love Jesus, but not the Church". He spoke about culture today regarding their view of Christianity and Christians. He spoke to how Christians are living in a bubble that keeps us safe, but does not engage with today's culture. Today's culture does not really know the church, or Jesus for that matter. the session ended with the panel discussing Culture, Ethnicity and how it all works into the churches "mission".

Here are some things I will take home with me...

"we've created our own Christian subculture"

"Are we so isolated in our bubble that we cannot see the worlds perspective?"

"Good News - The world is interested in Jesus...Bad News - The world is not interested in the church."

""I like your Christ. I don't like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ" - Ghandi

"No problem can be solved by the level of thinking that created it"

John 17:15

Art Conference Info...

2007-06-13T12:38:00.000-07:00

So here are some of the stats from the conference...

Over 5000 in attendance
All 50 states represented
21 Countries represented

Wow!

Here are some pics of the Worship Center. It is surprisingly small even though it is huge. The sound is amazing and loud. I love it!. Lighting is beautiful. The video is projected by 2 HD Jumbotron screens!

Art Conference Session #1 & #2

2007-06-13T11:27:00.000-07:00

WOW! that's all I have to say. When you come to a conference of this caliber. You expect it to be powerful, but there has been so much more than that. I came asking God to show me knew things for His sake. He has torn a hole into me in many ways and this is just the first half of the first day. I will blog more in detail in the future, but here are some highlights.

Session #1
Music: David Crowder
What a performer and you can tell He is worshiping 100%. the band was great. We did his famous version of "I Saw The Light". Banjo and all! What a gift from God.

Speaker: Dewitt Jones
A renowned photographer that has dedicated his life to being Passionate about what he does. He is on fire to live in the beautiful life God has created for us. Here are some of the quotes that I am taking with me...

"The best way to give ourselves to God is to give ourselves to others"

"You can either do what you love or love what you do"

"Don't be worried about making a difference, just be passionatte about making a contribution"

Session #2
Music: Willow Creek Worship Team.
They wow'd us with an amazing 10 minute version of "Diversity" by Toby Mac. Percussion solos, Amazing vocals and Break Dancing! Yes break dancing...it was awesome. We also ended the session with "This Is My father's World". Great hymn...powerful moment!

Speaker: Nancy Beach
Nancy is living her life to see others come to Jesus. She focused on finding hope in the midst of chaos and confusion. She was delibeerate in showing us how we as the church are not reaching into the community. She was right on. Here are some of the things she said that I am taking home...

"We need to live in the contradiction of hurt and hope"

"It is not enough to be people of hope. We have to extend that hope to others"

"Who am I intentionally building a relationship with that has nothing to do with the church???"

Commenting

2007-06-11T09:04:00.000-07:00

I've changed some stuff regarding commenting on the site. A friend told me she couldn't comment because she had to be registered. Sorry about that. I've changed it so that you can comment without being registered.

Also, if you look below the posts, you'll see a series of buttons that allow you to immediately declare your emotion towards a post. Of course they are all positive. Sorry Nevvy, there is no "Suck" button. They are called PostReach ClickComments. Let me know if you love them or hate them.

You can still comment as usual, but if you don't have time, just press a button and let me know what you think.

Deep Truths by Pop Artists #1

2007-06-10T21:36:00.000-07:00

I think I will start a new series of posts. Some of our pop music artists have left us with some interesting things. Here is a little nugget

"How come everything I think I need, always comes with batteries, what do you think it means"

-John Mayer

Holy 80's Playlist...Batman!

2007-06-10T20:31:00.000-07:00

So we just got back from Portland. Good trip, but can get long and boring at times. I decided to run the iPod on shuffle. Thought it would be fun to see what comes up. Here is a sampling...

Van Halen(twice), Ratt(twice), Pat Benatar, Starship, Tom Petty, Queensryche, Dream Theatre

Ok, I know I have some "newer" music in my iPod, but from the dirty looks I got from my wife every once in a while, you'd think I made this play list myself, out of spite...or the need to go back in time...or something.

Anyway..Rock On?

URBAN LEGENDS - Episode #2

2007-06-09T15:40:00.000-07:00

I'm in Portland....and it's raining!

2007-06-09T15:18:00.000-07:00

I guess that shouldn't be a surprise. Portland can get dreery, but I was hoping for better weather.

I have had the opporunity to come up here for the weekend to do some research for TRF. I met with some of the staff at Living hope Church in Vancouver. What a great group of people. They reminded me a lot of Table rock and the staff we have. Lots of similar ideas, passions and the same sense of team! It was great hanging with them yesterday. Tammy and I will be going to church there tonight and enjoying worship with them. Living Hope is Video Venue/Multi-Site church, so we will also be attending church tomorrow with them at one of their satellite campuses. I do have to tell you about trying to find the church though. We left early Friday AM (from our friends house, where we are staying). I had directions to the area of the church and figured I'd call for the last couple of street names. As we head into Vancouver, WA, I call the church and ask them what exit would be best to get off at. I talked to a sweet lady named Marge. She was so nice. The problem was that she believed I was on I205 and I was on I5. She proceeded to tell me to go to Exit 30b. I confirmed that with her, because that was 30 miles farther than where I was and I was certain they were closer to the Washington/Oregon border. After she confirmed that with me, I hung up and headed on my way. After about 20 miles, I got the sick feeling that this was not the correct direction. I called back and talked to another lady and she confirmed with me to take exit 30b Off I5. So we kept heading north. When we came to exit 30, we noticed there was no 30a. We figured, maybe exit 30b was next. When we arrived at exit 32 and had not seen an exit 30b, my stomach sunk again. I called back and got Marge on the phone. I told her I can't find 30b, I am at 32. She said perfect, take that exit. That exit is called "something parkway". I said back...no this exit is "something River Rd". There was a moment of silence and then from Marge's end came a..."OH NO! You are on I5!". Yes, I was sent 30 miles farther north than I needed to travel. We got back on the freeway and came 30 miles back and at that point had no problem finding the church. Marge felt terrible, but I have to say she redeemed herself. As we arrived at the church, we met her and when we asked where the bathroom was, she gave us perfect directions to the bathroom. If you ever visit Living hope Church, make sure to give Marge a big hug for us, she is a sweetie.

Of course, we had to find a decent little coffee shop WITH WIFI today...to catch up on email and such. The friend we are staying with recommended this place...

It is called Bella Espresso. Very cool little place with a great kind of Gothic feel. Pretty good coffee too.

Anyway, I think we'll go take a nap before we go to church. we miss you guys at TRF tonight. It is always a little wierd not being at "home" for church.

I Am Excited!

2007-06-06T16:16:00.000-07:00

I am really looking forward to the trip next week to the Arts Conference. I will definitely let all of you know about the journey. I read this post today by Nancy Beach. She is the Programming Director at Willow Creek and one of the keynote speakers at the Arts Conference. As you read this post, you can hear in her words why I am excited to be there. I would ask as she does "that God will supernaturally surprise us June 13-15 in ways beyond anything we can possibly imagine"!

Her Post is here...

Willow Creek Arts Conference

2007-06-05T15:18:00.000-07:00

I'm excited...next week Tammy and I are traveling to Chicago for the Willow Creek Arts Conference. I am really looking forward to the things God has to teach and reveal as well as enjoying Chicago. Apart from flying through, I've never been. I am so blessed to be able to go with my wife!

I want to keep in touch with all of you regarding what I am seeing and hearing, so I will be blogging daily...maybe multiple times to let you know about all I've seen and heard. I'll try to keep you updated with pictures as well.

Also, be watching starting next week for a weekly blog I am going to entitle "Adventures in Literature". More to come on that, so you will have to wait.

So, sign up for the feed or check back daily starting next Wednesday for the conference updates!

Updated Links!

2007-06-04T21:47:00.000-07:00

I realized today that I haven't updated my links in like...ever. So head over to your left and scroll down to the links and check them out. These are blogs I frequent daily. Some are for personal benefit, some are spiritually awesome and some I am just flat out jealous of cause some people are brilliant.

So anyway, have some fun...this ones for you Nevin!

Last Weekend

2007-06-04T15:52:00.000-07:00

Last weekend at church was great. We started our new series and the response was amazing. I think dealing with spiritual myths is really going to be a challenging, eye opener to a lot of people. Pastor Tom spoke to the fact that so many people get their "truth" from Oprah and The View. The problem is that culture's truth changes constantly and then we are left with misinformation and often despair. I am so grateful that our God never changes!

If you want an update on the weekend and to keep in touch for the rest of the series, be sure to check out the "Message Series Blog".

Check Out The Video

2007-05-31T15:35:00.001-07:00

Here is the video to kick off our new series on Urban Legends and Spiritual Myths. Remember to check in and keep up with the blog for the new series over here...

See you this weekend!

Joost TV

2007-05-30T17:41:00.000-07:00

I want to thank Terry Storch for blessing me with a "friend invite" to try out the new online TV service called Joost.

I've been playing around for the last couple of days with it and it's pretty cool. I have had a few glitches with overall speed, but not too bad. you definitely would need a fast service to take advantage of it. The video and audio quality are surprisingly good for streaming. I also love the channel options. there is a ton of music stuff which I love. And the National Geographic stuff is amazing as always. Of course my favorite...(and my son's favorite)...is the Soccer channel.

Anyway, if you have a chance to check it out, it's pretty cool!

Hilarious!

2007-05-30T12:59:00.000-07:00

I can't wait till you all see the video for this weekend. It has been a blast working on it. David Choate and Brent Friesen are hilarious, but I think the stand out comic is Bobby Baugh. It's gonna be fun!

We are going to focus on "Absolute Truth" this weekend. So much of society does not believe in absolute truth. We have to understand #1 that absolute truth is for real and #2 that the only source for absolute truth is God's Word.

Invite a friend or a family member. I bet when I said that, you were thinking of someone. Go for it. Ask them along.

Then, on Monday we will begin blogging about our series at Spiritual Myths. You'll be able to watch the videos, get a recap of the sermon and keep in touch for the upcoming weeks. Make sure to subscribe to the feed and you won't miss out on anything!

See ya this weekend!

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