Saturday, October 28, 2006

Hannaford Videos on YouTube

Just a quick note to let you know that I've created a YouTube account and started uploading the videos I've produced for Hannaford Street Bible Church. Feel free to stop by at youtube.com/hsbcarts.

Ten Things The Church Can Learn From Disney

No longer living in SoCal, I recognize the excitement families feel in visiting one of the Disney theme parks. Tony Morgan and his wife just visited Disney World in Orlando, Florida, and in usual Tony fashion, he's posted 10 things he will remember about his visit to Disney.

I propose that these are also "10 things the church can learn from Disney." How can we apply these to our churches and the experience people have each week with God and each other? Let me know what you think with a comment...
  1. The experience begins in the parking lot.
  2. We will invest a lot of money to make dreams come true.
  3. It helps to have someone with you that’s been there before.
  4. The value of excellence transcends socioeconomic and cultural barriers.
  5. It’s hard to communicate with people wearing masks.
  6. The journey is more fun when you’re on it with friends.
  7. The world is small.
  8. Lots of people fulfilling the same mission can achieve great results.
  9. It’s possible to leave a legacy for future generations.
  10. We remember the fireworks at the end.

Salt & Light - Being IN The World

Recently I blogged about serving our community (here and here). While at the Purpose Driven Worship Conference this year, Louie Giglio gave a message about worship. His main point was that God doesn't just want us to sit around and sing songs - an important aspect of our worship is getting out into the world and sharing the heart of Jesus. Here's a quip...

"Do not forget to DO GOOD and to SHARE WITH OTHERS with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased." God is not saying "Man, I hope they sing me some songs this morning." He is saying, "I hope they GO OUT and touch lives, help the sick, poor, oppressed - the people whom this world has no concern for. Consider the brothel down a small alley in India where a little 8-year-old girl is chained to a bed. Does God want another song? or does He want more? (Read the complete message notes here.)

With that in mind, I came across some news lately about some churches recently cancelling their worship services in lieu of getting out into and serving the community. First from Rev Magazine, John Ortberg's church (Menlo Park Presbyterian Church in Melo Park, Ca.). The headline reads, "Mobilized For Servanthood: How Menlo Park Presbyterian Church shut down for a weekend to be the church and love its neighbors." A similar response from Gateway Community Church in South Riding, Va. Instead of a typical Sunday morning worship service, the congregation went out and did volunteer work for 61 area homes. (Read info and links here.)

So here's the question. What do you think? Would you, or whould your people go for shutting down for a weekend? Is that still worship? Or is it paramount to be in church every Sunday? Leave your thoughts in the comments...

Quotable Quips - Apple and God

"QUESTION: I don't own an Apple computer.
I feel like I'm missing out. Am I?
ANSWER: This is like me asking you, 'I don't believe in God.
Am I missing out?'"

Guy Kawasaki, CEO of Garage Technology Ventures in Silicon Valley, California and part of the team responsible for marketing the Macintosh at Apple Computer. Quoted from Tony Morgan's blog at TonyMorganLive.com (October 20, 2006)

While owning an Apple is in no way comparable to knowing God, I thought it was an interesting conversation. Read the whole interview here.

Friday, October 27, 2006

Should I Stay or Should I Go?


Enough Complaining!

Okay, okay. Enough complaining! I'm sitting here listening to Andrea watch Beth Moore talk about breaking free from bondage. One of the things I am battling lately is the bondage of complaining and bitterness. I need to start focusing less on what others are doing to me and more on my response. Mike Pilivachi, a founder of the Soul Survivor movement, once said that we can either become bitter or become better. [Say it with a British accent and it sounds cooler.]

Truth be told, I've been doing quite a bit of introspection lately. I've been looking at my calling from God and the things that are holding me back from being and doing the things He intends for me. I'm also examining the changes I need to make to follow His plan for me more closely. You can pray for me on these issues.

With these things said, let me share with you some of the things I am excited about...
  • I am planning a weekly celebration of Advent through the four Sundays before Christmas. I know this is old hat for many of you, but this is something that our congregation is unfamiliar with. It is a exciting opportunity to capture the anticipation of "the birth of our Lord."
  • I am going through one-on-ones with our Praise Team right now. It's an opportunity to meet individually with all the Worship Ministry participants and share the challenges and successes of the last year and next.
  • The Lord is renewing some passion in my heart for teaching or worship. Please pray that I will be able to follow through in a way that has an impact.

Thursday, October 26, 2006

Another Week, Another Video

Did I mention I was supposed to complete three videos in three weeks? Here's the second video for the second week if you've got about ten minutes. There are still a few things I'd like to fix (a few duplicate scenes). I'd also like to add a scrolling list of ministries at the end. I just ran out of time (with actually planning worship and all). Anyhoo...

Oh yeah, did I mention that I am in this one?



[P.S. Andrea did all the footage of me.]

Tuesday, October 24, 2006

Let Me Be Blunt...

I'm struggling with more responsibilities at church than I can handle and I'm feeling that the worship ministry is suffering. That's because most of my days are filled up with tasks that are not worship related. For example, I flat out said that I did not have time to prepare a program for the Christmas season AND produce three "new members" videos in November. It was decided that the videos were the priority. I am really struggling with this.

As someone whose life calling is to lead others in the worship of God, I am spending too little time on worship and relationships, and too much time using my technical skills for any type of project that comes up. There. That's off my chest.

By the way, here's the first video. :-)

Friday, October 13, 2006

Minnesota & Mr. Mom

Hi folks, I know it's been a while. I've been pretty busy.

Of course, I was very busy during the conference. It was fantastic! The next Tuesday, Andrea left on a trip with Erica, one of our friends from church.

So I have been playing "Mr. Mom" for about two weeks while Andrea is visiting Minneapolis, Minnesota. The places they're visiting there and along the way? The Mall of America, Yellowstone, Rushmore, Cody, Wyoming, and more. She's been sending photos from her phone during the trips so I've posted the ones so far.

Andrea arrives back Saturday night and will have more photos on the digital camera. I'll update the gallery then.