Luigi's blog

My transformation from community

2011-10-18T12:18:00.000-05:00

The other day I had couple of friends ask me to explain what the re:create Conference is all about and why I keep going back. The easy thing would be to answer with things like, in my first trip to Franklin, how we got to worship with Michael W. Smith, and got to see Meredith Andrews, or how I got sit in a room with 20 other people at EMI and receive an EP in a hand drawn brown paper bag from this new songwriter Audrey Assad, and how blown away we were by her song "Winter Snow". How my second trip to re:create saw things like Gungor performing his masterpiece, "Beautiful Things", and a songwriter circle that included Kristian Stanfill. I could even tell them about how the third year was even more incredible because we got to see Ed Kowalczyk perform a private concert for us, or Andrew Peterson's "Behold the Lamb," and one of the most moving times of worship I have ever been a part of, when we got to meet the 1211 band from Gateway Church in Austin Tx.

Any one of those things would have made re:create the most incredible conference I have ever been to. But as great as they were, they were not the most meaningful and transformative part for me. It is becoming a part of the re:create community that has changed me, moved me and maybe saved me and my ministry. You see, the last 6 months of my life have seen some of the lowest times that I have ever experienced. If had not been for my re:create family, I can honestly say I might not be in ministry today, or even worse. In April, my mother passed away after being in the hospital for a few days. It was an incredible blessing to know that there were people from all over the world praying for her. The night before she died, I was able to show her text messages and Twitter DM's from Texas, Oregon, California, Canada, Tennessee and even Cairo of people praying for her. It lifted both our spirits. After her death, I was held up by the prayers and thoughts of my re:create tribe. I got emails, and texts of encouragement as I prepared to speak and sing for my Mother's funeral mass.

This past summer, I entered into what was the worst time of depression that I have ever experienced. It got so bad that I wrote out my resignation from the ministry on more than 2 occasions, I had no energy, and at one point, I didn't get out of bed for almost 2 days. I felt like I was going insane. I was afraid to tell my wife, because I knew that I couldn't lose her, or it would only get worse, even though she new something was wrong because I was taking most of my depression on her. It was then that I reached out to a few of my tribe, asking for prayer. Immediately I heard from all of them saying that I was covered in prayer. I spent several hours on the phone with a friend that I have become very close to. After a few days of crying and very open conversations, I went to a doctor and was able to get on some medication that has helped me get back to some semblance of normal. All of this came about because I got to sit at the same table as Bill, or sitting next to Jim, or being introduced to Chuck over the phone, or hanging out and talking to Brent and Tam over an incredible steak, or praying with Jan before she went to one of the 100 countries that she ministers in, or getting to cry when we finally saw and heard that Mark was OK on Skype during a crazy time in the Cairo. I have been transformed by the friendships and relationships that have been forged during the last 3 years at re:create.

All of this happened because of one man's love for broken, creative people. And for that Randy, I will be forever grateful.

I say all this to ask you this. Where are you finding transformational community? Where do you go to be cared for? Do you go? Have you found transformation from a community that you are a part of? This is my story, but I want to hear yours. Add a comment below, or email me.

The State of My State

2011-09-09T09:44:00.000-05:00

It's Friday, and here I sit in my Doctor's office, waiting to see him. One month ago I came to him because I was struggling with the bluest period that I had experienced in a long time. I felt like crap, I had (have) gained a bunch of weight, and I wasn't doing my life as a husband, father, friend and pastor very well. Over the previous months, I had been an organizational, and emotional mess. I couldn't keep my thoughts together, I was forgetting things, and had a general malaise that was taking me over. Several times in the weeks leading up to my appointment, I had written out, and thrown away my resignation. I was in a very low place.

I leaned on my wife, my sons, and a few close friends, but even that didn't seem to be helping. After a few, un-Louis like conversations with people that didn't deserve them, I called and made an appointment with my friend, who is an Internist. I sent a note to my Pastors, letting them know where I was in my emotional state, and that I had an appointment to see about it. The response I got was an encouraging, loving show of support for getting the help I needed. This is, for some of those in ministry, a refreshing change from what some of my friends have experienced.

When I saw my doctor, he prescribed a new drug to add to the other medicine I was taking.

Today, as I sit here, ready to check in, feeling 2 months better, I know that there are multiple reasons for my better "state". First and foremost is the support of my family. They have put up with my crazy, told me that I was still the father and husband they loved, and were just present for me. Second, the prayers of my pastors and friends both from my church, and from all over the country that I have grown to love and count on, and third, and the part I want to encourage you to, is that, if you are struggling with depression, go see a Doctor. Let them help you.

*Warning. The following is a mini rant, and you are welcome to skip down to the next paragraph without repercussion.*

In his book, "Leading on Empty", Wayne Cordeiro says that often times, well meaning, yet totally not helpful Christians tell those of us dealing with depression to:
Confess your guilt.
Pray more.
Find a new church (Seriously? Go where you have none of the friends, and support mechanisms that you currently have, and get even more depressed because you feel even more alone?).
And, my personal favorite, "You just need more faith."
This last one, I was actually told. In the midst of one of the Bluest periods of my life, one in which it took all the faith I had just to stand up, I was told that God wasn't helping me because I didn't have enough faith. WRONG. I was being held up by God and being pointed toward the help that I needed through a Physician. I couldn't have gotten through some days without the faith that God would still be God, and that He was holding me, pushing me and sometimes carrying me.

I say all that to say, if you are struggling with depression, please tell someone you trust, ask them to pray for you, and go see a licensed physician. Your family doctor would be a great place to start. You can get through it. Will it go away forever? I don't know, I haven't finished my life yet. But I can say that it can get better. After a year long struggle, I am getting better, with prayers, friends and medicine.

Thank you...

2011-09-02T17:46:00.000-05:00

Thank you is a word that I am really good at saying. I have a ton of people that I serve with every day that I am very intentional about saying "thank you" to as often as possible. This comes very easy to me, because I am genuinely thankful for what people do for the ministry that I serve. I make sure that I meet one on one with at least one member of my team each week for coffee, breakfast or something. I enjoy being with them, and letting them know that they are more important to me than just for their skill as a musician, technician or singer.

I think I do thank you's pretty well... As long as I am on the thanking side and not the receiving side. I was recently on the receiving side of what was possibly the most extravagant thank you I have ever been a part of. About 6 months ago, a family in our congregation lost a family member suddenly. Our worship team was asked to play for the funeral, and we were told that the family wanted worship just like on sunday morning. After we did that, the family said thank you to all of us, saying, "we don't know how to thank you." we were honored to take part and received their thanks graciously.

That is not where the story ends though. About a month later, I was talking to the dad in this same family, and he asked me, "When does the band worship?" I told hime that a lot of times we worship in rehearsals together. He said,"no, I mean when are you guys LEAD in worship?" I couldn't Answer him. He told me that he wanted to come to rehearsal Thursday night and asked if that was ok. I said of course, and was not surprised to see him that night.

What happened next was an incredible, extravagant act of love and gratitude. When rehearsal was over, he came to me with tears in his eyes, and said I want you guys to get to worship like we get to. I want to take you, and your band to see Hillsong United in 3 weeks in Nashville. I will take care of everything. You guys just show up here at 5pm.

Well, needless to say I was speechless (which for those of you who know me...).

20 of us showed up that night, to find a big coach bus waiting on us. When we got on the bus, there was home made chicken salad sandwiches, brownies, soda and water. We were greeted with a huge smile from both the man and his wife. We got on the bus, and we just got to be together as friends. We got to take part in an amazing 3 hour time of worship and praise from the very front down on the floor. I was exhausted when we got back on the bus.

That is when the most incredible part of the night happened. The man stood up and told us that he was so moved by the time of worship that happened at his son's funeral, that he was moved to action. He said that he was going to make it his family's mission to make sure that the worship leaders in our church were able to get to worship. He said that we spend all week, every week preparing and praying so that our congregation could worship, and he wanted to give something back. That was his thank you to us. The gift of worship. The gift of the presence of God without having to worry about anything but God. No cables to check, no new songs to learn, no set up or tear down. Just worship.

As I sit here, tears come to my eyes, not because Hillsong United was so amazing, not because the bus was so comfortable, but because we were given such an amazing gift of thanks. God taught me something in that moment. Accept this for what it is, a gift of thanks. Do not rob them of the blessing of getting to thank you for what you do. Thank you God for the gift of thanks.

I may be old...

2011-08-31T20:54:00.005-05:00

I read a fair number of blogs written by senior pastors. Pastors of huge mega churches and small churches. Pastors with big staffs and little to no staff. I have noticed lately that I am seeing a lot of them talking about pouring into their young staff members by spending 1 on 1 time with them, mentoring them and teaching them to be better leaders. I love this trend. The only way to have great leaders in the future is for them to spend time with great leaders.

When I was in training as a Surgical Assistant, the montra of the surgical training program was, "See one, Do one, Teach one." This is a tried and true training method for several reasons. You learn by watching someone who has done it before, you learn by doing, and you learn by teaching someone else. This is great for the one being taught, and the one doing the teaching. In a teaching hospital, there are the young ones and the old ones. There are very few in the middle. This is not the case in ministry. Church staffs are made up of young, middle aged and older ministers and leaders.

I say all this to say, I may be old (ish), but I still need to be taught and mentored. Those of us in the 40 - 50 year old range need the same kind of mentoring. Part of the call of a senior leader and really, all ministry leaders is to shepherd, pastor and set up for success, his or her staff, no matter how young or old, no matter whether they are seen as senior leader material or just the one who is just good (or even just ok) at what they do.

This is an important lesson for all of us in ministry. For those of us who lead teams, we need to remember that just because that member of our team has tons of experience and is really good at what he or she does for the ministry, it doesn't mean that they don't need to be poured into as much as the newbie that needs to be trained from the ground up. Pour love into them all.

Not just a friends and family plan

2011-08-15T09:03:00.018-05:00

Who gets your grace? Why is it that we can be so ready to extend grace to people in our family, people in our community (church or otherwise), even that guy who just stole our parking spot that we have been riding around the mall parking lot looking for for 20 minutes, and yet the minute someone gets on television and is accused of a crime, they are suddenly not worthy of grace any more.

Over the last few months, I was horrified to watch the media, and the world, call for the conviction of Casey Anthony. On the day the jury came back, horror turned to nausea. Not Guilty... Let the flame war begin. I watched as people called for Casey's death, beating and re-trial. The thing that bother me the most was the writings of people who wrote how they couldn't wait for her to die so she could spend eternity in hell.

The other story that came out of the Anthony trial was that Casey Anthony was beyond redemption, unlovable by society, and most shockingly, unlovable by God. This hurt me to my core. This is, in my opinion, in no way the way we, as followers of Christ should feel and act.
At what point did we become a people who can flippantly talk about another human being going to hell? At what point did we become a people that are blinded by indignant rage? At what point in our lives did we become a people without grace?

As a people that believe in the redemptive grace, who the person is should not matter at all in our ability to offer grace. We are not called to offer redemptive grace only to those we like, or to those who think like us or look like us. Grace is not a Friends and Family Plan.

I have a question for you. Who is beyond your grace. Who is that one person that screwed up so bad, that there is no chance for redemption? Post it in the comments below.

This post is part of a group of posts for The People of the Second Chance called Never Beyond. Please join in the conversation at POTSC.com POTSC is a group of people that believe in radical grace for all.

New set design

2011-01-31T20:26:00.008-06:00

Greetings friends,

I wanted to share our new set design, and a little about how we built it. The set took 4 days to put together, and is built entirely out of over 200 cardboard boxes. They are stacked and glued together along the upstage wall which is 36 feet wide, and as high up as we could reach, which is 24 feet from the top down to the deck.

The longest part of the build was actually putting the boxes together, the bulk of which were put together by my son Andrew and a volunteer named Rose (a very sweet little Italian lady).

Here are a few pics from the box party.

My friend Butch brought an industrial glue gun and over 6 hours, we stacked the boxes. Here are some pictures during the build.

After all the boxes were stacked and glued, my son Aaron and I set about lighting the stage. We used 6 LED panels, and 4 bars. They are inexpensive American DJ fixtures, but they work well in our space, and besides, use what you have, right? Aaron did all the programming and I focused and helped mix color. Here is the final set look. I am really pleased by how it came out.

8.17.10 6:30am

2010-08-17T06:32:00.002-05:00

Today is Jenny's birthday. I can not explain how much being married to her makes me a better man. She puts up with me a lot more than she should, and that is a gift. I hope today is a great day for her.

Last night when we came home after class, Jenny found a recliner in her office. It was from her sons for her birthday today. She is always looking for a comfortable place to read, and they saw it at goodwill and bought it for her. Those boys love their momma.

Happy birthday my love...

Sunday report

2010-08-15T18:07:00.005-05:00

Today has been a pretty amazing day. It started with worship this morning. Any Sunday that we get to do a baptism is a great day, and today didn't disappoint. When we baptise a a child from our children's ministry, they bring all of the kids down, and stack them in front of the stage to watch one of there own get baptized. After the baptism, the kids usually file out during a song. Today, they lingered a little bit. I think it was because they knew the song. It was amazing to see them sing along with us. Have you ever seen a child that was mesmerized by something, and they couldn't break away from it? That is what they were like. They were singing and smiling, drawn in by worshipping.

I also started being the regular host for our 11 o'clock traditional service. I really enjoyed the service, and getting to see people that I don't get to see very much. I am really looking forward to being in there more consistently, for several reasons, mostly because I like being around the people, and being a pastor that takes call for pastoral care, I want and need to get to know the people in that service.

After lunch, I went to our local hospice facility to see Brenda Killabrew and her husband Martin. Brenda has been battling cancer for 3 years, and is at the end of her fight. She has fought valiantly, and Martin has taken such good care of her. It was an honor to get to visit with them, pray with them, and just listen. In our time together, Martin shared that one of Brenda's favorite songs was "Amazing Grace (My Chains are Gone)", and asked me to sing it for her at her funeral. It is always an honor to be asked to sing at a funeral or memorial service. Her suffering will end soon, I look forward to her service, and celebrating her life. I enjoyed our time together today very much.

Bishop William Willimon says that, as worship leaders, one of the things that we are called to is the pastoral care of the congregation, both in and outside of the worship service. I believe this whole heartedly, and relish the role. More about this later this week.

It truly was a great day.

later kids...

I hate this time of year

2010-08-13T13:57:00.003-05:00

I hate this time of year. I have several reasons, both personal and professional.

First, and foremost, I hate the heat. Today, we are likely to move into triple digits, and the heat index will get over 110. This is not good for me, being a fat little Italian man. Because of this, I sweat a lot, and I don't like that.

Second, it is budget time. Now, if you know me at all, you know that I don't do numbers very well, so naturally having an important, big project, that is wrapped around numbers is maddening. I get through it, but I hate it.

This time of year also means, goals and evaluations. Every year, we sit down, individually and as a staff, and try to set goals for the coming year. I understand the importance of trying to look forward, and do what we do better. I tend to find myself writing the same things, only in different wording... except for one goal: same goal, same wording... "More pastor, less tech." This problem is for another post.

Lastly, evaluations. I get really uncomfortable sitting in a room with people, even people who I know love me, and like what I do. I always feel like I am going to have to justify every little thing that I do, which is usually not the case, but that is really stressful for me. I end up being much harder on myself than the people who are evaluating me.

This is why I hate this time of year. It will get better for me in about a month or so.

Thanks for listening to me whine.

Later kids...

I know, I know...

2010-07-28T18:58:00.003-05:00

it has been a year (minus 1 week) since I last posted here. It isn't like there hasn't been anything to write about, I've just been lazy.

As an update, here is a list of some of the things that have happened to me in the last year, both good and not so good in not any particular order.

This year, Jenny has been working so hard in her garden, and it has been incredible. She has always been a great cook, but since the garden started producing, she has been making some of the most amazing dishes. The best by far is the Roasted Roma Tomato Sauce. She made it for our staff this week, and they went crazy over it. I am so proud of her, and blessed by her.
4 weeks ago, Jenny and I started classes to finish our bachelors degrees. This has been something that we have wanted to do for a long time. It is important to us for a couple of reasons. 1) As an example to our boys that finishing school isn't a luxury anymore, it is a necessity. 2) Both of us need the piece of paper in order to feel like we have a voice in our professions.
Our sons have grown a lot this year, and we could not be more proud. Andrew moved into the Wesley Foundation and is out on his own. It is hard to believe he is going to be a junior in college. I have seen him grow as a person, as a musician, and as a TD. Joey has started working with group called "Community Options". It is amazing to watch him work. His heart pours out every day. Watching and listening to Aaron is just crazy. In the last year, he has continued on his road to being a great musician. He is a sophomore in high school, and continues the tradition of taking really tough courses in high school. Physics, Algebra and AP US History.
In February, I got to my annual trip to ReCreate. A time of rest, renewal and being with friends from all over the world. We talk, laugh, pray, worship and learn together. It is some of the most inspiring times of the year for me both professionally and personally. It is led, designed and hosted by my friend Randy Elrod. I was also encouraged by the artists that were there, and started a little painting and altar design. You should check it out here.
I had to separate out 1 thing from ReCreate this year. We had a time of worship with Gungor. When I heard that they were going to be there, I was excited because Michael Gungor is a great songwriter. I had no idea how good. The hour that we spent being led and taught by him was life changing. It was laid out like a symphony, but unlike anything I had experienced before, it was a symphony extolling the beauty, love and grace of Jesus. I have since seen them again with my sons, and it was amazing again.
One of the disappointing things this year was the fact that I didn't get to take my annual pilgrimage to see my friends Tom and Rhondell. They moved several years ago and I miss them alot. This is the first time in several years that I haven't gotten to go after Easter.
I have had a couple of set designs that I have been pretty pleased with lately. I will post them in the next few days.
I started walking 3 or 4 times a week several months ago with my friend Troy. We have not walked in a little over a week or so though, and I am starting to feel the repercussions. I need the exercise and the conversation.

I guess that is enough for now. Thanks for reading.

Later kids...

18 years

2009-08-05T08:13:00.003-05:00

18 years ago, within a 2 week span, I had one of the greatest things happen to me, the birth of my 2nd son Joey, and, I had to say "see you later" to my dad. 2 weeks ago, we celebrated Joey's 18th birthday.

It doesn't seem possible that my Dad has been gone that long. It seems like we were just talking about baseball and watching the all star game together. That was one of our things that we always did, we watched the MLB All-star game. Even when I was stationed in Germany, we watched it together over the phone (It was 4am my time).

When he died, there was a huge void in my life, and there still is. He was the one that I always turned to when I had questions about taxes, or finances, anything really, he was the one that was always there when I was doing something. For years after I moved to Bowling Green, I played softball, and every once in a while I would catch myself looking in the stands to see if he was watching. My dad played semi-pro baseball in his younger days, and was quite a hitter. Here is a picture of him back in the day...

Baseball was a way of life at my house. He was the only coach I knew until I got into High School.

One of the many nice things in my life now, is that I get to see a little of my dad in each of my children. In Andrew, I see my dad because he looks like me, and in turn, like dad. He also has that drive to work hard and help people. Now Joey, who's middle name is Alfred, you have to know what you are looking for. Joey gets a mischievous look, and grin on his face right before he is going to do something to mess with someone else. My dad did the same thing. And Aaron has the same love and ability for mathematics. My dad was a wiz with numbers and so is Runt.

I wish that my son's could have known my father, or "Alf, the wonder dad", as all my friends in High School referred to him. He was a great man, and I miss him a lot.

Sunday Setlist 8.02.09

2009-08-02T13:49:00.003-05:00

Today was a pretty great day. I was back leading today after a week off (that felt like a month). I love leading worship on Communion Sundays. We got to do a new song, started a new series, and I got a sweet gift from a friend's little boy (more on that in a minute).

Here is the Setlist...

Famous One
Welcome, sermon set up and prayer
Enough (we are going to be doing this each of the next 2 weeks as well, to tie into our sermon series)
Surrender by Marc James
Greet
Message
Communion
Potter's Hand
Announcements and Offering
Your Name (we used a video on the screens of the names of God edited by Stephen Proctor. You can get it here)
Benediction

All in all, really good day. We took an inventory this afternoon of how many man hours went into today, and came up with 130 or so. The team that we work with every week is amazing.

Now to my sweet gift this morning. My friend Joe Patterson (our Pastor of Family Ministry) and his little boy Kellen walked up to me after church. Kellen told me he wanted to sing a song for me. He put his arms out for me to pick him up, and when I did, he held my head, and put his mouth right up against my ear (like he was telling me a secret), and proceeded to sing "The Lord's Prayer" to me. He sang the whole thing. It was one of the most beautiful things I have ever heard. Here is a picture of him...

Imagine this sweet boy singing in your ear. Precious. A perfect end to a great morning of worship.

Later kids...

This post is part of the "Sunday Setlists" blog carnival over Fred's place. Click on the graphic to see what other worship leaders had to say about their Sundays.

Just not going to be the same

2009-07-13T06:28:00.002-05:00

Today is the funeral for my friend, Dean Maggard. Dean was a long time member of the church I currently serve, and was one of the sweetest, talking-est people I knew. He was great. Deep baritone voice, contagious laugh, big smile that you couldn't chisel off. He used to say that he had a voice and a face for radio, and that the reason he liked me was I had the same.

When we do a series of messages that are tied to Wednesday night gatherings, we call that a super series. For me, the best part of doing a super series was getting to the Wednesday night component early, before the meal started, and sitting at the table with Dean. We would sit and laugh, mostly making fun of each other and our wives. Wednesday nights will not be the same without my friend Dean. The room of 200 people or so will seem empty.

Rest in Peace my friend. We will see you later...

My first look at the Wasabi Gospel

2009-07-08T09:00:00.002-05:00

A few weeks ago I answered a twitter from Shawn Wood about possibly getting to read his new book, “Wasabi Gospel” early, and writing about it here. To be honest, I didn’t think that I would get to participate, because I didn’t respond the very second he tweeted it (Shawn is a popular guy). I couldn't not try, as I am a big Sushi fan. Low and behold, I got the email and here I am. This is just one of many in the “Wasabi Gospel Book Bomb” on Amazon.com. You can pre-order today and get a good deal on both of Shawn's books.

Having read the entire book from virtual cover to virtual cover, I can tell you that it has caused me to re-think how I look at pieces of scripture, and not just the ones covered in the book.

I have chosen to write today, about the first chapter in this post, not just because it is, what I am sure will be, the first of several posts about the book, but because it is in the first chapter where a term that completely wrecked me came from… Preemptive Forgiveness. I have always known that Jesus died for my sins and the sins of others, but to put it in that wording brought it back to life for me.

One of the things that I struggle with is anger issues, which extend sometimes to forgiveness problems. I have in the past few days in particular, been praying about a situation and I keep going back to this quote: “We often become intoxicated by our anger, happiness, sadness, or other emotions and are left with an emotional hangover. In order to make sober decisions we must somehow separate ourselves from our emotions.” (pg 16). I haven’t perfected it by any means but I am working.

I say all that to say, go out and get this book, you won't regret it, even if it wrecks you, and it will.

Father's Day reflections

2009-06-21T20:00:00.004-05:00

Today has done a couple things for me. The first is to remind me how blessed I am to have a family that loves me and blesses me with their talents and gifts. Note...

My day started by seeing a drawing taped to my dresser from my middle son Joey. It made me smile. He is talented like his mother.
I then got the great gift of having my oldest son, Andrew be the Front of House sound engineer for worship this morning. He is an amazing servant, and has a great ears.
During church, I got to watch people be touched by a video that my beautiful wife Jenny shot and edited. She has a way of making the story jump off the screens. God gave me a gift I didn't deserve when he sent her to me.
After worship, we had lunch together as a family, and then we sat on the couch as my youngest son, Aaron, played piano for me. He is my free spirit, easily distracted, but gifted.
When he was done, he went to the computer and started to lay down piano tracks for a video that Jenny is working on.

The second thing was just how much I miss my dad. He has been gone almost 18 years, and I still miss him desperately. I wish my sons could have known him. I wish he could have been a part of their lives. I have spent my life wanting to be him.

So today has been bitter sweet for me. Mostly sweet with memories, old and new.

Later kids...

Sunday set list 6.21.09

2009-06-21T17:14:00.002-05:00

Happy Father's Day.

Today was one of those days where I woke up late and kind of rushed to get out the door. On of those days when I hoped I hadn't left a gap unshaved on my head or face. A day where one of my vocalists, who happens to be our children's pastor, calls me and tells me he can't sing because his host for this morning is sick. A day where one of our camera ops doesn't show up and we have to put a new guy in the booth with one of the graphics computers. Sounds like a horrible day, huh?

Not at all. It was wonderful. We got to do an extra song, happy fathers day to me, and we got to hear from one of the great seasoned men of our church. All in all, no major distractions, and the congregation sang out strong, even with our numbers down just a little. I went without my in ears monitors today, and I am glad I did. My son Andrew was running FOH, and he had a really good mix today. I could hear well, and I coiuld hear the congregation too. I got a couple of compliments on his mix this morning. He is Awesome.

Here is how the day went...

"My Savior Lives"
"Mighty to Save"

Welcome, and set up
Father and Son mini testimony and prayer

"Marvelous Light"
"My Jesus, I Love Thee/Tis So Sweet" Bart Millard arrangement

Greet
Message (Our Associate Pastor, Adam, preached at our campus today, and our Senior Pastor was at our Greenwood Campus)

Announcements and Offering prayer
"Your Grace, Still Amazes Me"

Benediction

Later Kids...

This post is part of the “Sunday Setlists” blog carnival on my friend Fred McKinnon's blog. Click on the logo below to see other setlists and worship reports from around the world.

Sunday set list 6.14.09

2009-06-14T19:48:00.003-05:00

It has been a couple weeks since last we spoke friends. Here is my report from today.

We are in a series called "StoryTellers", and we are working through the parables. Today was the parable of the wedding feast. We used a video from the Free Hugs Campaign to illustrate the invitation to the party. This seSries really plays to strength of both Rick and Adam, in that they are both very comfortable with using stories in their sermons. After the service, I got to go out into the Atrium and hold a sign that said "Free Hugs". I got about 100 hugs. It was great. Being Italian, I will hug all day long.

Here is how it went...

"Forever"

Welcome and set up of the day

"Sing to the King"
"At the Cross"

Greet
Message with "Free Hugs" (see it here)
Prayer written by Mother Theresa
"Dear Lord, Help me spread your fragrance wherever I go. Flood my soul with your spirit & life. Penetrate me, possess my whole being so utterly all my life may only be a "radiance" of yours. Shine through me and be so in me that every soul I come in contact with may feel your presence in my soul. Let them look up and see no longer me, but only you, O Lord! Let me preach you without preaching, not by words, but by my example by the catching force, the sympathetic influence of what I do, the evident fullness of the love my heart bears to you. Amen." Mother Theresa

Announcements and Offering Prayer
"Healer" Kari Jobe version

Benediction

Later kids...

This post is part of the "Sunday Setlists" blog carnival over Fred's place. Click on the graphic to see what other worship leaders had to say about their Sundays.

Sunday set list 5.24.09

2009-05-24T11:49:00.002-05:00

I know, it has been a long time since I posted. I have had a rough last couple weeks, not sleeping and having nightmares again. Luckily I slept pretty well last night. I needed it.

We did something that we have never done. We used a drum, click and loop track. Our drummer was out of town, and we have been wanting to try it, so we took the plunge. I have to say, it went really well. We only did 2 songs with it, but we tied them together and let the computer run. The 2 songs that we did were familiar to everyone, so they didn't have much trouble. We used Ableton Live 7 and ran it out to an M-Audio box that sent the different tracks out separately so our FOH engineer could mix them.

We also got to do a baptism today. That always gets me fired up. Makes me all jumpy and excited.

Here is the set...

"Holy is the Lord"
A prayer based on Psalm 147
"Here I Am to Worship"
Welcome
Baptism
Prayer
"Amazing Grace (My Chains are Gone)"
Greet
Message
Announcements and Offering
"Free to Be Me"
Commissioning of Stephen Ministers
Benediction

It was a busy Sunday, but a really good one for us. I will post later this week about what, if any, reaction we get to the loops and such.

I hope your Sunday was as fun as mine.

Later kids...

This post is part of the "Sunday Setlists" blog carnival over Fred's place. Click on the graphic to see what other worship leaders had to say about their Sundays.

Sunday set list 4.26.09

2009-04-26T18:51:00.002-05:00

OK, so today was one of the crazier days I have had as a worship leader. First, it is always crazy when whoever is speaking has to cover both campuses. Today was Adam's turn. On days like today, we have to front end everything in the service in order to give Adam time to drive across town. At the end of the set, during the last song before offering, we had a person pass out, and the folks around him started working on him, and then they called out for a doctor. So, and this is one of the reasons I have the best band in the world, we faded out of the song we were doing, and I started praying as they worked with him, and got him into a wheel chair and out to the EMT's. When the song was over, Adam had arrived but was back stage and didn't really see what happened but heard me talking. I made the decision that that moment was not at all the time to take an offering, so we went ahead and sang a scaled back version of "Enough" and then went into the sermon bumper and sermon. We had planned to do a song at the end of the sermon anyway, so when Adam finished up, we came out and I led into the offering and did the benediction out of that. Good news is that Eric, the guy who passed out, is fine.

So here is the set list...

"Beautiful One"
"Mighty to Save"
Welcome and Sermon Set up
"Blessed Be Your Name"
"Never Let Go"
"Enough" scaled back for prayer sake
Sermon Bumper
Message
Offering
"Draw Me Close" (on the fly, thanks to my Piano player, a 25 year veteran of worship leading)
Benediction

This post is part of the "Sunday Setlists" blog carnival over Fred's place. Click on the graphic to see what other worship leaders had to say about their Sundays.

Sunday Setlist 3.29.09

2009-03-29T11:01:00.002-06:00

Today was one of our best Sunday's ever. Even with introducing 2 new songs (not something that we normally do) the participation was great.

"Thief" (Third Day)
We started the service a little differently today, by doing a song that I would classify as a special. We did some different things lighting wise, in that we don't usually do a lot of changes during songs, and it was just me singing. It was well recieved.
Welcome and set-up
"Glorious One" (Steve Fee)
"Trading My Sorrows" (Darrel Evans)
Greet
"Today is the Day" (Lincoln Brewster"
I have been wanting to introduce this song for a while now, and the sermon and the theme for the day fit well, and after teaching them the verse and chorus, they sang right along.
Message
Offering Prayer
"Glorious Impossible" (Carl Cartee)
I heard this song for the first time when I was at Re:Create in February. It is an amazing song. It pushed me vocally in the chorus (the key is in F#), but it was well worth it. Powerful lyrics.

I have to give a great big shout out to my tech team today. They did an amazing job with all the lighting changes, and the screens looked great.

This post is part of the "Sunday Setlists" blog carnival over Fred's place. Click on the graphic to see what other worship leaders had to say about their Sundays.

Poor Man's versa tubes

2009-03-23T18:15:00.004-06:00

A couple of you have asked about a comment I made about my "poor man's versa tubes". Basically, they are corrugated roofing panels, made out of white PVC material, lit with as much LED light as I can throw at it. Here are a couple of pictures... one of the panel, unlit and one lit with a primary green.

Where I got the idea that they looked like versa tubes is when I put the LED's on auto, and they changed colors really quickly. The corrugations and the shadows in between, looked like individual tubes.

I can't take credit for this, really. I got the idea from Van Metschke. He is a designer and tech director at South Hills Church in California. Check out some of his crazy good designs and knowledge at The Soundbooth

Later kids...

Sunday Setlist 3.22.09

2009-03-23T17:54:00.003-06:00

Yeah, Yeah, Yeah in know. I'm late, again. I couldn't find my card reader to get the pictures of my "poor man's versa tubes". More on that after the set list.

All Because of Jesus
Welcome and sermon set up
Mighty to Save
Here I Am to Worship
Everything Cries Holy (an oldie but it it fit with the sermon well)
Greet
Message
Announcements and Offering Prayer
Hear Us From Heaven (another one that we hadn't done in a long time, but again, it wrapped up the theme of the day well)
I stood them up after the offering was taken, and they sang with us really well. After the last chorus, I prayed the benediction and then we sang one more chorus as they started to leave.

All in all it was a really good day in worship.

This post is part of the “Sunday Setlists” blog carnival on my friend Fred McKinnon's blog. Click on the logo below to see other setlists and worship reports from around the world.

Sunday set list

2009-03-17T06:21:00.002-06:00

I know, I am late with this. Anyway...

Sunday was a really fun day in worship for me. I got to sing with Diane Carter, who is the worship leader at our Greenwood Campus. Diane and I have been singing together for 10 years going all the way back to youth camps at Hillvue. She is one of those people that I just naturally sing well with. It was just the 2 of us, and we split the lead stuff.

"Lord Reign in Me"
We had a testimony from the chairman of our council that was funny, and really tied into the theme of the day.
"You Never Let Go"
"Revelation Song"
Diane took the lead on this and really lead the congregation. It wrecked a few folks, as I saw a few tears, and heard a few sniffles when we finished.
Message
Today we continued in the book of John with the story of the woman at the well. We started with a clip from "The Gospel of John". The striking thing for me from this clip was the woman. She gives an amazing performance, and her face was perfect.
We ended the message with another clip, this time it was a spoken word piece from the woman's perspective. You can see it here.
"Praise You in this Storm"

This post is part of the “Sunday Setlists” blog carnival on my friend Fred McKinnon's blog. Click on the logo below to see other setlists and worship reports from around the world.

More explosive goodness

2009-03-17T06:10:00.005-06:00

As many of you know, I am a big fan of Jeff Dehut's art. He is an artist who spends some time as a barista at my Starbucks. I wanted to give you a look at his latest work. If you want to see more, go to his website. He has posted some of his sketches from his moleskin, and also some animated stuff that he and his brother Craig have done.

Enjoy this morning goodness...

Later kids...

I'm a bad parent

2009-03-10T15:34:00.003-06:00

OK, so I am a bad parent. As you may know, my son Joey stepped on a huge piece of a broken glass, and sliced his foot open. The bleeding was really bad, and we had to call an ambulance because if I took any pressure off his foot, it started pouring blood again. We spent a long time in the ER at the Medical Center, and even after several hours of pressure on his wound, when they took the bandage off, it started bleeding again. They stitched it up and told him no weight bearing at all for 2 to 3 weeks. The doctor told us to leave the dressing on until today, and then change it, clean it and re-dress it.

Well, here is where the bad parenting part comes in. Today I was cleaning and re-dressing his foot, and the first thing I thought of was, "Man, I need to take some pictures for my blog". Horrible, I know...

But here are the pictures.

This is what it looked like after I took the bandage off.

After the cleaning

All nice, clean and dressed up.

Seriously, thank you for your prayers for him. They are much appreciated.

Later kids...

Please pray

2009-03-05T10:17:00.003-06:00

Hey guys,

Would please pray for a worship leader in Florida. His name is Will Pufall, and he is in a pretty dire place in the hospital with an infection. He is a close friend of my friend Fred McKinnon down in GA. Fred posted a few minutes ago that they have asked Will's family to come to the hospital.

Thank you for your prayers

Wizard of Oz

2009-03-02T19:14:00.003-06:00

For the last 2 weeks my sons and I have been working on "The Wizard of Oz" at our Jr. High. I lit the show, and Andrew did sound. It was a lot of fun and the kids did a great job. Here are some pictures my brother in law took. My son played "Nikko" the head of the flying monkeys.
Enjoy...

Later kids...

Sunday's setlist 3/01/09

2009-03-02T06:49:00.003-06:00

Good morning,

Yesterday was one of those days when I wasn't sure what was going to happen. As some of you know, I am having a really hard time with my ears. I had tubes put in 6 months ago, when I was having so much trouble hearing. In the last 3 -4 weeks, my hearing has gotten a lot worse, and my ENT doc told me that both of the tubes had moved out of position and that they were blocked and unable to drain my tubes. So, in a week and half, I have to have the old ones removed and new ones put it.

Until March 11th, I have to put up with not hearing well at all. That is why I wasn't sure about the service yesterday. Luckily, I have a great band and group of singers who held me up, and took care of it for me. The set was a good one for this sermon, on the man born blind.

"Better is One Day"
Announcements
Baptism
"Let Everything that Has Breath"
I started the chorus cold, as the pastor said Amen, as the response and celebration of the baptism.
"Indescribable"
Greet
Message
Communion
"Touch of His Hand"
This song was written by a friend of mine, and was the perfect tie to the song. You can listen to it here
"Hungry"
Offering
"Pure"
This song wrecks me every time. Simple, yet powerful. "Your everything I want, Everything I hope in, Everything my heart cries out for"

That will be my prayer this week.

Later kids...

This post is part of the “Sunday Setlists” blog carnival on my friend Fred McKinnon's blog. Click on the logo below to see other setlists and worship reports from around the world.

Lenten fast

2009-02-25T10:54:00.002-06:00

Good morning,

I wanted to drop a note and tell you how cool my kid's are. On Monday, we finally sat down as a family and discussed what we would do for lent. We usually try to do something together. This year, my boys drove the discussion and decided that "we" would give up eating out, and meat. Now, eating out is not too big an issue, but MEAT? I am a carnivore. I said, "Well, that won't be too bad, I can still have fish and chicken, right?" My middle child looked at me and said, "No, if it had a face, we don't eat it!" Dang, it.

I am really proud of my family, and it will be an interesting40 (47 really) days.

What are you fasting from for Lent?

Later kids...

Beautiful Jesus

2009-02-24T07:32:00.002-06:00

Several of you have asked about the song Beautiful Jesus. It is by Kristian Stanfill. You can get it on iTunes or Amazon. There are 2 versions of it. One that starts with electric guitar, which is on his album "Hello", and one that starts with an acoustic. This one is on the Passion CD "God of This City"

I hope you use this song, and it speaks to you and your congregation as much as it does to ours.

Later kids...

Sunday's setlist 2/22/09

2009-02-23T06:51:00.004-06:00

Sorry this is so late. We spent most of the afternoon watching really bad movies.

Yesterday was a day that I was really looking forward to since we were going to introduce "Beautiful Jesus" to the congregation. I love this song, and it seems to grab me and pull straight to Jesus every time I sing it.

Here is the set list...

"Beautiful Jesus" just a verse and couple of choruses
Welcome, sermon set up, and announcements
Baptism
"Beautiful One"
"Open the Eyes of My Heart"
Prayer and Greet
Message
Adam, our associate pastor, did a really good job with the message today. He and I work pretty closely together, but he is usually at our Greenwood Campus on Sundays, so it is good when he preaches at Melrose. The sermon was right in his wheelhouse as he spoke of spiritual development.
Offering
"Beautiful Jesus"
Our congregation really sang out on this. I am very excited about it. It usually takes them a couple of times hearing a song before they start really singing out. I foresee this song being in our regular rotation.
Benediction

All in all it was a good Sunday. Thanks for checking in.

Later Kids...

This post is part of the “Sunday Setlists” blog carnival on my friend Fred McKinnon's blog. Click on the logo below to see other setlists and worship reports.

Lent Series graphic

2009-02-19T07:49:00.002-06:00

Here is the new graphic Jenny has put together for our Lenten Series that kicks off on March 1st. I will include updates, stage pictures and sermon highlights in my Sunday Setlist postings over at Fred's Place.

The series will visit different people from the Gospel of John whose life was completely changed when their life met Jesus.

Later Kids...

Love You

2009-02-18T07:34:00.002-06:00

This morning, as I sat in Starbucks pouring over planning center and finishing up the next month and a half of music for the Melrose Campus, I got a facebook chat popup from my friend Kate. The only words on it were, "Love You". This is the only thing that Kate ever says in these chats, and they are completely random in timing. This morning was particularly impactful for me. During my week at Recreate, I learned to look for God in all things, not just music or a beautiful piece of art. This morning, as I was bogged down in the busy-ness of ministry, God jumped out at me, through a beautiful little girl with Downs Syndrome.

Thank you Kate, for reminding me that I am loved by God, and by you.

Tell someone "Love You" today. See what happens.

later kids...

My Sunday

2009-02-15T16:35:00.002-06:00

Today's set list went like this...
"Mighty to Save"
"Every Step I Take"

At this point in the service we got to celebrate baptisms. We did 3 immersions. We don't have an installed baptistry, so we use a cattle trough. Interesting thing, those things. They don't come equipped with a heater. So early this morning we ran a hose from the kitchen and emptied the water heater. I love getting ready for baptisms. They are my favorite part of a service.

"Sing to the King" as a response to the baptisms.

We ended the service with a song by my friend Mark Hendrix, called "Let Your Love Pour Out".

Thanks for checking in...

This post is part of the “Sunday Setlists” blog carnival on my friend Fred McKinnon's blog. Click on the logo below to see other setlists and worship reports.

A birthday at BG retirement village

2009-02-11T12:45:00.003-06:00

This is sort of like a worship confessional. I went to BG retirement village today, like I do every 2nd Wednesday, to speak for their worship time. We sing a couple of hymns, I speak for about 10 - 15 minutes, sing another hymn and that is it. Today was a little different, because the lovely little lady that plays the piano for us told me that last week she celebrated a birthday. Now, any birthday in this facility is a good one, so it isn't unusual for them to tell me about birthdays. It is what birthday she celebrated that got me. Last week she turned 99. Yes, you read that right. She lives in on of the apartments, with a piano in it, that she plays every day. She says that is what keeps her going. She plays hymns everyday. She is pretty amazing.

She once told me that she rehearses for the prelude that she plays every service. It is always different, and always a classical piece. She said that she would like to play more different hymns, but it is getting hard to read the notes out of the hymnal. I tried calling Cokesbury (the publishers of the Methodist Hymnal) to see if they made one that had the sheet music larger, but alas, they do not. If any of you know where I could find one, please let me know. She would love it, and just having some new hymns to play just might a sweet little old lady's day.

Later kids...

reCreate

2009-02-10T07:17:00.002-06:00

I am excited to tell you that I just registered for the 2010 recreate conference. I am already looking forward to being with my friends and getting to worship and encourage each other.

So, lunch at Merridee's on the Monday at say... noon?

Later kids...

reCreate day 4

2009-02-06T07:15:00.003-06:00

Yesterday, I was able to hear from someone that I have been following in the blog world for quite some time. Anne Jackson has written a book called "Mad Church Disease". It is a set of conversations aimed at people in ministry and the need for them to be healthy. As she started, I must admit that I was thinking that she would be saying things about Sabbath, and leaving things at the office/church and things like that, which she did, but not like I expected. She did it by forcing us to consider 2 questions.

"Is serving in the church interfering with your communion with Christ?"
Are you living in the integrity of your conscience?"

With these questions, I felt like I was being stabbed in the gut. After a time where we prayed for each other that were with us at our tables, we had a time of discussing how we are staying healthy. This part was very difficult for me. I am still hurting inside from some of the answers that I was forced (willingly, I might add) to face.

At the end of the day, I traveled to New Song Church here in Franklin for a dinner and time of worship. I have one word for you. Fee. Steve Fee and band played for us, led us in worship and blessed us. I am going to be honest here, we are friends, right? I was probably a little more excited about seeing these guys than I should have been. I am a fan of the music, I go weeks where I can't get their CD out of my truck's CD player. I was not disappointed. The guys delivered a loud, in your face, rockin' time. They did the songs I expected, and a couple that I hadn't heard before and am now waiting to get my hands on. They did a song called "Glory to God" that he wrote with Vicki Beeching. This will be a great song for communion for us.

Afterward, I had to say goodbye to some of my new friends. I had an incredible week, and I will be realizing things for months to come.

Today, I will be at EMI for a day of songwriting and such. Then home.

Later kids...

reCreate day 3

2009-02-06T06:55:00.002-06:00

Now that I am a full day past Wednesday, I think I can write about the day. It was a day where Randy opened his heart, and laid it out in such a way as for us to see the places where it was broken, and the places where there was healing, and even a couple places that were healed completely. It was a beautiful time of hearing from a man who has the history to be credible and the heart to trusted.

After a wonderful lunch, we came back to a 3 song worship set from Billy and Cindy Foote. This was really exciting, since we do several of their songs on a regular basis. I found myself running through the catalog of thier songs in my mind. As Billy said thanks for having us, I must admit I was hoping they would do Sing to the King. My heart was lifted as he started playing the chord that was so familiar, and Cindy sang "Sing to the King". I was lifted up, and we worshipped as a family of creatives. What a blessing.

What happened toward the end of Wednesday afternoon is hard for me to describe. We celebrated the Eucharist with Ian Cron (an Episcipal priest). It was beautiful, and as he explained what we were celebrating, I was taken into a time with Jesus that I still cannot explain. I found myself with my eyes closed, and hearing Ian not just in my ears, but in my heart. To be honest, I only remember bits and pieces: Ian singing the liturgy, Mark Roach singing as we came forward to kneel and recieve, the touch of the bread in my hands, the smell of the wine, the taste them on my tongue, and then being lost in prayer flat on my face on the concrete floor of the worship space we were in.

Let's just say I was wrecked for the rest of the day. I hope to unpack this even more when I read some of the other guys postings and talk to them about it.

Later kids...

reCreate day 2

2009-02-04T05:23:00.002-06:00

Where do I start? When we got there, Carl Cartee brought some amazing worship. He introduced a couple of new songs that are pretty great. Honestly is a sung prayer that will make it's way into our set lists soon.

The first speaker of the day was Steve Guthrie, a professor of art and theology. He spoke some needed and welcome words about the perceived dichotomy (what he called the "2 halves of Worship) in some of our services between the music and the teaching and how they are not to be separated, but an embraced single entity. He also said that it isn't enough to just find a word in a song that goes in the sermon, but how do we "enact" the words.

After our first session, it was time for lunch, but before we left for the restaurant, Mathew Ward (from 2nd Chapter of Acts) sang the Lords Prayer. He is amazing. We made our way to the "Boxwood Bistro" for lunch that was sponsored by Centricity Records. I had grilled chicken and pasta and it was really good. After lunch, Randy told us to hurry back over to the worship center, because they had a surprise for us. When we got there, the stage was set up with a 12 string guitar and a couple microphones. A Representative from Centricity came up and told us a little about the company, and then introduced Billy and Cindy Foote (yes, "Sing to the King, You are God Alone, Amazing Love). They led us with 3 songs and they did not disappoint. Cindy's voice was a big as any recording I have heard from her. Amazing.

After wishing for one more song, we went to our next session, with Ian Morgan Cron, author of "Chasing Francis" If you don't know, Ian is an Anglican priest from New England, and has studied St. Francis pretty extensively. I am still unpacking all of what he said, but here are a couple quotes that reached up and bit me.

Most Christians go through life taping fruit on trees
Silence is God's first language
Our Christianity should be an Instinct not an Effort.

Like I said, I am still trying to get around his stuff. More later.

After that, we were in the worship center, where the guys from Compassion International told us that they were giving every registrant of Recreate a trip to learn about Compassion's ministry and to take that back to our churches. WOW. They are going to Ethiopia as one of the trips, and I hope that is the one that I can work out.

The night ended with a time of worship that Word publishing helped with. It started with a songwriter showcase with Matt Boswell, Meredith Andrews and Michael Farrin. I was blown away by Meredith Andrews. She is a little bitty girl that has a massive voice.

The day ended with Michael W. Smith leading in worship in a "Story Tellers" style, very relaxed time. It was very intimate, you could hear us singing with him. The highlight of the time for me was when we sang Majesty together, and, the sounds of the voices, all worshipping was moving. Being in a room with a bunch worship leaders.

I got back to my hotel room and collapsed.

More tomorrow...

ReCreate day 1

2009-02-03T06:25:00.003-06:00

If you know me at all, you know that I have been really excited about coming to reCreate for some time now. It is no secret that I have been a little crispy around the edges for a little while. Here is the report from day 1.

We are in Franklin, TN and this is a really cool place. Lots of downtown (which I love) and we spent yesterday mostly in the downtown area. We met at Merridees, a bakery and such with some really great food and coffee. I got to meet several new friends, chris from canada, Jim, Jonathan, Joel, Fred, Alistair and Jan.

The next event was the meet and greet. I met so many people that I can't remember their names. It was really tight, but it wasn't uncomfortable, because it felt like everybody knew everybody.

At dinner, I got to sit with Ian Morgan Cron, author of "Chasing Francis". Around our table we had an engaging conversation about everything from music, to Italy.

After we got done stuffing ourselves with Mexican food, we went to the Factory to see the Adam Nitti Band. All I can say is "WOW". This is a Jazz band full of virtuoso musicians. I will post a video in my wrap up post. I almost didn't get any footage because I couldn't move I was so blown away.

I will be posting everyday. I am getting ready to get going. Today we get to worship with Carl Cartee, and Michael W. Smith. Go ahead, hate me.

Later kids...

See Ya Later

2008-12-13T09:52:00.002-06:00

This morning, I got the news that my friend, Kela had passed away. This was not a surprise, as she has been fighting her disease for a long time now. The only solace that I can offer to Kirk and her sons, is that we are not saying "Goodbye" to her. Because of Jesus, we can say, "See Ya Later".

Kela was a very vocal and loving supporter of the contemporary worship ministry at Broadway. Tomorrow will be bittersweet, as we do an entire service of music. I hope it will be a blessing to her family and friends. I know that I will be thinking of her as I sing.

See Ya Later kid...

Worship confessional

2008-11-16T18:24:00.003-06:00

Hey guys,

It has been a while since I did a worship confessional, so here goes.

Today was a great day in worship. The band was on, we got to introduce a new singer, Rick brought great words of encouragement and love, we got to see baptisms, and our congregation got an opportunity to love our community. Let me 'splain.

Set list:
Trading My Sorrows
Come, Now is the Time to Worship
Heart of Worship

How Deep the Father's Love

Today was the first time in quite some time that I thought we (as a band and as a team) hit all our cues. Jason was reading us like a pro on Media Shout, the transitions between elements and between songs were spot on, and the stage looked great.

We had Will playing electric today. On Tuesday, for his 13th birthday (that is right, he is just 13) he got a new guitar (a semi hollow body, epiphone Wildcat with P90 pickups and an old school tremolo bar) and new amp (a really sweet sounding vox) and he put them to great use. He sounded like a pro today, and he played like a pro today.

The other cool thing today was we got to introduce a new singer to the congregation. Dana came in and we baptized her by fire, by giving her a solo. We had her sing the song that she used to audition with, "How Deep the Father's Love for Us", by Stuart Townsend. She did a great job with it.

The coming week will be exciting, because we are switching with worship team from our Greenwood campus. Diane and her team will lead worship at Melrose, and we will get to lead at Greenwood. I can't wait for that.

Later kids...

Yes...

2008-11-14T08:32:00.002-06:00

I slept last night for 7 hours in a row. So this is what it feels like to have gotten a full nights sleep. Last night I must have been so tired that not even the nightmares could wake me. Whatever it was, I am grateful. Thanks all for your prayers.

On a side note, Quantum of Solace opens today. That is exciting.

Later kids...

It's that time of year again...

2008-11-12T18:30:00.000-06:00

I really, really don't like this time of year. Christmas I mean. I know, as a minister and follower of Jesus, I shouldn't say that. I shouldn't feel that. But I do. My dislike is not about Jesus in any way, just what the world and the church has done to it. In most cases, it is no longer about Jesus. It is about buying christmas presents, and seeing who can have the biggest tree, or who can attract the most people to see their christmas program, or who can most make their sanctuary, or worship space, or front yard, or living room, look like Hobby Lobby threw up in it. I was physically sick when I saw christmas decorations going up a month before Halloween.

*side rant*
On that note: Why is it that people expect, that because I care what WORSHIP looks like and sounds like, that I would automatically want to turn the church into "Queer Eye for the Christmas Guy" every year?
*end of side rant*

In some selfish way, I am glad for the economic crisis that is currently afflicting America. Maybe people won't be able to spend as much this year and they will spend more time with the baby and less time with the boxes. Less time with the poinsettias, and glitter and icicles and trees and twinkle lights and, do I need to go on? I think the folks at Advent Conspiracy might be closer than anyone else.

There, I feel a little better. Thanks for the encouragement, guys.

Later kids...

New Dehut artwork

2008-11-12T07:14:00.004-06:00

One of things that I look forward to, especially after a night of nightmares, is going to my Starbucks. So I was doubly blessed when I walked in and saw a new piece of chalk art by my friend Jeff Dehut. His work is fun and always makes me smile. You can see more of his stuff at his website. Enjoy...

Another nightmare

2008-11-12T06:19:00.002-06:00

OK, so I woke up at 4:30 again, heart pounding, pulled out of a nightmare. This one was an anxiety type dream that drove me to write a rant filled blog post about this time of year (as much as I am capable with my limited writing ability), that I am really wrestling with putting out here. Stay tuned loyal reader, and we shall see if, when my heart rate goes down, if I will have the guts to put it out here.

Am I going crazy? We will see.

Later kids...

I love my wife

2008-11-07T19:41:00.003-06:00

My wife knows how frustrated I get with campaigners coming to the door and wearing me out with all the bad stuff that the other guy has or will do. So she solved the problem by letting Bruce answer the door during the campaign season. Here is what they saw, as they heard the "Big Boy Bark"...

And here is what we saw...

I am not sure which view was worse.

Went to a rehearsal

2008-11-01T08:50:00.003-06:00

and church broke out. I love having a Mac laptop. It allows me to capture things in the moment, even if the quality isn't so great. As I was sitting in the Singletary center here at UK, watching the All State choir go through a dress rehearsal for this afternoons concert, I had church. I don't know if anyone else in the room experienced this or not, but I sure did. It was beautiful. I captured a little of it on iMovie. Just close your eyes and listen...

More later...

New Series Graphic

2008-10-16T15:14:00.006-05:00

My wife continually amazes me with her talents and abilities. This week we start our annual stewardship series (more on that later), called "Every Good Gift". Enjoy the graphic goodness...

Later kids...

This post is part of the Creative Chaos @ Ragamuffinsoul.com

Here we go again

2008-10-15T05:22:00.003-05:00

Once again, my night was filled with things that I want to forget. At least the ambien did it's job and I slept. I still don't know if not waking up through a nightmare is a good thing or not. I don't feel as tired this morning (now that my heart has stopped racing and the sweat is going away after sitting in front of my fan), but when you don't wake up, you have to have the entire nightmare.

I would covet your prayers during this weird time in my sleeping (or not sleeping) cycle. I wears on a man.

I guess I will go ahead and get up. Might as well work the stage and get it ready for Sunday.

Later...

My Family

2008-10-11T09:48:00.003-05:00

I love my family. The reasons are happening all over this morning. Here are just a few...

Reason #1
Andrew just left for a guitar lesson. Not too unusual, except this week, he is preparing to play tomorrow in Worship @ 9:30. This is huge for him, and I am really proud of him. He has turned into quite the guitar player, and Wendell is giving him his shot. Drew has played in our Celebrate Recovery service a couple of times, but this is his debut in the early service. I hope I can get back in time to hear him. I am preaching at our Greenwood campus tomorrow.

Reason #2
Joey just made me breakfast. He is a good cook. He made eggs and Boca sausage. I had 2 pieces of toast with apple butter, and the whole thing was just 8 points. I didn't even have to ask for it, he just made it and said "come and get it".

Reason #3
Jenny is out in the back yard, right now, digging in the dirt. Last weekend, she broke her shovel, and I thought, her heart with it. She spent an entire week without digging. You see, that is how my wife relaxes. By working herself silly in her flowers. We have them everywhere, and we always have something in bloom. She works really hard and it shows.

Reason #4
Aaron is sitting at the piano, playing one of the many pieces that he has learned in the last year or so. It is really great to have music in the house. It seems to make everything brighter.

Have a good weekend all...

5:15

2008-10-09T05:18:00.005-05:00

night·mare –noun

1.	a terrifying dream in which the dreamer experiences feelings of helplessness, extreme anxiety, sorrow, etc.

At least I got 5 more minutes today. Something is going to have to give. I am waking up even through Ambien, which is new. I read where if can make the room cooler, that might help get your brain to slow down... that didn't work.

I wonder if the nightmares can be counted as a workout since they get my heartrate up so much, and I am sweating.

Might as well go work on Sunday's sermon.

Later kids...

5:10am

2008-10-06T05:10:00.002-05:00

OK, so it is 5:10 in the morning and my heart rate is just getting back to normal. I bolted out of bed about 20 minutes ago after having had another set of nightmares. I am not sure what is bringing them about, but I really wish they would stop. They are a combination of things from my life in the Army, and way whacked out stuff about responsibilities and such being left in disarray, and doing CPR and trauma care on people I know.

I have been having them almost every night for about 2 weeks now.

On Saturday night I didn't take an Ambien and was up every hour with one of these, and then wouldn't get back to sleep fully before another one would come and rip me out of bed. Last night, while I stayed asleep, I still had them, and finally woke up out of the last one.

I would covet your prayers on this situation. I am at a loss as to what to do, short of check into a psychiatric facility (he says jokingly?)

Thanks for listening...

Under the Radar

2008-10-05T14:54:00.005-05:00

This is the Sunday morning MAC tech team in it's current form. These are "my guys": Mike (Bucky), Jason (The Ninja), Chad (Chad Norris), Aaron (the Runt), Duncan (D Mill), and Andrew (aka Andrew). People see the fruit of their work every Sunday. People don't see, and don't often think about, the enormous effort they put out. They are often unnoticed because most people never stop to think about the investment required to do what they do every Sunday.

You may not know the names, but I will guarantee that you have been blessed by the service.

You might be one who serves without applause or public notice. You have flown under the radar without thanks.

But God has not missed one single moment. He sees the roll you guys have played in His story. God smiles and is blessed by you. When you live out His story in your life through your service to His people, you are truly living out "His will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven".

Stay faithful. You matter...

I am proud to serve with you...

New Graphic

2008-09-25T13:17:00.009-05:00

We are starting a new 3 week series this weekend called "Big Promises", and of course my beautiful graphics designer, (by beautiful graphics designer, I mean my beautiful wife) has climbed inside the head of our Pastor, and created a very cool graphic.

Enjoy...

This post is part of the Creative Chaos @ Ragamuffinsoul.com

Water Cooler Wednesday

2008-09-23T23:22:00.002-05:00

This post is part of Randy Elrod's Blog, and his weekly "WCW"
The question today is who is your favorite band? That is a lot tougher than I thought it would be. I mean, I grew up listening to Journey and Heart, and they were fun, but I would have to say that Billy Joel was and still is my favorite. There is barely a day that goes by that I don't ask my 14 year-old to play "piano man" for me, and every time I hear "New York State of Mind" I get a little misty- eyed. He makes remember my favorite city in the world.

Later kids...

Bishops and paint

2008-09-23T06:50:00.004-05:00

Yesterday was a really interesting and fun day. It started with what should have been a nerve racking time getting ready for the Bishop to visit our Greenwood campus. Now, I know that a lot of people get nervous about hosting someone of leadership importance, but I don't get nervous, I get excited. I rather enjoy hosting people in our facilities. Bishop Davis just began his stint as Kentucky's bishop 2 or 3 weeks ago, but he didn't waste any time getting out into the state and meeting all of the pastors under his leadership.

I wondered what he would be like, but I learned very quickly that I think I will enjoy him and his style. As I was standing at the front door of our Greenwood Campus, watching all the pastors come in, saying good morning and exchanging pleasantries, one man came in and put out his hand and said, "Good morning, I'm Lindsey." Not, "I'm the Bishop." He didn't have an entourage. Just plain Lindsey. As he spoke to the room of pastors, I got the same impression. He said at one point, "Where I grew up, you either owned horses, or cleaned up after them, and I came from a long line of people who cleaned up after them."

My favorite quote of our time with the Bishop came, not in a funny moment, but in a very serious moment. He was talking about reaching out to folks that don't yet know how much God loves them, and said, "a church that goes a whole year without 1 profession of faith should consider taking the word 'church' off their sign." I almost had a pentecostal moment.

After a good lunch and good conversation with my friend Ben, our ministry staff went to the Family Enrichment Center to paint a couple of their offices. This was part of our Staff's journey through Soul Life. This was our time of serving our community. The Family Enrichment Center provides help to families that need parenting help, and other needs that relate to children and the family.

I discovered several things during our time together there. The first is that I suck at painting. I know why my wife won't let me paint much. Second is that I love being around our staff. They are great people and great ministers. Whenever we are together, we laugh at each other and with each other. I never fail to learn something new about them.

Well, my fingers are tired and I am sure you are tired of reading so...

Later kids.

My son the animator

2008-09-21T19:15:00.003-05:00

For Christmas, we gave our son, Joey, a Wacom tablet. This is essentially a pencil mouse. It is used for drawing things by hand in photoshop. Joey called me into his room to show me his latest drawing, and i wanted to share it with you. But it is more than a drawing, it is an animation of a rough sketch that he has been working on.

Joey also works on the website at Bowling Green High, and one of the pages that he edits features artwork from several students, including some of his own works. There are some very talented students at BGHS. Check them out here.

I love being around artists. Whether they use a pen, pencil, mouse or keyboard, their art is one of God's greatest gifts. I, for one am blessed.

Later kids...

9.21.08 setlist

2008-09-21T14:57:00.002-05:00

Today we finished our sermon series, Soul Life, with an opportunity to live into the spiritual practice of "Service". It was a shortened service, in order to give everyone time to visit our ministry fair, and to meet the ministers and volunteers that help in that ministry. Our set list looked like this...

Beautiful One
Here I Am to Worship

You Are My King (offering)

I told you it was shortened. Even so, I thought that it was a good morning of worship. The congregation sang along with us, and was very attentive to Rick's sermon. Afterward, we had a lot of people come to the fair, and several new people signed in to get involved. I thought Cindy did a great job putting it together. We even had a visit from "Broadway" the clown to attract and play with the children, and make lots of great balloon animals and such. (Broadway the Clown is a local guy, Nick Wilkins, that actually went to clown college and runs a costume shop here, and he doesn't attend Broadway UMC, he just happens to have the same name... Clowns)

I’m posting my Sunday Setlist in collaboration with other worshipers at the Sunday Setlists blog carnival at FredMcKinnon.com Check out how others worshipped the King @ http://www.fredmckinnon.com/myblog/2008/09/21/sunday-setlists-9

Today

2008-09-19T08:36:00.004-05:00

Did you know that today is "National Talk Like a Pirate" day? Well, it is. In honor of that, I give you the art of Jeff Dehut. I have talked about Jeff's artwork before. Jeff works at my Starbucks, and brings his own brand of art to the store. You can check out more of his stuff here and here. I have commissioned Jeff to do my office sign, and as soon as I get off my lazy butt and get him a picture, my office will be done.

Go out today and bust into work and yell, "Avast, ye land lubbers"

Later all...

I love the Muppets

2008-09-18T12:35:00.002-05:00

Beaker is one of my favorite Muppets. He doesn't speak, he just makes beeping noises. Here is a video that I saw on Jason Bedel's blog and had to share.

Enjoy...

Ode To Joy from Beaker on Vimeo.

The new and improved MAC

2008-09-15T20:23:00.010-05:00

Last week I told you that I was going to post the finished facelift. Well here we go. I have pictures from several different people who were here on Friday, or Sunday. This has been a great process, and I have learned a lot. Here are some of the the pictures... Enjoy.

MAC 1 week before

This is Russell. He and his crew of artists did an amazing job transforming the MAC.

This is the coolest thing I saw them do all week. You can see that there is a hard, straight line around the top of the MAC where the color stops and the black starts. This guy painted that line BY HAND.

Here is Russell putting the beginning touches on the black part of the stage.

This is my friend, and fellow worship leader, Jeremy helping me dry fit the Truss on the stage.

This was just a cool picture that Don took when Jeremy and I were getting ready for Soul Life on Wednesday.

And Finally, Friday...

When Sunday came, you might think that we would have a bit of an anti-climax, but not so. The band and choir came out strong and brought it home. I don't think that we have ever sounded so good.

Thank you all for a great week.

This post is part of the Creative Chaos @ Ragamuffinsoul.com

Thanks Carlos.

Went to a rehearsal...

2008-09-12T21:08:00.003-05:00

and Church broke out. That is right, last night we had a rehearsal with our mini-choir to prepare for worship on Sunday, and right in the middle of PRACTICE, we found ourselves in the middle of a worship moment that took us over. It is amazing what scripture from the mouth of a child, plus an incredible song, and a group of people that love to worship a great God can do. The song started out with Paige reading Psalm 1oo:4-5 while John David played the intro to Glorious One lightly.

As she finished, we started to sing and the spirit took over and we had a very personal time with God. It was beautiful. I love it when God takes over let's us know how much he loves us.

Another cool thing was that Paige just stepped back and started to sing with us. It was really cool to hear her sing praises.

Later...

MAC facelift days 5 & 6

2008-09-12T20:49:00.007-05:00

Good evening all. This has been an incredible week. The facelift has been exhausting, but I think that you will agree that it has been well worth it.

Day 5

When we started this, I posted a video of Andrew taking the cloth down off the walls. Here is another one, this time it is Ted and I putting the cloth and truss up on stage. We had a really good time getting this ready.

Day 6

Also a couple of days ago, I posted pictures from the MAC before we started the facelift. Well here is what it looked like right before I left tonight...

This is just one shot, there are many others that I will post in the next few days. We are very excited about the new look and I cannot say enough about all the people that it took to, as my friend Jason would say, "Make the magic happen." People like Ted, and Dean, and Jeremy, who worked really hard lugging stuff, folding stuff and building stuff, to help us get here. Also, a huge thanks goes to Russell Simpson and his crew of incredible painters. They took us from empty old room to all the walls covered in time for Soul Life in just 2 1/2 days, and finished the room in under 5. They were truly amazing.

That is all for now. Maybe more later...

Facelift day 3

2008-09-09T18:30:00.005-05:00

Have you ever had one of those days where you couldn't wipe the goofy grin off your face? That was my day today. I got to see the painters completely change the look of the MAC today. I am giving you some pictures of the old look for the MAC stage, and if you want a glimpse of what the new look will be, you will have to come to Soul Life tomorrow night.

Another reason that I was smiling today was because I got to go see an old friend that I haven't seen in a long time. His name is Chris Carter, and he is a brilliant young lighting designer. Chris is the lighting director at Hillvue Heights Church We got together because I had told him that I was looking for some PAR cans, and he said that he had a few that the leadership at Hillvue told him he could give to me. It was really good to see him and hear about what is going on in his life. Chris will always be special to me.

Now I am getting ready to get something to eat and then spend some time with my boys, and my beautiful wife. Tomorrow is another early day that will end very late. Tomorrow, our greenroom gets shown some makeover love, with the help of one of the guys that is on our praise team, Dean Allen.

later kids...

And the facelift begins...

2008-09-07T20:46:00.003-05:00

OK, so I have been kind of quiet the last week or so. Partly because I was exhausted and was taking some down time, and partly because I passed a kidney stone on Friday. Yes, that's right, I said I passed a kidney stone. It sucked and I don't want to ever have to do that again. So I have to start drinking a gallon of water a day.

The other reason that I have been quiet this week is because we are preparing for a big facelift the MAC (where we have our contemporary services). I will be posting pictures and stories along the way.

The first thing that had to be done was taking the cloth that decorated the side walls of the room down. I have a new program on my mac that allows my video camera to do a time-lapse video. I hope to make a video of the entire process when we are done. Below is said video of my son, (and indispensable right hand), striking the cloth on one side of the room.

Now, I am off to bed. I will start tomorrow at 6:30am with a bike ride to the church and start un-boxing the new LED lights and such.

Later kids...

Happy Birthday Ninja

2008-09-01T06:31:00.005-05:00

OK, so I know this post is a little late. I had a long day yesterday. Anyway... Yesterday was my friend Jason's birthday. Jason is the MediaShout king at Broadway. He makes all the scripts, around 5 to 6 completely different ones every week. He runs the scripts on Sunday mornings, and sometimes runs 2 machines at the same time for 2 different venues. He is an amazing young man. He doesn't say much, but he is always there. Jason is the most quiet guy I know. We call him the Ninja around the tech ministry, because the only way you find out that Jason is around is when he walks up behind you and pops the top on his always present Dr Pepper. The first hundred times he did it to me I nearly jumped out of my skin.

And Dr. Pepper brings us to the theme of the day for Jason. Every one around Broadway knows about Jason and his DP. So when we arrived at the church at our normal 6am, there was already 2 cases of DP in the refrigerator in the booth under his desk, 2 at the tech booth in the Sanctuary, and 1 sitting on the stage in the MAC. It was at this point, my son Andrew brought out the ultimate Dr. Pepper gift... DP Cupcakes. Below you will see pictures and a video of what came next for him. I hope the rest of his day was great. His church family came together to let him know that he is important to us

The aforementioned Dr. Pepper Cupcakes...
.

Jason... scarfing

For all you Pyro's out there, here is the fire section of the post. Andrew placed 25 candles on a single, Dr. Pepper cupcake.

And finally, a serenade in G (really) FLAT

Happy Birthday my Friend. I hope it was great.

Why my Starbucks is the best, pt 1

2008-08-27T14:13:00.004-05:00

I wondered into my local St. Arbucks this morning, saw this, and was reminded why the one by my house is the best. This is just one of the many reasons. The artwork. Not the standard starbucks stuff that you see in every store, but the stuff that is only found on Campbell Lane. You see, they have an artist who works there by the name of Jeff Dehut, you can check his work out here. He changes the signs up often and keeps them fresh and fun.

Just one of many reasons why My Starbucks is better than yours.

Nightmares

2008-08-25T07:33:00.003-05:00

Do you ever have nightmares? I rarely even remember my dreams, let alone know that I had a nightmare. Last night (this morning) I had a nightmare. Things coming up from my army days, and other things. I was bolted out of bed at 4:30am from this one, having remembered everything in the dream, and covered in sweat. I like it better when I don't remember. I have been having night sweats again recently, and now I am wondering if they are not related to nightmares and I am being spared the memory of the dream itself.

I would covet your prayers on this matter.

Thanks,

L

Worship Confessional - 8.24.08

2008-08-24T14:54:00.003-05:00

Set List
Famous One
Sing to the King
You Never Let Go
Grace Like Rain
Let it Rain
Surrender

Today was one of those days that I thought would never get here, but when it did, it was all I imagined and more. It really started last night with a really good nights sleep. I have said here before that I usually don't sleep very well on Saturday nights. I attribute this to my mind racing, being excited about worship, and just plain ADD. Last night I fell asleep around 9 or so and woke up 7 hours later in the same position that I fell asleep in. It was great.

I usually wake up at 5am so I can pick up our screen graphics guy @ 6. I like to get there really early because it gives me time to get some coffee down, get prayed up and warm up my voice. 2 out of 3 ain't bad. I don't know what was going on with my throat this morning, but I had something caught in there, and had the worst time during sound check. Luckily it got better before worship started. We had a good sound check, got to run through everything, and were ready in plenty of time to let the band go get some coffee.

When worship started the room was only half full, like usual. During the first song, people filed in, and started to sing right away. Laura did a great job with the welcome and sermon set-up, and then we went into the next 2 songs. Again, the voices of the congregation were strong, and we could hear them on the stage.

Rick was speaking today and gave the second message in the Soul Life series ( this was actually #3, but the 2nd spiritual practice), speaking on submission. The biggest face slapper for me was the question, "Can I trust Christ enough to lay down the terrible burden of always needing to get my own way?" Now, I am a selfish kind of guy. I like to get my own way. I am going to be praying hard about this week. Thanks Rick.

At the close of the sermon, Rick led the congregation to stand and we sang "Grace Like Rain" together. The congregation sang it really well, and we ended it with just the voices singing the chorus. It was beautiful. As "Grace" ended, I started "Let It Rain" and we built it up into a reading of Ephesians 1:7-8 that Laura did.

For offering Jon and I did the song "Surrender" by Marc James. I hadn't heard this song until last weekend when I went to Crossland for worship. The lyrics fit perfectly for the sermon and was a good way to end our time together.

Over all, today was an amazing day of worship. The tech teams were spot on with lyrics, and video, the sound was really good and the band was as tight as we have been in a long time.

And I get paid to do this? The grace of God is good.

Later

Soul Life Wednesday

2008-08-22T05:37:00.008-05:00

I am trying to get back into the swing of doing worship confessionals for all our experiences here at Broadway. Wednesday night we had our first installment of "Soul Life Wednesday", the weekday component of our current series, Soul Life. Wednesday nights programing is not a regular part of life here at Broadway. But in the last year of so we have heard much from our congregation that they are longing for this kind of opportunity; a time to eat together (we are Methodists aren't we?), and study together. We heard, we listened, and last night we answered.

The schedule for the night was: Meal from 5 til 6:15 with 15 minutes then to get the children checked into Kid's Zone and get back so we could start @ 6:30. Teaching and discussion time from 6:30 til 7:30.

I think that Wednesday night was a red letter day for our congregation. We had 280 adults & students, and over 90 children participate and everything went off without a hitch. I am posting a couple of pictures that Don and Shirley took of the night down at the bottom of the page.

During the meal time there were people sitting together that don't normally get to see each other on Sunday because they go to different services, or their times of serving in Kid's Zone are on opposite weeks. The sound of community reverberated throughout the MAC. It was amazing to hear the laughter, and see the hugs and the smiles.

After the meal, our attention was centered on the spiritual practice of simplicity, and the scripture, "seek first the kingdom of God". Adam, our associate pastor, led the discussions and for the next hour, people engaged in teaching and discussion that led them to a deeper understanding of bringing simplicity to our lives.

All in all, it was an amazing night. Thanks to all the volunteers and staff that made it happen. I can't wait to see what happens next week.

Here are some of Don and Shirley's pics
from Soul Life Wednesday...

Good food and good company

Ditto

Adam bringin' the Word

Caption Please

2008-08-21T21:00:00.001-05:00

Disappointed

2008-08-20T14:15:00.002-05:00

Even as I write this, I am in shock. I cannot tell you how disappointed I am to find out that Mike Guglielmucci was exposed today as not having cancer, and that the whole story behind the song "Healer" was a hoax. It saddens me to think that he thought he had to make up a cancer in order to get people to listen to the song. He tried to manipulate worshipers and the leaders of churches around the world. My heart is broken, not for Mike Guglielmucci, but for God, who I know has been disappointed by this deception. But I also know that God's grace has already been given to him.

Because of this, worship leaders will be painted with the same brush as he is, by association. I hate that.

Later...

2 reasons why I love my church.

2008-08-20T07:19:00.005-05:00

This is a picture of my friend Duncan (He is the one with the thumbs up). He is a sophomore in High School, and good student, runner and a member of the media team here at Broadway. This picture is from the first night of the fall season of our Student Ministry called Rhythm. Duncan serves every Sunday running camera for our 9:30 service, and whenever he can, he helps me with lighting. He also is a member of the cast of our Kid's Zone Live children and family worship time. He is a great kid, and an example of how youth should live out their lives.

I say all that to say that 2 of the reasons that I love my church is 1) I get to work alongside people like Duncan, and 2) We have a Student Ministry that loves our kids, and lets them know how much God loves them, and also gives them a solid foundation in their faith. The bulk of our Sunday morning tech crew is either currently involved, or have recently graduated from the Student Ministry and are headed to college. They are prepared for life and for ministry.

That is just 2 reasons why I love my church.

Happy Birthday

2008-08-17T13:06:00.006-05:00

Today is my beautiful wife's birthday. Her day started by sleeping in, which is a luxury that she does not get very often. We started the celebration with lunch at Wah Bah's. For those of you who don't know, this is a great steak roadhouse kind of place. It is also somewhat of a biker bar. Great atmosphere and even greater steaks.

Afterward, we went to Wal-mart so that Andrew could buy something to put candles in. He always buys something and then puts the appropriate number of candles into the smallest piece of cake he can. For his mother, he put them into a creme-filled chocolate covered donut. Here is a picture.

He also bought her a princess crown, because "she thinks she is anyway..." Here is the picture that we took as the boys and I were about to give her the real present. An afternoon of playing in her flowers and in the dirt, without interruption from us.

Happy birthday babe.

Morning Worship @ Crossland

2008-08-17T09:48:00.007-05:00

Today is one of those rare days when I am not leading worship at Broadway. I got a great opportunity to go to worship at Crossland Community Church. I really enjoyed worship from start to finish this morning. I knew a couple of the guys in the band and it was great to get to see and hear them. The band was well rehearsed and sounded great. The set flowed smoothly and the vocals were tight. The songs they did were not familiar to me but were very easy to pick up on and sing. They did a song for offering (and ended the service with it as well) that was really sweet. I am going to email the worship leader and find out the name of it, and try to get copy of the chart.

They were starting a new series called "Family Secrets". The sermon today came out of Ephesians, one of my favorite books of the Bible. The pastor is, like me, the product of an Italian home. I felt right at home with his movement and talking with his hands. I particularly enjoyed that he owned the fact the scriptures were going to be tough to swallow, but that if you look at them with desire to be more like Christ, they swallow a lot easier.

All in all a great service. It was good to get to worship and not have to concentrate on anything but worshipping my Savior.

Where have I been?

2008-08-16T14:53:00.003-05:00

Man. I looked at my own blog today and realized it has been a really long time since I blogged anything. Lazy bum.

The reason that I looked at it was that I am going to be participating in a national blog initiative called Blog Action Day. This is where the power of the blogging community comes together to bring awareness to the plague that is poverty. I will be taking part in this and I hope you few, the proud, will as well. Go to the site and check it out.

Blog Action Day 2008 Poverty from Blog Action Day on Vimeo.

More later... I hope.

3.22-23.08

2008-03-23T18:28:00.002-06:00

Set List

I Can't Stop Praising Your Name

My Redeemer Lives
My Savior Lives

You Raise Me Up
Holy Holy Holy (hymn)
Holy Holy Holy

Saturday and Sunday Easter Services ROCKED!

I have to tell you, last night and this morning Rocked. We had a choir up with us, and the energy that they added to the team was infectious. They came in, and adapted to using microphones instead of choir mic's. They are amazing. They worshiped and laughed and sang their hearts out.

The other stand out for me was our tech guys. They stepped up and did a great job. On Saturday night, we had 2 of our regulars out, and the rest of the team stepped up and did a great job.

I love getting to worship. It is both an honor and privilege to lead worship along side the great worship leaders in the contemporary worship ministry. They are the best.

I am going to bed. I am exhausted. This week I will be traveling to West Virginia for a few days of rest, and rehearsal. I will be staying with my friend Tom, who is going to be leading worship with me at our Greenwood campus this coming weekend. I will be back on Thursday afternoon.

Until next time...

Peace

Week 11 of WW

2008-03-22T12:31:00.002-06:00

Starting Weight - 221.4
Total lbs lost this week - 5.4
Current Weight - 179.2

Total lbs lost to date: 42.2

OK, so this week, in the midst of all the craziness of this week, I still had to weigh in. I expected to lose a little, and I am really happy with this week. I went last night and bought a new suit. I found one that fits well and looks nice. I was very excited to figure out that I have lost 6 inches off my waist since I started this journey. That is exciting for me.

Well, it is time to get ready for the first of our 5 Easter services. Please pray that all goes well and that Jesus is celebrated.

Until later...

Peace

3.16.08

2008-03-16T17:35:00.004-06:00

Set list

Wonderful Cross

Here I Am to Worship

We Fall Down

At The Cross

Mighty is the Power of the Cross

Today was a really sweet day in worship. I think that worship for today started on Wednesday night when we were in rehearsal. As we were doing At the Cross, the Holy Spirit showed up and we had CHURCH. It was great, an just shows that our worship team can really worship, an we don't need a crowd to do it.

We started today off with the congregation singing out (I can usually tell in the first song if they are going to sing with us or not). We baptized 2 babies and then went right into a really well received worship set. I think that Here I Am to Worship is one of our congregation's favorite songs. They always sing loudly with it. It blesses the whole team's heart when they sing with us.

Today was also cool, because Rick wasn't traveling. He was in the room from the beginning, and that allowed the team to relax a little I think. They knew they didn't have to worry about whether he would make it back before we had to go to a back-up song.

Rick brought a great semi close to the sermon series. After the sermon, I got to do something that I haven't gotten to do in a while. Do a song with Wendell. It was just the 2 of us on Mighty is the Power of the Cross. I love singing with Wendell. He reads me and my sometimes different way of getting through a song. He and I just click like that.

I can not wait for Easter next week. Check out the graphic that Jenny did...

I like the juxtaposition with the difference between "Famous Last Words" and Famous First Word. (Can you guess the first word?)

I will post more later about the Prayer Path. Right now I have to go and finish the mix-down of the voiceovers.

Until next time...

Peace

Week 10 of WW

2008-03-13T19:37:00.002-06:00

Starting Weight - 221.4
Total lbs lost this week - 5.0
Current Weight - 184.6

Total lbs lost to date: 36.8

We went back to WW tonight, after having to miss the last 2 meetings due to snow. It was a nice surprise to have lost 5 lbs. But the absolute highlight of the day, was when they handed my son his jewel for having lost 53.8 lbs. He is really incredible. I am so proud of him. The look on his face was amazing. He was actually feeling good about the huge accomplishment. I will be interested in how we do in the coming weeks.

Until next time...

Peace

3.09.08

2008-03-09T18:05:00.002-06:00

Set List

Everlasting God

Beautiful One
Spirit Song
Hungry

Give Us Clean Hands

Today was my first time leading worship in 2 weeks. It was great to be back leading. Today was time change Sunday, so a lot of people were either late , or didn't make it at all. The people who were there sang out though. Also, it was good to have Rick back in the Pulpit. He is back just in time to finish up the "Famous Last Words" series. This week he talked about commitment. He did a great job.

I am still having a lot of trouble with my voice though. I am now going on 5 weeks of this crap. It is driving me crazy. I am going to try to get an appointment with an ENT here in town that I have seen before with my voice problems.

This week I will be getting the prayer path ready. I will be writing a lot and recording the voice overs. Until next time...

Peace

3.02.08

2008-03-02T20:10:00.002-06:00

Today was a Red Letter Day for Broadway. We did 13 Baptisms, and confirmed 38 6th, 7th and 8th graders. To see the looks on their faces as they confirmed that they were followers of Jesus Christ, I was crying like a baby today. I ended up crying several times today. I can not say enough about what Jason Brown is doing with our students. Over the last 2 months, Jason has led them through the story of God, and where they fit in that Story. He is an incredible young man, and I am proud to be on staff with him. This was a great day for him, but when you talk to him, he says that it was great day for his kids. I think it was a great day for the entire Student Ministry at Broadway. Way to go JB.

I can't believe that I get to do this for a living. Until next time...

Peace

Check it out

2008-02-29T22:05:00.003-06:00

Hey guys,

As most of you know, I have a couple of tattoos, this is my first. A blogging friend (who has an amazing tattoo with a really cool story) put out a call to all his peeps to send in a picture of their tattoos and then tell the story behind it. Here you go Los.

This was my first tattoo, it is an icthus with the comedy and tragedy masks in the middle. I got this as a gift to myself when I joined my first church staff as the Pastor of Creative Arts. I had it re-colored by a friend that owns a tattoo shop with a bible study. It is quite special to me.

Peace...

Quick bit of greatness

2008-02-24T21:58:00.003-06:00

Here is a post from Chris Elrod, a pastor from Florida that is working hard to love on people that others would give up on, or write off as a lost cause. Check it out here

later...

Week 8 of WW

2008-02-23T10:18:00.003-06:00

Starting Weight - 221.4
Total lbs lost this week - 3.6
Current Weight - 189.6

Total lbs lost to date: 31.8

This morning, I got up and realized that the funky feeling I had been having for the last 2 weeks has turned into a full fledged "I feel like CRAP". I thought I was on the mend. I have the headache, the sinus and ear pain, and I can not get warm. I guess I am sick... Poop.

Anyway, enough whining. Today was a great day for the WW thing. I went over 30lbs lost. This was one of those private goals for me. I wanted to lose 30lbs before Rick (our Pastor) got back. This also marks the halfway point to my goal. My goal is losing 60 lbs. We will see.

Well, I am going to bed. Until next time...

Peace

My kind of Pastor

2008-02-19T19:59:00.002-06:00

I saw this on a blog that I follow. This guy's name is Carlos Whitaker,(you can find his blog here, Ragamuffin Soul) and he is the Service Programming Director at Buckhead Community Church in Atlanta. Now, it is not a secret that I have tattoos and really love the symbolism that is possible with them. Carlos got his tattoo on "LA Ink". Here is the clip from the show. During the show, Los preaches the Gospel, and for that I have much respect for him. The tattoo is amazing as well. Enjoy...

Week 7 of WW

2008-02-16T11:01:00.003-06:00

Starting Weight - 221.4
Total lbs lost this week - 3.8
Current Weight - 193.2

Total lbs lost to date: 28.2

Today I went in with one thing in mind, getting over the 25lb mark. Last week I missed it by 6/10 of a pound. I wasn't real sure that I would get there today, since my crohns has acting up this week, it didn't feel like I had lost any, in fact, I felt like I had gained a little. That is something I will have to get used to, I guess.

Today is the day. We are going to join the parks and rec gym this afternoon. I am little apprehensive about it though. I have heard stories about people starting to work out and instead of losing weight, they gain weight. I know, muscle weighs more than fat, but still...

I am hopeful that I will be running consistently by the time it gets warm enough to run outside, and by the time road running season gets here, I will be back into running the 5Ks and 10Ks, with an eventual goal of running a half marathon.

Until next time...

Peace

2.10.08

2008-02-10T14:30:00.001-06:00

Set List

Salvation is Here

Holy is the Lord
Beautiful One
You Are Worthy

It is Well
Famous Last Words (Jars of Clay)

We kicked off our Lenten series, "Famous Last Words". We put up a new stage set, which included repositioning the cloth, adding a couple of flat screen computer monitors that ran the sermon series graphic package, and we also had the graphics printed and mounted and put on stands. We mixed in color and such. I was pleased with the look.

Adam gave us a really good start to the series with "Forgive". He said that he was a little nervous about doing 6 weeks with Jesus on cross, that people would end up depressed. I think he did a great job with balancing the fact that Jesus was getting ready to die, with He had a really important thing to say that has relevence for us today, stuff that can effect our lives.

And now, we get look to next week, and the next service. "Today" will deal with the thief on the cross next to Jesus. A dying Jesus chose to talk to, and offer grace to, a thief that he didn't have to. The question is, are you a thief?

Until next week...

peace

Week 6 of WW

2008-02-09T19:39:00.000-06:00

Starting Weight - 221.4
Total lbs lost this week - 1.8
Current Weight - 197.0

Total lbs lost to date: 24.4

I must say that I was a little disappointed in my loss this week. I was looking for a little bigger number. At least it was a negative number. I got a little loose with my points this week, and maybe that is what happened, either way, this is a new week and a new start.

One really big thing is that we celebrated losing 10% of our starting body weight. That is pretty big for both of us. I will see you next week

Until next time...

Peace

2.03.08

2008-02-03T15:03:00.000-06:00

Set list

Friend of God (Michael Gungor)

Glorious One
Sing to the King
Everything Cries Holy

Immortal Invisible

Today was one of those weird feeling days. We had an unknown entity for the message, (a friend of Adam's who absolutely ROCKED) and I was still feeling sick and coughing a lot. It turned out to be a pretty good day. We had several people let us know that they enjoyed what we did.

I had one disappointment... we were scheduled and rehearsed to do "How to save a life" by The Fray. We ran a little long on the worship side, which is a first, and we would have been late getting out, which would have messed with Kid's Zone. Some times we have to lengthen what we do, and rarely we have to cut it short. Today was a day for cutting. Oh well.

One really cool thing, at least from my prospective, was the countdown clock that we used. It was an original one that my son's and I created in the basement with a dry erase board. Andrew shot and edited it, while Joey and I did all the writing and doodles. It was fun and I am glad we did it. We are working on a new one for the next series that should be fun and tie in really well.

Next week, we kick off our Lenten series, "Famous Last Words".
This is exciting for me because I will get to preach in the middle, and Rick will be back for the last 3 sermons. While I have really enjoyed getting to work with Adam in Rick's absence, it will also be good to have Rick back.

Until next time...

peace

Week 5 of WW

2008-02-02T11:42:00.000-06:00

Starting Weight - 221.4
Total lbs lost this week - 3.6
Current Weight - 198.8

Total lbs lost to date: 22.6

Today was a big day in terms of Weight Watchers. I went over 22lbs lost. This means that I have lost over 10% of my body weight. This is huge for me because this is the first time in several years that I have been under 200lbs. I am rather excited about it. I deferred my public celebration until next week, so that I can celebrate it with my son. He will cross his 10% plateau next week. We started this thing together, and we will celebrate together.

Until next time...

Peace

Prayers please...

2008-02-01T13:06:00.000-06:00

I just got an email from a friend of mine asking for prayers for a worship leader in Nashville who has been diagnosed with cancer. He is scheduled for surgery in a few weeks. Please pray for a speedy recovery.

Your prayers are coveted and appreciated.

Peace...

1.27.08

2008-01-27T19:08:00.000-06:00

Set list

He Set Me Free (new, rocked out bluesy version)

Trading My Sorrows
Lord Reign in Me
Let it Rise

How Firm a Foundation
Heart of Worship
East to West

Today was an incredibly difficult Sunday. I started feeling bad on Friday, and got worse on Saturday, and by this morning I had very little voice left. Thankfully, my peeps were there to get my back and make sure that it sounded good. The band was tight, as always, and the singers stepped up and covered me. For that I am thankful.

We closed out the "Creation" Series today, and Adam did a great job with it. I think people were blessed.

Next week we have a guest preaching. It is a pastor friend of Adam's from Indianapolis. After that, we start the lent series, "Famous Last Words". I will post more about that and the other cool things that we will be doing for lent later.

I feel like crap, so I am going to go lay down and watch extreme makeover.

Until next time...

Peace

Week 4 of WW

2008-01-26T17:18:00.000-06:00

Starting Weight - 221.4
Total lbs lost this week - 5.0
Current Weight - 202.4

Total lbs lost to date: 19.0

I have to say that I was shocked when I got on the scale this morning at WW. I went in just hoping to have lost at all. I didn't feel very good about this week. I didn't have anything to base this on, I just didn't feel good about it. I am only 3 pounds away from losing 10% of my body weight, and I have lost over 25% of my goal weight.

My son is going with me, and he got a "jewel" for having gone over 25 pounds lost. He is really doing great.

Thanks for reading. Until next time...

Peace

1.20.08

2008-01-20T14:04:00.000-06:00

Set List

My Savior Lives

Everyday
Better is One Day
At the Cross

Come, Now is the Time to Worship
You Are God Alone

Let Your Love Pour Out

We had a pretty good day in worship. We introduced a couple of new songs to the congregation. The first was "My Savior Lives", a song out of New Life Worship in Colorado. It is a great opening song, especially on a cold day like today. It has a lot of energy and strong lyrics. The other new song was "Let Your Love Pour Out". This was written by a friend of mine named Marc Hendrix. I have been wanting to do this song for a long time. It is one of those songs that really touched me when Marc and I used to sing it at Hillvue, and today was a great day to do it. I have already gotten several good comments on it, and a couple of requests for copies on CD. It fit really well with the altar call that Adam gave.

And speaking of Adam, he just seems to get better and better from the pulpit. He gave a soul stirring message today that culminated in an invitation to share your brokenness on a card and bring it to the altar and then pray over it. The staff will pray over them tomorrow and then we are going to do something creative with them that will tie to the final sermon of the series. We will then take them and divide them up amongst the ministry staff and we will pray for the things that people shared on the cards. We will do this over the next few months.

I am already looking forward to next week. We are doing a new song from Casting Crowns called "East to West" which will go right along with the sermon, and also we are doing a new worship song called "Friend of God" by Michael Gungor and Israel Houghton. It is a high speed worship song that I think will be a popular addition to the rotation.

Have a great week...

Peace

Week 3 of WW

2008-01-19T19:45:00.000-06:00

Starting Weight - 221.4
Total lbs lost this week - 1.6
Current Weight - 207.4

Total lbs lost to date: 14.0

OK, so I got up this morning, and went to the meeting. I didn't feel very good about weighing in. I guess I should be happy with losing 1.6 pounds, but I am struggling with it. I know that sounds silly, that any loss is still loss. I can't help but think about that white mocha that I had this week, and the fact that I am not working out. So I think that I will bear down on my points this week and really make an attempt to get out on the road to run 2 or 3 times this week.

Whining over. I have lost almost 25% of my way to my goal. I am happy, and I fell better and I know that I am, at least a little bit healthier.

Until next week.

1.13.08

2008-01-13T15:36:00.000-06:00

Set list

Marvelous Light

God of Wonders
Indescribable
Wonderful Maker

Jesus Paid it All
Amazing Grace (My Chains Are Gone)

Today was day 1 of having acoustic drums in worship. We had an extended rehearsal last night with them, and I knew right away that it was a good move. There is nothing like the expression that Rick can get with REAL drums and REAL cymbals.

We had a really great day today in Worship. During the worship set, Heather brought her skills as an artist. It was really cool, she did a beautiful job. Adam talked about "Framing God's Story" and how the stories of God are one of the ways that He lets us know that He loves us. Heather's painting went right along with the graphic, that showed 2 hands making a picture frame with the earth in the middle, but her painting went on to place the earth on one end, the exodus, then the cross, followed by another globe. The symbolism of the whole of God's story was there, visually. I can't wait to hear what the congregation thought.

I think we had one of the most engaged times in worship that we have had since I have been at Broadway. During the offering time (yeah, I know) we did "Jesus Paid It All" and before we could get to verse 3, the congregation was singing, which is kind of unusual for our group. But then they stood and helped me finish the song and sang, and I mean loud. I prayed spontaneously and afterward, some sat, but most stayed standing, and when we started singing Amazing Grace (My Chains Are Gone) they sang every word. It was beautiful. There is nothing that can bless the heart of a worship leader like hearing the congregation really sing and engage. It was awesome.

Have a great week...

Peace

Week 2 of WW

2008-01-12T11:37:00.000-06:00

Good morning,

This morning was the weigh in for week 2 of the journey to a healthier me. Here are the results...

Starting Weight - 221.4
Total lbs lost this week - 4.4
Current Weight - 209.0

Total lbs lost to date: 12.4

This week was a test, because the foods that we are eating are starting to look and taste the same. Also, getting all the points in has been a challenge at times.
I did discover that a small Starbucks White Mocha with nonfat milk and no whip cream, is only 6 points which once a week is well worth the points.

Well, it's off to get ready for rehearsal. I can't wait for tomorrow.

Till then...

Peace

I have had enough

2008-01-08T19:27:00.000-06:00

OK, so I have now entered the weight watchers nation. I have, in the last 2 years, put on 40 pounds. I have for the last 6 months or so, been having a really hard time with my voice. I don't have the stamina vocally that I used to have and I have lost several steps in my range. I am also having numbness in my hands that I am sure is from my extra weight.

So here is the deal, I am going to use this blog to keep myself accountable, and I would covet your prayers. I will check in after each of our weigh ins on Saturday mornings.

Weigh in last Saturday...

Starting Weight - 221.4
Current Weight - 213.4
Total lbs lost to date: 8.0

I know that this is not typical, but I was kinda happy with it.

Until next week...

Peace