I can honestly say it was a great weekend at church. (not that I normally lie about that)

The weekend service was about worship. Pastor Jeff spoke on worship and nailed it on the head. He did a great job. He was very passionate about what the Bible said about it. I was convicted and challenged, and I felt like many of the church were as well.

We had the praise choir sing this weekend. It is the biggest it has ever been. It was great. They bring so much energy to the services. The band , media and sound did awesome as well.

I keep on having people say to me that we should do a CD recording. Hmmmmm, maybe we should. Good idea.

Songs that we did...
-All Because of Jesus (Steve Fee)
-Made to Worship (Chris Tomlin)
-Amazed (Jared Anderson)
-Revelation Song (Gateway Church)
-Hosanna (Paul Baloche)

I am looking forward to this weekend. We had practice tonight with the band and praise choir. We have several new members. The stage was packed. I don't know what to do with all of the people, especially since we have such a small stage. It sounds awesome though. I say keep on bringing more people. We will squeeze everyone in.

The service this weekend is about worship. We throw that term around a lot. Many times when we talk about worship, we automatically think about the music. Contemporary music has it's own category called "worship music".

I think we have to remember what worship really is. I am just as guilty as anyone, especially since my title is "Worship Pastor". Music plays a huge role in worship. It is a gift that has been given to us from God to actively engage the corporate body of the church in giving God glory. It is a wonderful gift, and needs to be used in abundance. It has several uses in the church and in our lives as Christians.

We just have to be careful to remember that worship should be our entire lives as Christians. Everything we do should be done unto God, and therefore be classified as worship. Just like Chris Tomlin's song says, "We were made to Worship". That entails our entire life.

Just a thought.

I know this is a week late, but I think it finally hit me this weekend. The Colts lost last week to San Diego.

I just really had high hopes for this years team. But that is the way goes.

So now I am pulling for who ever plays against New England.

We had a great weekend again. We are really excited because our Saturday night service is starting to grow.

The song set was this...

-You, you are God- Gateway Church
-How Great Thou Art- Paul Baloche
-From the Inside Out- Hillsong
-All Because of Jesus- Steve Fee
-Give us Clean Hands- Chris Tomlin

We had a great weekend. Stephanie Smith led the worship service. She did a great job. We also had 7 ladies singing in an ensemble with her. They did awesome. Of coarse the band did a great job as well, along with the sound and media techs.

On Sunday I sang with the ladies in the Ensemble. I felt outnumbered. It was fun though.

The songs were.

-Everyday-
-Sing to the King- Passion
-At the Cross- Hillsong
-Amazing Grace/ My Chains are Gone- Chris Tomlin
-Grace Flows Down- Passion

-The Glory of Your Name- Watermark (Special)

Thank you guys for a great weekend.

I had a good talk with my one of my co-workers today. One of the questions that came from the talk, was "Is it okay to use other people's ideas, or should all of your ideas come from yourself or from God." As I was driving home, I really pondered the question.

I think every good idea comes from God to begin with, regardless of who thinks of it. I also think that God gives you wisdom of what ideas to use or not.

There are 3 types of people...
1. Those who take ideas from other people and admit it.
2. Those who take ideas from other people and lie about it.
3. Those who take ideas from other people and are so delusional they don't even know they are doing it.

I am not a very creative person by nature. That is not my strength. My strengths fall into taking ideas and running with them and implementing them. God wired me that way.

I have to rely heavily on other peoples ideas and make them into mine. You know the old adage, "There is nothing new under the sun". I live by that.

Regardless of what ideas you use, they have to be true to you and your beliefs. (Especially in God)

In my line of profession, most of what I teach and do is from God or Godly people. So it is impossible to top God's ideas. He is pretty creative.

In our lives I think you have to identify what you are not gifted in, and use other people's strengths to help you become better.

This allows the uniqueness of the voice that God has given you to cut through the clutter of your natural limitations. It’s not taking a shortcut. It’s just intelligent development.

What do you think?

I came across this article of the most innovative churches in America. I think as a church if we are going to reach our culture we have to be innovative. I love the quote of Craig Groeschel. He says this, "We must do anything to reach people short of sinning."

I feel like we get so caught up in our traditions, that we focus more on what we think the church should be and not what God really wants our church to be.

I'm not saying that there is a set way a church should be.(Other than what the Bible specifically says) I think that God gives the Pastor and leadership of the church the specific vision for that particular church. But as leaders and as Christians we have to be open to learning new ways to reach people, as long as it doesn't go against what is Biblical.

Here's the list of America's Most Innovative Churches of 2008:
LifeChurch.tv, Edmond, OK, Craig Groeschel
Mars Hill Church, Seattle, WA, Mark Driscoll
Granger Community Church, Granger, IN, Mark Beeson
Flamingo Road Church, Cooper City, FL, Troy Gramling
Seacoast Church, Mount Pleasant, SC, Greg Surratt
Saddleback Church, Lake Forest, CA, Rick Warren
Mosaic Church, Los Angeles, CA, Erwin McManus
Fellowship Church, Grapevine, TX, Ed Young
North Point Community Church, Alpharetta, GA, Andy Stanley
Willow Creek Community Church, South Barrington, IL, Bill Hybels
National Community Church, Washington, DC, Mark Batterson
NewSpring Church, Anderson, SC, Perry Noble
Community Christian Church, Naperville, IL, Dave Ferguson
Elevation Church, Charlotte, SC, Steven Furtick
Healing Place Church, Baton Rouge, LA, Dino Rizzo
North Coast Church, Vista, CA, Larry Osborne
NorthWood Church, Keller, TX, Bob Roberts
NewSong Church, Irvine, CA, Dave Gibbons
New Hope Christian Fellowship, Honolulu, HI, Wayne Cordeiro
Redeemer Presbyterian Church, New York, NY, Tim Keller
Crossover Church, Tampa, FL, Tommy Kyllonen
Perimeter Church, Duluth, GA, Randy Pope
Mars Hill, Grandville, MI, Rob Bell
The Orchard Church Community, Aurora, IL, Scott Hodge
The Sanctuary Covenant Church, Minneapolis, MN, Efrem Smith

I don't know about you, but sometimes I find it hard to get motivated. One minute I am like the energizer bunny, and the next I am a big blob of nothing. Sometimes I wonder if that is a good thing or a bad thing. I guess I am glad that there are times where you can't stop me from doing things, but I just wish I was more consistent. I also know it is important to have some down time in life. Time where you let your body recharge. I think that finding the balance is the key.

The same is true with my personal time with God. I am on fire for a time, and then it is a struggle the next. I then go through the whole guilt process when I am not spending time with God like I should. It can be frustrating at times.

I have been around enough Christians, that I know I am not the only one who struggles with this issue in life.

I always have to fall back on this verse...

Romans 15:13May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

I have to remind myself constantly that the power that I have is usesless. Only through the power of the Holy Spirit can I truly walk with the Lord as he has intended me to do.

We had a great weekend at church. We celebrated our Pastor's 50th birthday together. It was pretty funny, because we watch some video from the 80's of him.

The Worship team did a great job. We did these songs.

-I am Free
-Hosanna
-Everlasting God
-Amazed

I read this Pastor's blog everyonce in awhile. I thought this was awesome. I couldn't resist but stealing it and putting it on my blog. The Pastor's name is Steven Furtick. He pastor's a 2 year old church in Charlotte North Carolina. I think in 2 years they have grown to 2000 people. Here is a link to his blog. http://www.stevenfurtick.com/

You got to read this though... (I copied this from his blog)

I promised you a good comeback…
And it’s time to deliver.The last few days of blog problems have been killing me.I hope you’ve missed me too.
I’m ready to come out swinging. (That means I’m fired up, and this entry could get ugly.)
The other day, a lady said something to my wife that made me sick to my stomach upon hearing about it. Literally.
She was talking about how she visited Elevation with her family over the summer.So far, so good…
In fact, she continued, they have visited “just about every church in Charlotte, looking for the church that’s perfect for us.”
Uh oh…My wife doesn’t have much tolerance for church hopping Southerners. Neither do I.
Then the woman made one of the most absurd comments I’ve ever heard from a churchgoer, even here in the Bible belt. That’s saying a lot.
“I wanted to let you know that there’s one praise song, I can’t remember the name of it, that ya’ll do better than all of the dozens of churches we’ve been to in our church shopping quest.”
Ma’am, if you’re reading:
Who do you think you are? Simon freakin’ Cowell?Have you reduced the worship of a holy God to a singing competition?To see which band can cover Chris Tomlin to your exact standards?
What do you think this is? Shopping mall Christianity?Like one church is Abercrombie, one is Hollister, and the other is GAP?Don’t even use the phrase church shopping in my presence.Jesus bought you with His blood. You don’t get to cheapen that by shopping for the church that perfectly scratches your every itch.
Jesus didn’t die on a brutal cross so we could sample different church varieties like a party platter.“I go to Church A some weeks, cause I like the music there, but I like the preaching better at Church B, and my kids like Church C, but my friends go to Church D. So I hit ‘em all.”
This is madness. It makes God sick. And it makes you a spiritual bastard.
The Church is the bride of Christ. Quit sleeping around and pimping her out to satisfy your own personal preferences.
The church is a battleship, not a cruise ship.Pastors and leaders are generals to equip you for battle in the trenches, not cruise directors to make your stay more enjoyable on the Lido deck.
To all of you who are currently searching for a church to belong to, that’s cool.Sometimes it takes time. And you should take your time making such an important decision.
But how about adjusting your criteria for church selection to reflect the will of God more than your likes and dislikes?
How about praying: “God where can you best use me?” instead of asking “What’s in it for me and my kids?”
How about considering where you can best accomplish the mission of the Son of God:Seeking and saving what is lost.Building the Kingdom.
Not protecting your pet doctrine, singing your favorite song, or sitting in your reserved seat.
If this entry ticked you off, it’s probably because you’re guilty and God is convicting you.
If you’ve been attending Elevation for a while, and are a Christian who is already going to heaven, and are treating our church like American Idol, waiting to decide whether you will vote us in for another week based on whether you like the show this Sunday, please find somewhere else to take up space.
We need your seat.
Otherwise, roll up your sleeves, invite your unchurched friends, plug in as a volunteer, give financially, pray for God’s continued favor, and let’s rock this city.Speaking of rocking this city, I’ll be making the biggest announcement I’ve ever made at Elevation this Sunday.It is utterly ridiculous what we’re about to attempt. And my lips are sealed.Until Sunday.

Looking back at 2007 is crazy. It seemed to go by so fast. It was a wild but good year. God really brought my family through some tough situations. But he also grew us tremendously.

I am looking forward to 2008. I know it will be a busy year again, but it really does make life go by fast.

On my wife's blog she looked back at the past year and counted the celebrations and victories. I will do the same.

In my families life: (Some of this I stole from my Heather's blog)

-Cassi and Chris celebrated their 6th B-day Baseball Style. What a fun party!!!
-Trevar celebrated his 9th B-day splashing away with his buddies in the pool!!!
-I celebrated 9 years of marriage with my wife. She is the bomb!!
-Heather and I were able to take our first Missions trip together to Romania.
-We were able to take several fun trips together including the Oregon Coast, Colorado, camping, McCall, Baker, and Salt Lake City.
-Chris lost his first tooth, and one more. Cassi is still trying to loosen hers so she can catch up- TWINS!!!
-We survived our first season of baseball with all 3 playing injury free!!!
-Trevar made his first attempt at both water and snow skiing. (Again, no injuries!)
-No names mentioned, but someone got a really bad haircut by a certain sibling and the damage has finally grown out!
-We are finally able to take a bike ride with out training wheels-both Cassi and Chris can ride with out them now!
-After 3 years Chris was exited from eating therapy-and Praise God he continues to improve daily!
-Cassi and Chris are excelling in reading!!!
-We survived the Crypto parasite and it only took the twins about 2 months to gain back all of the weight they lost.
-My brother's both have great jobs. Dwayne is a computer programmer, and Donny is a Worship Pastor in Georgia.
-My Mom and Dad are doing good.
-We have enjoyed making new friends, and spending time with our Home Team.

In my ministry:
-The ministry along with the Church has grown.
-We have seen many people come to know the Lord.
-Our bands, vocals, and technical teams have grown in their hearts and in musical excellence.
-We have added some people with awesome servant attitudes, and amazing talents.
-Our Church went through a huge Faith raising campaign, "Dare You To Move". We commited to almost 5 million dollars over the next 3 years. (Almost 2 now)
-I have gotten closer to many of the people in my ministry.
-I feel like I have grown spiritually as a person and as a leader.
-I was able to go to Atlanta and Colorodo and hear some phenomanal speakers. I was challenged in many ways through these conferences.
-We officially started the Praise Choir. I wasn't really sure about the choir, because I'm not a big choir guy. I have to say though, that when the choir sings, it is one of my favorite weekends of the month, because they sound awesome.
-We have just had a lot of fun in the Worship Ministry.
-I have become closer to many of the staff members.

I am so thankful for my family. I really am blessed with 3 great kids, who are very obedient kids(most of the time). I also have a very loving wife. I know that Heather puts up with many of my short comings. She is also a great mom. She does so much, and doesn't get enough credit. Thank you Heather!!

2007 did have some rough times, but all in all it was a great year. I'm thankful for the valleys, because it makes the mountain tops so much better.

Have a great year!









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