Senator Barack Obama Elected President

I watched the results stream in tonight between the internet and the television. I watched as Obama gained the popular and electoral votes needed to claim the white house.

I also listened to McCain's concession speech... some powerful words were spoken. I think he acknowledged his feelings, quelled booing and shouts of disapproval of Obama, and spoke of unity and support for the president elect.

You may agree or disagree with Barack Obama, and I won't share my feelings either way. However, I am excited at the history that has been made tonight in this election. This country has come a long way, and we still have a long way to go, but this history making event has opened doors for conversation and empowerment.

I pray that Barack is able to uphold his promises and that this country is made better through his presidency.

What's New?

Let's see...

My wife had a great post on her blog about my daughter, her money management and her newest responsibility. I am very proud of her - almost makes you feel like you are doing some right things as a parent, though she has really done this all on her own.

Finishing our series at the Orchard called OnePrayer. This week we are honored to be hosting Perry Noble from NewSpring Church in Andersen, SC (via video). I have had the chance to meet and talk with Perry in person and share a meal with him... he is as funny in person as he was on the screen this weekend! The music team totally rocked the house so far this weekend too - can't wait for tomorrow (ok... a few short hours from now).

Starting a new series next weekend (July 12/13) called At The Movies. We're kicking off the summer in a series taking clips from some mainstream and indie films to teach some great life lessons. Great speakers part of this. Should be a lot of fun and leads us into our BBQ and Baptism in August - very exciting time for us! We so far have over 60 people signed up to be baptized this year as of last weekend! Amazing!

Working on some song writing along with two handfuls of other projects :) . We continue to tweak or new lighting system and have really been enjoying the color mixing and creativity with now have with our lights - makes a huge difference! I remember making my own par-can lights with some friends using stove pipe (innovation at its finest).

That's it for now. Working on trying to get some stuff out to you on the blog, so stay tuned.

Peace.

The Skinny

What a whirlwind couple of weeks. Hard to believe everything that has happened, but here's what's been going on while I was away from my blog...

Went from running the heater to running the AC. Not a big deal to most but I prefer the cold to the heat.... definitely worth noting.

My wife left me for another state with my girls... course it was to visit my mom and help take care of her after brain surgery. Go figure.

Because of the above I was a single dad of two boys for nearly a week. No easy task though my boys did an excellent job of keeping me in line.

Kristen's mom went into the hospital to be put on dialysis... she is now home.

I have actually planned a vacation... hard to believe I know, but I am planning to take a week off within the next couple of weeks, including from the weekend services I lead at The Orchard. This will be my first weekend off since August of 2007.

My wife is so hot! Ok just on my mind and had to say it :)

Dropped off my workout plan because of most of the above and because I was bored. Supposed to start back again tomorrow.

Twitter has taken over... I know I haven;t been blogging but I hope you have been at least keeping up on the twitter section of my blog to the right.

Twitter rocks!

Lights... what can I ssssaaayyy abbboouuttt lights? Yeah that's right... I might just have been shocked too many times by live voltage. Thanks to Bradster and a few electricians, the project we started around the time I took my last vacation has been completed! Ok so there are a few small things to be wrapped up and it is not the end but the beginning. The lights are a huge improvement!

Uh yeah... for the above, we hung 46 lights, ripped down 30, re-wired 18, dangled off a truss to hang some of them and then I proceeded to dream about lights for the next couple of days!

My Mac power cable burned up. Apple replaced it the next day.


I'm rocking on Guitar Hero 3 - my first Guitar Hero experience. Course I'm playing on easy mode but my kids think I'm a rock star.

Started a new message series this weekend... we're linking with more than 1200 other churches for a series called OnePrayer. Great weekend!

I guess that's good for now.
Thanks for hanging out.

Retro: The new vehicle

We finally broke down and got a new car payment... I mean a new car :) We had a lot of help in trying to get a vehicle that would fit into our budget and for that we are very grateful.

We also had some really good friends who let us borrow a car when we needed it in the interim. And not just any car, but a Hummer H3... their best vehicle. It's very humbling to have friends like that who will not only help you but give you their best.

Thank you!

On a side note, the car is perfect for getting me to and from the office. It's also been cool to go out on dates with my wife in something other than the minivan. I also realize with this car how nice it is to have headlights and windshield wipers that work.

We got a Hyundai Accent GLS that feels like driving a suped-up go-cart with a CD player and air conditioning - I love it. Thanks to the help we got from friends, it looks like for now I can keep the motorcycle (I'm VERY thankful for that!)

One last thing on this... this car is the base model - other than the Cd player and A/C it has nothing else. My son gets in the car for the first time grabs the handle on the side and says, "what's this for?"

Man did I laugh! They are growing up in an age that they may not even know what window-roller-handle-things are.

Ahh the things we take for granted :)
Peace.

American Idol Goes Christian??

One of the songs that was performed by the final 8 during both the AI Gives Back and the results show tonight was Shout To The Lord.

They performed the song very well, and though it seems like there are several of the finalists who are Christian I was still surprised to hear the song. Even more so that they performed it twice.

Strange choice of songs considering their topic but pretty cool that millions of people are watching the show and hearing that song. They really did preform the song well and actually did the whole song on the results show.

What did you think?
Peace.

So much to blog about...

The office is finally back! As one of my few TV indulgences, I've missed having some new episodes.

I've been watching season two on DVD and even went back and watched a few episodes online of season three (don't own it yet). Still makes me laugh. I just don't see how you can get any more inappropriate than Michael Scott?

Jim, Pam, Dwight and the gang did not disappoint. Uncomfortable and funny show tonight.

I actually got to see the American Idol results show with my kids tonight. Haven't got to do that in quite a while. I don't think the right person was voted off but I'm sure he will do well on his own.

And what about the American Idol Gives Back??? I didn't get to see the show but they showed highlights... AI has really moved up in being able to get bigger stars. Pretty high quality acts.

Tonight they had Jordin Sparks perform with Chris Brown - her latest single No Air. Last night they hosted previous AI contestants Chris Daughtry and Carrie Underwood. The night apparently was filled with performances of Heart and Fergie (doing Beracuda), Annie Lennox, Gloria Estefan, Mariah Carey, Snoop Dogg, and Miley Cyrus. Terri Hatcher, Brad Pitt, Robin Williams, Billy Crystal, and several other celebrities threw their faces in the ring to help raise funds for impoverished youth.

So far they've raised 60 million dollars - that's awesome! A lot of young people living in poverty around the world will hopefully benefit from all this.

Peace.

Up and Running

I know, I know - I've been away from my blog for a bit, but the weeks have been full and I have a lot to share.

We have been crippled, in a vehicular way, the last couple of weeks. My cars' transmission is toast along with several other issues (which is unfortunate since I finally fixed the wipers and headlight :) and my motorcycle had been having some battery issues. It had been a bit cold to ride anyway so I had been reduced to driving the minivan. Not necessarily a bad thing I guess, but it left my family at home without transportation.

I do have to say that driving the minivan brings to mind images of Clark Griswold and the family truckster.

We've been blessed that so far it has worked out and have had some help from our friends. I went to work on the bike today and I am happy to say that it is up and working great!

I plan to ride this weekend and leave the minivan for my wife.

Lots more to tell you, but it will have to be later.
Peace.

Valentine's Day

Yeah.

My kids love this day and look forward to it for some reason, which is odd since they're homeschooled and we don't really do a whole lot for it.

Scott had a nice little blog post about it today for you to check out.

And if you think his is good, you should check out Perry Noble's post... excellent! I love my wife year round and we date each other weekly (or at least every other week), so why should this day be any different. She's my best friend and the person I grow more in love with every day - I pray that I don't show her this only one day out of the year!

Maybe for some relationships, it either helps them get started or is a nice reminder.

ok... I did get my wife a card though :)
Peace.

Deal!

Dang it! How do I get on this blasted show?

No win tonight and the game is going to even higher levels... the next show is supposed to go up to 11, count them - eleven, $1 million cases. I mean 11 out of 26 will have $1 million!! That's pretty good odds in this game.

Count me in!
Peace.

Giant Win

Unbelievable game! I am not particularly a fan of wither team but I was actually pulling for the Patriots to win and finish an incredible season.

After finding out that the Giants were a wild card team to start with and that their quarterback's brother won the Super Bowl last year, I'm glad they won. The did play a pretty good game.

At least this year it was actually a game as it seems like many Super Bowls are blow outs.



I am also not a huge Tom Petty fan though I appreciate his work. Him and the Heartbreakers performed the half time show and it was great! The last couple of years there has been an improvement in the halftime show performances - lights, fans on the field, and the music. Last year Prince was pretty awesome. This year Tom and the boys really rocked it. Very impressive.

They even ended with "Runnin' Down A Dream" which we did as our walk-in today at the Orchard. I actually think Ken's solo this morning was better :)

What did you think of the game?
Peace.

Post Christmas Eve - Part 2

There's a lot of things that I could think back to about Christmas Eve this year at The Orchard.

I could tell you about all the people who brought family and friends (more than 1200 people attended). I could celebrate the generosity of those who gave toward Advent Conspiracy (clean water wells in Liberia and local food pantry's) and I do... I was blown away by the response (more than $21,000 donated toward Advent Conspiracy).

I could share with you about the candlelights - how the entire auditorium was filled with them at one point. I could go on and on about the videos we showed... those that were funny, those that were tearful and all that showed lives impacted by the coming of Jesus into this world. I could rattle off all the lighting equipment we used this year and how the moving lights, Christmas lights and hazer really rocked!

I could recall and tell you about all of those things, but the part I will never forget is my team.

The Orchard is home to some of the most talented vocalists and musicians I've ever worked with. We have a pretty high bar set for excellence on the team and yet the team continues to grow toward the next level. Every one of them gave their very best and I am proud of each of them.

Are there things we could have improved or done better? Of course... there always will be. We sing, play, mix, and present for the Creator of the universe and He deserves the very best.

Our lighting console tripped out the day before Christmas Eve and we lost 10 hours worth of programming. Our lighting tech spent another 8-hours reprogramming the board so that the lights would be ready for Christmas Eve. I had three vocalists who worked for several hours over a couple of weeks to prepare for their lead and support roles on 7 different songs. Nine musicians spent countless hours preparing and rehearsing arrangements to 8 songs that moved those who were there, including me (TSO has nothing on you guys)! I had 5 audio, multimedia and stage techs that helped create an amazing canvas of sound and visual art.

Not to mention the staff I work with, our video guru, our welcome teams, our parking teams and Pam (our volunteer 'green room' was fabulous - thank you)!

I hope you were there and got to appreciate the environment that was created for you to experience God. You may never know how big that night really was, nor the amount of time, talent, energy and effort that went in to planning that one experience. Every single bit of it was worth it.

Thank you team! You guys inspire me and I can't wait to see what God does through you and in you this next year!

Peace.

There HERE Too!!!

So, some of you are wondering,

"what happened?"

"did the big screen get installed yet?"

"where's the picture of the massive center screen?"

... OR maybe that's just me and a few of you who have emailed me :)

The screens are all up! I thought the side screens were huge, ha! The center screen is like being at a movie theater! Ok maybe not quite that big, but it feels like it.

The projector for the center one is going up today, though we're having a few difficulties. Rest assured it will be up for this weekend and it's going to be spectacular!

Pictures?
You'll have to see it in person first or wait until after services on Sunday!
Peace.

There HERE!!

I can't believe it! Today is the day when we install our new screens!

We are getting two new, widescreen format, sidescreens that are about 7 Feet tall and 12 feet wide. These have already been installed and they look killer just by themselves!!

You wouldn't think that just changing the size of the side screens and going to widescreen format would make that big of a difference but, let me tell you... huge difference!

Here's a few more pics (taken with the my laptop) for you to check out. More to come as the day progresses.

Can't wait for the center screen to go up - they are working on the framing for it now. It's going to be sweet!































Peace.

Baptism Video

Just saw an article someone sent me that was written up in a 'Christian' magazine. The article ridiculed us for our Baptism Instructional video we posted earlier this summer. They never said our name (at least in the snippet of the article I saw), but they had a picture in the article of the ending shot of the video.

Hilarious.

We've taken the heat over it and yet it continues to be checked out. We've had the video watched on google video almost 13 thousand times!! Who's watching it?

Amazing how things can be taken out of context in such an.... wait what was the word that was used.... egregious (yeah that's it) way.

The video was funny.
We had fun making it.
I think people were put at ease about what to expect when being baptized.
100 people committed their lives to Christ in baptism just a few weeks later.

Great how God moves.

OK... I'm done with it. Just had to get it out of my system and this is my blog, after all.
Peace.

Buckled Bridge

I could hardly believe my ears this morning when I woke up to hear about the 35W bridge over the Mississippi River in Minneapolis, failing and falling into the river last night. You can check out the story here.

I would never have doubted the integrity of a bridge that had been standing and in use since the 1960's.

My son gets a little nervous every time we drive over a bridge and I have always assured him that there is nothing to be afraid of - that the bridge we are crossing is safe.

How do I ease his mind now? (and mine...)
Please be praying for those who still have not been found and for the families who have lost loved ones in this catastrophe.

Peace.

Two B-days and a Bunch of Craziness

Feels like I've been on a blogging hiatus lately. Lots to write about but too much going on to actually do it. For a summer month, July has started out full throttle! We usually have the summer slow down where we kind of 'coast' - not a lot of school work for the kids at home, not a ton of things to do (except yard work), and usually just maintaining the creative level at the church. We have been having a blast but haven't really slowed down.

I have two kids in sports (Seth in coach-pitch baseball and Kylee in Softball). They have been doing great and it's part of our homeschool PE program. We didn't realize when we signed them up that there would be a gazillion games for both of them every week, or that they would be 15-20 miles from our house! You live and learn I guess.

Faith went to camp for a week.
The girls are going to AZ for 17 days.
Josh and Kylee both just celebrated birthdays within a day of each other (Kristen had great posts for each of them).
Seth is losing or pulling his teeth for cash :)
Kristen is losing her teeth for cash too (the money just goes to the dentist :)

We've been running a new series at The Orchard and preparing for several upcoming events. The new series is called Rockin' The Orchard 2 and you can find details in an earlier post (and on our website). We are preparing for our BBQ and Baptism coming up in August. We have more than 80 people signed up to be baptized so far!! I'm trying to find a Blues/Rock band to play that evening as well so that we can add a third 'B' to the BBQ and Baptism.

We have been running Arts team auditions, building sets, learning new tunes, and doing some team coaching as well. I am deciphering through proposals for our auditorium upgrades so that we can get them in soon and have been dealing with consultants. We are getting ready for the fall and the launch of our third weekend service (Saturday nights)... I've actually even been exercising if you can believe that! Lots of fun, but busy.

So that's kind of the latest in a post! It is awesome to see the excitement my family has at what God is doing within our church family and our own.

How's your summer been so far?

Peace.

Fantastic Fourth

My wife already posted about our great day together as a family.
We had a lot of fun together.

I have a wonderful family - more than I could have asked our imagined. My hope is that July 4th, 2007 will be as great of a memory for my kids as it was for me.

I concur with my wife that it was one of the best fireworks displays I've ever seen. It can't get much better than sitting in the middle of a well kept golf course on a blanket with the fireworks exploding right in front of you and even right above you.

I tried to convince my kids that those who were executing the pyrotechnics were creative artists - they choose which part of the sky (canvas) to explode the fireworks, which colors and when. They also work with sound, anticipation, effects and use a combination of those things to draw the participant into what is happening.

I felt a connection for sure as a creative arts guy.
I can't say my kids did.
Hopefully they can block that part of the memory when they recall our time together :)

How was your Independence celebration?

Peace.

Freakiness

About two years ago, my wife and I along with my brother and sister-in-law went to Six Flags in Louisville, KY. My brother and I rode this ride called the Tower of Power. The ride lifts passengers 177 feet straight up, then drops them nearly the same distance at speeds reaching 54 m.p.h.

My brother sent me this article regarding an accident on the ride this week.

I am a roller coaster junkie! I love them! There is a thrill to it that you can't obtain anywhere else. It's fun and, yes there is risk associated with it.

I feel bad for the young girl and her family. This was just a freak accident.

Do you like coasters and amusement park rides? Will you keep riding them?
I have since I was a kid and will as long as my body can handle it. What about you?

Peace.

Don't Wait Any Longer

I have been silent on this (at least in the blog world) as long as I can... there have been several posts that have discussed this horrible incident and I have had nothing new to add.

I am broken hearted for the families of those who were murdered, for the friends of those who lost their lives, for the people that those lives might have impacted. I am sad for Cho and his family too. It seems easy to get angry and I think I probably would had it been my child or my friend, but the truth is this guy was a lost, hurting kid too.

Where does it end? Death and violence have surrounded us. Maybe it has been there all along and we have just become oblivious to it until something of this magnitude happens. Does it have to be worse and worse every time for us to notice? God, I hope not. The truth is that people are dying everyday, every minute. What are we doing about them? How are we celebrating their lives, or reaching out to the person next to us not knowing what tomorrow brings?

If nothing else, I hope that it moves us to action. Those of us who are followers of Jesus have got to act NOW. There is an urgency behind what we have been called to do. Lives are at stake and there is no time to lose, no time to wait until we've got our ducks in a row. God has called us to love those around us like there is no tomorrow.

If you've been waiting to talk to someone, to mend a relationship, to start a relationship, or to share what God has done for you with someone else... don't wait any longer. If you've been waiting to make a connection with Jesus because you just feel like you're good enough or you don't have all the answers yet... don't wait any longer.

If you are a church leader, what are you doing in your church right now to reach those outside of your walls? Those on the inside have already found Jesus; they're already in the lifeboat. What are doing to reach those that don't yet know him?

Sorry about the download, but this is my blog and I just needed to get this stuff out of my head. I haven't been able to stop thinking about it. This sums up why I am so passionate about The Orchard and the way we do church... our focus will always be more about those who don't know Jesus than those who already do. If you already know Jesus, jump on board and get involved in helping us accomplish what God has called us to do. Time is of the essence and every weekend counts because it may be our one and only time to reach, touch, love, or affect someone who is lost.

For those of you who have been involved in life-altering, tragic, heartbreaking situations this week - I'm praying for you. Remember that God is good, He sees more than we see, and He redeems. That is something no one can take away. Scott gave a timely message on this subject last Sunday - who knew (God did... He sees more than I see).

Another great post on this topic, though there are lots.
Thanks for letting me bear my thoughts.

Peace... please.