Breaking the Silence

New Year. New Post... Really!

No this blog is not dead. Just neglected it a bit. I see it everyday and know that it's there but so much has happened over the last several months.

I actually started feeling a little overwhelmed...haven't posted in a while, what should I write about? It has to be something good to bring people back to reading it (though I am honored that many of you have continued to be faithful).

As a start, I wanted to share some pics from our Christmas Eve services at the Orchard (courtesy of Jen Cresse).

Enjoy!

Music Setlist 11.01.08 and 11.02.08

Here's our music setlist from that weekend (with links to purchase the original recordings from the artists listed):
Beat It - Fall Out Boy
Happy Day - Kristian Stanfill
Great In All The Earth - Starfield
Saving Grace - Planetshakers
Call Me When You're Sober - Evanescence
I Surrender - Kim Walker

Props to my team... you guys totally rocked the house! Joni, Taylor and Amanda - you three did phenomenal on vocals this weekend!

Music Setlist 09.20.08 and 09.21.08

One of the guys on staff with me and a good friend for many years, Chris Bell spoke this weekend on what the Orchard is becoming. He used Psalm 1 to talk about the Orchard in comparison to a real orchard. This was Chris' last time speaking at the Orchard as part of the staff and I pray blessings for him and his family as they continue to lead, but now in a church in VA.

Here's our music setlist from that weekend (with links to purchase the original recordings from the artists listed):
La Grange - ZZ Top (instrumental)
Your Grace Is Enough - Chris Tomlin
Hosanna - Hillsong United
You Are The One - Lincoln Brewster
Point of Difference - Hillsong United
All Because of Jesus - Fee

Music Setlist 09.13.08 and 09.14.08

Becoming: to grow to be; to turn into.

This series has been amazing. We always plan each series hoping and believing it will be better than the one before and so we thought this one too would be better than the previous. For me personally it has gone beyond what we ever thought it would be.

So what's your story? How has this series impacted you? How have you seen God move through these spiritual practices in your life? Email us your story to info@orchardvalleyonline.com.

Here's our music setlist from this last weekend (with links to purchase the original recordings from the artists listed):
It's Not My Time - 3 Doors Down (instrumental)
The Time Has Come - HillSong United
Let Me Sing - Todd Fields
Majesty - Hillsong United
Lead Me To The Cross - Brooke Frazer
Communion - Third Day

Sometimes Stuff Happens

Rain. Flooding.
Sump pumps going out.
Teammates trying to salvage basements and homes.

But wait... the team is finally together and all the pieces are coming together for our Saturday evening gathering.

One of our never failing iMacs fails.
Drops dead. No power.
Apparently a common thing with the new silver iMacs.
This happens 25 minutes prior to our start.

Grab a computer from the office.
Already has the software we need to run on it.
Good. Very good.
Doesn't have any of the lyrics for the songs we're doing.
Bad. Very bad.

Searching and typing and formatting and working to get it all in place.

A few typos and pagination items but ready just in time for our start.

God is good.

I'm blessed me with a great team that is able to work under pressure to make things happen when they need to. The sign of a great team - to stay cool when the heat is on.

Tomorrow is a new day.

Peace.

Music Setlist 09.06.08 and 09.07.08

Here's our music setlist from this last weekend (with links to purchase the original recordings from the artists listed):

Makes Me Wonder - Maroon 5 (instrumental)
Today Is The Day - Lincoln Brewster
Let Me Sing - Todd Fields (not available in iTunes)
Center - Charlie Hall
Whatever You're Doing - Sanctus Real
I Give You My Heart / Center - Amanda and Mike

What songs have you enjoyed lately in your local house of worship?

Music Setlist 08.30.08 and 08.31.08

We had Taylor Phelan out the Orchard last weekend to lead us during some of our worship time. He did an excellent job and has a great voice! Dang! We did have a lot of fun hanging out in downtown Chicago - eating food and taking pictures.

Though I have to say he made me feel a bit older considering the guy is only 19!

Here's our music setlist from this last weekend (with links to purchase the original recordings from the artists listed):

Stranger Things Have Happened - Foo Fighters (instrumental)
Awesome Is The Lord Most High - Chris Tomlin
Marvelous Light - Charlie Hall
How He Loves - Kim Walker
Wholly Yours - David Crowder Band
Light - Shawn Mcdonald

How was your weekend? If you were at the Orchard, let me know what you thought of the worship experience with Taylor - I'd like to pass those on to him.

Peace.

Music Setlist 08.23.08 and 08.24.08

This last weekend, was a tough one for me and some of the staff. Many of you have visited here and know that I lost one of my best friends. While we grieved and celebrated his life, we also continued to do what my friend Todd did... lead other's in a growing relationship with Jesus.

I am very proud of my arts team! While they grieved along with me, they continued to move forward, not only in honor of Todd, but in praise to God. Thank you again to all of you for your prayers, care and support - it has brought strength to all those involved.

So this last weekend was the second week in our series BECOMING. We explored silence and talked about meditating on scripture. You can download Scott's message here.

From a creative standpoint, we used the song In Your Presence, by Jeremy Camp, but rearranged it with some different layers including strings, cello, congas, acoustic guitar and a bluesy-electric lead. We had each layer come in individually then half way through, the musicians began to stop playing (one by one) and walk off the stage. There was some tenseness in the room, which was great! We transitioned from there into a short piece on silence where we led our crowd through a time of silent meditation using only our screens.

The cool part about having the musicians leave one by one is that it gave us a way to lead into the silence in a dramatic way. We ended with Jess on the cello which was amazing! Something in the back of my mind which was later also pointed out by another artist, is that it also showed how important each piece, each musician, is to the group. We did not have anyone on the drums. When each person stopped playing and walked off the stage, that missing piece was felt in a big way. God is awesome in how he uses creative elements to reach people on many different levels.

Here's our music setlist from the weekend (with links for you to purchase them from iTunes):

Belief - John Mayer (instrumental)
Salvation is Here - Hillsong United
Everlasting God - Lincoln Brewster
Center - Charlie Hall
In Your Presence - Jeremy Camp (same song prior to message and after)

Peace.

Weekend Setlist (07.12.08 and 07.13.08)

Marvelous Light - Charlie Hall
Filled With Your Glory - Starfield
Came To My Rescue - Hillsong United
Leave Out All The Rest - Linkin Park

Great start to our new summer series, At The Movies.
Our lighting enthusiasts took things to the next level this weekend with great transitions and color mixing, not to mention some cool effects.

My wife - An Amazing Mom

My wife, Kristen, is an amazing woman! This last weekend, we continued our series at The Orchard called, That's What She Said, where we've been celebrating and learning from some great women.

Mother's day weekend, we chose to do something different from what we've done in quite a long time. We rolled out a red carpet that ran from the curb inside to the auditorium. We dressed one of our guys in a tux (nice job Jason) and had him host the red carpet by cheering and celebrating the moms and women who came to one of the services. We had their pictures being taken on the red carpet and a live audio/video broadcast feed of the red carpet events being projected on the big screen inside the auditorium so the rest of the Orchard community could celebrate too. We had silk flower petals of various color all over the seats and floor in the auditorium. We also had more of a living room feel on our teaching platform where we got to hear from the hearts of four wonderful moms.

Scott interviewed four moms from The Orchard. Each shared about their struggles and triumphs as a mom. It was a great weekend! The last service of the weekend was packed and the ladies received a standing ovation! It was an incredible thing to be a part of.

I say all that to say that my wife is amazing! She is an incredible wife and mom. I know that she was very nervous about speaking in front of such a large group of people but she did not freeze up. She spoke clearly and intelligently.

I'm so very proud of you Kristen - not because of this event but because of the person you are and because you are my wife. I have to say though, I was beaming at the back of the room during every service you spoke!

If you get a chance, you'll want to check out the podcast here.

Absolutely Amazing!

Amazing weekend.
Totally exhausted.

Great weather outside. Rained inside. Nearly 1600 people at Orchard services. Fantastic music and message. Great celebration!

20,000 eggs at Helicopter Easter Egg drop. Transformer-style outdoor stage. 2-3 thousand parents and kids gathering eggs! Made ABC and Beacon news.

Going to sleep. More pics and follow up later this week.

Happy Easter!
Peace.

1 Week and Counting...

It's been a very busy couple of weeks but the good thing is I'm feeling good heading into Easter weekend. For us at The Orchard, Easter weekend is one of our biggest - though outside of a few creative items, we prepare a 'regular' weekend for our guests.

We know that there are many people who will come to check out the Orchard on Easter that may not come any time of the year. We want them to be able to experience what a weekend at the Orchard is always like.

Yes, we do add a few extra lights and even an Easter Egg drop with thousands of eggs falling from a helicopter. For us this is an opportunity to wow our guests with something they would not expect. We still have a great message, fantastic music and irresistible environments.

Pictures and the follow up to come.
Peace.

The Week in Review

Finished up our message series, Deal or No Deal last weekend and we're gearing up for the start of another 3-part series this weekend called The Other Side.

If you attend The Orchard or are in the area, this will be a series you will want to check out and invite your friends to. If you just can't be here, I'm glad to tell you that we do have a weekly podcast you can check out.


What else happened this week...

• Started a new workout routine with my wife. I just plain need to get in better shape and I also have as a goal to lose 18 pounds.

• Our staff went to Chicago for our annual staff outing. We had brunch/lunch at Fogo De Chao, which is a really good Brazilian steak house (for those who aren't familiar, you are continually served various cuts of beef/chicken/pork/lamb until you tell them to stop brining it). I might have picked the wrong week to start working out (or the right one, depending on how you look at it). We also went to Wicked, the off-Broadway play. I won't say more about that yet :)
  

• Had our normal weekend rehearsals, lighting setup and pre-production review. We always prepare and make every weekend count, because every weekend is someone's first time at The Orchard. Every weekend has eternal significance, and we take time to make sure everything is lined up and ready to go for our services. Yes, we still mess up but we review after every service to see if there are things we can improve going into the next service. We value excellence and believe that everything we do at The Orchard should be done well.

All that and it's only Thursday :)

Tomorrow is my day to recharge before the weekend and my date night with my wife.

Peace.

Meet the Banker

Meet the banker... identity yet unknown.

One last week in our Deal or No Deal series. This weekend is going to be the most challenging weekend yet!

If you are a part of the Orchard church community, you won't want to miss it.

Not only are we finishing the series with one more round of our Deal or No Deal game - with double the chances to win an iPod - but we're also going to be taking a trial run with God.

Find out more this weekend. See you there.
Peace.

Orchard Rewind 22

Special edition of the Orchard Rewind this week.

I know I've missed a couple of weeks on the rewind but gave you a little more this time :)

Second week in our series Deal or No Deal where we're talking about generosity and management of our resources. We used M&M's to illustrate the amount of money and material possessions we have. The reality is that they aren't ours to begin with. The M&M's belong to God and come from God - I'm just a manager of those resources.

Life changing thought if you really let that sink in and permeate how you handle your money and material possessions.

Lastly - Our rendition of Pink Floyd's, Money just plain rocked. It's not an easy song either considering the changing time signatures and how drummers/bassists love 7/8 time. I'm kidding of course. Guys you rocked my face off!

Peace.

A Fresh View

Had a great second week in our series Deal or No Deal! I'll catch you up on the Orchard Rewind tomorrow.

Several cool things happened this weekend including getting to meet Jon and Dori French, some friends of Scott's. Jon and Dori hung out with us and got a behind the scenes view of a weekend at The Orchard.

I'm always curious to hear what people think about our gatherings. Jon wrote a great post about their experience this last weekend. You can check it out here.

Fresh eyes on a process as simple as our production reviews or on different elements within our leadership gatherings helps keep the right perspective. Not a bad idea to have someone you trust do this on a regular basis. I say someone you trust because not everyone is looking out for your best interest (or the church community's best interest) when they give you a critique.

Anyway, check out what Jon had to say about his experience. If you've been to the Orchard, we'd love to hear your story too.
Peace.

Deal or No Deal Series

We started a new series this weekend called Deal or No Deal and it was awesome! With the help of Howie (Chris Bell), our wonderful models (Katie, Heidi, Minga, and Cherie), not to mention the banker (still wondering who the banker was?) - we had our own version of the game and had a lot of fun!

Here's the music setlist from this weekend (with links to iTunes to purchase the original recordings):

• Your Grace Is Enough - Chris Tomlin
• Mighty To Save - Hillsong United
• Holy Is The Lord - Chris Tomlin
• If I Had A Million Dollars - BNL

Scott started off this series talking about generosity. What does it mean to be generous? Do you consider yourself generous? Most people like to think they are generous but in reality we aren't always as giving as we'd like to be.

"If I had a million dollars I would..." How would you finish that statement? The key to generosity is that anyone can be generous and that generosity begins now, regardless of your circumstance.

One last thing... my music and production teams rocked this weekend!! Doug had me rollin' with his banter in the BNL tune and my production crew was on top of the DOND game we produced. Could not have gone better than it did! You know what this means guys? We've raised the bar even higher for the next time, so get ready!

Peace.

First Wednesday Canceled

Canceled. Well we can't actually cancel the first Wednesday in February from occurring but we are canceling our gatherings for tonight. We have several inches of snow that have dropped within the last hour or two and they are expecting more through midnight tonight. Some places will get 12".

Bummed to have to cancel but want to make sure everyone stays safe. Had a great evening planned that we'll save for another time.

BTW, for those who don't know what First Wednesday is, or have never been to one at The Orchard, it's a time we take at the beginning of each month to make first things first - to align ourselves with our Creator. A chance to take a breath and slow our pace a little in the midst of our hectic lives. We have a great time of corporate worship together, in a different environment than our weekend gatherings. Usually highly interactive and multimedia driven.

See you at First Wednesday in March.
Peace.

Orchard Rewind 21

Update on the music, message, lighting, audio and multimedia at the Orchard - all in 60-seconds.

Ended the series "I Am Spirit". Definitely recommend the podcasts if you weren't there for this series. The song "We Shine" was an awesome song to end with and my team rocked my face off!

How was your weekend?
Peace.

What a weekend!

Wow!

Still processing the whole thing. Had a great crowd at The Orchard, an awesome concluding message to our series I Am Spirit, and fantastic music set! Combined with some well done technical arts on Sunday, it was an incredible combination. Some great feedback already from people who connected with God in a way they never have, or hadn't in a long time.

I love that about my church... people are excited by what God is doing among us. They aren't content with just kicking back and soaking it in. They are inviting their friends and family to experience it as well. There is a combination of passion from our staff and volunteers mixed with God's spirit that is unmistakable. You can't help but be excited!

What's really cool is that God does the same thing on topics that are really tough... the ones that people sometimes don't like to talk about. I know we are going to be hitting some of these this year. It's ok though. This is a safe place to take steps on your journey and I think people realize that fairly early on at The Orchard.

More on this last weekend coming up in the Orchard Rewind.
Peace.