I know I'm a Christian and not supposed to hate. But I'm getting very close. So let me just say that I hat Microsoft. Hat is not quite like hate. Almost but not quite. 75% of the way to hate. Just hat.
It seems every time I turn around I am running into problems with something Microshaft related. I have a new Dell (six months old). It's already giving me the blue screen of death every other time I use it. Ashley has a new-to-her computer. It's not that old. Pretty respectable specs. I even installed a new version of XP on it less than 2 weeks ago. It's already acting up.
Austin's computer is my old one from Paris. It was a humdinger then. It's a lower midline now. Windows was giving me such fits, I installed a new hard drive and put Linux on it. So now we get a choice on boot up. I had to do that because I definitely hat Microshaft.
I have made the switch at work. My new computer is the top of the line MacPro with all the bells and whistles. You know what gives me the most troubles on it? Microshaft Office for Mac. And now the Russians have reported a major hole in Vista. Big surprise there. Oh, let me install that on something. It's bound to be better.
Hat. Definitely hat.
Wednesday, December 27, 2006
Monday, December 25, 2006
Kevin Schaffer
It's Christmas day and I haven't put anything into this blog in almost a week. I figure I better do something before I get out of the habit.
At this point in time, I am cooking giblet gravy for leftovers. We had a fine meal this morning, but didn't get around to the gravy thing until it was too late. So I am making the gravy for leftovers. Nummy....
Kevin and Michelle Schaffer came over yesterday after church. They are visiting the area (his parents live in Crane) and we had lunch and a good time rehashing old memories. I can't believe how big his kids are, but then he said the same about ours. Kevin lives in Clovis, NM and teaches in one of the local school systems. He's an elementary music teacher and is very good at what he does.
Music is still his passion. He is the volunteer worship leader at their church (which has doubled in size in the past year) and he is just beginning to write and record a new album of math fact jingles. There is a school curriculum company that has hired him to record an album based on their book... sort of a learn-by-singing kind of thing. I have no doubt it will be fun to listen to, math or not.
Kevin hasn't changed much at all. Same old Kev. His son, Ethan (2 yr-old), is a chip off the old block. He gets that same twinkle is his eye just before he does something mischievous. His daughter, Elise (5 yr-old), is a beautiful young lady and sharp as a tack. Her mind is way ahead of her age. And Michelle looks as pretty as ever and is doing well. Kevin married above his pay grade. :)
I hope to see them more now that we're closer to them. They brought back a lot of great memories. Time to add some stuff to the gravy, and Dallas starts playing in about 15 minutes. Merry Christmas everyone!
At this point in time, I am cooking giblet gravy for leftovers. We had a fine meal this morning, but didn't get around to the gravy thing until it was too late. So I am making the gravy for leftovers. Nummy....
Kevin and Michelle Schaffer came over yesterday after church. They are visiting the area (his parents live in Crane) and we had lunch and a good time rehashing old memories. I can't believe how big his kids are, but then he said the same about ours. Kevin lives in Clovis, NM and teaches in one of the local school systems. He's an elementary music teacher and is very good at what he does.
Music is still his passion. He is the volunteer worship leader at their church (which has doubled in size in the past year) and he is just beginning to write and record a new album of math fact jingles. There is a school curriculum company that has hired him to record an album based on their book... sort of a learn-by-singing kind of thing. I have no doubt it will be fun to listen to, math or not.
Kevin hasn't changed much at all. Same old Kev. His son, Ethan (2 yr-old), is a chip off the old block. He gets that same twinkle is his eye just before he does something mischievous. His daughter, Elise (5 yr-old), is a beautiful young lady and sharp as a tack. Her mind is way ahead of her age. And Michelle looks as pretty as ever and is doing well. Kevin married above his pay grade. :)
I hope to see them more now that we're closer to them. They brought back a lot of great memories. Time to add some stuff to the gravy, and Dallas starts playing in about 15 minutes. Merry Christmas everyone!
Monday, December 18, 2006
Anonymous Christmas
I have no idea who reads this blog (other than a select few). So this is my attempt to thank an anonymous Christmas benefactor who left a very nice gift for me at the office. Your generosity goes beyond words. My family thanks you very much. Merry Christmas and God bless...
~Gary
~Gary
Sunday, December 17, 2006
Swaddling Clothes
I learned something new today from Ronnie White. The story of Christ's birth as reflected in Luke holds deeper meaning than I realized. I'm sure you've heard the reference from the King James version in Luke 2, "And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger." New versions have just called in cloth.
But the question arises, why would a baby in cloth be a "sign" to the shepherds that this was the Christ-child? The angel didn't mention the manger first, he mentioned the swaddling clothes. What is it about swaddling clothes that would be a sign?
The term swaddling clothes is still used today by nurses who wrap the baby after birth. Unfortunately, that term is a 2000 year old misnomer. The origin comes as a result of the harsh countryside in the Middle East. As people took off on trips that often lasted days into months, it was not uncommon for sickness or accident to take place. There we deaths in these journeys.
They Middle Eastern culture developed a way to deal with in-journey deaths. Each person would take a long, thin, gauze-like cloth and wrap it around their waist many times. This would be one of the bottom layers of clothing. This cloth would be reserved for death. If someone died during the journey, their friends or family would remove the "swaddling cloth" and wrap them from head to toe so they could compete the journey.
The baby Jesus was wrapped in Joseph's death cloth. The sign for the shepherds wasn't that they'd find a baby wrapped in a blanket in a manger. The sign was that they'd find a baby prepared for death. Jesus came to earth to die for our sins. That was his purpose. This was shown even from the instance of his birth.
What a God.
By the way... this makes the wise man's gift of myrrh even more appropriate. Myrrh was the spice used for death. It was basically deodorant for the dead. Even though the wise men didn't actually show up until he was toddler, the theme continues.
Merry Christmas....
But the question arises, why would a baby in cloth be a "sign" to the shepherds that this was the Christ-child? The angel didn't mention the manger first, he mentioned the swaddling clothes. What is it about swaddling clothes that would be a sign?
The term swaddling clothes is still used today by nurses who wrap the baby after birth. Unfortunately, that term is a 2000 year old misnomer. The origin comes as a result of the harsh countryside in the Middle East. As people took off on trips that often lasted days into months, it was not uncommon for sickness or accident to take place. There we deaths in these journeys.
They Middle Eastern culture developed a way to deal with in-journey deaths. Each person would take a long, thin, gauze-like cloth and wrap it around their waist many times. This would be one of the bottom layers of clothing. This cloth would be reserved for death. If someone died during the journey, their friends or family would remove the "swaddling cloth" and wrap them from head to toe so they could compete the journey.
The baby Jesus was wrapped in Joseph's death cloth. The sign for the shepherds wasn't that they'd find a baby wrapped in a blanket in a manger. The sign was that they'd find a baby prepared for death. Jesus came to earth to die for our sins. That was his purpose. This was shown even from the instance of his birth.
What a God.
By the way... this makes the wise man's gift of myrrh even more appropriate. Myrrh was the spice used for death. It was basically deodorant for the dead. Even though the wise men didn't actually show up until he was toddler, the theme continues.
Merry Christmas....
Thursday, December 14, 2006
Copyright or Copywrong?
I understand the need for a copyright law, but it's one of those things that is imperfect at best. I spent several years trying to figure it out working with the Acappella Company. Now I find myself back into it again.
As you probably read in an earlier post, I would like to be able to post a capella recordings of new songs (new to our church, not newly written... yet) on our website. Our first song was Everlasting God by Brenton Brown. We introduced it to the church last night and it went well.
Anyway, I went through the whole process of requesting a license so that we could get it online. Long story short (and it is very long), I was denied a license. I can record it for release on an album, but it cannot be placed on the Internet. This is not so much a function of copyright law as it is EMI/Word policy.
On the company FAQ they say, "songs or master recordings that are owned or administered by EMI Christian Music Group and Word Music, LLC cannot be used on the Internet in any form. Vineyard Music Group recordings are licensed by EMI Christian Music Group; therefore, they cannot be used on the Internet, " and "The right to display a copyrighted work is an exclusive right of the copyright holder. Also, the right to offer printed copies of someones copyrighted work requires a print license. Subsequently, to be able to display or to offer printed versions (chord charts, lead sheets etc-all of which will need to be secured and or password protected via e-commerce) of our songs via your website, will necessitate a print license from us. As previously stated, EMI and Word do not allow any of their songs on the internet in any form, so we will not be able to license any of the EMI and Word songs for use on the Internet."
So I wrote them back, just to be sure. I wanted to make sure that they understood we were making a new recording, not asking to use the original recording, and that we were wanting to pay royalties. And if this was still not allowed, how did iTunes and other such services fit into that policy?
They replied that large corporate music services were given special allowances (read: we make more money) and at this time EMI is not currently allowing downloads from individual (custom) sites.
However, if we wished to make our recording available on iTunes I should let them know and we can proceed from there. And that, of course, would kill the entire reason for doing this in the first place. How do you teach your church a new song if they have to go to iTunes to buy it first?
So, as far as songs owned and administered by EMI are concerned (which is a lot), we are reduced to physical CD releases. That's not so bad, just time consuming and costly. We'll see what happens.
So my next question... how does MySpace get away with allowing all those songs streamed from their thousands of pages? Surely some of those belong to EMI. And I'm sure that if EMI has that policy, you can bet other labels do as well.
Maybe Word would make an exception for one of their former distributed artists? Nah... I'm not holding my breath.
As you probably read in an earlier post, I would like to be able to post a capella recordings of new songs (new to our church, not newly written... yet) on our website. Our first song was Everlasting God by Brenton Brown. We introduced it to the church last night and it went well.
Anyway, I went through the whole process of requesting a license so that we could get it online. Long story short (and it is very long), I was denied a license. I can record it for release on an album, but it cannot be placed on the Internet. This is not so much a function of copyright law as it is EMI/Word policy.
On the company FAQ they say, "songs or master recordings that are owned or administered by EMI Christian Music Group and Word Music, LLC cannot be used on the Internet in any form. Vineyard Music Group recordings are licensed by EMI Christian Music Group; therefore, they cannot be used on the Internet, " and "The right to display a copyrighted work is an exclusive right of the copyright holder. Also, the right to offer printed copies of someones copyrighted work requires a print license. Subsequently, to be able to display or to offer printed versions (chord charts, lead sheets etc-all of which will need to be secured and or password protected via e-commerce) of our songs via your website, will necessitate a print license from us. As previously stated, EMI and Word do not allow any of their songs on the internet in any form, so we will not be able to license any of the EMI and Word songs for use on the Internet."
So I wrote them back, just to be sure. I wanted to make sure that they understood we were making a new recording, not asking to use the original recording, and that we were wanting to pay royalties. And if this was still not allowed, how did iTunes and other such services fit into that policy?
They replied that large corporate music services were given special allowances (read: we make more money) and at this time EMI is not currently allowing downloads from individual (custom) sites.
However, if we wished to make our recording available on iTunes I should let them know and we can proceed from there. And that, of course, would kill the entire reason for doing this in the first place. How do you teach your church a new song if they have to go to iTunes to buy it first?
So, as far as songs owned and administered by EMI are concerned (which is a lot), we are reduced to physical CD releases. That's not so bad, just time consuming and costly. We'll see what happens.
So my next question... how does MySpace get away with allowing all those songs streamed from their thousands of pages? Surely some of those belong to EMI. And I'm sure that if EMI has that policy, you can bet other labels do as well.
Maybe Word would make an exception for one of their former distributed artists? Nah... I'm not holding my breath.
Wednesday, December 13, 2006
Fresh Praise
This is the article I wrote for the front page of this Sunday's bulletin. I thought it might go well here, too. See what you think...
"I like routine. There’s something about predictability that brings a little bit of peace. It’s like putting on an old worn shoe that’s been broken in just right. It’s rather comforting.
"There are times when routine is not that good, especially in our spiritual walk. Since my children were born, I have either prayed over them or with them every night before bed. That’s a routine I want to continue until they are gone to college. The routine of praying will continue, but I do not want my prayers to be “routine.” It is very easy for me to slip into the same prayer from night to night. I want my children to grow up knowing not only the importance of prayer, but also understanding that prayer is an open conversation with God - not a repetition of a daily mantra.
"Worship is much the same. While there is comfort in routine, we cannot allow our worship to become “rote.” Songs and prayers that once stirred the soul can become overly familiar and loose some of the meaning that moved us in the beginning. The Word of God encourages us to express ourselves in a fresh way. Six different Psalms specifically tell us to “sing a new song.” Isaiah tells us to, “sing to the Lord a new song, His praise from the ends of the earth.” In the closing chapters of the Bible, twice John hears the masses of heaven singing a “new song” before the throne. The Bible is replete with encouragement for us to seek fresh praise.
"There are many ways to achieve this and we wish to offer one more. About once a month, we will introduce a new song during PowerPoint on Wednesday evenings. These songs will find their way into the Sunday worship, as did Everlasting God this morning. Hopefully, they will offer a new insight into the ageless promises of a sovereign God.
"To keep them fresh in your mind, we will offer these songs as a free download on our website in the “New Song of the Month” section. They will be shorter versions of the song, recorded a capella by members of our own praise team. It is my prayer that we may all find deeper meaning in the songs we know, and a new expression of praise in the songs we learn."
"I like routine. There’s something about predictability that brings a little bit of peace. It’s like putting on an old worn shoe that’s been broken in just right. It’s rather comforting.
"There are times when routine is not that good, especially in our spiritual walk. Since my children were born, I have either prayed over them or with them every night before bed. That’s a routine I want to continue until they are gone to college. The routine of praying will continue, but I do not want my prayers to be “routine.” It is very easy for me to slip into the same prayer from night to night. I want my children to grow up knowing not only the importance of prayer, but also understanding that prayer is an open conversation with God - not a repetition of a daily mantra.
"Worship is much the same. While there is comfort in routine, we cannot allow our worship to become “rote.” Songs and prayers that once stirred the soul can become overly familiar and loose some of the meaning that moved us in the beginning. The Word of God encourages us to express ourselves in a fresh way. Six different Psalms specifically tell us to “sing a new song.” Isaiah tells us to, “sing to the Lord a new song, His praise from the ends of the earth.” In the closing chapters of the Bible, twice John hears the masses of heaven singing a “new song” before the throne. The Bible is replete with encouragement for us to seek fresh praise.
"There are many ways to achieve this and we wish to offer one more. About once a month, we will introduce a new song during PowerPoint on Wednesday evenings. These songs will find their way into the Sunday worship, as did Everlasting God this morning. Hopefully, they will offer a new insight into the ageless promises of a sovereign God.
"To keep them fresh in your mind, we will offer these songs as a free download on our website in the “New Song of the Month” section. They will be shorter versions of the song, recorded a capella by members of our own praise team. It is my prayer that we may all find deeper meaning in the songs we know, and a new expression of praise in the songs we learn."
Tuesday, December 12, 2006
Song of the Month
I've been wrestling with how to introduce new songs to our church. I saw a thread on Keith's blog a while back about just this thing. Unfortunately, most of the solutions presented on there didn't quite work for us.
I'd prefer not to introduce a new song in the Sunday morning service (except for the times when I do it not knowing it's new to everyone... oops). So we are going to do the "New Song of the Month" approach. We meet on Wednesday nights for our PowerPoint service (it has nothing to do with the software). Once a month I will introduce a new song to the church. In order to keep it in their memory, it will be made available on our website immediately afterward. We plan to offer the written arrangement as well as a short recorded version of the arrangement.
I have no idea how many will take advantage of this. We're going to give it the old college try anyway. At the very least, it will drive a few more folks to our website. I'm sure it will be an educational process to get people to realize that they can download songs from our site for free.
I've considered this approach before, but it was always along the mindset of doing an entire album and making it available to church. This way, we are building the plane as we fly it. And if we want to do an album, we can go back and revisit the songs pretty easily and flesh it out so that it fits the "album sound."
We'll see. Look for the "New Song of the Month" section on the GCR website here in the next few days.
I'd prefer not to introduce a new song in the Sunday morning service (except for the times when I do it not knowing it's new to everyone... oops). So we are going to do the "New Song of the Month" approach. We meet on Wednesday nights for our PowerPoint service (it has nothing to do with the software). Once a month I will introduce a new song to the church. In order to keep it in their memory, it will be made available on our website immediately afterward. We plan to offer the written arrangement as well as a short recorded version of the arrangement.
I have no idea how many will take advantage of this. We're going to give it the old college try anyway. At the very least, it will drive a few more folks to our website. I'm sure it will be an educational process to get people to realize that they can download songs from our site for free.
I've considered this approach before, but it was always along the mindset of doing an entire album and making it available to church. This way, we are building the plane as we fly it. And if we want to do an album, we can go back and revisit the songs pretty easily and flesh it out so that it fits the "album sound."
We'll see. Look for the "New Song of the Month" section on the GCR website here in the next few days.
Wednesday, December 06, 2006
He's Baaaack......
It's hard to believe that it's only been a little more than a week since I've officially started work here at GCR. With the moving, new job, new school, new everything... it feels more like a couple of months. I've been so busy I've not even been able to wash my car. It still has bird poop from Corpus on the roof. I may leave it there for memories sake.
My first official Sunday went well, I thought. The most important thing is that God was honored. The program flowed well and the theme was carried throughout the morning. The central idea was expressed in several different formats; song, message, scripture, and video. It culminated in the special offering for single parents, which ended up way beyond anyone's expectations. All in all, it was a great morning. For those interested, I'll post the order here in a moment.
The kids are doing very well. Ashley is loving her new dance studio. Austin is adapting, although we really need to get him spending some time with new friends. Sherri is having some medical difficulties, so please say a pray for her, wherever you are.
I need to run and do some fun stuff. It's time to run by the Cingular store and pick my new phone. I'm thinking Samsung Blackjack. hehehehe
Order of Worship
Golf Course rd Church of Christ
Dec. 3, 2006
We Have Come to Worship Him
Welcome
We Have Come to Worship Him – cho only
I Stand Amazed
Above All
I Stand in Awe
Prayer time
Jesus Draw Me Close
Lord Have Mercy
Scripture reading – ooh softly as Ps. 103:1-12 is read
Lord Have Mercy – cho x 2
Communion
Offering (Christmas version by Paul Baloche)
Contribution
Video: What If?
Lord I Give You My Heart
Message: Road Trip – The Magi
Here I am to Worship
I Need You More
Special Offering
God Will Make a Way
Closing Comments
I Stand Amazed – cho
My first official Sunday went well, I thought. The most important thing is that God was honored. The program flowed well and the theme was carried throughout the morning. The central idea was expressed in several different formats; song, message, scripture, and video. It culminated in the special offering for single parents, which ended up way beyond anyone's expectations. All in all, it was a great morning. For those interested, I'll post the order here in a moment.
The kids are doing very well. Ashley is loving her new dance studio. Austin is adapting, although we really need to get him spending some time with new friends. Sherri is having some medical difficulties, so please say a pray for her, wherever you are.
I need to run and do some fun stuff. It's time to run by the Cingular store and pick my new phone. I'm thinking Samsung Blackjack. hehehehe
Order of Worship
Golf Course rd Church of Christ
Dec. 3, 2006
We Have Come to Worship Him
Welcome
We Have Come to Worship Him – cho only
I Stand Amazed
Above All
I Stand in Awe
Prayer time
Jesus Draw Me Close
Lord Have Mercy
Scripture reading – ooh softly as Ps. 103:1-12 is read
Lord Have Mercy – cho x 2
Communion
Offering (Christmas version by Paul Baloche)
Contribution
Video: What If?
Lord I Give You My Heart
Message: Road Trip – The Magi
Here I am to Worship
I Need You More
Special Offering
God Will Make a Way
Closing Comments
I Stand Amazed – cho
Sunday, November 26, 2006
Kevin Riggs
Today was my first day at GCR. I did not lead worship, not yet. Today was, in the words of Ronnie White, "the passing of the torch." I had the rare chance to sing tenor on the team. That's not rare for others, but it's very rare for me. I thoroughly enjoyed it. It also let me know I am out of shape vocally. Leading a band has let me get lazy. The a capella world is much more demanding.
I am very impressed by what God has done in Kevin Riggs. Kevin has been the worship leader at Golf Course for the past three years. He took the mantle from Ken Young who led worship and directed Hallal Ministries for many years.
Kevin has done a fabulous job with the GCR worship team. He has transitioned it from the leadership of Ken into something very much his own. Following in Ken's footsteps would be hard for anyone, and Kevin has done it in a part-time status. My hat is off to him.
What impresses me even more is his humble attitude. That same attitude is reflected in his wife, Iris. Kevin recognized what few are able to do. In his words, the GCR worship ministry is going great but it needed to go to the next level. He felt like he could not do that in a part-time role. And he certainly was not going to give up the construction business that he owns. He came to that painful conclusion about the same time that I first sent out a mass email to my friends telling them I was looking for a job.
The day after I sent out that email, Kevin called me and laid everything on the line. He told me he needed to step down and asked if I was interested in taking his place. The rest is history. Not only did Kevin listen to that still, small voice of God, but he acted submissively... going as far as actively recruiting his replacement. And his attitude and behavior has continued to reflect that submissiveness.
I am honored to share the ministry with Kevin. He is truly a man of God.
I am very impressed by what God has done in Kevin Riggs. Kevin has been the worship leader at Golf Course for the past three years. He took the mantle from Ken Young who led worship and directed Hallal Ministries for many years.Kevin has done a fabulous job with the GCR worship team. He has transitioned it from the leadership of Ken into something very much his own. Following in Ken's footsteps would be hard for anyone, and Kevin has done it in a part-time status. My hat is off to him.
What impresses me even more is his humble attitude. That same attitude is reflected in his wife, Iris. Kevin recognized what few are able to do. In his words, the GCR worship ministry is going great but it needed to go to the next level. He felt like he could not do that in a part-time role. And he certainly was not going to give up the construction business that he owns. He came to that painful conclusion about the same time that I first sent out a mass email to my friends telling them I was looking for a job.
The day after I sent out that email, Kevin called me and laid everything on the line. He told me he needed to step down and asked if I was interested in taking his place. The rest is history. Not only did Kevin listen to that still, small voice of God, but he acted submissively... going as far as actively recruiting his replacement. And his attitude and behavior has continued to reflect that submissiveness.
I am honored to share the ministry with Kevin. He is truly a man of God.
Thursday, November 23, 2006
Home is Where the Bus Is
That used to be one of our little pet phrases while on the road with Acappella... "home is where the bus is." Our bus has made a stop in Midland. Lord willing, we can just park the stupid thing and be done with it.
I write this on Thanksgiving night. Everyone has gone to bed but me, and I'm not far away. The past few days have been some of the most physically stressful and emotionally challenging days I've had yet. I will cover the whole moving episode in another post. For tonight, I thought it appropriate to stop and give thanks to the good Lord for all He's done. Especially all He's done in the past few weeks.
I'm thankful that....
All because of Christ...
I write this on Thanksgiving night. Everyone has gone to bed but me, and I'm not far away. The past few days have been some of the most physically stressful and emotionally challenging days I've had yet. I will cover the whole moving episode in another post. For tonight, I thought it appropriate to stop and give thanks to the good Lord for all He's done. Especially all He's done in the past few weeks.
I'm thankful that....
- We made it to Midland in one piece, safe and sound.
- Our dogs have not run away and seem to be adjusting well.
- Our kids have not run away and seem to be adjusting well.
- We had lots of people show up to help us load and get things finished up in Corpus so we could leave (more info later).
- We had lots of people show up to help us unload here in Midland.
- We had a wonderful greeting awaiting us when we arrived in the form of a massive care package specifically designed for each of our tastes. Thanks Praise Team!
- Our house closed on time and we actually got a refund instead of having to pay cash.
- Ashley had a chance to meet some wonderful people and make some very good desserts.
- Nancy and April were available to drive our truck to Midland and stuck around for a few days for "vacation" (can you call helping us unpack vacation?).
- Thanksgiving meal today was fabulous. :)
All because of Christ...
Saturday, November 18, 2006
Midland or Bust
This should be my last post for a few days. We've been packing for weeks now and tonight is the night the computer goes back into the box. Tomorrow (Sunday) we load into the truck, and Monday we hit the road for Midland.
Tuesday morning we close on our new house. Tuesday afternoon Sherri has her interview for the new job. Tuesday evening Grande installs cable and Internet.
Wednesday morning I stay in bed until Thursday.
I should be back online by Thanksgiving. Keep us in your prayers. God bless... ~Gary
Tuesday morning we close on our new house. Tuesday afternoon Sherri has her interview for the new job. Tuesday evening Grande installs cable and Internet.
Wednesday morning I stay in bed until Thursday.
I should be back online by Thanksgiving. Keep us in your prayers. God bless... ~Gary
Wednesday, November 15, 2006
A Plethora of Boxes, God Stuff & MISD
We are getting very close to our moving day. We have boxes running out of ears. I found a place online that gives you great deals on boxes, so I ordered about 90 for about the price I would pay for 30 at U-Haul. It took 5 days for them to get here with free shipping. In those 5 days, friends have donated about 90 boxes. So we have a few extra. Okay, a ton extra. Better than not enough, I suppose.
Sherri got a call from MISD today. As I mentioned in an earlier post, she found a job she is interested in at Rusk Elementary. Normal procedure is to have a screening interview with the District people. If you pass that, you can interview with the principal of the job you're looking at. We set up a screening interview for Tuesday afternoon, the day we close on the house and move in. One of the administration people from Rusk called today and wanted her to interview at the school on Monday, before the screening. We obviously can't do that, since we aren't there yet. So they asked about Tuesday morning. We can't do that since we are at the bank closing. So they said to drive over to Rusk right after the screening interview downtown that afternoon.
I don't want to read anything into this, but it sure sounds to me like she's got a pretty good shot at this job. Which makes this yet another God-thing. This entire experience has had Holy Fingerprints all over it. We keep wondering what will be next...
Now if OUR house sells quickly...
Sherri got a call from MISD today. As I mentioned in an earlier post, she found a job she is interested in at Rusk Elementary. Normal procedure is to have a screening interview with the District people. If you pass that, you can interview with the principal of the job you're looking at. We set up a screening interview for Tuesday afternoon, the day we close on the house and move in. One of the administration people from Rusk called today and wanted her to interview at the school on Monday, before the screening. We obviously can't do that, since we aren't there yet. So they asked about Tuesday morning. We can't do that since we are at the bank closing. So they said to drive over to Rusk right after the screening interview downtown that afternoon.
I don't want to read anything into this, but it sure sounds to me like she's got a pretty good shot at this job. Which makes this yet another God-thing. This entire experience has had Holy Fingerprints all over it. We keep wondering what will be next...
Now if OUR house sells quickly...
Saturday, November 11, 2006
The Place of Houses
Things are coming together, finally. The biggest obstacle we've been facing over the past few days is our home. Packing and cleaning. And a realtor.
The realtor part is going well. God led us to Jean Marie Giegerich of The Place of Houses. After some not so good experiences with Realtors, it is nice to have one who is very good. Jean Marie has been doing this for almost 20 years and is one of the top 5 in Corpus. I feel that we are in good hands. She's better than Allstate.
We're finally seeing some headway on our packing as well. It seems like we have been packing for weeks and nothing seems to change except the stack of filled boxes in our garage. The house still looks the same. But after careful inspection today, we realized that a large part of what's still in the house is either stuff we will need till the last day, or stuff we are getting rid of in our "moving sale." Sherri feels a lot better about it, which means I feel a lot better about it. You know how that goes.
As far as Midland is concerned, everything is coming along nicely. Our house is in the last stages.We close on the 21st, and we are just waiting on a time. We've even got the cable/phone/Internet company scheduled to come in that afternoon, so the mortgage company better make sure they have their act together. We even know our phone number already.
If you read this, please pause a moment and say a little prayer for safe journeys, peace in the transition, and strength to see this out. God bless... ~Gary
The realtor part is going well. God led us to Jean Marie Giegerich of The Place of Houses. After some not so good experiences with Realtors, it is nice to have one who is very good. Jean Marie has been doing this for almost 20 years and is one of the top 5 in Corpus. I feel that we are in good hands. She's better than Allstate.
We're finally seeing some headway on our packing as well. It seems like we have been packing for weeks and nothing seems to change except the stack of filled boxes in our garage. The house still looks the same. But after careful inspection today, we realized that a large part of what's still in the house is either stuff we will need till the last day, or stuff we are getting rid of in our "moving sale." Sherri feels a lot better about it, which means I feel a lot better about it. You know how that goes.
As far as Midland is concerned, everything is coming along nicely. Our house is in the last stages.We close on the 21st, and we are just waiting on a time. We've even got the cable/phone/Internet company scheduled to come in that afternoon, so the mortgage company better make sure they have their act together. We even know our phone number already.
If you read this, please pause a moment and say a little prayer for safe journeys, peace in the transition, and strength to see this out. God bless... ~Gary
Wednesday, November 08, 2006
MISD
Another God thing might be happening.
Midland ISD posts new job openings on their website every Tuesday and Friday afternoon. Sherri has been watching this site since we first began to look seriously at GCR.
Last night (Tuesday) Sherri found an opening at Rusk Elementary for a position in "Life Skills" for K-1st. We believe this to be the same type job that Sherri is now in, though it is called Adaptive Education here in Corpus. This is what Sherri loves and she is very good at it.
One of Sherri's old friends works as a teacher at Rusk. They have spoken and Sherri is trying to contact the Principal there.
On top of all this, it is about 3 minutes from our house. These kind of things just keep happening. I don't know if Sherri will get this job, but the way things have been going, it sure seems likely. Praise God.
Midland ISD posts new job openings on their website every Tuesday and Friday afternoon. Sherri has been watching this site since we first began to look seriously at GCR.
Last night (Tuesday) Sherri found an opening at Rusk Elementary for a position in "Life Skills" for K-1st. We believe this to be the same type job that Sherri is now in, though it is called Adaptive Education here in Corpus. This is what Sherri loves and she is very good at it.
One of Sherri's old friends works as a teacher at Rusk. They have spoken and Sherri is trying to contact the Principal there.
On top of all this, it is about 3 minutes from our house. These kind of things just keep happening. I don't know if Sherri will get this job, but the way things have been going, it sure seems likely. Praise God.
Tuesday, November 07, 2006
The Church of the First Down
We had an interesting experience this past Sunday morning. I mentioned in an earlier blog that we didn't feel entirely comfortable going to our new merged church. So we chose to go to the mega-church here in Corpus, Bay Area Fellowship.
I'm sure, at some point or another, you've heard comparisons drawn between the behavior of people at a football game and the behavior of people at church. You've most likely heard something along the lines of "why do we get so worked up at the stadium and not at worship? Isn't God more important than ______ (fill in your favorite team)?"
I finally got to see this concept in action at Bay Area. This past weekend was "Dallas Cowboy Weekend" with special guest Bill Bates. Do you remember Bill? Linebacker wearing the number 40 for over 15 years. He wasn't afraid to hit anyone and often used his body as a human projectile. One of my favorite Cowboys of all time. It was worth the visit just to hear him speak.
But the fun part was the worship service. At least, I think it was worship. Most of the crowd and ALL of the staff were wearing Cowboy jerseys (except the aging rock and roll bass player who was actually wearing a Houston Oilers jersey). Some of the greeters and ushers actually had their faces painted in Cowboy colors. The band broke through a big banner to enter the stage, which was covered in massive glittering metal stars ala Cowboy logo. They had a pretty rockin' first song which got everyone pumped. Then the second song was none other than the Monday Night Football theme song with a few lyrics changed. The place went nuts. For the first time in my life, I actually saw the same enthusiasm at a worship event that I see on TV at a pro football game.
And it was all for God. Way cool.
As an aside... there was a television crew out front filming reference shots as we were leaving. That evening on the local news the story ran with some of those shots. There we were, big as life. The Moyers family walking out of Bay Area on Sunday morning. Sherri had several people at school ask her what we were up to the next morning. I think we got caught. :)
I'm sure, at some point or another, you've heard comparisons drawn between the behavior of people at a football game and the behavior of people at church. You've most likely heard something along the lines of "why do we get so worked up at the stadium and not at worship? Isn't God more important than ______ (fill in your favorite team)?"
I finally got to see this concept in action at Bay Area. This past weekend was "Dallas Cowboy Weekend" with special guest Bill Bates. Do you remember Bill? Linebacker wearing the number 40 for over 15 years. He wasn't afraid to hit anyone and often used his body as a human projectile. One of my favorite Cowboys of all time. It was worth the visit just to hear him speak.
But the fun part was the worship service. At least, I think it was worship. Most of the crowd and ALL of the staff were wearing Cowboy jerseys (except the aging rock and roll bass player who was actually wearing a Houston Oilers jersey). Some of the greeters and ushers actually had their faces painted in Cowboy colors. The band broke through a big banner to enter the stage, which was covered in massive glittering metal stars ala Cowboy logo. They had a pretty rockin' first song which got everyone pumped. Then the second song was none other than the Monday Night Football theme song with a few lyrics changed. The place went nuts. For the first time in my life, I actually saw the same enthusiasm at a worship event that I see on TV at a pro football game.
And it was all for God. Way cool.
As an aside... there was a television crew out front filming reference shots as we were leaving. That evening on the local news the story ran with some of those shots. There we were, big as life. The Moyers family walking out of Bay Area on Sunday morning. Sherri had several people at school ask her what we were up to the next morning. I think we got caught. :)
Saturday, November 04, 2006
Real Estate
Lots of stuff is going on in our world of real estate. It's been less than a week since we've accepted the job in Midland. In that short time we've made an offer on a house (which was accepted) and taken the first steps to putting ours on the market.
The Midland home has a few problems, as all homes do. The inspector did his thing yesterday and came up with three pages of problems, some small, some not so small. Now we begin the process of working through those problems.
This afternoon we made contact with the realtor we wanted and she is excited about working with us. She is one of the better Realtors in Corpus Christi and I expect God to use her as He has everything else in this change. In her initial look at our place, she was pricing it in a ballpark that floored us. I guess housing has gone up in the last 3 years. We apparently made a good investment. We shall see if we actually get what we asking for.
It's Saturday night, and we are trying to decide which church to attend tomorrow. We thought about going to Christ Point, but I'm afraid we'd be going for the wrong reasons. If we went there, we'd be doing our best to put on a "I'm not hurt at all" face, which would not be the truth. The minister at GCR told us, whether we realized it or not, we were coming to them wounded. The more we reflect on that, the more truth we see in it.
The Midland home has a few problems, as all homes do. The inspector did his thing yesterday and came up with three pages of problems, some small, some not so small. Now we begin the process of working through those problems.
This afternoon we made contact with the realtor we wanted and she is excited about working with us. She is one of the better Realtors in Corpus Christi and I expect God to use her as He has everything else in this change. In her initial look at our place, she was pricing it in a ballpark that floored us. I guess housing has gone up in the last 3 years. We apparently made a good investment. We shall see if we actually get what we asking for.
It's Saturday night, and we are trying to decide which church to attend tomorrow. We thought about going to Christ Point, but I'm afraid we'd be going for the wrong reasons. If we went there, we'd be doing our best to put on a "I'm not hurt at all" face, which would not be the truth. The minister at GCR told us, whether we realized it or not, we were coming to them wounded. The more we reflect on that, the more truth we see in it.
Wednesday, November 01, 2006
God's Canvas
The past few days have been a blur of spiritual activity. We're not talking "Ghostbusters." This is the Holy type. Kevin Riggs commented in an email I received today that "this has been like watching a picture that HE'S painting coming more and more complete." Amen to that one, bro. The ultimate artist.
The list of coincidental timing issues and answered prayer has become almost humorous. Things keep happening and details keep falling together. And as usual, God has waited until the last moment to make it all happen at once so that I will have no trouble recognizing that He is the one doing it and not me.
We made an offer on a house in Midland yesterday. They've accepted. So unless something bad comes up in the 10-day inspection window, that's a major hurdle out of the way. Anyone out there interested in buying our house in Corpus? Anyone? Bueller? Beuller?
If things continue to proceed on the path that's appearing, we will be moving to Midland during the week of Thanksgiving and I will start full time duties at GCR on the 27th of this month... unless something goes hinky with the housing thing.
Things are speeding up quickly. God is really moving in an obvious way. We'll see what happens before the next post...
The list of coincidental timing issues and answered prayer has become almost humorous. Things keep happening and details keep falling together. And as usual, God has waited until the last moment to make it all happen at once so that I will have no trouble recognizing that He is the one doing it and not me.
We made an offer on a house in Midland yesterday. They've accepted. So unless something bad comes up in the 10-day inspection window, that's a major hurdle out of the way. Anyone out there interested in buying our house in Corpus? Anyone? Bueller? Beuller?
If things continue to proceed on the path that's appearing, we will be moving to Midland during the week of Thanksgiving and I will start full time duties at GCR on the 27th of this month... unless something goes hinky with the housing thing.
Things are speeding up quickly. God is really moving in an obvious way. We'll see what happens before the next post...
Tuesday, October 31, 2006
Midland Here We Come
I have not posted in several days because I have been in a home with no Internet connection. Yes, there are still homes like that. I haven't seen one in a very long while (until this weekend), but they are out there.
My previous posts have been intentionally vague regarding my trips to Midland, TX and the Golf Course Rd Church. The need for that is now gone. I have been offered the Worship Minister position at GCR. As of this writing, I have not officially accepted. This is only due to the fact that we are working out my contract details. I suspect all will be made final very soon.
It is an exciting prospect. I will be responsible over four teams of singers (that's 32 people). I have not met them all, but if they are anything like that first group I worked with, then it is a very talented group of musicians that God and Kevin Riggs has brought together.
I will post more when I get home, but for now, it looks like the Moyers family is Midland bound.
My previous posts have been intentionally vague regarding my trips to Midland, TX and the Golf Course Rd Church. The need for that is now gone. I have been offered the Worship Minister position at GCR. As of this writing, I have not officially accepted. This is only due to the fact that we are working out my contract details. I suspect all will be made final very soon.
It is an exciting prospect. I will be responsible over four teams of singers (that's 32 people). I have not met them all, but if they are anything like that first group I worked with, then it is a very talented group of musicians that God and Kevin Riggs has brought together.
I will post more when I get home, but for now, it looks like the Moyers family is Midland bound.
Thursday, October 26, 2006
Worship Planning
As I speak to other worship leaders across the country, I am amazed at the varied processes they use to plan worship services. Anyone who does it very often understands this is a process that is constantly changing, but I thought I would explain how I go about it. Maybe it will spur some ideas in someone else.
I took the Willow Creek model and married it to the leadership systems concept taught by Ministry Advantage. It may seem cumbersome at first glance, but the end result is very nice. It requires lots of advance planning by the coordinator (read: "Worship Minister") and it in includes a large number of volunteers (read: "unpaid lay ministers"). This is born out of the concept that worship planning is too important to rest in the hands of one person planning it for an entire church body.
First, the entire thing is bathed in prayer. Everything starts there and it continues throughout. That can't be understated. Another driving concept behind this form of worship planning is the holistic nature of worship. I believe that everything presented on that one hour Sunday morning should work to drive that day's particular theme home. The message, songs, prayers, anything that happens, should all be consistent in nature. People have different learning styles (writing, reading, listening, visual, etc). This translates directly to what happens in worship as well.
Beyond that, please understand that it takes a while to get the system to the point I am about to explain. It is a long and lengthy process of recruiting and training people. Ideally, the process begins at least two months out. I divide worship planning into four different committees. The first is the Theme Team. Their job is to create a sermon series relevant to our Mission, current events, holidays, or needs of the church family. This is a small team with the Sr. Minister as the head. This way, the teaching minister does not have to kill himself to come up with an entire series or direction all by himself. They assist him in roughing out the ideas and main points of the series.
When this is complete, the series is turned over to the Resource Team. They spend two weeks compiling everything they can find that even remotely connects with what the Theme Team has set forth. Almost nothing is out of bounds for worship resources. Songs, videos, skits, special presentations, liturgical dance, scriptures, etc. There is no bad idea here. What someone may consider a bad idea may spur a good thought in someone else. If they cannot find what they are looking for, suggestions can be made for creation, e.g. write a song about the indwelling of the Spirit, or a drama about heartbreak.
When they have their "toolbox" filled, they turn it over to the Design Team. This team is lead by the Worship Minister. Their job is to take the ideas presented by the Theme Team and the tools presented by the Resource Team and form them into a whole for a great worship experience. This is where the holistic nature of worship really comes into play. The Design Team makes everything flow together smoothly and thematically. At one design session they may plan just one Sunday or several. It depends on how much time they have, how full their toolbox was, how far ahead the Theme Team has gotten, etc. But at this point, the goal is to have a completed worship service three weeks out from the actual Sunday. This allows plenty of time for rehearsals, studies, set creation, multimedia creation and tweaking.
The fourth and final team is the Review Team. This is headed by one person, but the membership of the team rotates. On each Sunday, this team is given a form that includes important information: the theme of the day, the resources used, etc. The main question is, "did we hit the mark?" This is completed and turned back in where it is shared with everyone else allowing for course correction and lessons learned.
All this for one Sunday. As you've probably figured, this process is constantly revolving. In order to stay ahead, the Theme Team has to be forecasting their direction pretty far ahead of time. The Resource Team has to constantly be cataloging ideas and resources. The Design Team has to stay on top of the schedule so that they can remain at least three weeks out. And the Review Team has to keep their membership rotating and trained. We rotate so that the same people don't sit in worship every Sunday and do nothing but "critique" and miss worshipping. We train the reviewers so that they gain a better understanding of how we plan, and possibly allow for them to move up to one of the other committees in the future.
As I said it's pretty involved, but that's the point. The more people are involved, the more your church identity shows up in the worship. The more people are involved, the more invested your church body becomes in the worship.
It also takes the heat off the Worship Minister for the mistakes that are made. On any given Sunday, 15-20 people will be responsible for the content of the service, and only two of those are staff. But that's a small plus. :)
I took the Willow Creek model and married it to the leadership systems concept taught by Ministry Advantage. It may seem cumbersome at first glance, but the end result is very nice. It requires lots of advance planning by the coordinator (read: "Worship Minister") and it in includes a large number of volunteers (read: "unpaid lay ministers"). This is born out of the concept that worship planning is too important to rest in the hands of one person planning it for an entire church body.
First, the entire thing is bathed in prayer. Everything starts there and it continues throughout. That can't be understated. Another driving concept behind this form of worship planning is the holistic nature of worship. I believe that everything presented on that one hour Sunday morning should work to drive that day's particular theme home. The message, songs, prayers, anything that happens, should all be consistent in nature. People have different learning styles (writing, reading, listening, visual, etc). This translates directly to what happens in worship as well.
Beyond that, please understand that it takes a while to get the system to the point I am about to explain. It is a long and lengthy process of recruiting and training people. Ideally, the process begins at least two months out. I divide worship planning into four different committees. The first is the Theme Team. Their job is to create a sermon series relevant to our Mission, current events, holidays, or needs of the church family. This is a small team with the Sr. Minister as the head. This way, the teaching minister does not have to kill himself to come up with an entire series or direction all by himself. They assist him in roughing out the ideas and main points of the series.
When this is complete, the series is turned over to the Resource Team. They spend two weeks compiling everything they can find that even remotely connects with what the Theme Team has set forth. Almost nothing is out of bounds for worship resources. Songs, videos, skits, special presentations, liturgical dance, scriptures, etc. There is no bad idea here. What someone may consider a bad idea may spur a good thought in someone else. If they cannot find what they are looking for, suggestions can be made for creation, e.g. write a song about the indwelling of the Spirit, or a drama about heartbreak.
When they have their "toolbox" filled, they turn it over to the Design Team. This team is lead by the Worship Minister. Their job is to take the ideas presented by the Theme Team and the tools presented by the Resource Team and form them into a whole for a great worship experience. This is where the holistic nature of worship really comes into play. The Design Team makes everything flow together smoothly and thematically. At one design session they may plan just one Sunday or several. It depends on how much time they have, how full their toolbox was, how far ahead the Theme Team has gotten, etc. But at this point, the goal is to have a completed worship service three weeks out from the actual Sunday. This allows plenty of time for rehearsals, studies, set creation, multimedia creation and tweaking.
The fourth and final team is the Review Team. This is headed by one person, but the membership of the team rotates. On each Sunday, this team is given a form that includes important information: the theme of the day, the resources used, etc. The main question is, "did we hit the mark?" This is completed and turned back in where it is shared with everyone else allowing for course correction and lessons learned.
All this for one Sunday. As you've probably figured, this process is constantly revolving. In order to stay ahead, the Theme Team has to be forecasting their direction pretty far ahead of time. The Resource Team has to constantly be cataloging ideas and resources. The Design Team has to stay on top of the schedule so that they can remain at least three weeks out. And the Review Team has to keep their membership rotating and trained. We rotate so that the same people don't sit in worship every Sunday and do nothing but "critique" and miss worshipping. We train the reviewers so that they gain a better understanding of how we plan, and possibly allow for them to move up to one of the other committees in the future.
As I said it's pretty involved, but that's the point. The more people are involved, the more your church identity shows up in the worship. The more people are involved, the more invested your church body becomes in the worship.
It also takes the heat off the Worship Minister for the mistakes that are made. On any given Sunday, 15-20 people will be responsible for the content of the service, and only two of those are staff. But that's a small plus. :)
Tuesday, October 24, 2006
Logos (art or Word?)
Sorry... art.
One of my duties in this post-worship leader world is graphic arts. The new church, Christ Point Church, needed a new logo so they can get going on signs, brochures, and stuff. Several people, including me, submitted ideas. The staff got together and did the brainstorm thing and asked me to merge two of the ideas with a few corrections.
So here is the first draft with an actual plan behind it.
The idea is to use multi-color, but nothing that will slap you in the face. It needs to present a modern feel (ala "ChristPoint") and still retain the traditional touch (ala "Church"). They wanted an arrow pointing upward since the tag line (I think) is "Christ is the Point." So the arrow points up, but first it creates a foundation for the whole graphic. And the word "Christ" sits on the foundation. Imagery, imagery, imagery.
By the way, it is very hard to type "imagery" three times in a row and not make a mistake.
One of my duties in this post-worship leader world is graphic arts. The new church, Christ Point Church, needed a new logo so they can get going on signs, brochures, and stuff. Several people, including me, submitted ideas. The staff got together and did the brainstorm thing and asked me to merge two of the ideas with a few corrections.
So here is the first draft with an actual plan behind it.
The idea is to use multi-color, but nothing that will slap you in the face. It needs to present a modern feel (ala "ChristPoint") and still retain the traditional touch (ala "Church"). They wanted an arrow pointing upward since the tag line (I think) is "Christ is the Point." So the arrow points up, but first it creates a foundation for the whole graphic. And the word "Christ" sits on the foundation. Imagery, imagery, imagery.
By the way, it is very hard to type "imagery" three times in a row and not make a mistake.
Sunday, October 22, 2006
Jordan Denied
Today was a mixture of feelings. It was the first meeting of Christ Point Church. It was my last day as worship minister. I was officially referred to as "Associate Minister" this morning. Nothing wrong with that. Just strange.
It was probably the best morning we've had yet. The band was dead on and sounded great. The worship was wonderful. We had a crowd of almost 450. It was the morning that we've dreamed about for years.
For me, it was somewhat bittersweet. We've been through many trials and shed many tears in this process. This morning was a sweet experience, one of those times when everything came together just right and the Holy Spirit took over. It was also bitter in that I got a chance to experience it once from the worship leader position. And now my job is done.
I suppose it's somewhat like seeing the promised land and not being able to cross the Jordan. Not that I'm trying to compare myself to Moses. Except that maybe we were both called "mo" by our close friends.
For a while, at least, I will still get to experience what God is doing as part of the church body. And that is enough. I think maybe I've served my purpose here. I came at a time of transition for South Church of Christ. God used me to further that transition and help bring about Christ Family Fellowship. He then used me to help prepare the way for Christ Point Church. The new church is formed and rolling along well (for one day at least).
My new job appears to be putting together a pictorial directory. As I said, maybe I've served my purpose here. But this morning sure was sweet.
It was probably the best morning we've had yet. The band was dead on and sounded great. The worship was wonderful. We had a crowd of almost 450. It was the morning that we've dreamed about for years.
For me, it was somewhat bittersweet. We've been through many trials and shed many tears in this process. This morning was a sweet experience, one of those times when everything came together just right and the Holy Spirit took over. It was also bitter in that I got a chance to experience it once from the worship leader position. And now my job is done.
I suppose it's somewhat like seeing the promised land and not being able to cross the Jordan. Not that I'm trying to compare myself to Moses. Except that maybe we were both called "mo" by our close friends.
For a while, at least, I will still get to experience what God is doing as part of the church body. And that is enough. I think maybe I've served my purpose here. I came at a time of transition for South Church of Christ. God used me to further that transition and help bring about Christ Family Fellowship. He then used me to help prepare the way for Christ Point Church. The new church is formed and rolling along well (for one day at least).
My new job appears to be putting together a pictorial directory. As I said, maybe I've served my purpose here. But this morning sure was sweet.
Friday, October 20, 2006
Deja Vu
I have not yet commented on the mini-retreat that I participated in at GCR last week. Most likely, I will not say too much. Most of the folks there will be processing it for quite a while. It was not the meeting many expected it to be.
Golf Course Road has hired Kevin Callahan of Callahan Studios to remodel their worship center. As I mentioned in an earlier post, Kevin does not approach a "re-dux" in the way most architectural firms do. He and his team like to learn all about the church culture before they make suggestions about remodeling.
But in that process, Kevin and his team challenge the church leaders as to what they really believe and why they believe that. I knew going in that this was going to be very different. One of the people on the creative team was Sally Morgenthaler. Sally wrote a ground shaking book in the late 90's entitled Worship Evangelism and she has become a dominant voice in the emerging church movement. I am fairly sure GCR had no idea who was coming to challenge them.
And boy howdy did she ever challenge them. 80% of the first day of talking consisted of Sally asking questions. She probed deeply into what GCR was about, what they wanted to be, what was holding them back, and what it would take to go to the next step. Most of the folks left that meeting in what I would call a mild state of shock.
I titled this entry "Deja Vu" because this vein of talking seemed so familiar. This is exactly what our church, Christ Family Fellowship, has been through over the past two years. We have challenged everything we do as to the reason behind it and the justification for continuing it. It was a highly painful process, one that resulted in many friends walking away. One that also resulted in a church comprised of 70% new believers.
It took us several years to work through these issues. Sally opened it all up in the space of 8 hours. No wonder they were in shock.
I'll tell you more about the meeting as time passes and the GCR leadership catches their collective breath.
Golf Course Road has hired Kevin Callahan of Callahan Studios to remodel their worship center. As I mentioned in an earlier post, Kevin does not approach a "re-dux" in the way most architectural firms do. He and his team like to learn all about the church culture before they make suggestions about remodeling.
But in that process, Kevin and his team challenge the church leaders as to what they really believe and why they believe that. I knew going in that this was going to be very different. One of the people on the creative team was Sally Morgenthaler. Sally wrote a ground shaking book in the late 90's entitled Worship Evangelism and she has become a dominant voice in the emerging church movement. I am fairly sure GCR had no idea who was coming to challenge them.And boy howdy did she ever challenge them. 80% of the first day of talking consisted of Sally asking questions. She probed deeply into what GCR was about, what they wanted to be, what was holding them back, and what it would take to go to the next step. Most of the folks left that meeting in what I would call a mild state of shock.
I titled this entry "Deja Vu" because this vein of talking seemed so familiar. This is exactly what our church, Christ Family Fellowship, has been through over the past two years. We have challenged everything we do as to the reason behind it and the justification for continuing it. It was a highly painful process, one that resulted in many friends walking away. One that also resulted in a church comprised of 70% new believers.
It took us several years to work through these issues. Sally opened it all up in the space of 8 hours. No wonder they were in shock.
I'll tell you more about the meeting as time passes and the GCR leadership catches their collective breath.
Thursday, October 19, 2006
The New Band & More Trips
I've not posted for a few days. I was out of town for the first part of the week and my host didn't really have a good iNet setup. So, I'm back home and here I am. What do I have to say?
We had our first joint rehearsal tonight with the merged bands in the new merged church. It was quite an experience. We had our full band and singers, plus one singer and one electric guitarist from the other church. Plus their worship leader. I believe it will work out well.
As we rehearsed, I heard a few things that I probably would have changed had it been my band... but it's not anymore and I did not feel it my place to do so. This is now Jackie's baby and I want her to proceed as she likes. My taste in arrangements is not what's most important. The final sound will be good and God will be praised. That's all that really matters.
I am returning to Midland soon with my family in tow. It will be my third trip in four weeks, but their first. I am anxious for my children to see Midland. They have great anxiety about moving away from Corpus Christi and I want them to experience their possible new home before they actually arrive to move in.
When we moved from Tennessee to Texas, we did not tell them (the kids) until 2 weeks before moving day. We thought it would be better not to worry them. Boy was that ever a mistake. It traumatized them. So this time they have known that we might move since the day I learned the same. They are still pretty emotional over the whole thing, but at least they've had time to process it.
During our next trip there, we hope to let them get a good feel for the town. Sherri and I have several sets of interviews we must go through, but we also have lots of free time. We will check out Midland Christian School and see what that's like. I believe they even have a game on Saturday afternoon so Ashley can see the marching band. We also want to check into some dance academies.
I'm not sure what Austin will want to see yet. And I don't know if we want to look for a house or not. We may be forced to rent for a while until we can sell our house in Corpus.
More later...
We had our first joint rehearsal tonight with the merged bands in the new merged church. It was quite an experience. We had our full band and singers, plus one singer and one electric guitarist from the other church. Plus their worship leader. I believe it will work out well.
As we rehearsed, I heard a few things that I probably would have changed had it been my band... but it's not anymore and I did not feel it my place to do so. This is now Jackie's baby and I want her to proceed as she likes. My taste in arrangements is not what's most important. The final sound will be good and God will be praised. That's all that really matters.
I am returning to Midland soon with my family in tow. It will be my third trip in four weeks, but their first. I am anxious for my children to see Midland. They have great anxiety about moving away from Corpus Christi and I want them to experience their possible new home before they actually arrive to move in.
When we moved from Tennessee to Texas, we did not tell them (the kids) until 2 weeks before moving day. We thought it would be better not to worry them. Boy was that ever a mistake. It traumatized them. So this time they have known that we might move since the day I learned the same. They are still pretty emotional over the whole thing, but at least they've had time to process it.
During our next trip there, we hope to let them get a good feel for the town. Sherri and I have several sets of interviews we must go through, but we also have lots of free time. We will check out Midland Christian School and see what that's like. I believe they even have a game on Saturday afternoon so Ashley can see the marching band. We also want to check into some dance academies.
I'm not sure what Austin will want to see yet. And I don't know if we want to look for a house or not. We may be forced to rent for a while until we can sell our house in Corpus.
More later...
Saturday, October 14, 2006
Worship Center Refit
I am flying back to Midland this Sunday afternoon. If you've read any of this blog, you may have caught the fact that I filled in for Kevin Riggs as worship leader last weekend at Golf Course Rd Church of Christ in Midland. It was a wonderful experience.
Golf Course is going through a building program called "Kingdom Now." They are adding an entire new state-of-the-art children's building. Along with that, they have dedicated $2 million for a refit of their worship center.
Kevin Callahan of Callahan Studios is coming down for a day long retreat. He specializes in creating worship spaces that reflect an "ancient future" feel. Many churches are shooting for the concert hall approach. Callahan Studios approach the whole thing very differently. Read through their site and see what I mean.
Anyway, I have been invited to attend the meeting. Sort of an outside viewpoint, so to speak. I am looking forward to it.
Golf Course is going through a building program called "Kingdom Now." They are adding an entire new state-of-the-art children's building. Along with that, they have dedicated $2 million for a refit of their worship center.
Kevin Callahan of Callahan Studios is coming down for a day long retreat. He specializes in creating worship spaces that reflect an "ancient future" feel. Many churches are shooting for the concert hall approach. Callahan Studios approach the whole thing very differently. Read through their site and see what I mean.
Anyway, I have been invited to attend the meeting. Sort of an outside viewpoint, so to speak. I am looking forward to it.
Wednesday, October 11, 2006
Merging Churches
For those of you reading this from somewhere other than Corpus Christi, let me catch you up on what's been happening with our church. As most of you know, it is not at all uncommon for churches to split. That's often heard of, and sometimes they even make the paper (if it's a particularly ugly split). But a merger... now that's uncommon. And that's what we're doing.
It's a long story and the entire thing is chronicled at our Sr. Minister's blog, churchmerger.org. It started in early summer when Jess Cole, the Sr. Pastor of Christ Community Church (CCC), felt the gentle call of the Spirit to talk to our church, Christ Family Fellowship (CFF) about the possibility of merging.
The two Sr's got together and prayed over the idea. Both felt a need to present it to the leadership of the churches. After several months of prayer, fasting, emotional roller coasters and sleepless nights, both churches voted this past weekend to approve the merger. The combined vote was almost 95% in favor.
We have lots of unanswered questions. Hopefully, these can be answered soon as we begin meeting together on October 22, 2006. We had to work through lots of theology and tradition. After all, we are a former Church of Christ and they are a former Southern Baptist. You can imagine some of the discussions we had.
We hope that the city of Corpus Christi, which is Latin for "Body of Christ", will see what the body of Christ looks like by the merger of two churches instead of the split of one into two. Or three. As of this week, Christ Point Church is born.
At least I think that's what it will be called. We're still working on that one too.
It's a long story and the entire thing is chronicled at our Sr. Minister's blog, churchmerger.org. It started in early summer when Jess Cole, the Sr. Pastor of Christ Community Church (CCC), felt the gentle call of the Spirit to talk to our church, Christ Family Fellowship (CFF) about the possibility of merging.
The two Sr's got together and prayed over the idea. Both felt a need to present it to the leadership of the churches. After several months of prayer, fasting, emotional roller coasters and sleepless nights, both churches voted this past weekend to approve the merger. The combined vote was almost 95% in favor.
We have lots of unanswered questions. Hopefully, these can be answered soon as we begin meeting together on October 22, 2006. We had to work through lots of theology and tradition. After all, we are a former Church of Christ and they are a former Southern Baptist. You can imagine some of the discussions we had.
We hope that the city of Corpus Christi, which is Latin for "Body of Christ", will see what the body of Christ looks like by the merger of two churches instead of the split of one into two. Or three. As of this week, Christ Point Church is born.
At least I think that's what it will be called. We're still working on that one too.
Tuesday, October 10, 2006
Parachute Rapture
Just a short post. Austin (my 10-yr old) said something interesting today.
He told me he was thinking about where he wanted to be when Jesus came back. His choice was sky diving. He thought it would be neat to be heading down to earth and then turn around and go back up.
Lord, let me think like that.
He told me he was thinking about where he wanted to be when Jesus came back. His choice was sky diving. He thought it would be neat to be heading down to earth and then turn around and go back up.
Lord, let me think like that.
Monday, October 09, 2006
Worship in the Land of Mids
This past weekend I had a wonderful opportunity, one that I hope to repeat. Kevin Riggs, the Worship Minister at Golf Course Rd Church of Christ in Midland, TX took the weekend off to go to the Zoe Conference in Nastyville. He invited me to fill in for him in his absence. I gladly accepted.
What a great place Golf Course is! My wife grew up in Midland and at GCR and we were aware of some of the old "baggage" from years back. It was good to see that this church has grown from their experiences and come out better for it.
There are still a good number of singers present who came together under Ken Young to form Hallal Ministries. Since Ken's departure, Kevin has gone about building the worship ministry and adding new singers. I believe I may have worked with 2 or 3 singers from those days, but everyone else was new. My weekend team of 8 did a fabulous job, especially when I tended to "stray" from the melody and fill in holes.
It was a joy to work with talented singers who respond to direction. I anticipated working through the music and making lots of corrections at our Saturday night rehearsal. I bet I only did 1/3 of the work I expected to do.
Kevin allowed me to work up the worship order for the morning. I included a good mix of arrangements by Keith Lancaster, Zoe, Hallal, and a couple of my own. For those interested, here was the order:
Shout Hallelujah (F)
Prayer
Welcome
It's All Right / Just a Little Talk (G/Ab)
At the Name of Jesus (Ab)
We Trust in the Name (Ab)
(Transitional prayer)
I Need Thee Every Hour (A)
Prayer Time
Turn My Heart O God (C)
Think About His Love (D)
When I Survey the Wondrous Cross (1 vs old melody)
Communion
When I Survey the Wondrous Cross (new melody)
Offering
Had It Not Been The Lord (G)
This World is Not My Home (G)
Lesson
Benediction
What a great place Golf Course is! My wife grew up in Midland and at GCR and we were aware of some of the old "baggage" from years back. It was good to see that this church has grown from their experiences and come out better for it.
There are still a good number of singers present who came together under Ken Young to form Hallal Ministries. Since Ken's departure, Kevin has gone about building the worship ministry and adding new singers. I believe I may have worked with 2 or 3 singers from those days, but everyone else was new. My weekend team of 8 did a fabulous job, especially when I tended to "stray" from the melody and fill in holes.
It was a joy to work with talented singers who respond to direction. I anticipated working through the music and making lots of corrections at our Saturday night rehearsal. I bet I only did 1/3 of the work I expected to do.
Kevin allowed me to work up the worship order for the morning. I included a good mix of arrangements by Keith Lancaster, Zoe, Hallal, and a couple of my own. For those interested, here was the order:
Shout Hallelujah (F)
Prayer
Welcome
It's All Right / Just a Little Talk (G/Ab)
At the Name of Jesus (Ab)
We Trust in the Name (Ab)
(Transitional prayer)
I Need Thee Every Hour (A)
Prayer Time
Turn My Heart O God (C)
Think About His Love (D)
When I Survey the Wondrous Cross (1 vs old melody)
Communion
When I Survey the Wondrous Cross (new melody)
Offering
Had It Not Been The Lord (G)
This World is Not My Home (G)
Lesson
Benediction
Friday, October 06, 2006
Acafest Alive and Well
Even though I have not been with Acappella Ministries for over three years now, I am still connected in a round about way. Keith has kept in touch and occasionally needs help with this or that... usually something to do with the Internet.
The past couple of days he has had me working on getting the domain kinks worked out for the new Acafest site. Aca what, you say? Long history. Here we go.
The Acappella Christian Music Seminar, or ACMS, started in the late 80's in Paris, TN. In the beginning it was a week long festival/seminar in based in Acappella's home town and studios. People came from all over the country (and later on, the world) to participate in classes about the art of acappella music and listen to singing groups perform. It always culminated in the homecoming concert of Acappella. As time went on, AVB and Vocal Union were added to the mix.
It started very simply. I remember my first year involved. Our home church, Paris Chapel, met in an old empty WalMart building. This is also where ACMS was hosted. Our homecoming concert of 1988 was on a flat bed trailer in the parking lot. A good portion of the city came out to hear it. It was stinking hot out there. And we were wearing jackets. Holy cow.
A few years on, we reduced it to a 3-day event and held it in the new Paris Landing Convention Center. It became international in nature with performances by groups from France and Guadeloupe (that small island nation in the Caribbean). It eventually got too big for us to handle properly. We had to make the decision to really put a ton of effort into it, or redirect our efforts into our ministry. The choice was easy. Make the main thing the main thing. So Acafest (as it was called by then) was retired for a season. A decade, it appears.
Acafest has been revived, now subtitled "The International Acappella Singing Festival." It is scheduled for Nov. 1-3, 2007 in Nashville. Who knows? Maybe my worship team from wherever I end up in the next few weeks can participate? That would be a blast. I've got 13 months to get my schedule worked out. :)
The past couple of days he has had me working on getting the domain kinks worked out for the new Acafest site. Aca what, you say? Long history. Here we go.
The Acappella Christian Music Seminar, or ACMS, started in the late 80's in Paris, TN. In the beginning it was a week long festival/seminar in based in Acappella's home town and studios. People came from all over the country (and later on, the world) to participate in classes about the art of acappella music and listen to singing groups perform. It always culminated in the homecoming concert of Acappella. As time went on, AVB and Vocal Union were added to the mix.
It started very simply. I remember my first year involved. Our home church, Paris Chapel, met in an old empty WalMart building. This is also where ACMS was hosted. Our homecoming concert of 1988 was on a flat bed trailer in the parking lot. A good portion of the city came out to hear it. It was stinking hot out there. And we were wearing jackets. Holy cow.
A few years on, we reduced it to a 3-day event and held it in the new Paris Landing Convention Center. It became international in nature with performances by groups from France and Guadeloupe (that small island nation in the Caribbean). It eventually got too big for us to handle properly. We had to make the decision to really put a ton of effort into it, or redirect our efforts into our ministry. The choice was easy. Make the main thing the main thing. So Acafest (as it was called by then) was retired for a season. A decade, it appears.
Acafest has been revived, now subtitled "The International Acappella Singing Festival." It is scheduled for Nov. 1-3, 2007 in Nashville. Who knows? Maybe my worship team from wherever I end up in the next few weeks can participate? That would be a blast. I've got 13 months to get my schedule worked out. :)
Thursday, October 05, 2006
Resumes and Airplanes
Not much to say today. I've sent out a few more resumes to churches I've found online. If something came out of those, it would be a God-thing, because these are totally cold-call situations.
I am flying out Saturday to another church to fill in for their current worship leader. He is going to the Zoe Conference. It should be a lot of fun. This particular church has a long history of great singers. They have four worship teams (that's 32 singers) that rotate throughout the month. I look forward to it.
I am eager to hear back from the first church I visited. They have told me I will not learn of my standing until after Oct. 15. I believe they have someone else coming in to interview for the position (Chief of Staff). I've learned that since my interview, the teaching pastor (pulpit guy) has resigned, so that makes two positions open. I know of a third who will be resigning soon, so that will make things very unstable for the time being. This is a great church, averaging 100 baptisms each quarter. I pray that God will continue to sustain them through these tough times.
More later...
I am flying out Saturday to another church to fill in for their current worship leader. He is going to the Zoe Conference. It should be a lot of fun. This particular church has a long history of great singers. They have four worship teams (that's 32 singers) that rotate throughout the month. I look forward to it.
I am eager to hear back from the first church I visited. They have told me I will not learn of my standing until after Oct. 15. I believe they have someone else coming in to interview for the position (Chief of Staff). I've learned that since my interview, the teaching pastor (pulpit guy) has resigned, so that makes two positions open. I know of a third who will be resigning soon, so that will make things very unstable for the time being. This is a great church, averaging 100 baptisms each quarter. I pray that God will continue to sustain them through these tough times.
More later...
Wednesday, October 04, 2006
Google Earth
I've spent a majority of my time online in the past two weeks either looking for job opportunities or searching for real estate. Most of the real estate sites generally include a map feature with their listing, and I've been using them.
Recently, I listening to a local tech-talk show on the radio and they were singing the praises of Google Earth. I decided to give it a try. WOW! This is an amazing program. It allows you to zoom in (from space, mind you) to any address you list. You can even tilt and rotate the axis of view 360 degrees.
Want to fly around the Eiffel Tower? Big Ben in London? The Grand Canyon? All of these are open for viewing on Google Earth. Or you can do something as simple as look at your backyard. For the fun of it, I started at my house and navigated the 15 minute drive to my children's school using the direction buttons. It was liking driving to school watching myself from above.
There's another program that I also downloaded called Google Sketchup. This allows you to create 3-D models of anything you'd like. You can then print them, export them for use in other programs, or even import it into Google Earth to give your home or office a 3-D presence. I haven't dug into it yet, but it looks great.
I plan on making a model of our house, and then trying different colors on the outside to see what looks best so we can paint. A little curb appeal goes a long way!
Recently, I listening to a local tech-talk show on the radio and they were singing the praises of Google Earth. I decided to give it a try. WOW! This is an amazing program. It allows you to zoom in (from space, mind you) to any address you list. You can even tilt and rotate the axis of view 360 degrees.
Want to fly around the Eiffel Tower? Big Ben in London? The Grand Canyon? All of these are open for viewing on Google Earth. Or you can do something as simple as look at your backyard. For the fun of it, I started at my house and navigated the 15 minute drive to my children's school using the direction buttons. It was liking driving to school watching myself from above.
There's another program that I also downloaded called Google Sketchup. This allows you to create 3-D models of anything you'd like. You can then print them, export them for use in other programs, or even import it into Google Earth to give your home or office a 3-D presence. I haven't dug into it yet, but it looks great.
I plan on making a model of our house, and then trying different colors on the outside to see what looks best so we can paint. A little curb appeal goes a long way!
Tuesday, October 03, 2006
In the Beginning
For everything there is a beginning. I suppose this one is as good as any.
I find myself at another new beginning as well. A new blog is one thing, but a new job is something else. I'm in that period everyone hates, knowing you need a new employer but not knowing who that might be just yet.
Will I stay right here in Corpus Christi and continue to work for CFF or whatever it becomes? Stay and switch churches? How about a move to Amarillo? Maybe Midland? Pheonix? San Diego? My wife and I pray that God will provide clarity. We know what would be easiest. We know what would be the most fun. What we don't know is where God wants to use us.
Yes, I'm sure He will use us for His glory wherever we wind up. Personally, I would like to be in the place where He can use us best. I really don't want to settle for something because it's all that's left, or some other rather lame reason.
God, please make it clear.
I find myself at another new beginning as well. A new blog is one thing, but a new job is something else. I'm in that period everyone hates, knowing you need a new employer but not knowing who that might be just yet.
Will I stay right here in Corpus Christi and continue to work for CFF or whatever it becomes? Stay and switch churches? How about a move to Amarillo? Maybe Midland? Pheonix? San Diego? My wife and I pray that God will provide clarity. We know what would be easiest. We know what would be the most fun. What we don't know is where God wants to use us.
Yes, I'm sure He will use us for His glory wherever we wind up. Personally, I would like to be in the place where He can use us best. I really don't want to settle for something because it's all that's left, or some other rather lame reason.
God, please make it clear.
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