Merry Christmas everyone! Hope you all have a wonderful new year!

Worship Leader vs. Lead Worshiper

I have heard this term before, but I just read a post linked to one of the blogs I sometimes read that really caused me some thought, some uncomfortable thought actually. The worship leader is the one who gets up and leads the congregation in corporate worship as we know it in most contemporary churches in America. However, Steve Corn in his post here points out that the most effective worship leaders are the lead worshipers, and how he feels like in his own life, he has become less a lead worshiper and more of a worship leader.

I can very much relate to this, as over the years I have struggled with getting more wrapped up in all that goes into leading worship, than consumed in my heart with worshiping the one true God in Spirit and in Truth, which was the whole point in the first place, and something I feel I used to do so much more. I am grateful that I stumbled across this post that reminds me that first and foremost, I am a worshiper of God, and when I am worshiping him, I will be far more effective in leading others to do the same!

I have been a fan of 722 for a long time. If you are not familiar with it, it is a "worship event" to young singles in the greater Atlanta Metropolitan area. It is not a church, but a ministry for all churches and unchurched alike to reach and encourage young singles. For many who know of Louie Giglio, it was something that he and Bill Willits started 12 years ago, that eventually was hosted and supported by Northpoint Community Church in Alpharetta, GA.
A couple of years ago, my friend Ryan and I had the opportunity to visit 722 and attend a backstage pass event to see how it works and to connect with some of the individuals that made that ministry happen each week.

Though it wasn't a traditional church type mentality, their goal was to reach and encourage young singles from across Atlanta, and then send them back to their churches to encourage and invest. It was also a very forward thinking musical and teaching environment that is really the roots of the passion music ministry today.

All this is to setup what I just read, that they will be having their last 722 gathering this Tues. night. Jarret Stephens, the lead teacher of that ministry spoke about it here:

Long ago, I was part of a ministry that I had helped start called Oasis, a student worship service that was targeted to Jr. High through College age people, but was really open to everyone. It was a fun service and I think that many people really grew to love and appreciate it. We really tried to do a lot of creative things and experiment with our limited resources, and a lot of people were effected by it. But we too came to the decision that it was time to make a change in order to be most effective at our primary goal, which was to reach and disciple Jr. high - college age students for Christ, and as fun and cool as Oasis was, it was not the most effective in accomplishing it.

I still miss Oasis sometimes, but I do not regret the decision to discontinue doing it in order to try and figure how to do ministry more effective. Many people disagreed, and it took us a while to find out how to accomplish the goal, which is always an ever changing thing, but it was the right thing to do.

So, I applaud the 722 leadership for recognizing what their mission is, and being willing to stop, step back, and prayerfully and intentionally go after how to reach the young singles of Atlanta for Christ in a way that nobody else is. And I praise God for the tremendous impact, both globally and very personally of those who have poured themselves into this ministry for so long! Thanks.

I came across the cool little tool that lets you make videos out of pictures and it is pretty cool. Thought I would put one together from our trip.

Pots and Pans

I have been in a place of seeking God recently. I know that sounds very un-pastor like, or even unchristian. Shouldn't we always be seeking God? Of course. But I confess, I go through dry times, and I have been in one. So I have been striving to pursue God with a greater level of intensity. This practice has involved a couple of things, listening to sermons of people I respect, and reading the works of other people who challenge me in my walk. In addition, I have sought to meditate on scripture I have memorized. This morning I was sitting here in my office looking over my bookshelf for something to read. In the past, I have had subscriptions to Relevant Books, and they would send out a box with music, their most recent magazine, and several books. I tend to be a great book starter and horrible book ender, yet overall, just terribly inconsistent at reading altogether. Anyway, I have a number of books on my bookshelf that I have never read, or even opened for that matter.

My eyes stumbled upon the book, "God is Here; Connecting with him in Everyday Life" by Steve Case, and I was instantly curios. The cover even had an strong endorsement by Tony Campolo. The cover also has the statement, "A modern look at Brother Lawrence's The Practice of the Presence of God. I have heard of Brother Lawrence many times, and have many people talk about the significance of his writings and life. I even tried downloading and audio book of The Practice but never got through it. I decided I would give this book a try, at least the beginning of it.

The first chapter was a biography of Brother Lawrence, which there really isn't a ton of, but it did give some context to the challenges he faced. It was helpful. But it was chapter 2 that has really drawn me into this book, because it focused on a prayer of brother lawrence that goes like this:

Lord of all pots and pans and things...
Make me a saint by getting meals and washing up the plates.

Often I wrestle with the idea of what is God wanting to accomplish in my life, and there is a tendency to want that to be some grand thing, so great level of leadership or production, or what not. My ego causes me to want to be great in the eyes of men. Yet here is the prayer of a man who wants to be moment by moment in the presence of God, and his prayer is to the God of the big things and the little things, that he would be consecrated to God through humble and menial service...getting meals and washing plates. He goes on to express that times of prayer and times of work are no different, in that both are times of be present with God.

Oh to live that kind of life. To daily, hourly, moment by moment practice being...breathing the presence of God, no matter what I am doing. I guess that's why they call it practicing.

Here is probably my favorite of hers that I have just because she is so animated. It is from another Veggie Tales video (do we let her watch too much...nah!) Anyway, this is from Lyle the kindly viking.

Kate sings Viking Song from Perry Emerick on Vimeo.

This Weekend

So this last weekend, I ended up co-leading worship with Kim in Gilbert. I must confess that my heart was not in it very well. In fact, instead of being ready and excited to lead people in worship, I was anxious and nervous about performing a song well. That happens quite often, I find myself getting self conscious about the technical parts of a song or program and lose focus on the purpose of the day, to come be in the presence of our Lord and to present an offering of praise to him.

As a side note, our speaker this weekend was a guy named Kevin Carlson, a former staff member who went on to plant a church in the east valley. He did an outstanding job and had much for me to ponder as some of what he said I could very much relate to.

At the end of the first service, I went out to get my guitars reset and to do some stuff on stage. I noticed a young couple who had come down to the front looking for someone to pray with. Most of the prayer partners were busy, and the couple after standing around for a moment, began to turn to leave, feeling there was no one to pray with them. So I jumped down and asked them if they wanted to pray, which they did. We spent a few moments talking about what was on their hearts and what they wanted some prayer for, and I prayed for and with them.

As they left, I was reminded of the part of ministry I love...meeting people where they are at, who are desiring to connect with God and ministering to them. That is often the part that gets lost, and it was a great reminder to me of what was important for the weekend as well. God is moving far beyond a song.

I came across this verse this morning in my reading, "I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better." Eph. 1:17. I think that sums up my prayer right now, that I might now him better. Hey great that we serve a God that wants to be known!

Kate Sings

All my kids love to sing, but it seems as though Kate is one who has a song in her heart all the time. So, with my new phone, I decided to start recording some of these tunes, which tend to come out at meal time. Here is the first one I recorded! More to come!

FTT

I am writing this from my mom's house in Lakeside, CA, the town where I grew up. We came out to see my mom be in a parade tomorrow in Coronado. Since we don't have FITS this year, I could actually come. Taking a little time on the web, I came across this article by Jon Orberg that I really resonated with. I think often I get either caught up with the stress of life, or the stress of ministry, and even at times complacency in ministry, and fail to recognize what God's intention for life really is. Like many of us, the day to day routine often takes away from God's desire that we not just exist, but that we truly live, which is the root of our salvation. It even brings some perspective into this very trip...to take some time and just live.

Here is a great shot I love...it is of Ben at the end of the second game. Papelbon came in and closed it out after Qualls had given up the lead in the eighth. It was so frustrating to watch Doug Davis pitch so strongly into the 8th just to have it thrown away. What is funny to me about this picture is that the guy who took it was a Dback's fan along with 2 others who had taken the Fenway tour with us earlier. One of hte ladies in that group had made the comment that she was glad Qualls hadn't come in the night before cause he would have blown the game. Ironic that the next night, he did come in and did blow the lead.
Anyway, what a great trip. We had so much fun and I have to say, I love Boston! What a great city. If you ever get a chance to go there, you need to check it out. And make sure you take a duck tour when you are there. Well worth it!

Real quick before I get off the free wi-fi and get a bite before heading to home, here is a picture of the first pitch of the Monday night game that the Dbacks won. It was a great game, a great pitchers duel between Haren and Beckett. We were sitting in grandstand section 31, row 9 and had a really nice view of the stadium (not that there is a real bad view). We were in a section with several Dback fans, and to tell you the truth, I was surprised by the number of Dback fans who were there. There was a father and son from Awatukee, as well as a father and son from NorCal who were fans. Anyway, it was cool to have a few others to cheer with. Only had one Sox fan curse me under his breath as Ben and I walked back to the subway station. Other than a short rain delay, it was a great night of baseball! We loved it.

Just a quick second post from DENVER...All I can say is I don't like American Airlines! We were stuck in Phoenix on the way out, and then on the way back, we had an on time flight from Boston to DFW, but then they pulled the plane for maintenance issues and canceled the flight from DFW to PHX. They initially had us re-booked to PHX at 10:40 that night, but were able to get us home by 6:45 by flying us through Denver, and then Frontier to PHX.

I suppose I can't complain too much...I didn't pay for it! :)

Here is a picture of Ben and I from grandstand section 31 during game one when they beat Boston 2-1! What a great game!

We Have Arrived

Well our adventure began at Sky Harbor at around 12:00 yesterday. We checked our bag at the self check-in, dropped it off for scanning and then headed up to the gates. There was only 2 people in line ahead of us, so getting through was a breeze. So far so good. We get to gate 4, and there is a bunch of people there and a long line at the counter, so I go ahead and get in the line because I don't have seat assignments yet (we flew American Airlines which I have never flown before). I look at the monitor behind the gate agent and all I see is DFW delayed until 8:00 and get real nervous all of the sudden. I eventually figure out that it is the flight scheduled to leave my gate before my flight. So, I continue to stand in line thinking that I still need to get my seats and they will just move this plane. Come to find out the plane sitting at the gate has mechanical problems, which was why the flight was moved back to 8 that evening. So, everyone is scrambling to rebook while Ben and I are just standing there waiting.

Finally, the gate agent announces that our flight has been moved to gate 6, so we stroll over there (while a bunch of people bolt over there hoping to get standby) and again begin waiting in line for our seat assignments. Well, there is no attendant at this gate, and we end up having to wait there for about 15 minutes until a guy shows up and starts going to work on the computer, but not talking or looking at anyone in line. He punches away at the keys for what seems like forever, but was probably less than 5 minutes, all the time with a very serious, if not at times strained look on his face, before he finally decides to make an announcement. He tells us that the flight is full, explains standby rules, and then says if you are already checked in, he will call your names when your seat assignments are ready. I have never heard of this before, but I go ahead and sit down anyway and watch the world fall apart on CNN. I realize how long at has been since I have watched the news when I have no idea what is going on and a lady from the midwest is explaining to me that NoCal is on fire and the midwest if flooding. She and her husband came out to Phoenix for the weekend and were heading home. She complained about the heat and it was better to live in the cold cause you could just put on more layers (yeah...but snow) and she was looking forward to getting back home. Eventually, the gate attendant calls my name and we get our boarding passes and seat assignments...row 8, front of the plane!

The plane shows up, they unload, and then 15 minutes later than they said, they begin boarding passengers. I take advantage of the kid rule and Ben and I get on early. Our flight was to leave at 1:35 and by the time we start loading, it is already about 1:30. So, the people begin piling on, and at the time we were supposed to leave, the kind flight attendant begins to push everyone over the intercom to get seated quickly. She even comments that this is the time we were supposed to depart, so the sooner everyone get seated, the sooner we can leave. She goes so far to say, "you all know when your connecting flights are, so we need to hurry up." So, we all finally get seated about 1:45ish, and then just sit there. Finally, the captain says to us that there are 2 sensors, one on each side of the plane that measure temperature, one is in the shade, one is in the sun, and because of that the temperatures are different, and the unit basically shuts down. So, they are going to try and cool the one down so that they can get going. So we sit there for 20 minutes waiting for this thing to get right, which it never does, so they basically have the mechanic sign a document saying it is legal for them to fly with just one unit measuring right, which then leads you to ask, why were we waiting than, especially after our verbal beat down by the flight attendant. We finally get airborne almost and hour after our scheduled departure. And the only thing on my mind is that I had a 40 minute layover in DFW. You can do the math.


So, to make a long story longer, the pilot was able to make up some time in the air and we touched down in DFW about 30 minutes before my next flight was to take off. The announced that we would be at gate C-11 and that our flight to Boston would be out of gate A-21 - a whole different terminal. Meanwhile, it took almost 20 minutes for them to finally get to the gate and for us to get off, and we were at the front of the plane. Ben and I raced upstairs to the terminal train, which seemed to take forever to get there, and then rode it to the next stop, which our terminal was right in the middle of two train stops, so we took the first one and ran all the way across the terminal to arrive at gate A-21 with about 3 minutes to spare.

Frantically trying to catch our breath, we are casually told by another lady standing in line that the flight had been delayed until 8:00. All that running, and we had time to spare. Good times! At last though, at about 8:15 we took off for Boston, and after a slightly bumpy flight because of weather in Boston, we arrived at around 12:30 in the morning Boston time.

All in all, it was not too bad. At least we got there. Next long post will be day one. In the meantime, here are a few pictures.

PS...no free wi-fi until Denver...yes Denver. Will explain on a later post.

Twitter

For those following along, you can catch more frequent updates on our trip at my Twitter page. Enjoy!

Gearing Up!

Well, tomorrow we fly out of Sky Harbor headed for Boston and Fenway. So, we figured we would get geared up with some Dbacks stuff in order to represent. So Ben and I picked up a couple of hats, and our family picked us up some shirts to wear at the park. We are sure to get beat up now!

Short Lived Fame

So yesterday, I found out I won the trip to Boston, and they even posted my name on the website. This morning I got up to work out and heard them announce it on the radio which was pretty cool. I just went to the website, and my name is no longer on there. Oh well, I did get my flight confirmation email for Ben and I to go, so that really all that matters to me. I'm goin' to Boston. Now, if I could just find a good place to get some clam chowder...

I WON!

Alright, I don't think I have ever won anything...that is until now. I am a regular listener to our local sports talk station, sports 620 KTAR.Well, they have a rewards program where you can earn points and then use those points to get stuff or enter raffles and such. Well, I had about 1700 point so I entered a raffle for a fathers day trip to Boston to watch the Dbacks play the Sox at Fenway...and today they called me to tell me I WON! I couldn't believe it! So, Ben and I (it is a father's day thing) are heading out on Sunday afternoon and flying to Boston. We will be watching the Monday & Tues. games at Fenway and then heading back on Wed. I will be taking lots of pictures and posting them for all to see!

All I can say is wow!

Amazing

Marine who lost leg returns to combat - People: Tales of survival - MSNBC.com

I came across this story this morning while reading about a different tragic story here and was moved by this mans courage and determination. I have known Marines in my life. My step-dad was a WWII veteran Marine who fought in the South Pacific. His nephew was a Marine and would come stay with us from time to time while he was stationed at Camp Pendleton in California, and one of my good friends Rob Sherwood is a Marine officer currently serving and stationed at Camp Pendleton. Marines are a tough and proud group of soldiers. Say what you will about the war, I am impressed with these people who put themselves out there with such courage and passion to see change happen, and are willing to sacrifice so much to do it. It is inspiring.

OneRepublic

I recently came across the CD "Dreaming Out Loud" by OneRepublic. The big hit songs on this CD are "Apologize" and "Stop and Stare". However, this has to be one of my favorite CD's right now. It is so melodic and enjoyable and I really can't stop listening to it. Now, I know this has been out for 7 months now, and I am a little behind the times, but all the same, if you have not purchased this CD and listened to it, you are missing out.

This last weekend I had the opportunity to go on a canyoneering trip led by Neil H, along with my friend Ryan Russell, and Neil's brother Adam and his brother-in-law Francisco. It was though a place called West Clear Creek up above the Mogollon Rim. The first two days were pretty grueling with lots of rock hopping, creek crossing on slippery rocks, and floating long pools of very cold water. Your body tends to get pretty beat up on this kind of trip. By the end I was pretty scratched up from pushing through trees and stuff, bruised from falling on rocks and banging my shins, and received sun poisoning on my arms and neck from too much exposure to the sun. However, the scenery was truly awesome. It is sometimes amazing to think this is Arizona. The third day, was a bit easier with no floats, and we ended up getting back a day earlier than originally planned. All in all a great trip. This is my second canyoneering trip and I love them. They kick my butt like no other, but the payoff of knowing that you made and the scenery experienced while doing it is priceless. Can't wait to do it again.

So, here are some pics from the trip. They don't do justice to the beauty of the area, but it will give you a little bit of a sense of what we saw.

Free money and stickin' it to Paypal! You gotta love that. Check out Revolution Money Exchange, a new online money exchange service like Paypal but with no fees and if you sign up for a new account by May 15, you will get $25 free! Can't beat it. Sign up by clicking the button below.

It was the end of February last year that Karen and I decided to get serious about the debt thing. I posted about it here. I am excited to say, just over a year later, that for all intents and purposes, we are debt free! Having just paid off the van we drive, we are now out of debt. Now it is time to begin working on baby step 3.

Feels good!

Entering the Politcal Fray...kind of...

I have really not wanted to get too deep into anything political, but someone forwarded this article to me and I found it insightful. I have not really jumped on the Obama bandwagon, nor any politician at this point, but I have heard some people talk about how compelling Obama seems to be. I definitely think this article articulates well what my gut has been telling me.

My New Favorite Cooking show

I am officially a fan of Sam the cooking guy! I have watched him a number of times now and I think he is great. Last night we made our first dish from his show...a peach/pound cake desert with ice cream. It was very good. If you haven't had a chance to see him, check him out. And on top of that, he is a San Diego guy!

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Now playing: Oingo Boingo - Dead Man's Party
via FoxyTunes

Someone at work forwarded this video on and I found it funny...thought I would pass it along!

I shared this thought with Ryan Russell who kept bugging me to write it down so he could post it on his blog. I finally did and thought I would post it on mine as well.

I have often noticed people who promote themselves as leaders push for themselves to be placed in a particular leadership position. Once in that position, if they don't seem to perform the necessary leadership needed for the position, it leads to disappointment in the self promoting person who was so quick to speak of their leadership prowess, but was unable to deliver the goods when it mattered. More often than not, that person is than "reassigned" in a very painful and difficult way.

Though probably taken out of context as far as leadership goes, there is a story in the bible found in Luke 14 where Jesus is having a meal at the house of a "prominent Pharisee" and after observing the situation for a while, shares these words:

"7 When he noticed how the guests picked the places of honor at the table, he told them this parable: 8 "When someone invites you to a wedding feast, do not take the place of honor, for a person more distinguished than you may have been invited. 9 If so, the host who invited both of you will come and say to you, 'Give this man your seat.' Then, humiliated, you will have to take the least important place. 10 But when you are invited, take the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he will say to you, 'Friend, move up to a better place.' Then you will be honored in the presence of all your fellow guests. 11 For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."

The principle is simple, if you desire to be in leadership, then take the lowest place first and humbly work at demonstrating you ability to lead. There is much to be learned and developed by starting at the lowest place and often you have a greater opportunity to demonstrate your true leadership potential.

John Maxwell in his book "360 Degree Leader" talks about the ego challenges of being hidden in the middle of an organizations. He makes this statement, "Remember that consistently good leadership does get noticed." And when the leader of an organization notices a young leader who distinguishes himself by his consistent hard work and effective leadership, in time he will invite that person to a greater level of leadership, perhaps replacing someone who eagerly promoted themselves into a position they weren't really ready for.