Setseller is up and running!

I am very excited to announce the SetSeller.com is up and running and ready for listings. It is currently only available for Arizona, but we will be pushing it nationally in the near future. In case you haven't heard, I have been working on a new website for churches, theaters, and production companies to list and sell their used sets, props, printed stuff, and equipment. There are so many of these types of pieces that are produced that end up being pitched in the end because of a lack of space and time to save it for reuse. I believe this can be a huge benefit for the kingdom especially in the sharing of creative resources and stage equipment.

Go to setseller.com and check it out. Let me know what you think, and if you have some stuff, list it. And if you know anyone who could benefit from it, pass it along. Thanks

The Next Stage

Well it's that time again, where we take down the old stage decorations and get ready to build the new stage set. We put a lot of effort into our stages here because we believe it helps create a conducive environment for communicating and remembering the content of our weekend messages and the series they are connected to. I can look back over the past number of stages and I think there is a lot of creativity in them which I love being a part of.

We are starting a new series this coming weekend at Central which is a study through the book of Ephesians, one of the new testament letters from the Apostle Paul. I believe this is going to be a great series, simply because it is a powerful book of the bible and you can't go wrong when you study God's word.

As for the stage, we are trying to tap into some of the retro look of the route 66. As a church, we are challenging our congregation to read through the entire book of the bible, all 66 books of it, in one year. You can find a reading guide on here and here.

This last Saturday, a few of us got together to begin building a large marquee type sign that will hang above our stage, complete with chasing lights. It is going to be pretty cool. In addition, we have a member of our church who has "donated" for a while a couple of classic corvettes for the stage. I think it is going to be amazing. If you are in the area, I hope you will take a weekend and visit with us at Central.

Setseller.com

For some time now I have been actively involved in the creative development, design and construction of the different stage sets we use here at Central. We have been blessed with some very creative and innovative people, and access to quality resources. Over the last few years we have designed some pretty cool stages based on different teaching themes that we have done that have really added to the overall impact of our weekend services. It has been a lot of fun.

The downside however, is what to do when the teaching series is over. Some of what we use we can take apart and use again in a different application with minimal waste. However, the majority of what we use has a direct thematic or visual connection to a particular series and are difficult to reuse, and even if we could reuse it, we would not want to any time soon. And like most places, we simply do not have the storage space to save all these great sets for long periods of time.

I have often felt that it would be great to find other churches or presentational organizations that might be able to benefit from our work by using what we have already made. I've also thought it would be great to be able to sell some of these items to recoup some of the cost to build them, which would allow us to continue to be creative in developing new stage sets. But the more I searched, the more a realized there was not a very good tool available for that purpose. So, I decided to figure out how to make one.

I am very excited to begin sharing the vision for setseller.com, a tool for churches, schools, theaters, and other presentational organizations to list and sell their used sets and stage pieces. My hope is that these different groups will have a common location on the web to share and sell their creative work for the benefit of all. Setseller.com will feature an easy to use platform that will allow for local, state, even national searches, and the opportunity for groups to buy and sell these great resources for the benefit of all.

We are hopeful this new tool will be online and ready to use very soon. If you are interested in using this tool, or you know a church, school, local theater, or other group that could benefit from it, then go to setseller.com and sign up to receive email updates on the progress of the new site.   

A Recent Project

We recently had Paul Young, author of "The Shack" come and speak at Central. It was a very compelling and challenging interview. Though we were not able to post it, you can find info about his story online here and it is worth looking up. One thing we did do was a video piece called "letter from God" that we actually did during the instrumental bridge of "how he loves us" as done by Kim Walker. Here is that piece, though done individually, and available for purchase from Worship House Media. Pretty cool!

Eager to...

My kids love to watch movies, especially my youngest, Kate. We have lots of kid movies. One of the movies she likes is Ratatouille. There is a scene in the movie where Remy is hungry and trying to find food. He finds some food, but his conscience in the form of his hero Chef Gusteau convinces him not to steal food, but instead tells him, "Remy, you are better than that. You are a cook! A cook makes! A thief takes. You are not a thief. Food will come, Remy. Food always comes to those who love to cook." The very thing Remy wanted would come not by stealing, but by cooking, preparing what he desired for others to consume. Put another way, by serving.
News of economic struggles abound. Yet the truth is, whether in good times or bad, our cravings rarely change. We desire money or stuff. I often wrestle with those same desires, and have allowed myself to get caught up in trying to figure out how to get more. Yet, the pursuit of that totally changes a persons heart, their motivation for all they do. Matthew 21:6 clearly states this truth when it say, "where your treasure it, there your heart will be also." If what I treasure is a lifestyle that conforms with those around me, or those I look up to, my heart will be fixated on that at the expense of the greater things of God. If I treasure happiness, my heart is fixated on achieving that, and I miss the challenging lessons of life that bring joy and trust through Gods faithfulness in hard times. Jesus' own words later in Matthew 6 remind us that when we seek first his kingdom, he will take care of the rest.
In my quiet time this morning, I read this passage from 1 Peter 5:2-4:

Be shepherds of God's flock that is under your care, serving as overseers--not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not greedy for money, but eager to serve;not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock.And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away.

What a great reminder that true riches come from true sacrifice and service. We are encouraged to be eager to serve, rather than greedy for money, and the reward for such eagerness is a crown that never fades, something much more valuable than what this world can offer.

Take Care of Your Business

I have been very fortunate to be able to play music with a bass player named Mel Brown. He just won his second Grammy award in which he played Bass for the tune "Stand Up" on Jennifer Hudson's Grammy winning CD. Not only is he a tremendous musician, he has a lot of experience and wisdom that he has gained over the years that he has shared with myself and others around here. One of the phrases he has used over the last month or so that has really stuck in my mind is the phrase, "you have to take care of your business." Now, he has not necessarily said that to me directly, but in the context of people taking care of that which they have been asked/hired to do, which often in our context has to do with musicians.

I find that so often, people tend to get wrapped up in what others are doing or not doing, having an opinion often very strongly stated, about the negative effects of what others are doing upon their own responsibilities. More directly stated, blaming others for their lack of production. Many of us are guilty of this. The reason I didn't do what I should have, or couldn't do what I was supposed to do had to do with what someone else didn't do for me. The truth is though, all of us need to quit worrying about what others are or aren't doing, and take care of our own business. Do what you were asked to do, at the very minimum to the expectation of those who asked you/hired you to do it, but really, to the fullest you are able to do it. This is the true measure of your own integrity and reliability. If you do your business, and do it well, you will never have to worry about what others are doing. You will have presented yourself professionally and credibly, and people will be more apt to rely on you when they need that service again. But if you are prone to making excuses and not showing up with your business taken care of, you will lose opportunities to do what you do in the future.

I find this principle demonstrates itself in a variety of situations, in employment, volunteer work, ministry, music...you name it. If someone has asked/hired you to do something, take care of your business! If in the process, you can help others be successful, even better. That will be the true measure of your value and success...not what others don't do!

Thanks Mel! Congratulations on taking care of your business, and receiving a your second Grammy in the process!

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.