Responding To God

Moving

2007-12-11T20:10:00.000-05:00

I am moving over to Wordpress... Well actually I have been there for a while, but I will close this one down soon. So you need to go to respondingtogod.wordpress.com to find me.

Just so you know...

2007-11-08T21:36:00.000-05:00

You should eat before you weight train. I know. You're smarter than that. Well, I wasn't yesterday. I really didn't know any better and so before I knew it I was on the floor calling for the trash can. It messed me up for over 2 hours. There were a few moments I thought I needed to go to the hospital. So, anyway, eat something healthy before you try to do alot of exercise. Hey, at least it makes for a good illustration some day.

Joining A Gym

2007-11-05T21:22:00.000-05:00

I am joining a gym in the morning... No, really. Its time. Shelly and I both are joining. I think it is important that you pay attention to your entire self not just spiritual but emotional, relational, intellectual (need to work on this more, too) AND physical. I'm sure I will be sore after tomorrow but it will be that good kind of sore, you know. Its that kind of feeling like, man I am actually doing something good for myself. I'm actually excited about sweating!

Thoughts for today...

2007-10-30T20:13:00.000-05:00

1. I am excited about a new system we are working on for the Creative Arts area of CATR. It will really help our workflow and communication. If you work with us in the Creative area, this is something that we really need and I think if everyone gets on board with us on this it will be awesome.

2. We are beginning to work heavily on some things for Christmas. A word on this is coming soon.

3. My wife needs glasses. No really, she has been getting bad headaches and we have noticed that it is mainly when she is reading, working on homework with the kids or looking at a computer screen. Now if I can just get her to get an appointment, it will be great.

4. We are about to move to a new church management software system that will really help with our systems at CATR. I'm hoping the learning curve isn't too large, because this couldn't be happening fast enough.

5. Anybody got any creative ideas on how to save water? We are in a severe drought here and are getting really close to water being rationed. Yikes!

6. I have meetings with two pastors of large, growing churches this week that I am excited about. I need to think of some good questions for them.

I'm Still Learning

2007-10-24T08:58:00.000-05:00

I'm discovering more and more everyday how much I simply do not know. That may seem arrogant, but its just the truth. I really don't know much at all and I bet if you are honest with yourself and stepped out of your comfort zone, you would realize the same thing. There is so much to learn and so many things to discover.

Still, the one thing that I have discovered that I need to learn the most is this: I need to learn to apply what I already know. See, most of the time we think learning something new is going to fix it, when in reality we already know what to do (for the most part) we just need to DO it.

I went to a church planters practicum at Mountain Lake Church the past two days and learned, mostly, some things about myself. I think its good to go to places like that that remind you of things that you already know, but lack the courage or discipline to take the first step and make some changes for the better.

So here I am. I have learned something about myself and I am moving forward.

Trying to Change

2007-10-17T20:38:00.000-05:00

Ok after an overwhelming... ok it was just a few people, but I think only 4.2 people actually read this blog... anyway, I am changing the look again to something more palatable. Problem is blogger is having some kind of problem and I can't upload my header file. I'll keep trying.

Color

2007-10-13T21:05:00.000-05:00

Shelly just informed me that this tan color looks like baby poo. Who agrees? Do I need to change it? and to what?

I saw the sign

2007-10-13T20:49:00.000-05:00

So, I saw a church sign today that stunned me. I won't say the church name and I won't even say what town I was in because that is not the point. The sign was briefly advertising an upcoming Fall Festival. It include the time and date and then the last line said, "no scary costumes". I guess what they are saying is, "I'm sorry, you have to 'clean up' yourself/act before you can come to our fall festival." I think we are missing something here, don't you? Church, we need to accept people to our "outreach events" in whatever format they come, otherwise we need to advertise "for members only". Just sayin is all.

Systems

2007-10-10T20:59:00.000-05:00

The Catalyst Conference was incredible. For the most part, when I go to a conference, I try to just take 3 things away that I can use or change. I'm not a note taker. I feel like I'm going to miss something if I look down long enough to write things down... its no wonder I made it through school.

One of the main things that impacted me the most was Andy Stanley's talk at the end about systems. "Everything is a system problem", he said. This is one of those things that I have been thinking for a while, but I just needed someone else to say it so I knew I wasn't crazy. We are working on some system changes now. There are so many things that need a system upgrade or change that we are just working on one thing at a time.

We also got a book called "UnChristian" that I can't wait to start reading.

Vacation and beyond...

2007-09-27T14:59:00.000-05:00

Ok, so we are back from vacation and trying to get into the swing of things. It just seems like the mean ole devil is trying to KICK US IN OUR KIDNEY! Man, we have been attacked... I guess if you want to call it that. I don't want to make light of it, but it actually is amazing how God pulls you through one step at a time and I'm learning more and more about how this relationship works.

I've really been praying lately that God would just give me light for the next step. You know when you look up (like Peter did) and see all that is around you and how far you have to go, its just too much. So I have been praying that God would just help us with the next step. You know what? It works! And as an added bonus, you get to stop worrying.

When you are stuck and feel like everything is just coming down around you, ask God to first have his will totally in your life and then ask him to just give you light to walk the next step. Then obey. Thats the key, if you don't obey, you'll hesistate and be tempted to look up and around at the circumstances. Novel approach, I know. Its not rocket science, but its just one of those areas that we probably already know, we just don't do it.

I'm Speaking

2007-09-08T21:19:00.000-05:00

Ok, so I'm speaking in the morning. I had to post this late just in case someone reads it and decides not to come to church in the morning. I'm excited about it. I love doing it and love the opportunity when it comes along.

On a side note... I am working on my laptop that is now officially limping along. I had to tape up the cord right where it comes out of the power pak because it was split open and sparking at will. I used 2 toothpicks as a makeshift splint and then wrapped it in blue electrical tape because that was all I could find. Sad, I know. Shelly says its probably time to get a new power pak. I say its time for a new MacBook Pro to come and rescue me. Do you think God answers those kids of prayers?

Do Little Things Matter?

2007-08-29T13:01:00.001-05:00

I have been inundated lately with thoughts of little things mattering. We have discussed it about music, about audio, about first impressions, about followup and on and on. I have been of the opinion that it does matter so as not to obsess about it mattering. Confusing? I think so too, but it has led to some interesting (and I do think, needed) conversations.

I found this blog entry by Seth Godin, who if you may not know, has written many books on marketing and such. He also has a column in Fast Company magazine. Interesting...

_________

Follow through
Why do you need to follow through so much on a tennis or golf swing? After all, the ball is long gone.
Why do you have to honor a money back guarantee with a former customer who is never going to buy from you again (and it's six years later)?
Why do you have to reinvest and retrain an existing employee who needs some guidance when it would just be quicker and easier to hire someone new?
I think the reason is the same in all three cases. It's not because the thing you do at the end of your swing matters. It's because it's a slippery slope.
If you know that the last two inches of your follow through don't matter, then you'll start slowing down at three inches, or even four, and suddenly it does matter. If you draw the line on money back guarantees you'll keep sliding backwards, bit by bit, until it does matter. If you're quick to fire the employee who needs a lot of help, you'll be quicker with those that need just a little, and then, pretty soon, it's a very different place to work, isn't it?
Obsessing about the last inch of follow through ensures that the important parts of what you do get just as much (if not more) commitment.

Nothings Changed

2007-08-24T20:05:00.000-05:00

Ok so nothing has chnaged... its still hot.

I did experience 2 things that I should have blogged about in the past 2 weeks, but I just didn't. So here we go:

1. The principle of the Watermelon... states that in order to do something well, given a limited amount of resources, you must trim the fat in other areas. I discovered early this summer that we had a rougue watermelon plant growing in our flower bed next to the back porch. It had a few golf ball sized melons growing on it at one time. Then the hot weather hit and after a few days I noticed one larger melon growing. But, to my surprise, all the other melons had dried up and turned black. The larger melon is STILL growing in spite of the lack of rain and is currently larger than the ones at Kroger. No lie. Hmmm. I think this applies to the church somehow.

2. I was that guy last week. You know, the guy at the post office that is doing... something... no one knows what, but it is clogging up the whole process and now there is a line out the door. Well that was me. I was bringing our last bulk mailing. The post office changed their rules for saturation mailings so that now you can only put 2500 peices through in a day. We had a 15000 peice mailing. Needless to say, it took a week to mail all of it and on the last day, I was the guy that caused the line. I'm not sure there is a principle there, but I just can't believe I was the person I usually complain about.

Heat and Simple Things

2007-07-29T23:14:00.000-05:00

So we had a wonderful time sweating so bad that we almost passed out during our gathering this weekend. Something went terribly wrong with the air. Well, we could be meeting under a tree somewhere so, I guess that would be worse.

Since we had our Saturday Celebration this weekend the fam and I went up to Cartersville to see Oak Leaf Church who is knocking it out of the park. They have increased by about 100 people in the past 3 weeks. This week they had 690 people doing 3 services and they aren't even a year old, are you stinking kidding me?! We can always learn something from going somewhere God is moving. So what did I take away? They do things simple. Their service was simple and everything was professional and simple looking.

I think there is still alot of room for us to improve the experience on Sunday and to continue to work toward blending simplicity and effectiveness. Maybe some changes coming? Oh, you guys know me...

Finished Velvet Elvis...Finally

2007-07-26T13:53:00.000-05:00

We were away at "Family Fusion" the early half of this week and had a great time there. The kids, Shelly and I were really able to bond and get some goals down for our family. I thought that was really cool. Everyone that went signed up to go again next year which is a true testimony to how the whole thing went. Way to go team!

Anyway, while I was away I finished Velvet Elvis by Rob Bell. I know a few of you have already read it and I am behind the times. One of the things that struck me this week was that Jim Gibson (the camp pastor for the week) said that God puts people in our paths that will push us. Its like a pendelum. When the pendelum is far left, God will put someone in our path that is pretty far right to bring us back to the middle, or to his standard. Jim was talking about the family and principles and truths reguarding the family, but I saw it in another way, too. This book was like that for me. Guys like Rob... sometimes I can't go as far as he goes, but I believe God is using guys like that to push us back to the middle.

There is a real change in the church as an organization right now. I believe that in some arenas it is getting back to the basics. The church is alive! She is still beautiful, she is still on the move. Is she moving toward or away from the heart of God? What do you think?

Stuff I'm Reading?

2007-07-20T16:29:00.001-05:00

I just noticed that the "Stuff I'm Reading" looks like I'm a super dork. I'm really not reading all of those... that is what is in the list to be read, currently being read, or just finished reading.

I have decided that I will begin posting alot about my reflections from this list as I read through these books... I think that might be helpful.

Teamwork

2007-07-20T16:03:00.000-05:00

I am constantly reminded of how working as a team is illusive if we are not careful. What do I mean... I mean, it is so easy to think we are working as a team and really not be. Just because things are getting done and weeks are passing by doesn't mark success as a team. Teams work together. Teams get stuff done. But teams work together and get stuff done out of respect and trust for each other. Just think of successful sports teams...

If there is no trust and there is no respect, things may get done, but out of obligation for the task not out of LOVE for the task or each other. Jesus said that you could tell who the Christians were partly because they will have love for one another.

My point. We have given some people authority in areas because we need to get the job done. Those people know that 50% of their job is to build trust and respect. It should go both ways. If someone asks you to do something, know its because we are trying to get a PRE-PLANNED task done and not because they are trying to be bossy.

Whew... was I ranting? :) No ranting intended. Teamwork with trust and respect is VITAL to our success. Lets get it done for the Kingdom!

Just Say Nothing At All

2007-07-14T21:25:00.000-05:00

This is a post just because I have been speechless for a while... I'm sure something profound will come to me soon...

I went to get new glasses today. I'll have them in a week, so everyone look out! I picked a cool, kinda Rob Bell look.

Shelly is blogging. (Seems like everyone is now) No seriously, its great for keeping up with and learning about people you don't talk to everyday. She's in my blog roll.

Still thinking about something profound...

Creating Flow

2007-06-28T15:48:00.000-05:00

One of the important things I believe we have been missing the boat on at CATR is Sunday morning flow. Early on we were doing a pretty good job, but over time I guess we have just gotten lazy. During the staff retreat Tuesday and Wednesday we decided to get back to our original thoughts on the subject, take some action and get out of the rut.

I will be slowly taking over the areas that encompass everything from the parking lot through the gathering. That will include parking, host team, production, worship and creative arts. The goal will be to create an experience for people that begins in the parking lot and continues until they leave. Another goal is to try to do this without creating a lot more work for everyone on Sunday morning. This is going to be a bit of a task, but it is just one of the things we feel needs to happen to go to the next level.

The first step will be two fold:
1. Smooth out the bumps we have visually... signage, quality of the "look", etc.
2. Ensure we have the right people in the right places doing the right things. (I think we almost have this part down, just some tweaking)

Next we will begin to plan the experience to include that whole range of environments each week and not just what happens in the gathering.

Yeehaw!

Steve has entered the Blogosphere

2007-06-20T09:12:00.000-05:00

Our Pastor, Steve, has begun blogging. Check out his blog here. There is also a new link on the church website under Quicklinks.

Endurance

2007-06-07T21:38:00.000-05:00

Its the light at the end of the tunnel... you know? Its the goal. Its the thing that you know deep inside is going to happen if you just keep working at it. But what if its not happening? What if, no matter how hard I work, it just doesn't seem to be falling into place?

Endurance is a product of God-given vision. Thats not all it takes but its a huge part of it. When you feel like giving up, you've got to go back to the vision. Thats what keeps you up at night. Thats what sustains you for the long haul. Its not the day to day. Its not the task at hand. Its the vision of what could be and should be that fuels us to go another day, make another call, type another email.

If its from God, it IS worth it.

Case in point:
This week has been crazy. Seems like I'm saying that alot lately. Shelly has been in class trying to renew her teaching certificate before the next school year and I have been in and out trying to keep working while releaving whoever happens to be at the house that day watching the kids. I'm not complaining, it just makes for a rough week for me. Then there is Shelly, who is taking these classes AND then coming home only to go right back out the door to work. She hasn't stopped all week. We just keep telling ourselves there is light at the end of the tunnel. Isn't there? Do I hear a train?

Blog Comment SPAM

2007-06-02T21:19:00.000-05:00

Sorry everyone, I have turned on word verification in an attempt to get rid of some comment spam that I have recieved. It only effects if you want to leave a comment.

I Have An Awesome Wife

2007-06-02T20:46:00.001-05:00

I have an awesome wife because:

1. She is more spiritual than I could dream of
2. She really has a great prayer life
3. She works really hard at her job
4. She puts up with me
5. She supports me 110%
6. She folds church handouts at 9:45pm on Saturday night
7. She doesn't complain about folding handouts... just requests that we purchase a folding machine.

I love you honey!

Don't Stop Learning

2007-05-23T13:18:00.000-05:00

My prayer for a few years now has been to make me a leader. I've even began praying that for my kids. But, I think that for us to pray prayers like that and then sit back and expect God to do miracles is a little lazy.

If you are going to be a leader, you've got to be a learner. There are a few things that I do that are helping me along the way that I believe are minimal in the journey. I need to do more, and I will, but this is what I'm doing right now.

1. Reading as fast as I can. I have at least 4 books right now on my nightstand. I'm not a rapid reader, but I like to be reading several things at once. I can usually get through a good book in a week or two. Vary your reading. Read deep spiritual stuff, read marketing books, read leadership books, read things that interest you and things that challenge you.

2. Read blogs, listen to podcasts, devour sermons. There is so much online now you could stay busy doing this for a while. I try to keep up with around 8 blogs with heavy leadership material.

3. Mentor and be mentored. I don't currently have a leadership mentor. I need one. Anyone want to be it? jk. I have a few leads, but no one regular yet. As far as mentoring someone else, it doesn't have to be fancy. It just keeps you on your toes. Someone has said that its not your responsibility to fill someone elses cup, but just to empty yours.

4. Practice what you learn. Come on, you've got to lead something. If no one is following, you aren't leading.

I Love You Honey!

2007-05-23T13:07:00.000-05:00

Today is Shelly's birthday. She is sick today. And I blew it. I should have cancelled practice tonight for her, but I neglected to. It wasn't intentional, but to her I might as well have given her a birthday card dipped in poo. She really deserves more and I'm not sure why she puts up with me. Guys, listen, your woman (married or not, but especially married) is the second greatest gift that God has given to you. You should cherish her with everthing, love her unconditionally and have the where-with-all to put her first at all times.

Don't get me wrong, I remembered. She got a cool picture from the kids of the three of us in a hand colored bag this morning and I'm not finished yet either, but she deserves more than I can give her. Needless to say, practice will be over quickly tonight.

Honey, I love you. I'm more excited today about the upcoming years than I have ever been. I can't wait to spend them with you and I hope God gives you a great birthday in spite of me.

I love you, Shelly! Happy Birthday!

Its Over

2007-05-21T20:59:00.000-05:00

Whew. My sickness is finally over... now Shelly has it. Sorry hun. At least I am the only chemically psycho person that gets hives after having a virus. I had them for 4 days. I felt like I was either going to itch my extremities off or sleep all the time when I was drugged up on Benadryl. Whatever, its over!

Time for a mind dump...

1. I want a Mac. I hate this Compaq laptop (to God be the glory that I have it though)
2. My dog needs a haircut.
3. I should buy stock in Benadryl.
4. I need to diet, or jog, or something. I'm getting a belly.
5. I feel old.
6. Friday is the last day of school for the kids. Thats cool... for them I guess.
7. I'm excited about the Willow Arts conference coming up in a couple of weeks. I think its going to be a blast not only just going, but hanging with my peeps.
8. I get to work with some really great people. Jared, thanks for all the sacrifice, your reward is not on this planet. Be patient, God has great things for you.
9. Does anyone want to pull the trailer? Jared needs a break for a while.
10. Sunday will be pretty easy. We have Youth Camp next week so no practice...that makes things complicated.
11. We had a good time Saturday at Stone Mountain. We missed all of you Creative Arts people who couldn't make it. It would have been more fun with you!
12. I have to finish a rough budget now. Yes, Wendell, I'm just now getting to that.

I Feel Like...

2007-05-15T20:37:00.000-05:00

I feel like poo. I've been sick since Saturday. Well, it started coming on Saturday and Sunday morning I had a problem getting my breath during sound check. It seemed to be OK later on but over the last two days its just gotten worse. Anyway, I feel horrible tonight.

On a better note. We have something pretty cool happening this Sunday. The application and song at the end should be pretty powerful. Kim is being induced (having her baby) in the morning (Wednesday) so Steve will be able to be there. We were worried for a while that I might have to fill in at the last minute if she were to go into labor over the weekend.

Still working on the budget. Its tougher than I thought. My goal is to finish that up before the end of the week... first I've gotta get rid of this cold. So tonight I went on an all out attack. I took a Flinstones vitamin (I was out of my 1 a day's), a whole dose of Nyquil, swabbed with a Zicam slimy nose thingy and then drank a whole glass of my famous coke and orange juice.

Boo yah!

I Can't Believe This

2007-05-13T20:25:00.000-05:00

Hey you guys. This is crazy cool. NewSpring Church in Anderson, SC did something huge for mothers day. Now I know they are large, but to whom much is given much is required. They had 50 people saved and over 8100 people in attendance, but that is not all. You just have to read Perry's Blog to get the details, I'm not even going to spoil it here.

Budget Stuff

2007-05-08T20:23:00.000-05:00

Yes, its that time of year for us... budget time. Steve wants a solid budget proposal by May 20th so I have been racking my brain on what that looks like. I met with Jared last week and we talked a little about it, but its still in the air. Problem is, I have no figures to work from because there were no figures per se last year because we were just hoping there was enough money in the bank to pay salaries.

Well, not that that has changed all that much, the worry and all, but we are starting a new July - July fiscal budget and so its time to make some rough decisions. Here are a few things I know will be in there for us:

1. Fixing our sound issues in the cafetorium. Which will include crank elevators to get the new speakers that were donated up 15ft and angled down at the seats. And...Possibly new powered subs to help clean up the low end.

2. Moving the screen and projector off the stage. We have a consultant looking into this now and will be getting professional help with this because we want to do it right. We have several ideas, but we decided we wanted it to all be in place by 2 services (August 12th).

3. Fix the Hearback problem. Many of you don't know, but the equipment that has been running our in-ear monitors (how we hear what we're playing) has been on the blink for quite a few weeks now. For some reason it will just shut down in the middle of a song. Bad news! If you see us all yank our earphones out in the middle of a song, now you know why. This probably means we have to replace/upgrade the equipment that runs our ears.

4. Hire a ... just kidding. Thought I'd get a few of you on that one.

5. We will probably add some figure in there to keep the stage looking different from time to time. I'm picky with this one. I want it to look professional, not like we got some stuff from our basements and tried to make something artsy out of it. I have some ideas. My vision from the beginning was to have an industrial look (metal, truss, rough fabric, etc.) and color that we can change at will with lighting. No plants!

Feeling Small

2007-05-07T21:23:00.000-05:00

OK, so the other day the new neighbor kids were over in our backyard playing with Ryan, and his cousins (who were in town for the week). After a while Ryan came in and said that he felt bad for the kid. He then proceeded to tell us that he asked the little boy if he had a Bible. Then he asked him if he went to church. The kid did have a Bible, but they didn't go to church. He also told Ryan that he didn't know who Jesus was. Ryan told us he was worried that the little kid was going to go to hell becasue he wasn't saved.

I felt really small. You know, like he showed me up. Here we are supposed to be doing this church planting stuff and my kid is evangelizing the neighborhood before we even get to carry on a meaningful conversation with the new neighbors.

Seriously, we are so proud of him. One of the things that we desire for our kids is that they have a heart for people, that they have a heart for the things that God has a heart for.

Blog Wisdom

2007-04-30T21:16:00.000-05:00

For those of you that care (and you probably do because you're reading this), you have to check out www.accesselevation.com. This is Elevation church's staff blog that just contains some really great wisdom for new or old churches. I love reading stuff that just makes sense and I need it because I don't feel like I have any sense at times.

For those of you that are leaders or preparing to lead people, these blogs are huge for gaining ideas and wisdom. I truly believe God is using these tools to put leaders together and help us all grow to impact the kingdom. Check it out!

If I run across more (or if you do) let's share them here.

Here I am

2007-04-15T19:56:00.000-05:00

OK. I have'nt gone away. Have you ever just not had anything to say? I have felt like that the last 2 weeks. Its not that there has'nt been anything to say, its just that my mind has been in a million places and I have'nt felt like I had anything to say.

Well here are some highlights...

- I got caught up in a 15,000 (14,581 to be exact) piece mailer we did for Easter. And now we're waiting on one to come back from the printer for FPU that we will be running this summer. I think we have the hang of the whole mass mailing thing now though so it should be easier.

- Easter Sunday was great. I know we totally rocked our own faces off. I hope it came off that way. We had around 600 people there between the two services. Thats pretty amazing. We were praying for 500...

- We had our 1 year service today. Has it been that long? Brian Bloye spoke. He did an awesome job and he told me we have a 'very mature sound' musically. Thats encouraging.

- God is totally rocking my world right now. Maybe more on that later.

- Pray for Shelly's job. She may be going back to teaching because of some bad things going on. That could be a good thing. Its a little less money, but God already knew that.

Well thats all for now.

Business, Issues and Whatever

2007-03-27T20:40:00.000-05:00

Ok. I don't know about you, but it has been busy around here. Two days ago I was about to pull my hair out over the 15,000 piece mailer card. I designed it (and I'm not a graphic designer, I just dabble heavily), I'm having it printed and then on Friday we have to bundle them all per rural route into 5 zip codes. Thats just the beginning of how busy it has been for me. Graphics, graphics, graphics. Sometimes I think that is my full time job. But when you are a church plant, the money isnt available to have this done professionally all the time.

Actually, its fun. I don't want to whine because I love doing it, it just takes alot of time.

We have an issue with our sound. I have been ignoring it for a while just thinking that those commenting really just didn't know what to listen for. Nope, its a problem. Basically you can't understand anything I say from the stage while the band is playing, the lyrics are even difficult to bring up front and Steve sounds 'muffled'. So we've go to do something. We have some ideas and will begin to explore some change possibilities. Basically its just an issue of money. Lets just pray that either the low cost option works really well, or we get about $5000 for the more expensive solution.

Side note: We changed over from my laptop running MediaShout3 to a 17" iMac running ProPresenter. Do I even need to say how much better that is? ... I want a MacBook Pro.

This Sunday

2007-03-18T20:57:00.000-05:00

OK, we pulled off an old school Petra tune this morning... "Not Of This World". We got several great comments after the service, but most of all, it totally set up the message. Its a great feeling when you get it right like that, and do a pretty good job with it. Rock on!

Giving Permission

2007-03-18T20:40:00.000-05:00

Jason, Jared and I went to the Unleashed conference this past Thursday. For the most part, what I experienced was very similar to other conferences... you know, nothing really out of the ordinary, or at least nothing that I didn't already expect from a church running 8000 people every weekend. What we were able to come away with was permission.

In leadership, its easy to think things should be and could be a certian way, but its another thing to actually put those things into place. Sometimes its messy. Most of the time there is conflict. All of the time its risky. So, when you hear other places that are successful tackling the issues with firmness and confidence, it gives you permission to act. It gives you permission to act on the areas that you knew were important but werent sure its ok to feel the way you feel about it much less act on those feelings. Sometimes we just need to man up and be leaders.

Starting a Routine

2007-03-13T08:15:00.000-05:00

Shelly and I are trying to start a routine. I don't know about you, but I need to have some structure in my life because I feel like I get busier and busier. Something tells me thats not going to stop anytime soon. So anyway, we have started a morning routine that includes time with God and exercise. Yes, I admit it. My times with God have been suffering and that doesn't need to happen so we are going to start doing things on purpose.

I think this is going to be a pattern in my work habits, too. I don't want to just 'try' I want to actually make it happen, so I'm going to set up regular standing meetings on certain things. I just need more structure. If we don't manage it, it will manage us. Time is a resource we have been given by God and we should be good managers of it, too.

If you don't have a regular routine, especially with important areas like exercise and quiet time, figure it out. Its easy to just let the time go by and let everyone else manage our time for us. It takes effort to maintain healthy habits, but its important.

Our Visit to WestRidge

2007-03-08T08:21:00.000-05:00

The CATR band and a few others went to WestRidge church to observe their band and vocal practice. I must say, it was very valuable. I would have paid money to have my guys get the experience again and I know they had us there gladly. What a super group of people!

A few things I took away (and I'm sure I'll get some duplicates from them) from the experience and from various conversations:

1. They are huggers. No really, maybe its this way at your church, but our church just doesn't do that as much. I think the guys were really impressed with how much they all love each other. Everyone be aware... Jared is probably going to hug you now!

2. Everyone was free to make a comment, but once the leader (whoever it is) says which way they are going with it, then thats what they do and nobody gets mad. Bottom line... they trust each other.

3. Spend wisely and wait to do things right the first time. I think we are pretty good at this, but its always a good reminder. They are still in need of things, but they don't do it until the money is there to do it well.

4. We need to invest in our hearing. I have decided to buy everyone E2's one time letting them know that those things won't last forever. Eventually you need to invest in some professional quality earphones. Its an investment, but if you're serious about it, you need to do it. I'm looking into that for myself now. In-ear monitioring is not going away...

5. Learning from other people is very valuable. I wish we could do this at a bunch of other churches. In the meantime, I need to mentor and be mentored.

I'm sure there is lots more, but for me this is what I needed to hear...

Making the Shift

2007-03-07T15:02:00.000-05:00

I have noticed a trend. It seems that working with volunteers is difficult when you have experience working with hired help. And it also seems to work the other way around as well. I suppose adjusting your management style in such a drastic way could be hard for anyone. I'd like to talk about this more, but my point is made with just the "working with volunteers is difficult" part. You have to worry about people's feelings alot more when working with volunteers. That brings me to our current situation.

The Creative Arts Ministry at CATR needs to begin shifting in a direction that will carry us more into the future. We need to change management styles. To do this, everyone just has to understand that it has nothing to do with individual performance or individual feelings, but that it just needs to be done or we will have difficulty improving the quality and managing the chaos. I need to look after the organization as well as the people, so I hope everyone thinks on those terms as we move ahead in the future.

Again, we need eveyone to make it all come together. We just need to manage the people we have differently... I think we're close, but not quite there yet.

This Weekend

2007-03-05T22:09:00.000-05:00

I got the opportunity to speak this weekend. That was cool, except that the topic that I had to deal with left me with few options. Needless to say, God had a plan (and of course we went with his plan). So I left everyone feeling really convicted. So that makes the second time.

Thats ok... We had our second highest attendance, 335, and our highest offering ever! I guess we all get paid this week! Woohoo!

This week the band is not praciticing, instead we are going to WestRidge to 'observe'. I hope that the guys get some since of vision for how things should be and could be. We should always be learning and this is a great way for us to get another perspective on practice and gelling as a group.

This Sunday's set list is:
"Its All Because Of Jesus I'm Alive" - Steve Fee
"Praise Your Name" - Old School Todd Fields
"Till I See You" - Hillsong
"Enough" - Tomlin

Conference Over

2007-02-28T10:56:00.000-05:00

We finished up the churchplanters.com conference yesterday. Perry Noble spoke last and I went to his breakout before that on "Maximizing Leadership". He had some basic things to say but was just very blunt about them. I really love hearing people like that that just push me to think differently.

I went to another breakout that was on "Solving The Weekend Worship Challenge". They gave us basically how their schedule goes for the week as it pertains to service planning. Their Creative Arts pastor is not the guy that leads in the services. He just leads, period. They pay their band members because most of them do that for a living, they also change up alot because of that. They do have a worship pastor that handles all the band related stuff including rehersal, scheduling, charting and leading. I found out that we probably don't meet enough, too. They stay about 3-4 weeks ahead on most planning and I thought we were getting close to where they are with that part. They use a creative board to plan out and visualize. They don't spend alot of money on set, equipment, etc... its just high quality, which helped me.

Basically this is what I came away with as it pertians to my job:
1. We need to have specific, efficient meetings about the weekend service. How many, who attends and when are to be determined.
2. I am going to begin leading harder and being mean about the vision more. Some people may not like that, and I'm ok with that.
3. We should look into paying our musicians (don't get too excited guys) and attracting other musicians to play when they are available. Integrity first, talent second, but the bar doesn't lower. Thats why we have to pay them.
4. Volunteers need ALOT of attention and love, and they deserve it!
5. A Mac and ProPresenter is probably in our near future.
6. I need to keep learning from people and books. Leaders are learners!

Churchplanters.com Conference

2007-02-26T22:00:00.000-05:00

Steve, Wendell and I went to the first day of the Churchplanters.com conference at Mountain Lake Church. It was great. I went to a breakout on "Closing the back door of your church plant". Basically it was alot of info on how they do small groups and volunteers. I loved listening to Casey (he's their small groups pastor) talk about how they manage the 76 groups they currently have going. They are relentless about the way they do groups and it really pumps me up and makes me realize I'm not crazy.

I got to see some folks I haven't talked to in a while. That was cool. I got to talk to the Renewed Vision people. They are the ones that make ProPresenter. Look out, guys this may be happening quicker than we thought. I loved it. Its so smooth like butter and all the things it lacks that we like in MediaShout will be coming out in the next few months as free add-ons. Sweeeeet!

Anyway, we were able to talk about alot of stuff as a staff and be honest with alot of things and I think there may be some changes coming as a result... and we haven't even been to the second day yet! It was nice to get a kick in the butt and to be around a bunch of people who were passionate about the same things and understand you.

I'm going to sleep now....

Yesterday and Today

2007-02-22T21:59:00.000-05:00

We had a good practice last night. We had the privilege of hanging with another musician who played along with us. It was nice to have a different sound added in. We worked on two new songs and honestly... both of them rocked.

Had lunch with a friend today. Every time we get together we seem to push each other. Thats a great thing. I hope everyone has someone who pushes them in leadership, in thinking, or just questioning stuff you take for granted. How can you learn and grow if you don't intentionally expand the way you think, you know, stretch yourself. Don't be afraid of questions that make you question what you've always known or done. Those are growing points. You either change or grow stronger.

American Idol

2007-02-20T21:16:00.000-05:00

Watching American Idol tonight... and working on the website.

Who are these people they picked? Can any of them sing? I hope the girls are better than the guys this year, because the guys have a long way to go. Simon hasn't really slammed anyone yet. I think he's bored. Me too Simon.

Quality and the CATR website

2007-02-19T22:01:00.000-05:00

Quality... for some things I can tolerate a lower level but for other things I just can't stand it until I see it the way I want to see it. Is anyone following me? Like, just today, I decided that I'm pretty tolerant of the quality of paper towels we have in the house, but toilet paper is just another issue. Have you ever had to use that single-ply stuff? No comment.

I've been working on the website. I've got an idea of what I want it to look like, but it's still not there (actually its down right now). We use Church WebWorks. They offer an easy to manage template system that has proven easy to update quickly. The only hang up with it I have is that it won't do the kind of customization that would really make our site soar. Thats not really a quality issue so much as it is me being picky. But, I think with a little Photoshop help, and some constant bugging of the Church WebWorks graphics department, we are going to have a new look on the site soon. Hopefully by end of day tomorrow. :>)

Set Detail - This Week & Next

2007-02-17T12:33:00.000-05:00

Topic: The 'S' Word... (come and see)
Set List:
"Awesome Is The Lord Most High" -opener
"Sing To The King" - in A
"Mighty To Save" - in A
"Jesus Paid It All" - in B
"I Want To Love You" - Response

Next Weeks Set:
"Praise Your Name" - new one
"Our Love Is Loud" -in E
"Blessed Be Your Name" - in B
"Our God Reigns" - in B

*Note: We always make the keys for the uninterrupted part of the set mesh well by staying in the same key or stepping up a whole step (always go up, never down) or using 5ths.

We have a great group of guys in the band. None of us are professional musicians, but we gell well (hey that rhymed). I think having a group that fits well together and gets along is extremely important. We are still waiting for God to bring in some more talent to give these guys a break. But, we have set a bar and an expectation that we will NOT lower when it comes to the music. We don't want to change what we do or how we do it, just to enhance it and make it better. If you feel you could fit in musically, email me: dougg@churchattheridge.com

The Purpose Here

2007-02-15T15:16:00.000-05:00

Part of my purpose for blogging is so that those on the Creative Arts Team (including the band) at The Church @ The Ridge could get a look into what I'm thinking throughout the week. Probably half of the posts will be focused around technical and musical stuff that I'm mulling through as well as just some of the stuff God is teaching me.

Another reason is that when I fell into this position, I knew very little and had very little resources to lean on. If you are a church planter/worship leader/church-planting-music-person, this may be of use to you as well....

...or I may just ramble and no one will listen at all...

New Fee

2007-02-15T15:11:00.000-05:00

I downloaded Steve Fee's newest "Burn For You" the other day. I've been listening to it quite a bit. The title track is awesome. I like the way his music is more complicated than average musically. Its not really deep lyrically like Crowder, but I don't think that was its purpose. Good stuff. Check it out.

Quality = Status Quo?

2007-02-14T15:10:00.000-05:00

I received an email update from a leadership network today. There were two articles that caught my interest because the subject is a passion of mine. Parts of these two articles seemed to clash with each other. I’ll mention them here and you decide… (with my biased comments, of course)

Quoted from article 1:
--One of the most important leadership lessons I ever learned was Philip Crosby's definition of "quality." Quality is "meeting expectations." That simple definition defangs much frustration in leadership and business. Above all, it means that there is no objective standard of quality. There is no "quality" music program that fails to meet the expectations of the church and the senior pastor.—

Quoted from article 2:
--…one of the most under-appreciated dimensions of great leadership is guts. Great leaders are gutsy! It takes different shapes in different arenas. But gutsy leaders dare to be different. They challenge the status quo. They refuse to play it safe.--

I don’t want to define quality as “meeting expectations”. That sounds like settling for the status quo is ok. I don’t buy it. I don’t buy it unless you set expectations so high that they sound like the second article.

Alot of debate here... but, I think that definition of “quality” needs some work.

Lets Begin...

2007-02-13T21:57:00.000-05:00

Ok, so since my wife always reads other people's blogs, I decided to just start my own. So here we are. I hope I have something worthwhile to say.

Tomorrow is Valentine's Day. I need to get some ideas. think. think.