Weekend vision

I'm working on refining my vision for our worship services at Harvest. What should we be striving to do? What things should be avoided? What does God want us to accomplish through our weekend gatherings? These are the questions that I'm wrestling with. Any thoughts????

Lost is Back

Yes. I am a freak. And I cannot wait! Lost starts Thursday!

Sometimes you gotta suck it up

It's amazing to me that our church is made up of so many different kinds of people. There are some who have been believers for decades and others who are the newest of new Christ-followers. We have traditionalists and post-moderns (whatever that means...), young, old, singles and families with lots of kids, there are multiple generation families and there are those separated by many miles from those they call family. There are those who put aside Self in favor of others and there are some who still hold so tightly to selfish concerns that nothing else matters. This brings me to a sticking point. There is no way to make everyone happy with regard to music, preaching style, sound volume, temperature, lighting, organizational structure, leadership style, clothing, hair, color of the walls, decorations (or lack thereof)... need I continue. These are all things that people complain to me about at one point or another. Some expect an immediate solution that makes them happy. Others simply want to vent and leave with the belief that they are in the right no matter what. In any organizaion someone has to be in charge and make decisions that people may not like. For the good of the largest group, or for the good of the guest, I make decisions that I can pretty much guarantee will anger someone. I have to come back to the knowledge that God and the leaders of this congregation called me to this place at this time to do this work. And until God tells me to go somewhere else or do something else, this is where I'll be. Oh, that people would come to grips that those in leadership are called to lead and until you are placed in that position, sometimes you just have to suck it up and accept the fact that things may not be the way you would have designed. And rather than complaining, pray for those called to lead and if you must express your opinion do so in love - and we'll try to do the same for you.

Why I like Google Reader

I follow a dozen or so different blogs. Some from worship guys, some from pastors, some are just interesting. I use Google Reader as part of my iGoogle page. It goes out and finds all the updates for all the blogs I read. Saves me loads of time and endless clicking. Click, click, click, click, click... There are other readers out there, but this is the one I've settled on for the time being. Do use a blog reader? Which one?

Need a motivator

Motivation is like the tide. It comes and goes. Sometimes its faster or slower, but it always seems to ebb and flow. What I'm looking for is a way to keep myself motivated despite how I feel, busyness, laziness...life. I've been there before. Back in '03 I lost over 50 lbs before our big vacation to Antigua. I need to find that kind of motivation/inspiration again. I'm feeling an up-swing today and want to keep it going. Any great ideas???

Good morning

It's been a good morning for a Monday. I've gotten two services planned, had some great conversations around the office. I'm planning on hitting the gym over lunch. Just found out that the Subway on Howell is now open, so I've got a healthy lunch on the way. Mike, Luke and I have each got about 20 lbs to lose. I did well for about a week and then lost it last week. It's amazing how difficult a little thing like eating right can be. So, I'm setting aside lunch every day to hit the gym and have a healthy (small) lunch. If I do things right I should be able to drop about 3-4 lbs per week. So, if I stick with it I'll be at about 210 in about 2 months. Aaron told me this morning that he'll be joining me at the gym soon, so I'll have a workout partner. Think I'll get back on Owen McKibben's cover model workout. Did it in Wichita for a while and saw good results without a gym. This time I should be able to really drop the fat and pack on some muscle. Anybody else up for the challenge???

Organization

I actually cleaned my office yesterday and a little this morning. If you saw it before, you understand how truly amazing this is! One of my personal goals for '08 is to maintain organization. So, this is a HUGE part of that goal. I've got my one inbox where everything goes. I haven't got it cleared out yet, but I'm shooting to have it clear by the end of each week. If you haven't checked out Vitalist, you need to. Great tool! Also, check out the review process here.

So funny!

Big thanks to Perry for this story. Still laughing!

Even Colder

Yeah, so I though yesterday was bad. -8 degrees on my way to Harvest this morning. Got my drink extra hot!

Too Cold

Ok, so we had a great night of worship tonight, and then hit Georgie Porgies for some burgers, corndogs, fries and rings. All in all a pretty good evening. But then on the way home I look up at the little info center above the rear-view mirror in the dad-mobile, and I don't have words do describe my emotion at what I saw... -3. That's negative three degrees at 7pm. I don't think I ever remember it being that cold in Kansas. Might have been, but I don't remember it. The scary thing is, there will be thousands of absolutely insane people outside tomorrow night in Green Bay. I honestly don't watch a lot of football, but I do understand the importance of tomorrow's game. But really, why go sit outside in sub-zero temperature in the nose bleed section when you can sit at home where it's warm and the you don't have to take out a loan to get a drink. Makes me want to head south. Anybody got some airline miles you want to donate to the "Send Keith and Regina to the Beach" campaign?

Putting the ducks in a row

So, I've been working for the last several days on big picture planning for Worship & Arts at Harvest. And I really believe God has some great things in store for the coming year. I've been using the tools from the guys at the worshiptrench. It gave me some good direction as I prayed and brainstormed. I got things narrowed down to five personal and five ministry goals for '08. The process is good, though I'll have to hack it to make it really fit our situation here. Big thanks to Jordan and crew for doing things right. They're all about spreading the wealth. Design a cool tool, find a great product, song, video, whatever - and give it away to the rest of the team. Lee McDerment pointed us to this and I Laughed my head off this morning. The ministry goals for '08 will be up and running soon.

This Week

Songs of the Redeemed - Charlie Hall Hosanna - Paul Baloche Praise Song - Third Day Sweetly Broken - Jeremy Riddle Breathe - Come Let Us Worship - Tomlin Happy Day - Tim Hughes (if there's time)

First Shot

Well, after reading quite a few blogs day after day, I decided to add my voice to the mix. It seems a little vain that anyone would care much about what I have to say, but maybe I can start some conversation here. And I'm always up for another way to get the word out.