Holy ...., Choir Director!

I was just made Choir Director at work!

This is a pretty big honor and I feel up to the task. I have a co-director and he has a lot of experience, so this should be a lot of fun.

We are going to hold auditions soon because we already have our first gig lined up on December 7th, 2006. Our Program Director lined up the date at her church before she knew who would be leading the choir. So, travel is on the horizon.

We are already catching flack for holding auditions, but if you've ever heard 20 guys singing off key, then you know why we need them. The previous director never held auditions. She felt that music was therapeutic and all men should have a chance. Although, I would like all men to have a chance, I also know that not all men can sing well. Then you add that we are going to visit places showcasing our talent. I don't care if they're great vocalists. I just want them to carry a tune and stay on key.

It will take some time to get good, but we are running out of that commodity fast!

So, you better watch out! You better not cry! The West Central Choir is coming to a town near you!!!!!!!

Rock On!!!!!!!

I heard Van Halen's "Cradle Will Rock" today on the radio and it blew me away. It says my favorite line, "Rock On!", and I jammed out in the car.

Those types of songs are fun to hear and, if a band can pull them off, exciting to watch live. I would like to hear from some of you out there on what you like to hear, so I can get a list together.

So, if you read this, please post a few classic or new songs you would want to hear if you saw a live band.

I Wanna Rock!!!

I know a lot of you out there have seen the old Twisted Sister videos on MTV. The one where the man asks his son,"What are you gonna do with the rest of your life? The kid answers with, "I wanna rock!!!!", and the song kicks in and the video is stupid.

I totally identify with that kid right now. I have been in band limbo for about three years and the itch to commit to a band is pretty strong. I know I kick @$# on my instrument, but really, it's about gratification. I want to play, man.

When I say I want to play, I mean i want to play music I love and have fun doing it. I want to kick out the Killers' "Smile Like You Mean It" and then go into Journey's "Lights". I don't want to be labeled as a Christian band, but just as a band. I want to play at all kinds of events and not just cater to the Christian public.

Casey and I were talking and we both feel like we want to play music we are excited to hear. We want to rock!!!

Don't gasp too loud, but we don't even like most of the "Christian" music out right now.

Does this mean I'm some kind of music snob? Yeah, it does. I like what I like. I don't need to like it because they mention Jesus. I'm getting tired of the Christian community only catering to other christians. We are really good at that! We are safe in that!

Casey and I want to be in a rock band that just happens to be Christians. There doesn't need to be a sign in front of our name saying we are Christian. Hopefully we will portray that through our actions and when someone talks with us.

My dad never wanted my old band to come to the Moose because we were a "Christian" band. He didn't want to be embarassed and or preached to. But I guarantee if we meet him at his level and just play good music and be a good rock band, he will want us to play there.

I want to meet people where they are at that moment. I can't do that by excluding them. I want them to rock with me.

Expanding the Kingdom?

In my last post I talked about being a disciple of Christ and learning to refocus our "agendas". In refocusing our agendas, I mean dying out to Christ and learning to be aware of our surroundings and happenings so that we may show Christ to others and expand the Kingdom.

Our home group discussed this topic as being "naturally supernatural". John Wimber talked about it and based the Vineyard movement on it. More on that topic, later.

When I say we should be aware of our surroundings and circumstances, I mean we should always be looking and expecting to be able to show and share Christ in practical ways.

On Tuesday night I had a chance to expand the Kingdom. I saw a man in the hospital in the ICU unit that I haven't seen in a long time. He was getting ready to go home. I went over to him and said, "Hello. Do you remember me?" He said, "Sure. How are you?" He told me his condition and what he has been suffering through. He then told me he was face to face with the devil. He said he thought he was gone, but he fought back and told the devil you can't get me.

I started to think about what I could say, but I didn't think of anything. I told him to say his prayers and he should be okay. He said, "I wasn't scared." He started talking about something else at that point and I was left wondering what he meant. Why wasn't he scared? Does he already know Christ? Could be, I didn't ask. That's what bothers me.

I feel like I failed to say anything of worth to someone who needed to hear about Christ. I can think of a few things to say now that I've experienced the situation, but not when it mattered. I know now that I need to train myself to meet people where they are when opportunities arise.

The cool thing is, I didn't have to bring Christ up. He started talking about death and how he is tired. I just needed to take what he gave me and use it to help him see Christ. That's what expanding the kingdom is all about.

Disciples

"I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful." John 15:1-2

Our home group met last night for the first time this month. I was very excited to lead and had over prepared the lesson, as usual. I get the chance to lead home group once a month and I wanted to use this time to refocus our group and unify our vision to be in line with our leadership and what God has planned for us.

Now, I don't claim to know what God has planned, but I do know this is a season of dying out to our own cause and surrendering our agendas. Just like the seaon of Fall, we are in a place of dying out so that new can come in and regenerate and rejuvenate us. At this time most plants go to seed so that through the winter the seeds are planted and new growth will happen in the Spring. The same is going for our group.

We had been lacking structure in our group because we wanted to build relationships more than have a set plan for every group. This was good for Summer, but in the Fall more people come to groups and things get more settled. So, I structured our time around the model I had heard our Home Group Advisor talk about.

Worship wwent very well and we moved straight into ministry from that point. We went where the Spirit led. It's not about keeping a tight structure. It's about having structure and then deviating to fit the current needs of the group. We have been lacking in this area where we really press in and pray for those in our group. To immediately address a need and let nothing stand in the way of bringing it to the Lord.

The lesson went very well as we discussed being disciples of Christ. What that means and how we do it. Our church has been talking a lot about Servant Evangelism and how each home group should have a monthly project to reach out to the community. The thing is, if you are following Jesus, evangelism becomes a natural part of your existence. You become naturally supernatural and as an extension of that aware of opportunities to reach out to the lost. We don't have to have the gimmick of the month on whatever street corner to reach the lost.

How many new people are coming to our church that we fail to see the opportunity to invite them to our home groups and get them connected. The point is not to get them to the church or building, but to get them to the body. They will go to the building after they have reached the body because they will want to join in our celebration. The focus has to be on Christ and not on our facility.

We have a backwards view of what the Church body looks like. We think we are centralized in the facility and we only meet at homes to have a Bible study. &%^#No! We go to the homes to build the body and go to the facility to celebrate what we have experienced in Christ.

Regeneration of the body will happen when we focus on doing what Jesus did and realigning our daily lives with his model of life. You don't have to know everything, understand everything or be something your not. You do need to put Jesus' ways into practice. We will bear fruit as we are pruned by Him.

Prune: to cleanse

He will cleanse us and make us able to produce.

The 1897 Bible Dictionary defines a disciple as the following:
A scholar, sometimes applied to the followers of John the Baptist (Matt. 9:14), and of the Pharisees (22:16), but principally to the followers of Christ. A disciple of Christ is one who (1) believes his doctrine, (2) rests on his sacrifice, (3) imbibes his spirit, and (4) imitates his example (Matt. 10:24; Luke 14:26, 27, 33; John 6:69).

Imbibes: to take in as if by drinking; saturation

End of the Spear

Last night my wife and I watched one of the best movies I have ever seen. It is called End of the Spear. It is about missionaries that made contact with one of the most feared tribes in the Amazonian jungle. Not only did they make contact, but they introduced "Waongongi's" love to help break their ancient cycle of violence.

There were two moments in the movie where I just started crying. I hardly ever cry during a movie, but this was awesome. One of the tribesman asked why the men didn't fight back and the tribe leader's sister answered, "they wanted to tell you that Waonongi had a son, who died, and was stabbed with a spear, and jumped the great boa." I don't want to give away too much, but there was power in her statement.

At the end, I was left feeing deeply passionate about sharing the gospel with others. I saw how Christ's love extended through generations and broke cycles of hatred and struggles for dominance.

Casey and I both were balling. I don't think you can watch the movie and not be touched. Go and rent this movie. It is well worth it.