Reaching up for Creativity

"Pay attention to what people have to say and evaluate their suggestions honestly. But don’t allow their fear of change to cause you creative cramps… Creativity is a long-term investment. If your top leaders are not totally committed to the vertical vision, then fear of friction will dismantle this God-given virtue. At Fellowship, we do not value upsetting people, but we do value upsetting their equilibrium to challenge them for spiritual growth… To be sure, creativity must be biblically driven and it must honor God. However, when we have our people off balance, we have a great potential to catch them off guard with a powerful punch from the pages of Scripture… It is very tempting to want to please people, but leaders often experience leadership cramps when they allow their vision to be compromised to appease a few negative people. Once the vision goes horizontal, disaster will follow."

Those words are from Ed Young, Senior Pastor of Fellowship Church in Grapevine, TX.

I remember reading The Creative Leader last year and being blown away by a lot of his statements. Being creative can be a tough thing in a Church that is resistant to change. A lot of Churches don't believe drums belong on a platform, or that only white lights can be on a stage, or that the Pastor can only wear a suit and preach. The list goes on...

Being stuck in the same old traditions will not only make a congregation age, but not appeal to a younger generation. I still think the best thing any Church could do is have someone young (20s) in a position of leadership. Not only to be there to sit in on meetings, but help drive creative, edgy ideas that appeal to that crowd. It's paramount in my mind.

Granted, not EVERY church is called to be a Fellowship, LifeChurch.tv, Elevation Church, or Seacoast. But we do need to appeal to all generations, not just the ones that give $$$.

We are about reaching more for the kingdom.

Why I hate Christmas

I've been waiting almost a month to write this.  Not only because I'm busy, but because I needed the right moment to compose such a post. 

I live right next to one of the busiest malls in Northern Virginia.  The mall is so large that it has two Macy's stores, a two story Forever XXI, Apple Store, you name it.  It's nothing but a sad, sick reminder of what people THINK Christmas is......MATERIAL.  I hate, hate, hate, hate it.  

To add to that, Christians that are should be setting the example (like myself) are so incredibly busy keeping up with Church activities that they cant even enjoy time with their own families.  I'm not at all saying that going to Church is wrong, but to a point it can be devastating to anyone.

Let's remember the point of Christmas: Jesus' birth.  It's a time to celebrate, not make yourself so busy that you want to crawl into a hole.   

I really do hope you enjoy this season.  

Reaching OUT -------------->

As I head to bed I can't stop thinking about a challenge that is before me.  

Across the street from Immanuel we have Starbucks, Subway, Dollar Tree, Giant Supermarket, McDonalds, Smoothie King and a few other places.  All of those places are fueled by our members that walk into our doors several times a week.  

I got to thinking about something...

They SERVE someone from our church multiple times a day.  I would even go as far as saying they serve maybe 100+ of our attenders each day.  Instead of us expecting service from them--we need to be serving them!  There really is more to it than just showing up and paying for a $5 coffee or a $5 footlong and marching away.  

I have an entire week off to think about this and I want to come back with a plan to serve these people AND our community.  That's what it's all about.  Yes, we want them to know Christ, but we need to at least attempt to establish a relationship with our neighbors before we could ever bring that into the picture.  I'm all about relationships and you should be too. 

I can't wait to see the impact we have on the people we will be serving.  Anybody up for it?

How are your Finances?

I just read a letter that Mark Beeson sent out to all of the GCC members regarding their budget and the financial crisis.  For the second time today (that I can remember) I am blown away by how bold Churches are being.  It is such a blessing to know that so many Churches across the nation are united and want to reach more for the kingdom.  Even if they are hurting financially. 

Before I accepted the position I have at IBC, I had some hard decisions to make.  I would be getting married 2 months after I joined staff, paying for a home on my own, buying a new car, and starting a life of my own.  Before Laura and I prayed about jumping up this way, we thought things would not work out.  I did many, many housing searches thinking we would find a reasonable home for a cheaper price outside of the city.  It didn't happen.  As we quickly found out, the D.C. Metro area is one of the most expensive in the country - yet we were able to make ends meet.  We rented a home and commuted 25 miles to work.  Laura worked West of our home, I worked North of our home.  Talk about a gas bill :) 

God provided us with a car that we were barely able to afford.  But by his grace, an accident we were involved in provided us with the financial means to get rid of most (not all) of our debt.  We were taken care of.  

So in the midst of this crisis, I know that we will be taken care of as a married couple, and as a Church we must stand united.  People are still turning to Christ in the midst of a struggle.

I get lazy

I need to actually blog instead of sending Twitter updates all day long.  Although, after awhile, a lot of Tweets = A Post :) 

November 21st - 23rd I will be with our Middle School Youth in Ocean City, Maryland for a Small Groups retreat an conference.  When I in High School, I was part of a small group with two other guys, Adam and Drew.  We spent Saturday mornings at Tony's in Homestead, Florida.  We all always ordered the 2-2-2 (2 of each - pancakes, sausage, biscuits).  Great times. 

One thing we were lacking at that time at the small church I was involved with was the ability for those to that were connected to these small groups to go off and spend some time together and grow as Christians.  Immanuel give this opportunity to their students once a year. 

My wife leads a small group of 7 Middle School girls.  The girls absolutely adore her.  They admire her teaching and love how she is herself around them.  Because of my heavy involvement with tech things on Sunday mornings and all hours of the week, I'm unable to commit to one more thing being on my plate.  

BUT, when I'm given the chance to go away just got a short time because other leaders are unable to make it..I can't help but be excited. 

Perry Noble made an excellent point in THIS posting not too long ago.  He simply says "I don't believe you are the future of our Church - you ARE the Church" 

Looking forward to this trip..

I was poking around on the net and decided to visit the website of our wedding photographer...
I was not expecting to be that famous.

Never underestimate a thank you card...

It occurred to me today that our department has never used our mail stamp system thing that sits next to the receptionist in our office.  Why is this a problem?  I'll explain...

That means that we have probably never sent out thank you notes to our volunteers.  There is nothing more special to me than getting a letter in the mail that is not a bill.  Pretty much all that we ever get are bills, 99% of the time.  I know for a fact that I'm not the only one who hates that. 

So when someone takes the time to sit down and handwrite a few words, it means a lot.  We are all so quick to send out emails, message over iChat or send a text message, that this is now something out of the ordinary.  Amazing isn't it?  I love my computers, iphone and all that, but sometimes getting back to something this basic is great. 

Unexpectedly getting a Starbucks gift card in those envelopes is nice too...

Hello police...am I getting old?

Let me just say that you don't want to mess with Fairfax County Police...

Our neighbors (above us) for the past few months have decided to turn their music just a little too loud for my taste.  Now for a sound guy who loves the dB reading to be around 105 during a worship service or concert this sounds odd.  

Living in Fairfax County is unlike anywhere else I have been.  This entire area is working professionals, most working as Government contractors.  In fact, the income is 52% above the national average.  Now back to the story...

Laura and I are no longer in college.  We are both working full time to just get by month to month.  Some things that we tolerated in college, you no longer want to deal with.  This is one of those things.  

Think about the people around you...

I now can understand why when I was in youth group and we would have concerts outside in the Church parking lot ALL of the neighbors would complain.  I think I'm just getting old...

Why I stand by ETC or why they stand by ME.

I got an email from our lighting designer, Monique today.  She is assisting in the design/build for our new facility coming this year, or next year, or 2 years ago?  I never know anymore. Anyway.  

She has been working with ETC getting our Congo expanded to 4 universes.  We do not use anywhere near that now, but decided to buy into the capacity because we will use it later, for sure.  

Apparently there has been an issue with our console serial number and dongle inside of the console.  For whatever reason, instead of going back and forth with tracing down the issue, they are just going to provide us with a brand new board, NO QUESTIONS ASKED. 

This is why I stand by ETC. 

I'm a huge fan of their products, but even more of a fan of their customer support.  A few months ago the console took a power hit, they had a loaner to us the next day... FOR FREE!!

People brag about their grandMA consoles, their HOGS, but nothing can surpass the stability and support provided by ETC.  

Thanks Clark ProMedia for standing with a company that cares about their people.  Thanks ETC for not ever letting me down.  

 

Who am I voting for?

I've been asked this question many times over the past month.  I'm still not going to answer. 

Why?  It's none of your business...yet.

I will tell you this...

Just because you are a Christian does not mean that you automatically have to vote for the Republican Party.  I'm sick of Christians telling me that.  

Now...that does not mean I am voting for Obama.  Nor does it mean that I hate Bush or McCain.  

I think I'm back to blogging...

Either I have been lazy or busy.  You pick.  

In other news...the Twitter founders made my night with an amazing job description. 

Learn from them business people. 

Many adventures

By the end of this week I will have visited 6 states in two weeks.  

Here are some highlights (by state) 

West Virginia

• Kinda like the South, reminded me of Mississippi (in a good way)
• Saw a handwritten sign that said "Pigs for Sale"
• SONIC SLUSH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
• Hung with our College/Singles crowd for a several hours - good conversations.
• Danny Leavins laid an amazing foundation for who the Venture crowd is and why. 

Delaware

• I hate the Deleware bridge and the mass chaos that takes place getting to it. 
• I did like the view from the top of the bridge...
• I wish the Virginia tag was as nice as yours
• Seriously, tolls? 

Maryland

• Seriously, tolls? 
• Your tunnel sucks because it is too long.  
• I visit you way too often

New Jersey

• I enjoyed hearing your beach from our condo. 
• I enjoyed seeing the beach from our condo. 
• I enjoyed driving down your country roads late at night.
• Boardwalk was great, but why did it have to close 2 days earlier?
• Wow, I've never seen so many old people in my life.  Was I in Sebring, FL?
• Thank you for Rita's Italian Ice, I have been waiting 5 years for that.
• Have not seen Hoagies advertised in awhile...screw subs...that name is so much better. 
• One word: Wawa.  Seriously, every exit and corner has on there. 
• WHO THE HECK WOULD NOT WANT THEIR GAS PUMPED WITHOUT GETTING OUT OF THE CAR??????????

Ohio

• Isn't Eric Geiger from this place?  
• It better not be cold when I get there
• More Coming Soon...

Kentucky

• Your Creation Museum better not make me laugh. 
• I remember visiting Asbury several years ago, so you already have bonus points for that. 
• More Coming Soon...

Hey Microsoft...Watch Out

Digital Daily notes that Apple's market capitalization at $159.37 billion is now worth more than Google's which is at $157.56 billion. Apple's market cap first exceeded $100 billion in May of 2007. Apple was included into the S&P 100 index at that time. For interest, MacDailyNews compiled a list of the market values of other notable companies

- Microsoft (MSFT) - $255,648,204,000
- IBM (IBM) - $169,964,678,000
- Apple (AAPL) - $157,012,662,240
- Google (GOOG) - $156,392,862,560
- Cisco (CSCO) - $142,125,692,160
- Intel (INTC) - $135,658,860,000
- Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) - $111,866,423,760
- Nokia (NOK) - $97,746,699,520
- Research In Motion (RIMM) - $71,143,935,000
- Disney (DIS) - $59,257,501,500
- Dell (DELL) - $50,483,256,060

I find this funny, absolutely funny!  Apple will rule the world soon.  You think I'm kidding?  

Why is Dell even on this list?  Seriously.  

Palin Daughter

I've never considered myself to be a political person AT ALL.  However, I do have opinions every once in awhile.  You all know about the story of Palin's daughter being preggers, I'm not even going to tell the story if you want that look HERE (There is even a video for lazy people)

Let me say this:

As a Christian I do believe that the Bible discourages sex before marriage.

We, as Christians, people who should be setting an example for EVERYONE we come in contact with need to drop this judgmental attitude towards mistakes NOW.  People wonder why nobody is interested in Christianity...THIS IS WHY. 

We all need to be more interested in embracing broken people and meeting them right where they are.  That is what a relationship is all about. That is what we need to be about.  

When I was in my senior year of HS I opened up to many people about personal struggles I had in my life with relationships I was or had been in.  Went to college and was around most of the same people I shared that with and things have never been then same since. To this day, it's still hard to get past the way I was rejected because of mistakes.  We AS CHRISTIANS need to get past mistakes, faults, stupid decisions and THE PAST and reach out to people who really do need Christ.  

 If you disagree with me, I'm sorry.  

RAID Install

After 2 years of waiting, our PlatinumRAID from Micronet finally arrived this week. These provide storage for NASA, Raytheon, Merrill Lynch, Warner Music Group and Universal Studios...pretty sweet client list. 

Thanks to Paul, our video guy for pulling this off.  He's a mac genius and is just as crazy about anything Apple as I am.  2 weeks before both of the RAIDs got to us (they were backordered), our Apple XServe main Seagate drive crashed. For all of you PC lovers out there, this had NOTHING to do with APPLE.  Problem is...this drive was the temporary storage location for all current video projects.  They were later cascaded to other LaCie or Seagate drives - it was a mess!  $3000 later our drive will be back to us in a few days.  Thankfully they were able to recover everything.  

Check them out

 Don't think that you can just "get by" without any backup system.