Walking in Grace

Stealing God's Glory

2011-11-21T10:09:00.001-05:00

Worship leaders are, by the nature of the their role, up front people. There is great joy, and to some degree, great satisfaction, to be experienced as we help people engage with God. However, while there is a wonderfully fulfilling side to this experience, there is also a looming dark side (cue Vader voice). The temptation is to actually get in the way, and STEAL GOD'S GLORY. When we do this, we take away what it rightfully God's and there can be consequences for this. We see this in the lives of Moses and Aaron.

Moses and Aaron went from the assembly to the entrance to the tent of meeting and fell facedown, and the glory of the LORD appeared to them. The LORD said to Moses, “Take the staff, and you and your brother Aaron gather the assembly together. Speak to that rock before their eyes and it will pour out its water. You will bring water out of the rock for the community so they and their livestock can drink.”

So Moses took the staff from the LORD’s presence, just as he commanded him. He and Aaron gathered the assembly together in front of the rock and Moses said to them, “Listen, you rebels, must we bring you water out of this rock?” Then Moses raised his arm and struck the rock twice with his staff. Water gushed out, and the community and their livestock drank. But the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not trust in me enough to honor me as holy in the sight of the Israelites, you will not bring this community into the land I give them.” - Numbers 20:6-12

The Israelites had no water and they were upset and once again bemoaning the fact that they were in the desert, with no grain, figs or pomegranates. (I've always wanted to use pomegranates in a blog...) In response to this grumbling, Moses and Aaron fell on their faces before God in intercession. God responds with the command for them to speak to a rock, and that water would come from it to provide for Israel. INSTEAD, in disobedience, they took the staff that had been a conduit for God to work so many wonders before and struck the rock with it.

God says to them "you did not trust in me". For some reason, they felt that that had to work up a show, produce a dramatic moment, and even more by the words that were spoken, "must WE bring you water out of this rock?"

In effect, THEY STOLE GOD'S GLORY.

Worship leaders have this very same temptation. Especially if we're ever frustrated by the response of people to God in worship. I've often said to myself "if our people only remembered that they are worshipping the God of the entire universe, and that He is present in their midst, would they then respond with greater passion?" It is in these moments that I consider doing more that I should to "get the crowd going" or "hype things up". This is dangerous territory. I may be treading on holy ground. I never want to preempt the Holy Spirit. Only He can cause people to sense His presence. Only He can reveal Himself to us. I can only point people in the direction of God. If I take on more responsibility that I should, I become like Moses and Aaron saying "must WE bring you water". My prayer is for myself and all worship leaders to be truly discerning as to what our role is and what is God's role. Though it may look differently in various settings, if we seek His will in this, we'll find ourselves more free to worship in the joy and lead our congregations with as Isaiah 66:2 says, humility and contrite hearts.

The Voice

2011-09-26T09:46:00.002-04:00

Worship leaders often have a lot of responsibility. Depending on the size of a church, a leader may have to:

lead programming meetings
implement programming decisions
create stage designs
design stage lighting - for multiple songs
facilitate projection of lyrics for all songs
chart & distribute music for band/vocals
schedule and rehearse music team
practice his/her instrument

With all of these responsibilities (and more!), there is a tendency to neglect what can be the most impactful part of their contribution to a service, THE VOICE! Vocals will often be the last thing to be rehearsed because they seem easiest. We rationalize that as long as we listen to the song enough times in the car that we'll have it for the weekend.

Three thoughts:

1. Work Out Your Voice - Practice your vocal outside of what you are preparing for a given weekend. This means exercises that you can do regularly to keep your voice in shape, particularly connecting your breath to the tone you are producing. So many worship leaders have vocal problems because of too little breath support. I highly recommend Vocal Artistry for CDs with exercises you can do daily to grow your voice.

2. Record Yourself - So critical to listen yourself self sing, not just with the recording of a weekend, but to isolate your voice and listen for tone, pitch, style, etc. Use a camera phone or a memo app to do this. Find a karaoke version of a song and sing along. Critique yourself as any judge would on "The Voice" or American Idol.

3. Practice Singing WITH Your Instrument - If you lead from an instrument there is a whole different set of brain functions happening that need to be practiced so that you can feel free to worship while you're up there. Especially if you're trying to break bad vocal habits you'll need to do this because your instrument takes your mind away from the vocal. You can also record this to critique as well.

Hope this is helpful. Next, we'll take a look at the importance of song choices.

Teach Me Your Way

2011-09-16T08:33:00.000-04:00

Going through some soul searching. Asking God to "see if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting." (Psalm 139:24) Wanting to be the man that Christ wants me to be. To be the husband my wife needs. The father my kids hope for. The pastor my church/team longs for.

This requires some shedding of past frameworks of leadership. Looking to release old impulses of what I think a situation needs and embrace a new way of interacting with those I lead. I don't know where or how this will work itself out. I am open. I am listening.

Singing is Not Filler

2011-09-14T11:19:00.001-04:00

This is a teaching that I did for a Worship in the Sticks conference in March. We've got another event coming on November 5th in Greenwood, IN (south of Indy). Hoping to equip teams and leaders of smaller churches to lead with confidence.

The Right Song at the Right Time

2011-09-13T11:37:00.001-04:00

Lately, we've been in some discussion about choosing worship songs for our weekend services. We've been using an online music library called Spotify which allows us to make collaborative playlists. As we find new songs that we like, we add them to the list. This has been an amazing tool for us to find new songs that we all agree will work for our setting.

With any good thing, there can be a down side and it is this, now that we have a TON of new songs, several questions arise:

How do we discern which songs to actually use?
How often do we introduce new songs?
Is there such a thing as a right song at the wrong time?

We're wrestling a bit with this now. I have a few filtering questions to consider when thinking about introducing a new song:

Is it theologically sound?
Is it singable? (range, rhythm)
Is it an expression of where we are as a church RIGHT NOW?

This particular point is important for discernment. A great song at the wrong time can really lessen its impact. If a church sings a song about being fully surrendered to Christ, when the base level of commitment is showing up on a weekend service 1-2 times per month, there is a disconnect between words and heart.

How many new songs have we introduced lately?

If we introduce a new song every week for 5 weeks straight, we're going to leave our congregation in the dust. Most worship leaders assume that their people know songs better than they actually do. Part of this can be the fact that the worship leaders and teams play through songs many times over a set of weekend services, when, in fact, the congregation only gets to hear the song once. So, songs feel tired to a music team WAY EARLIER than they do to a congregation. Don't be afraid to mix up the arrangement in order to keep the song fresh for your team.

Do we have a system of introducing new songs?

Our system of introducing a new song is 2 weeks in a row, then a break week, then on again. After that, it's free reign to program whenever it is best needed. We always evaluate the song after that rotation to make sure it's worth keeping in the pool of songs. Sometimes a song stays, sometimes it just stays for a month or so. That's okay.

Love to hear how others are introducing new songs to the mix.

Hillsong United Concert - A Worship Leader's Perspective

2011-08-16T18:02:00.000-04:00

I headed up to Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids, MI yesterday to see Hillsong United. Joel Houston and team led us in a 2.5 hour worship experience. I stood the entire time, but never really got tired.

Four Main Impressions:

1. Hillsong knows how to program a worship concert. They know how to take a crowd on a ride that keeps people engaged. As they kept the focus on Christ, they were able to move us through a journey of high energy praise to intimate worship and back again. Their use of lighting, video and instrumentation made the night full of spontaneity and wonder.

2. They understand worship FLOW. Too many worship team, occasionally my own included, go from song to song with many starts and stops without a great deal of thought about helping people stay connected to Christ between them. Whether it was performing songs in similar keys, or creating a high energy drum transition, or a video scripture with keyboards underneath, the night kept going. I also noticed their effective use of blackouts to allow people to switch instruments without it being awkward.

3. They shared the stage between them. Although Joel was the main leader, it was obvious that leadership was shared. Each leader had his/her unique contribution to make. It was this sharing that allowed the audience to connect to a whole team rather than one person. I loved this!

4. Hillsong United has an amazing following considering very little airplay. The arena was packed! How cool to consider that this was their first trip to Grand Rapids and they packed it out. Also, besides "Mighty to Save", you couldn't tell me a Hillsong tune that has hit the top of the Christian charts in recent history. They have built up a following by equipping local congregations with great music that edifies. This is a unique way to build a following, through other people playing your music. I'm not sure if there are any other examples of this out there.

A great night of worship!

David's Big BUT

2011-05-22T08:42:00.001-04:00

Reading Psalm 13 as part of the YouVersion Psalms & Proverbs reading plan. I am amazed by King David's resolve. The first part of the Psalm is a cry out to God in the midst of utter despair. We read as David is fully honest with God. Not holding back his frustration. You can almost hear him yelling this at God. And then a shift in verse 5:

But I trust in your unfailing love. I will rejoice because you have rescued me.

This is a big BUT! Despite his situation, David CHOOSES to trust in God's unfailing love. He then says in verse 7 that he sings to God because God is good to him. What faith. Even in the middle of great betrayal and turmoil, David trusts God. I think Matt Redman got it right when he penned "You Never Let Go":

Yes, I can see a light that is coming for the heart that holds on
And there will be an end to these troubles
But until that day comes
Still I will praise You, still I will praise You

This is the trusting heart of a true worshiper of God. This is the heart I desire to have. This is the heart that I desire for our people. Whatever the circumstance, there is a faithful God that we can trust.

5 + 5

2011-04-13T09:40:00.000-04:00

Reading this morning in Matthew 25 about the parable of the talents, or "bags of gold" as the 2011 NIV translates it. Quick summary: one servant is given 5 bags, another 2 bags, and another 1 bag. Now to actual scripture for "the rest of the story":

¹⁹ “After a long time their master returned from his trip and called them to give an account of how they had used his money. ²⁰ The servant to whom he had entrusted the five bags of silver came forward with five more and said, ‘Master, you gave me five bags of silver to invest, and I have earned five more.’

²¹ “The master was full of praise. ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant. You have been faithful in handling this small amount, so now I will give you many more responsibilities. Let’s celebrate together!’

²² “The servant who had received the two bags of silver came forward and said, ‘Master, you gave me two bags of silver to invest, and I have earned two more.’

²³ “The master said, ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant. You have been faithful in handling this small amount, so now I will give you many more responsibilities. Let’s celebrate together!’

We learn later that the 1 bag servant hoards his gold, is scolded and sent away. As I read this again, I was struck by the first two servants. They were each given a level of responsibility, possibly based on their capacity and ability. Let's do the math:

Servant 1 5 talents given + 5 talents earned = 10 talents

Servant 2 2 talents given + 2 talents earned = 4 talents

What they produced was equal to what they were given.

Each servant was faithful, yet the reward was not what would be expected in today's society. What was the reward for doing a good job?

MORE RESPONSIBILITY.

I think what we expect today is a payday, a vacation, an incentive. This is not the way of Jesus. What was His reward for faithfulness? The RESPONSIBILITY of bearing the sins of the world on a cross. If we faithfully invest our lives in building God's Kingdom, the expectation we should have is MORE WORK. If we remember that earlier in Matthew 9, Jesus said: "the harvest is great, but the workers are few." This is no excuse for workaholism, but it is a reminder of our calling. Living things produce fruit. So should our lives.

I want to be a 5 + 5 kind of Christian. I want my life to produce shock waves for God's glory. I pray that my family, those I serve alongside, and our entire church will have lives of incredible impact for Jesus.

When Great Arts Meet

2011-04-12T16:50:00.000-04:00

Really love this song by Brenton Brown. Available here on iTunes. Love the painting along with. When great art gets together, something powerful happens!

Worship Conference - In the Sticks...

2011-03-21T14:30:00.000-04:00

VERY EXCITED about a new training opportunity that we're launching called "Worship in the Sticks". It is a worship conference designed with smaller churches in mind. I've had so many church leaders talk to me about the unique difficulties they face as they lead worship in smaller congregations.

BY BUILDING INTO TEAMS AND LEADERS, WE'RE LOOKING TO HELP:

- EQUIP

- ENCOURAGE

- INSPIRE

If you are involved in leading worship (leader or team member), I think you'll find this event to be helpful. It will be held on SATURDAY, APRIL 16TH at Union Center Church of the Brethren in Nappanee, IN. For more details and to register, check out: worshipinthesticks.com Hope to see you there!

Rob Bell vs. John Piper: Competitive Christianity?

2011-03-18T10:01:00.002-04:00

There is a debate going on in church world that many have summed up like this:

Rob Bell vs John Piper

This post is not to state my position on this debate, since I've not yet read "Love Wins" by Rob Bell which seems to have stirred much of proverbial "pot". What I do know is that there often seems to be in issue that leaders (including myself) struggle with. I'm calling it, for lack of a better term, Competitive Christianity. Not judging these specific leaders, but more of the crazy blog world devisiveness that has erupted. Everyone trying to "one up" the last post of someone else.

I've often found in my own heart, that I struggle with having a voice, having an insight, having something useful to bring to the table to build up the body of Christ. It mostly comes from pure motives, I want to serve and be purposefully used by God. So I do my best to stay faithful to what God has called me to do, as Paul says to "run the race" marked out for us. The problem comes when, as I'm running, I lose my focus on the end goal and start looking to left and to the right. I look at what others are doing for Christ, and a bit of jealousy or envy kicks in.

In Luke 9, Jesus dealt with this:

Then his disciples began arguing about which of them was the greatest. But Jesus knew their thoughts, so he brought a little child to his side. Then he said to them, “Anyone who welcomes a little child like this on my behalf welcomes me, and anyone who welcomes me also welcomes my Father who sent me. Whoever is the least among you is the greatest.”

When His disciples LOST FOCUS they began looking right and left. Jesus, corrects them by telling them to shift their thoughts back to the mission of welcoming not just children, but those with childlike, trusting attitudes toward God. And also He brings the focus back to welcoming HIM in their lives. They must be servants first and then they will be great.

HOLD IT RIGHT THERE

Most preacher end it there. They say, "now, go be a servant" and you will please God. I'm just gonna be honest here and say that I struggle with this too! I still will use these words to GAUGE MYSELF with other people. Now, instead of trying to impress with all of my accomplishments, I'll try to somehow impress God (and others) with my sacrifice and servanthood, when all the while I'm really wanting approval. (truthfully, I almost didn't post this due to this whole idea - that even through the post I was trying to be more spiritual than others)

So, what are we left with?

My good friend Rob Wegner told me once, as I spoke of this issue that I simply needed MORE JESUS. That sounds kinda simplistic, I know. But truly, the only way I escape the temptation to be what Brennan Manning calls "the imposter", is through focused time spent with Jesus. This for me is through meditation. It can other forms for others. It could be a walk in nature, journaling, sacred reading, etc.

I'm still in process on this. I may always be. I think it ultimately can be explained in the word SATISFACTION. Where and by whom/what are we truly satisfied? Psalm 63:5 "I will be fully satisfied as with the richest of foods; with singing lips my mouth will praise you."

Time - A Parent's Perspective

2010-12-26T09:50:00.001-05:00

As a parent of almost tween kids, I'm discovering more and more of what God's heart for us must be like. A particular example of this would be as my desire to spend time with my girls continues to grow, their desire for independence grows at the same time. This can be frustrating. Often, I'll sit by my girls and ask them how their day is and I'll get a short response with a request to go do something with a friend or computer time. To be honest, it often breaks my heart a little.

As a parent, I feel this. On the other side of the coin, as a child of God, I wonder if I can see His perspective a little better. As I was meditating on Christ this morning, my mind kept wandering to other things. What I need to do. Things I want to buy. Plans I'd like to pursue. And I felt all that God wanted me to do was simply BE with Him. It hit me in the face - God must be feeling the same way I do as a parent.

As a parent, Mark Beeson has taught me a great deal about parenting. He has spoken on scheduling time with your kids. This is why I still try to keep a regular time of taking each individual daughter out for a breakfast meal so we can simply BE together.

This regular time with God is a must too! But God isn't the one who sets the schedule, it's US! Regular time with God, however that looks for you, is really the only way to develop intimacy. I'm learning this from my kids.

"Martha, Martha," the Lord answered, "you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her." Luke 10:41-42

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The Mighty Manger

2010-12-23T08:29:00.001-05:00

Read this from Dietrich Bonhoeffer's God is in the Manger:

Where is the divinity, where is the might of the child? In the divine love in which he became like us. His poverty in the manger is his might. In the might of love he overcomes the chasm between God and humankind, he forgives sin and awakens from the dead.

Even today, as well as 2000 years ago, this display of might - the might of the manger - could be completely misunderstood. The general understanding of power is often through brute strength or military might. But the God-man, Jesus, enters this world and pulls a sort of jiu jitsu move on everyone. Instead of a thunderous show of the power that formed the heavens and earth, He humbly comes as a child. This child will ultimately show us a meekness (restrained strength) that reconciles the whole world to a perfect, holy God through the cross.

I really wonder how the world would be different if power was wielded in this way. What would a world look like that had leaders humbly serving the weakest members of society? I'm not slamming anyone in particular, but I really do wonder how society would be different if the might that God displayed in the manger was emulated by leaders every day. I guess this truly starts with ME! How I lead my family, how I lead my teams and our church.

My prayer: "Christ, give me a passion to know You intimately, and wisdom to embody Your selfless leadership to those you have entrusted me to lead."

How I'm Changing

2010-12-19T06:41:00.001-05:00

I just finished Donald Miller's book A Million Miles in a Thousand Years

This book is changing me. Though I am done reading it, it is still changing me. I am looking at life differently now. A short list of what I learned:

1. A Greater Story
My heart is much more open to the beauty of a greater story that is being told through my life. I've learned that one of the easiest ways that we are de-railed from the best versions of who God wants us to be is by lesser stories. Whether driven by culture or some internal needs, we settle for less than what God has intended. As I look at my life now, and the life of the my family, I'm most prayerful about this issue. I never want to settle.

2. It Takes Effort
Nothing worthwhile comes without effort. Intentionality in writing a great story is critical. As a songwriter, I have found this to be true as well. Songs don't get written if you don't just sit down and work them out. Simply waiting for inspiration has never been the way I write. The same is true with life. I may not feel like taking time to play with my daughter at a given moment, but every time I do, it has been well worth the investment.

3. Inviting Others
My friend Rob Wegner is great at this. As the story of his life unfolds, he is constantly inviting others into what he is learning. Countless friends I have would say the same thing about him. This is the kind of life I want to live.

4. The Petty Things Seem Silly
What I'm also discovering is that when my life is in tune with God's greater plan, the little, petty stories seem to fade in relevance to me. In fact, they often seem silly. Stories about my own image, how well-liked, or how talented I am - these just seem silly since I'm too busy being involved in a bigger story.

As I look to life in 2011, I'm really thinking about what needs to change. How a life well lived will impact the world for Jesus. Praying for what SELFLESS IMPACT might look like.

The True Role of Theology

2010-12-16T09:00:00.001-05:00

More amazing wisdom from Dietrich Bonhoeffer in God is in the Manger:

"How we fail to understand when we think that the task of theology is to solve the mystery of God, to drag it down to the flat, ordinary wisdom of human experience and reason! Its sole office is to preserve the miracle as miracle, to comprehend, defend, and glorify God's mystery precisely as mystery."

This has so many ramifications. Since the goal of theology would then not be to "figure God out", it relieves a lot of the pressure that I believe some Christians feel. I often think about Paul's admonition to have a "ready defense" for the Gospel. While it is true that we shouldn't be thoughtless Christians, we also shouldn't feel the need to be in attack mode either. If someone comes to us with honest questions, we should be able to answer. However, if someone is on the attack, it is likely that no amount of convincing will ever sway this type of person.

It is here that we embrace the mystery that is Christianity. A lot of my Eastern Orthodox roots are stirred by these thoughts. Since the Orthodox branch of Christianity is from an Eastern mindset, mystery is embraced quite a bit more than in our Western tradition. Often, as Bonhoeffer states, we try to get to explaining God through reason, which ultimately stamps out any mystery.

This could be why so many people have turned to other faiths since many modern evangelicals seem to have all the answers about God. My thought is that theology itself, while discovering answers, should also be constantly stirring more and more questions as to who God is. This questioning posture will allow us to remain captivated by the mystery which entered the world through a manger so long ago.

Who Will Celebrate Christmas Correctly?

2010-12-15T07:07:00.001-05:00

I've been reading an Advent devotional of collected writings by Dietrich Bonhoeffer called God is in the Manger. Read this paragraph this morning that struck me in its beautiful explanation of how to best celebrate this season:

"Who among us will celebrate Christmas correctly? Whoever finally lays down all power, all honor, all reputation, all vanity, all arrogance, all individualism beside the manger; whoever remains lowly and lets God alone be high; whoever looks at the child in the manger and sees the glory of God precisely in his lowliness."

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

2010-11-24T11:07:00.000-05:00

A Prayer to Pray for Others

2010-11-24T06:13:00.001-05:00

I've been hanging out in the book of Ephesians for a while and was struck by the prayer that Paul prayed for the believers. It is a prayer that I found myself saying for my family, my friends, my team, my church, and those around me who are far from Christ. You may want to pray it as well. Just replace the "you's" with a person's name. What a great prayer to lift up on someone's behalf.

Ephesians 3:14-19
When I think of all this, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father, the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth. I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.

Christmas is Coming...

2010-11-17T11:24:00.000-05:00

Once Upon A Midnight Clear from Granger Community on Vimeo.

Thoughts on "Our God"

2010-09-29T13:11:00.002-04:00

This weekend at Granger Community Church, we launch our How to Wreck Your Life series. It's basically a series on how running after "idols" can literally ruin your life. Rob is teaching and will cover the basics of how God desires to be absolutely FIRST in our lives.

The song lyrics of Chris Tomlin/Matt Redman/Jonas Myrin/Jesse Reeves' song "Our God" are:

Water you turned into wine, opened the eyes of the blind

there's no one like you none like You!
Into the darkness you shine out of the ashes we rise

there's no one like you none like You!

Our God is greater, our God is stronger, God you are higher than any other.
Our God is Healer, Awesome in Power, Our God! Our God!

And if our God is for us, then who could ever stop us.
And if our God is with us, then what could stand against.

As we sing the lyrics, "God, You are higher than any other," this is a dangerous set of words to sing. If this is in fact, not just words on our lips, but the meditation of our hearts (Ps. 19:14), then we are called to live as if it were true. If Jesus is higher than ANY other, what is the impact on my day to day? How do I spend my time? How do I spend my money? What are the moment to moment thoughts in my head?

He is a jealous God, but certainly jealous with good reason. It is for our own good that He desires us to love Him. When Christ is seated on the throne of my life, there is peace through trial, joy through pain, hope through suffering, and the list goes on (Isaiah 61:3).

The truth in all of this is that left to our own devices, we are COMPLETELY unable to do ANY good thing, much less give up the idols that can seem comfortable. But through Christ, we know that all things are possible. Love to hear other people's thoughts on this.

This weekend, as we worship in song, may we always be mindful of what we sing. It is our desire to see our church grow in this respect. That our people would catch and retain great theology as it applies to their lives.

Untitled

2010-08-29T08:28:00.001-04:00

Checking out Posterous to see if it will take away my Tweetdeck for iPad woes.

As I approach 40...

2010-08-18T09:05:00.000-04:00

Here's a little blast from the past. Yes, that's me playing bass. Yes, I had hair. And yes, we were playing songs by Quiet Riot. A LONG time ago...

#twittersabbath & #fbsabbath

2010-08-13T08:47:00.000-04:00

This is something that I've been stewing on for a while. In my thought world, I'm striving to be more and more "present", with God and with others. I think I'm wired up like Dug from the movie "Up", wanting to say "Squirrel!" to every distraction.

With this in mind, the implications on my life from Twitter and Facebook are that they move me further and further away from being present in the moment. Here are just a few situations I find myself in (maybe you can relate):

1. I will often go into what I'm calling "reporter mode", so that whatever I'm experiencing, I'm thinking about how I will shrink it down to 140 characters of less. Not truly experiencing the moment. (particularly tempting on vacations where I want to impress people by how much fun I'm having)

2. I find myself checking to see if people have responded to my status updates as a means for approval. Not really living where I am.

3. While talking to someone I attempt to split my attention between them and my phone screen. This, of course, makes the person (often my wife) feel less than valued. I think we've all been in on both sides of this equation.

4. I have Tweetdeck installed on my computer with notices that pop up whenever someone posts. This is like crack cocaine for the attentionally distracted person. I usually am not as productive as I can be when this is on.

All that to say that I'm proposing for myself and others to take a Twitter and Facebook Sabbath each week. One day (24 hours) where I fully disconnect with the social networking web world and strive to be fully present with everyone around me and God. A couple of notes:

1. I'm trying hard to let go the urge to save up posts on my Sabbath day so that I can double up on the next day. Step away from Evernote, citizen!

2. God desires a glad heart toward this, so if I bring a grumbling heart, I might as well not do it.

3. I think that one cool thing that I might want to report on later is how my taking this Sabbath affected my relationships with others and God.

So, I'm giving this a try. On the day that I do this, I'm using the hashtags #twittersabbath and #fbsabbath.

What do you think? Is this worth it? Might you join me? Love to hear your thoughts.

Killing Time at the Health Dept

2010-08-10T14:20:00.002-04:00

We spent 2.5 hours waiting to get school vaccinations for Anna. Made a little video of our experience:

Lessons Learned from a Bar Gig

2010-08-09T09:54:00.002-04:00

I'm in a band called Vanakkam, which had the chance to be part of a team of people who went to India last March. We played several concerts in the Tamil Nadu region of India. It was a fantastic experience for us all.

This past Friday, We had the opportunity to partner with Dan Blacketor and The Rhema Project. We were part of a concert at a bar called Legend's on the campus of Notre Dame. It was a fundraiser which featured the band "The Ricki Lake Effect" (great guys!) while Vanakkam was the warm up act. On Saturday/Sunday, we then served at Granger Community Church, helping lead worship for all four services.

I think we learned a few lessons on the way.

1. First, we found that the art we performed had both missional elements and attractional elements in it. At the bar, we were literally going to the people. We made some cool connections with the Ricki Lake guys and others who were there. At the same time, it was attractional. We helped people gather for a great cause and later in the weekend to worship God in church. This is the essence of what we'll be talking about at our conference this Fall called "The Genius of AND".

2. We have a deeper sense of community. Our band has played and practiced so many times recently that I think of ourselves more like a family than a band. I love these people now at a much deeper level than I did before we began this journey back in February as we prepared for India. The weekend was just a further deepening of that.

3. We are better musically. Our Friday night set was the tightest I think we've ever played. We now know what's coming up and how we can intuit what the others will do. For people who have played in bands a while, this is a normal thing. Since our teams have been rotating for years at church, this is new for us. (More news on this in a later post)

4. We feel USED. (in a good way!) It is amazing to think that God not only used us "over there", but continues to use us "over here" to bring glory to Himself. How this fully plays out has yet to be seen.

We're excited as to where God is taking us, not only as Vanakkam, but as an entire worship team at GCC. These lessons, I think, will continue to teach us more of the "how" and certainly the "why" of a vibrant arts ministry.

Location:Notre Dame, IN

Worship That is Grounded in History

2010-08-07T09:38:00.001-04:00

Been reading some Glenn Packiam's blog. Processing this thought:

Our worship is not an attempt to praise God for some arbitrary attribute. Instead, as we look to God's actions within space and time-- His great works of creation and salvation-- we see who He is and begin to worship. Certainly, emotion can and often will be involved. But it is not a floating, emotion; it is an emotion that is genuine not generated precisely because it is attached to a historical event. That means a worship leader's first job is not to generate emotion; a worship leader is there to remind people of God's great acts of creation and salvation in the past, and to point them to the moment God's salvation and new creation come to pass in fullness (Rev. 21).

What are the implications here? This seems to give a grounding to our worship that we desperately need. However, I'm wondering if even a bigger picture of worship needs to be painted for our people. I agree that worship (in the congregational setting) is way more than emotion. At the same time, I wonder if it is more than reminding our people of his past/future work. Our God is the great "I AM" - eternal and ever-present.

In the setting at GCC, I believe that our people need the reminder that our God is HERE. A God whose presence is sought is surely a God who will reveal Himself. I desperately want our people to collectively and individually connect with God. These encounters, as seen in the stories of so many Bible characters, produce worshippers. I think what Glenn is getting at here is the balance of Spirit and Truth (John 4:24). So much of modern worship music is written in "the Spirit", that having a better grounding in the Truth of God's works (present and future) will helps balance our expression of worship.

Any thoughts?

Listen, then Listen: Life Lessons from a Voice Lesson

2010-07-05T13:52:00.000-04:00

Last week, Tim Carson, of Vocal Artistry, coached me to help improve my game in singing. He gave me two fundamentals that could apply right away that I think are applicable to music, but also to life in general.

He told me two things:

1. LISTEN to singers who are modeling the style/sound that you are striving for.

2. Then LISTEN to/record yourself singing songs like those you wish to emulate. Then compare and tweak.

For #1, Tim recommended Billie Joe Armstrong from Green Day for me to get my sound to be lighter and brighter. I'm more and more aware of not only what Billie is doing, but HOW he's making the sounds he makes. This makes me better. Not that you'll hear me singing in Green Day style the next time you hear me, but I'll apply his technique to produce my own sound.

This applies to all types of learning. If we want to be a better guitarist/bassist/drummer, find the best guitarists/bassists/drummers to try to learn from. Many websites make this easy. In life as well, finding people who can mentor us in the how to live well is essential to living well ourselves. Jesus is the prime example of this. He shows us the best way to live, the life of a truly humble servant. Emulating this example can help us so much on the journey.

For #2, Tim told me to record myself or listen to myself over a loudspeaker system at least weekly. Having studied voice for many years, I have a reasonable ear. I just need to get the honest feedback that hearing sound from outside of my head can give me. Now with iPhones/digital cameras it is very easy and cheap to record oneself.

In life, this means finding people around you who are willing to not blow smoke at you. We all need straight shooters like the prophet Samuel, who ultimately called King David out of his life of sin. Because of encounter, David was moved to repentance. Ultimately, the adulterous murderer is most remembered for being a "man after God's own heart". This was in part due to the courage of Samuel, who spoke with honesty to the King.

These are two lessons I'm working on. We'll see how my singing/life is ultimately affected. Hopefully for the better!

A Servant's Prayer

2010-06-26T07:42:00.000-04:00

I've been reading Ken Gire's "Moments with the Savior" devotional. This morning I read this pray which I felt I had to share:

"Dear Lord Jesus,
Thank you for the work you have entrusted me to do. I ask only to be worthy of that trust.

Help me to be faithful in very small things, realizing it is there where I will learn to be worthy of your trust in greater things.

Help me to be faithful to the great treasure of the gospel you have placed in my care. Keep reminding me what a wonderful message it is so I would be eager to encourage others to trade their sin for its forgiveness; their anxiety for its peace; their despair for its hope.

Help me to realize how much work there is to be done. Lord, so that when I arise, it would be to serve you, and when I lie down, it would be to rest from work well done.

For all the times I have left that work undone, Lord, I ask for your forgiveness. Forgive me for the times I have served your halfheartedly and for the opportunities to serve you that I have hidden in a piece of cloth because of my fears.

Please Lord,

Be with me when I am fearful
To make me faithful.
Be with me when I am faithful
To make me fruitful.
Be with me when I am fruitful
To make me humble.
For it is only by your grace
That I was chosen to serve you;
only by your strength
That I am even able to serve;
only by your faithfulness
that I am still serving you today...

Father's Day Wish

2010-06-20T07:13:00.000-04:00

"Sometimes, if you stand on the bottom rail of a bridge and lean over to watch the river slipping slowly away beneath you, you will suddenly know everything there is to be known." - A.A. Milne

Beauty is appreciated best at a slower pace. I like John Ortberg's reminder in "The Me I Want to Be" to "try softer". Dads, this is my wish for us today. Take time to enjoy the moments.

6 Things I'm Excited About

2010-06-17T15:12:00.000-04:00

A few things I'm excited about:

Had THE BEST time with my wife in Riviera Maya, Mexico last week! I definitely married well.
Looking forward to heading down to the National Worship Leader Conference in Kansas City next month. Going to spend some time talking with other worship leaders from United Methodist Churches about best serving our denomination. Should be good some good discussion time.
Thrilled to introduce a new Hillsong worship song called "Our God is Love" this weekend at GCC BEFORE the actual release of the CD!
Getting my broken iPhone screen fixed by my friend @jasonpowell who I've decided is a tech mastermind.
Going CANOEING with my family tomorrow down the Dowagiac river. Yee haa!
Looking forward to the release of Toy Story 3 tomorrow night. Very fun site here.

So, for now, that is some goodness. More later.

A Matter of Pride

2010-04-21T09:24:00.005-04:00

I'm writing today to ask your help. Okay, really, I'm kinda begging for it! Take a short look at this:

Allie and Chris Nanni: 737 votes

Robert Wozny: 430 votes

Brandon Siegel: 402 votes

ErinCamilleri: 325 votes

Paul Phair: 287 votes

Dr. Rob Riley: 233 votes

Lynn Ducat: 184 votes

IdaWatson: 146 votes

Lisa and Dan Vukmirovich: 24 votes!!!!!!!!

We're in a situation here where I feel like we're out in the community (on billboards and posters). We're representing our church, Granger Community Church to Michiana, and in actuality, I'm kind of embarassed. We're flat out in LAST PLACE as of today. It starts to scare me, since we're not only representing our church, but I think, to some degree, Christians.

I wonder as people look over the voting stats if they get a sense of what kind of generosity the church shows? To be honest, it's a pretty rough representation of the sharing hearts that I know from most of the people I serve beside.

I believe that we can show our community that the Church, not just our church, is truly generous!

It's crunch time. We can't wait any longer.

We need for everyone to pray about what they might do to support this and then act quickly if that's what is needed.

You can vote HERE.

We need you! Your help is critical. Thanks in advance!

We're Dancing with Our Stars!!!

2010-03-24T16:27:00.004-04:00

We need your help! Please vote for us for the Center for the Homeless (South Bend, IN) Dancing with Our Stars benefit contest/auction! All donations benefit the Center and are tax deductible. Click the weblink below to vote. Each vote is $37. You can also attend the "contest" on Friday, April 23rd - 6pm at the Hilton Garden Inn (near St. Mary's). Love to have your support!!! Thanks.

To vote, click HERE

Cool Video

2010-03-20T21:32:00.001-04:00

This is a new video from the Michael Gungor Band:

Love it!

A Vukmirovich Family Tradition

2009-12-27T13:08:00.001-05:00

Kid's Christmas Song

2009-12-13T10:38:00.001-05:00

A few people have asked where to get the Kid's Christmas song "Heaven Came Down" that we wrote and performed this weekend. Anna, my daughter sang it! Here it is. You can download it for FREE!

Christmas Carol (of the Bells)

2009-12-07T21:32:00.000-05:00

Dicken's Christmas Carol in 1:30-

Christmas Carol of the Bells from Granger Community on Vimeo.

Worship Leader Tip #2

2009-10-23T08:06:00.002-04:00

Know your people. (Part 1 - the congregation)

This seems way too simple to even be a tip, but the truth is that many leaders will miss out on how they can best lead their congregations simply because they don't take the time to get to know them. We've all heard the saying that "people don't care what you know until they know how much you care", but it really holds true. Taking the time before or after services to engage in conversations with the people we serve is critical to their trusting our leadership.

This can be especially evident if there is a generational gap between the leader and a majority or core of the congregation. With the movement toward more contemporary styles in music, many churches are hiring younger people to help lead their congregations in worship. What this means is that there is often a gap between the leader and the core of who he/she is trying to help worship God.

It is all the more critical for this leader to intentionally and regularly connect with trusted advisors in the age group/generation that they serve. Scheduling a weekly lunch with a few people and asking tough questions like: What do you think about song selection? How is the volume? Are you able to sing the songs? Any theological concerns? Note: This does not mean that if you are trying to change the target age of your congregation that every preference of the older generation should be catered to, but these concerns certainly should be considered. Creating unnecessary division is just plain foolish.

A theme that I'll hit on quite a bit in these posts is asking a question that my brother, Jason Miller, brought up: "What is helpful?" If we're trying to facilitate a connection between God and our people, we need to first fall on our knees and ask God, "what for this service, season, event, etc will most help our people worship?" Then, truly, asking trusted people what they find helpful in worship can help us grow our churches in thriving worship communities.

Worship Leader Tip #1

2009-10-19T21:42:00.002-04:00

I've thought a bit about what it means to help others worship God. I'm gonna try to throw a few ideas out there to see if they might be helpful to other people who are "in the trenches".

Worship Leader Tip #1

KNOW WHO YOU ARE

This is critical for people who are leading. A lack of authenticity is something that can smelled a mile away. A mistake that many young worship leaders make is that they find a particular person that they admire and then begin to emulate their style. Emulation is not bad in and of itself, but when it starts to eat away at the nature of the individual, becoming a sort of costume or mask, this is not good.

I started off "back in the day" highly admiring the leadership and skills of Tommy Walker, who was and is an influential leader in the worship music field. I bought all of Tommy's CDs. I got the DVDs. I went to concerts. I even got the headset microphone that is his trademark. (I even left it on once while I was in the restroom... but that's another story!) Besides his hair, since I have very little, I was a kind of mini-me of Tommy. I kinda lost my own voice in all of that.

As I've matured, I've found that pulling ideas from various artists/leaders across the spectrum of music has helped me form more of my own sound. Do I still borrow/rework/recycle ideas? You bet! But now the emphasis is much more on what is helpful for the people I lead and not so much about me finding my identity. Reminding myself with verses like Ephesians 2:10 "For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works which God has prepared in advance for us to do." This has helped me realize that God made me uniquely for the tasks He calls me to.

When people see the "real deal" on the stage, someone who is comfortable in their own skin, there is something contagious about them. Shakespeare said in Hamlet: "This above all: to thine own self be true." Great wisdom. Living out of a God-honoring, authentic self, is the best way for all of us who lead others to show them Jesus. Hope this helps.

4 Chords Song at Innovate09

2009-09-29T13:20:00.002-04:00

This turned out pretty good for an element that was sort of a last minute add:

Thanks DC for posting it!

New Song for 1st Wednesday

2009-09-02T09:20:00.002-04:00

Hey everyone,

Excited to debut the song "Standing (We Look to You)" tonight at 1st Wednesday. We have a great drama/media that leads into it. Praying that people's hearts are drawn closer to God. That we would hold onto every promise that we read in Scripture. God is faithful and able. Hope you enjoy! Link HERE.

Vukmirovich Family Worship Team

2009-08-31T12:17:00.003-04:00

This was our first time ever of leading worship WITH MY FAMILY at Hope Ministries in South Bend. We all played our own instruments and sang. Anna (10) on keys and singing, Sophie (8) on drums, and Lisa and I playing bass/guitar. I'm proud of my family. Hope you enjoy!

30 Minute Assignment from Wess Stafford

2009-08-07T11:35:00.002-04:00

Here's the digital version of Wess' homework assignment for leaders who have been wronged:

Homework assignment to leverage your past:
Make an appointment with yourself—30 minutes alone in front of a mirror.
(Guys—you may want to lock the door!)
Look at your reflection and ask God to give you His wisdom and
discernment to understand yourself more clearly than you ever have before.
Think back to the little boy/girl deep inside. After a few minutes, answer
these questions:

1. Who am I? What do I really care about?
Do I have a cause that can move me to tears?

2. What do I believe? What do I value?
Why am I the way I am? Why do I do what I do?

3. Is my daily life based on joy, fulfillment? Who do I owe for it?
Who believed in me before I believed in myself, and launched
me? Do they know it? Have I ever thanked them?

4. Or am I driven, even in success, by pain, sorrow or fear?
Who hurt me, humiliated or discouraged me?
Have I ever forgiven them? Even if they have not asked for
forgiveness or are not even sorry: allowing them to stay in my
heart and mind is not hurting them at all—it’s only hurting me.
Whether your passion is fueled by joy or pain, the most profound question
you may ever ask yourself is:

5. What am I trying to prove, to whom, and why?

Prayerfully remain quiet.
Ask God to show you His next steps for you in your journey to wholeness.
He can redeem anything … He can leverage your past for His glory.

School of Worship 2.0 Update

2009-07-09T22:57:00.001-04:00

Here are the kids from our very own "School of Worship" performing God of This City and Every Move I Make. Very proud. They are making progress. (Kids' note: We'll be getting together again soon, I promise!)

Interactive Worship Awesomeness

2009-07-08T16:31:00.000-04:00

Oh man. This is HILARIOUS!

Nice job Jared. Thanks Matt Knisely.

Gopher Music Anyone?

2009-07-08T09:33:00.004-04:00

This weekend, we launch our SandTraps series on communication at Granger Community Church. Caddyshack fans, you'll want to get there early. You won't want to miss some gopher music coming atcha (click the pic for a little fun):

The Value of Story

2009-06-23T15:23:00.002-04:00

My team made me aware of an awesome resource for storytelling using media. It's a site called Deidox. The Bible speaks of the power of the word of testimony. These speak that power. If you are at all involved with church media, or if you want to be inspired, check them out. Here's the trailer:

Deidox | Trailer from Deidox on Vimeo.

Jesus Wants to Save Christians

2009-06-20T22:00:00.000-04:00

Rob Bell's book Jesus Wants to Save Christians is rocking my world. Here's a quote:
"When the goal of a church is to get people into church services and then teach them how to invite people to come to church services, so that they in turn will bring others to more church services-

That's attendance at church services.

And church is not ultimately about attending large gatherings.

Church is people.

People who live a certain way in the world."

Is a different rubric needed to identify a healthy church? I'm wrestling with this right now. How do we know if we're helping people grow?

Workshops Coming in June!

2009-05-07T10:28:00.003-04:00

Back in March, we had the opportunity to network groups of people from churches around the country in our One Day Workshops format. Our next set of workshops is June 25 & 26. You can register for one of these days (or both!) HERE. This is a great way to get access to great people - seriously great people - who know what they're talking about when it comes to topics like: local/global missions, first impressions, working with volunteers, etc.

Cool new adds have been to have worship at the beginning of each day. From the impressions in the March workshops, this was a great time for God to meet with people. I hope you'll join us in June!

Brilliant Night

2009-04-22T22:54:00.003-04:00

The team from Hillsong London treated us to a wonderful night of worship at GCC yesterday! How thrilling to give our people permission to express their hearts to God. I also think we definitely stretched some people in decibels! :) My brothers in worship, Jason Miller and Trace Rorie helped pull this together along with tons of teams from the church. I'm so grateful for a night to simply take in all that God had in store.

Check out their video for Hail to the King:

TWO MONTHS AND COUNTING...

2009-03-29T14:28:00.003-04:00

With the lovely Spring weather in Northern Indiana...

We're looking forward to 2 months to the day when we're going to...

We'll try not to gross our kids out like this. Or maybe we can't help it...

Birthday Traditions

2009-03-27T11:20:00.005-04:00

My daughter, Sophie, just turned 8 yesterday. Our family likes to make a BIG DEAL out of birthdays. We've started traditions along the way and have kept many of them.

Here are just a few highlights:

on birthday mornings all the other family members wake the person up with a LOUD rendition of Happy Birthday
a Krispy Kreme donut with a candle in it is on their plate
balloons and flowers are at their place
birthday person gets to choose where we go out to eat - usually it's Carrabbas!
a poster of some sort with pix from the past year (sometimes a baby pic) is sitting by their place
for the kids, dad writes a birthday letter to each of them every year which I read to them.

We've been doing this last one since they were able to understand things (around 3 years old). In this letter I love having the chance to, in writing, affirm God's working in their lives. I also point out strengths and growth that I've seen in the past year. I highlight a few key memories which will help preserve them for the future. Often, I will challenge them to growth in a key area as well.

Here is a small portion from the letter that I wrote Sophie this year:

There is a verse in the Bible that says: “Therefore, my brothers and sisters, you whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, that is how you should stand firm in the Lord, dear friends!” Philippians 4:1 You are my joy and my crown, Sophie. I’ve told you this from the very beginning of your life and whispered it in your ear as I held you in the hospital. Joy is something that runs deep inside me when I get to be with you. You make my heart smile (if it could)! A crown is something that a king or queen wears and is proud of. It is something for others to see. I have to admit, I want others to see what a wonderful daughter I have in you.

These are things that I want her to know. I've heard countless times about the difference a daddy makes in the lives of his daughters. In fact, Kevin Leman wrote a great book about it.

We treat birthdays with a lot of love in our family because we believe that this not only speaks, but shows VALUE to our kids. I wonder if you have some birthday traditions that we could learn from?

Intentional Community

2009-03-25T08:52:00.004-04:00

Our worship leaders, Trace Rorie, Jason Miller, Don Reynolds, Seth Bible and myself are getting together at Panera on a weekly basis now. We're finding that as things get more spread out between 2 campuses and various ministries that we need to have that regular contact, not only to "get 'er dun" but to build a sense of community and awareness of what is going on in each other's worlds.

I've been at points in my life where silo ministry has happened. People are working together, but they're not really "together" in truest sense. When things are smaller and only a few people involved, community can be less intentional. You do things together. You go to lunch. You work on projects because you are the only ones. As teams grow, the intentionality toward community must grow as well. We're choosing to make this an important part of our week. I can better pray for my brothers since I've heard where they're at. Our full staff team does this as well each week. Tim Stevens, our Executive Pastor did a great post on this a few years back.

I have to admit that this is a challenge for me because while I crave community, I also crave independence. As a person who has "IDEATION" as his chief character trait (check out Marcus Buckingham's Now, Discover Your Strengths), I like to do a bit of trail blazing. I realize though that as Mark Beeson has said that "the team outperforms the individual in the long run every time." I believe it and I'm willing to sacrifice some of my individuality and time to build God's church.

Best Mix Around

2009-03-24T16:40:00.004-04:00

My wife, Lisa, and I are Diet Coke addicts. Yes, you can say "that aspertame'll kill 'ya!", but we're responsible for boosting the local economy by purchasing fountain Diet Coke. Note that we still are fans of cans ("that aluminum'll kill 'ya too!") but nothing beats a good 'ole fountain DC when you're thirsty.

So, we have an unsaid rating system in our heads as we move around town as to which places have the best mixes. The mix is an art form, we believe. In fact, McDonald's (our favorite mix) has a standard special blend for all McDonald's across the country. So here's how it breaks down locally:

Top 5

McDonald's
Sam's Club (we love the cafe' ladies there as well)
Speedway (particularly the one at Edison and 23)
Chick-Fil-A (the owners, Kathy and Brian go to GCC!)
Phillips 66 at Day Rd & Fir (you can choose cubed or crushed ice or BOTH!)

Anyone else as anal-retentive about their fountain drinks?

Great Wikipedia article about the history if you're interested... yeah, I'm a geek!

Turning Down a BLT

2009-03-23T16:16:00.006-04:00

I just met with my good friend, Gene Ort, over lunch today. We talked about what it means to have a relationship that maintains it's focus on Christ moment by moment. We thought about some of the spiritual attacks that seem to come our way consistently - patterns of temptation that occur more frequently than others.

Gene brought up the idea that if we are mindful of spotting things as temptations, we're that much more apt to treat them as potential for sin. Understanding how and when these temptations creep in can be a great tool for us in defending against them.

I've heard the acronym "BLT" used for watching for patterns of temptations.

B - BORED - When we're bored and not engaged in something, we can get off target. Like King David, when he wasn't engaged in his kingly duties of going off to battle, he fell into sin with Bathsheba.

L - LONELY - We were created for community. God's intent for us is to point each other toward Him. Proverbs 27:17 says "As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another." When we isolate ourselves, we're daring Satan to take aim.

T - TIRED - When we overwork ourselves, cheat on sleep, and run an unsustainable pace, these are ways that our guards can be let down. We drop patterns of protecting our hearts - prayer, Scripture memory, meditation. "Above all else guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life." Proverbs 4:23

My brother Gene and I have the kind of commitment to each other that holds us accountable. I'm grateful for Gene.

Yep, it's True...

2009-03-13T18:42:00.005-04:00

Hillsong London is coming to Granger Community Church on Tuesday, April 21st at 7pm. Tickets are $10. It is going to be awesome! Bring 10 friends! See you there!

Check out Jason Miller's blog for more details.

I Know Something...

2009-03-12T22:16:00.008-04:00

What do this...

and this...

have in common???

You'll find out soon...

Baby Dane!

2009-03-11T09:56:00.003-04:00

We had a chance to go see our Ted and Angela Bryant and their new baby, Dane last night. What a beautiful family and what a cute baby. It is great to know people like the Bryants who are some of the most intentional people we know. They make time for what is important. They are shining the light of Christ wherever they go. They inspire us. They encourage our faith.

We used to live just a couple streets over from the Bryants. We miss them. Was great to welcome their new gift into the world.

BTW - Ted founded and runs Green Lockers which is a non- profit that helps get unused school supplies to kids around the world that need it. Brilliant idea. I love watching this thing grow.

LIVE - This Weekend

2009-03-10T21:58:00.003-04:00

Some of my teammates and I are heading up to Hudsonville, MI this weekend. We're going to WorshipTogether.com's LIVE Tour. It features a day of training with some really great people. Matt Maher (Your Grace is Enough), Brenton Brown (Lord, Reign in Me) and Michael Gungor Band (Friend of God) will all be there.

Really looking forward to a time of worship that has nothing to do with anything that I have planned. Sometimes it's difficult to allow God to minister to you when you're thinking about the execution of a service. I'm hoping that the gift of this day/evening will be a great renewal for myself and our team.

I'd really like to hear Matt Maher speak about Worship Old and New. Having grown up Eastern Orthodox, the idea of giving new meaning to old forms excites me. I'm also looking forward to Michael and Lisa Gungor's session on songwriting. I've watched these two for a while, since they were up at Resurrection Life Church in Grand Rapids. Love their hearts and I'm amazed by their talent.

For $55, this is a great deal.

A Month or So of Thinking...

2009-03-10T21:37:00.002-04:00

I've been thinking a lot this past month about blogging. This crazy cyberworld of ideas that is inundated every moment with more and more words.

I've been thinking a lot about the "why" of my part in adding to this pile.

In the past I think I've made some wrong conclusions about why I should maintain a blog. I had this crazy notion that everything I should say had to be either witty or at least original. Hitting both witty and original was the ultimate.

What I've found is that my focus (ashamedly) all too often came pretty much back to me. Maybe even saying this brings things back to me, I'm not sure how to psycho-analyze that one...

I don't know how long this will last, but I'd like to try a stab at simply sharing life with others. I'd like to help the people I lead at Granger Community Church get a better sense of who this bald guy who sings and occasionally acts like a cheesy music teacher really is. I'm going to "share the journey" as my friend, Jason Miller puts it.

Image management is a dangerous temptation in the world of blogging. I think of Brad Paisley's "Online" song. My hope is that you get more of the real Dan here. Not a "I've got it all figured out" Dan. We'll see what happens.

White Guys Can't Rap

2009-01-31T11:19:00.002-05:00

Yes, we set out to prove that we really don't "got it goin' on". This is a fun video that our friend Albert Martin produced. Albert, J Aquila and I froze as we filmed this baby. It was almost, crazy delicious, you might say...

Hard Times from Granger Community on Vimeo.

Sometimes I Just Don't Feel Like Worshiping

2009-01-27T13:27:00.002-05:00

Have you ever felt this way? I read this just recently and found it helpful.

So, next time you are tired and feel as though you have nothing to give to God in worship, know that you are right. There is nothing we can bring before Him that He hasn’t first given to us. And on those hard days, we must confess that we don’t want to worship Him but we want to want to worship Him. Over time, He will cultivate that desire in our hearts and souls to say, with the great psalmist, “I will bless the Lord at all times.” (Ps. 34) - Laura Story in the Worship Corner

Full article HERE

Psalm 22

2009-01-27T07:27:00.002-05:00

What an amazing Psalm in hard times! This verse grabbed me this morning:

For he has not despised or disdained the suffering of the afflicted one; he has not hidden his face from him but has listened to his cry for help. - verse 24

We need hope today. Christ is hope. He is hearing our cries.

New Book Coming Soon!

2009-01-22T19:44:00.002-05:00

My friend, and co-worker, Kem Meyer is releasing her first book! Very exciting!

How we communicate as churches is critical to how the gospel is brought to this world. Kem is amazing at this! It is ready for pre-order on Amazon right HERE.

Anyone Need Help with the Bible?

2009-01-21T19:50:00.006-05:00

Have you ever wanted to memorize the order of all the books in Bible? I had the same problem and I wanted my kids to learn them as well. So, I wrote a couple of songs that I thought might be helpful. They are meant for kids, but I've found that adults find them useful as well. Who needs Bible tabs? We don't need no stinking tabs!

You can download the songs for free HERE. Let me know if they work for you. God bless.

A Prayer for President Obama

2009-01-20T10:54:00.003-05:00

On this historic day, where the peaceful passing of power takes place. Where a person who would not have had full voting rights 60 years ago, now is our President. It seems right that we should pray. Here is my prayer for our next president:

Lord God, maker of heaven and earth, set up your kingdom in the midst of Barack Obama. I pray that he would have courage and wisdom to make decisions that would honor You. I pray for strength for the journey and integrity to live without regret. That his responsibilities as leader of our nation do not overwhelm him to the point of taking care of his family.

I pray for Michelle, Father. That her character and strength would only further her husband's resolve to live a Godly life. That she, herself, would make a huge difference in this world and thus encouraging other women to do the same. I pray for their daughters, Malia Ann and Sasha. That they would be able to live lives still as children. Though it will be different, I pray that they are shielded from some of the harsh realities of the world. I pray protection over this family. May they listen as you guide their every step.

I pray for the people around our President. That they would be people of integrity and that their counsel would be valuable. I pray for great discernment during times when the path seems unclear and great understanding of the deeper issues that are at hand. I pray for a soft heart for him, Lord. May he keep humility deep in his soul. Your word says that no leader is placed in power apart from your will. I trust that you will use this man to allow the Church to be the Church. The hope of the world. He has said it himself that government is not the hope of our world. I pray that he sees a strong Church in the coming years. A Church willing to humble themselves and pray and so doing, see the healing of our land. And beyond that the healing of the world.

Jesus, forgive him when he sins. Just as you forgive each of us. May his conscience quickly convict him of wrong and bring about repentance. Holy Spirit, you are in the business of renewal. You know that our country needs it. So I humbly ask, that you would renew the Obama family. Each day provide them new mercies. Bless them richly with your favor. God, I do ask that You bless our country - not in some selfish way that we would hoard what we have and oppress the rest of the world. That we would, due in part to President Obama's leadership, be a blessing to this world. That Your kingdom would come and Your will would be done here on earth as it is in heaven.

This I pray in the mighty name of Jesus. The strong Son of God. Amen.

A Song for MLK

2009-01-18T22:33:00.002-05:00

This is a beautiful song by one of my favorite singer/songwriters, James Taylor. Taking the time to remember a man (Martin Luther King) who was a great example of courage and leadership through immense resistance.

Anybody using Boxee?

2009-01-17T13:48:00.003-05:00

Free internet TV. Could be where we're all headed?

Thinking about checking this out. Any wisdom?

quick intro to boxee from boxee on Vimeo.

NY Times article here.

I LOVE THIS GAME!

2009-01-17T09:59:00.004-05:00

Does anyone else LOVE this game? I waited 3 Christmases to get this one. My daughter, Sophie, and I love playing Rush Hour.

I like it because:

It's simple. No complex rules - Have you ever played the new version of Life? Oh my!
It's lasting. You can play it over and over again with the same cards and it's still fun. It doesn't get boring quick.
It's smart. It stretches your mind while having fun.

Thinkfun is a great game company. Love their products.

Just found the online version here. Happy driving.

What messages are we sending?

2009-01-16T11:24:00.001-05:00

Have you ever been in a situation where you are at a table for coffee with a friend and they get a "tweet" on their phone and they take the time to answer it? Or that cell phone call that interrupts dinner? Or that email that "bings" on the computer that has to be taken care of before bed?

3 areas of concern for me:

Tact. There seems to be a breakdown in social "tact" that just isn't right. The twitter or facebook that "must" be tended to says something about value in a relationship. At the cost of "cheating" the person who is present, a person will answer a text or tweet. Something is not right. Watch out for how many times we say "I've gotta take this."
Availability. We're just too available to people. Though cells and instant email is good in many ways, we've got to learn to set limits. As people who lead people, are we available ALL THE TIME? I hope not. At a certain point in the night, we should "put the phone down and walk away. Just walk away." Emails answered at 2AM give the impression that we do and should be working ALL THE TIME!
Identity. It scares me that a whole generation of people are being raised up that believe that their worth can somehow tie into how many hits or comments they receive on a blog/facebook/twitter. It also scares me that I can easily fall into this trap as well.

Our job as leaders is to set the example for others. These are three areas that I'm working to be more intentional on. Any thoughts?

iTunes Anywhere!

2009-01-13T16:19:00.004-05:00

Apple just announced that iTunes is now available on both Wi-Fi and now it's cellular network. This is good news when you're out and about using the Shazam app and want to download the song you are hearing in Mall bathroom. Um... Is that a little too much info?

Article here.

5X5@5

2009-01-12T10:48:00.004-05:00

The five members of our Senior Management Team from Granger Community Church are going on a multi-day retreat this week to pray, plan and strategize for the coming year/years of ministry.

My friend, and teammate, Adam Callender came up with this idea:

For the 5 leaders of our church, pray 5 minutes at 5pm for this entire week.

I love to see the pastoral heart of Adam in this. Here was his email to our staff:

I don’t think I need to convince anyone that this is a very important time for Granger, not because of budget, but because we have a whole community, country, and world that needs to know Jesus TODAY, all while we face challenges like we have never faced before. Because of that significance I’d like to ask you to join me by praying for them this week. I will be praying for our 5 pastors for 5 minutes at 5pm everyday this week. With that here are the five things I’ll be praying for:

· Their families—that God protect them and show them love and peace while they are away

· Wisdom and Discernment to make sense of our current situation

· Unity—that God grows them together as one during this time

· Strength—to persevere for the 5 days of meetings and conversations

· Courage—Mark (and I believe God) made it very clear to us last year what his One Prayer is for His church and I don’t think that has changed today. Pray for courage for them to lead boldly not cautiously, so we can be a courageous church that gives glory to God.

Again, this is what I’m doing. You may choose to do more or less but I do encourage you to do something special this week.

Adam

I'm with him. If you'd like to join us, please do.

FOOD DROP '09 - Family and Friends

2009-01-11T21:26:00.004-05:00

I had the great chance yesterday to serve at the Food Drop '09 where we feed literally thousands of people in one day! Unloading boxes of food and personal care items from Feed the Children and then getting them to people and food pantries across Michiana. What a privilege! What an honor to be the hands and feet of Christ.

I got to do this with my family. This is our first year of actually going to the apartments where we could deliver the food face to face. I think it was a great experience for my girls; putting a face on the boxes that we had loaded in years past. We are praying for the people we delivered the love of Jesus to. For Wes who lost his job 5 months ago. For Sky who wants understanding in her family. For Paul who wants to move forward and not stay stuck in a rut. Our family is praying for these people.

I also got to do this alongside friends from the GCC Creative Arts team. These crazy people give me life. I pray for them and I know they are praying for me. I love doing life with them. It is so fun to serve with people you really love!

Special Time

2009-01-09T11:05:00.000-05:00

A few nights ago, our family did what we call "special night time stuff" (catchy, huh?). This is a time where about 20 minutes is spent one parent to one child where we ask each other questions and we tell true stories. (We tried the make believe stuff, but it didn't fly.) They like to hear about our pasts. Adventures when we went to camp, how we were when we were their age, vacation stories from when we were young. We try to do this every week 2x so that each kid gets contact with each parent.

So the other night, my oldest , asked me, "Dad, are you going to do anything different this next year?" Earlier that morning I had some prayer time with God and got the impression that I needed to spend "special morning time stuff" with God. I have been pretty consistent for about 5 months of each day getting up and reading my Bible. Part of the process has been looking for a word/verse to share with my other blog OneThought.net. What this has been doing is it has been taking my focus off what I need to hear from God and focusing on what I think others need to hear. My morning routine has become a bit longer because of this, but I can already sense the benefits to my walk with Christ.

As leaders of others, we need to protect that which is most central to us - Christ. It's kind of the put your own air mask on first before you try to help others. I think once we shift into "output only" mode, it is there that stale religion and obligation can take root.

Kids' Weekend Fun

2008-12-16T10:51:00.004-05:00

It was so great to worship this past weekend with the kids at Granger Community Church. Check out the service here.

Successful or Faithful?

2008-12-12T09:21:00.002-05:00

This morning, I read this:

"God is not easily impressed - but then He never asks us to try to impress Him. It is as if He turns to us when we are consumed with our own unworthiness and are tempted to avoid meeting with Him, then He cuts across all our excuses and says: 'Relax, I already know you.'

Amy Carmichael captures this feeling of such an exchange in her book His thoughts said... His Father said...

The son said, But I am not successful.

His Father said,

At the end of the day will My word be,

Come, thou good and successful servant?

If only thou wilt walk humbly with thy God it will be,

Come, thou good and faithful servant.

We are not called to be successful, but faithful - relax!"

from Celtic Daily Prayer

Speaking of Amazing Kids...

2008-12-11T21:07:00.001-05:00

This rocks!!!!

Head Sways and Hands to Chest Galore from Behind the Scenes on Vimeo.

School of (Worship) Rock

2008-11-23T20:09:00.002-05:00

I'm proud of these kids. This after only 1 hour of practicing together.

More to come soon! With kids singing!

Catalyst OneDay(Later)

2008-11-21T10:33:00.002-05:00

So, it's the day after the awesome Catalyst OneDay event that we hosted at Granger Community Church. More OneDay events are coming to Georgia and Texas in the winter.

I love conferences I think because I like to learn new things. Only thing is, I've been to a lot of conferences that I seem to not remember a whole lot from even when I take good notes. I like the the idea of trying to work on a couple or three things, so I thought I'd think back to yesterday and pick 3 things that I felt I learned or was reminded of:

1. Personal spiritual momentum is fueled by greater amounts of time spent in your area of giftedness. (Andy Stanley) This is huge for me. I think I'm in a season right now where personal walk and using my gifts are lining up well. I can look back to dry spells when I wasn't using my gifts as I should. Now to help others do the same thing.

2. Never sacrifice your relationship with Jesus at the altar of doing ministry. (Craig Groeschel) There will be busy seasons, but make sure you are proactive enough to schedule recovery time.

3. Your people need your leadership gift more than they need what you can do. (Andy Stanley) For those of us charged to lead people, this is a kick in the head. I often get trapped in the doing of things and then don't have time to lead the teams I'm leading. Delegating by giving people authority (not tasks) helps us to develop the leaders around us.

If you were there and have one to share, feel free.

MAJOR HIGHLIGHT: Got to hang out with Steve Fee and Matt Adkins from Fee. VERY COOL GUYS.

They Say Imitation is the Sincerest form of Flattery

2008-11-20T21:06:00.001-05:00

Nice job on this! You guys rock!

More Advent Conspiracy

2008-11-20T06:33:00.002-05:00

I'm loving so much of what Advent Conspiracy has to say. Check this out from Rick McKinley - pastor at Imago Dei.

This is the promo which several bloggers in my world have posted:

Creativity in the Church

2008-11-13T09:57:00.002-05:00

This is how creativity in the Church does some amazing things:

New Creation from Pace Hartfield on Vimeo.

Thanks Johnny Keim.

Can or Should?

2008-11-12T10:09:00.002-05:00

I've been thinking about this question a lot lately.

There are a lot of things I CAN do each day. I have a certain set of gifts/abilities/opportunities that I can invest my time into. The bigger question to consider for me now is, "SHOULD I?"

For me, this seems to be a stewardship issue. How we steward our time tells a lot about our walk with God. If I consider my return on my investment, how am I doing in building the Kingdom values in my life? The Bible often talks about consecrating things - or separating them - for holy purposes. What does consecrated time look like? What does today look like?

Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom. Psalm 90:12

Have You Seen These?

2008-10-23T21:35:00.000-04:00

Oh my hilarious...

Look Up

2008-10-22T08:47:00.003-04:00

When I walked out of GCC last week after Wednesday night rehearsal, for some reason I thought I should look up. When I did, I saw this. I thought it was pretty cool.

Is it Art?

2008-10-16T11:45:00.008-04:00

Question: Is this art?

How 'bout this?

Or this?

Maybe this?

Or this?

The truth is that all of this could be art. It all depends on perspective and delves into the world of aesthetics - "critcal reflection on art, culture and nature." - as scholars discuss it. This is a quite complicated question and has been debated for centuries. If you'd like more on this discussion, check out the wiki HERE.

As we think about creating art for the Church setting, several questions arise:

- who is art for (our target audience)?

- what art forms will express what that audience will understand?

- how do we handle critique? - both the affirming and the disdain

Have you ever been in church and experienced a piece of art that inspired you to worship? Have you then left that service and had someone make a comment about the same piece of art that they thought "missed the point"? THIS HAPPENS ALL THE TIME. And it has everything to do with what people value in art (aesthetics again). One set of people may love a particular element, while another are either bored by it or flat-out hate it.

So, as artists in the church, what are we to do? We have a responsibility to bring our best to God. But what is best?

1. Pray - Ask God for great wisdom to lead as you plan and implement great art for His glory.

2. Listen - this is often the part we skip!

3. Plan - ask the questions about target and purpose to get you there

4. Work - work diligently (with as much feedback as possible often gets the best results.)

2 Chron.24:13 says "The men in charge of the work were diligent, and the repairs progressed under them. They rebuilt the temple of God according to its original design and reinforced it." In rebuilding the temple they had to be intentional.

5. Be a DUCK - realize that not everyone is going to "get it". You can't please everyone. Just make sure that for the most part, the people you want to reach are being reached with what you craft.

Go great make great art for the Lord who considers YOU his masterpiece!

"For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago." Ephesians 2:10

Connect the Dots

2008-10-07T12:14:00.002-04:00

When I was a kid, I LOVED "Connect the Dots" books! Especially when you couldn't quite figure out what the thing was when you first looked at it. The tough ones were a challenge, but the reward was better at the end, because it was usually something cool like a rocketship or Darth Vader.

The more intricate and challenging it was, the more dots were needed.

This is similar to our dealing with our volunteers. Especially in the arts ministry that we do, the complexity that we are asking for week in and week out is astounding. With this in mind, we need to constantly point people back to the "WHY" of what we're doing.

CONNECT THE DOTS.

Ultimately, a technician who pushes a button throughout 4 services on a weekend, must understand that his/her button pushing is helping people see Christ! A drummer needs to know that each hit of a snare can be inspire people to worship God. We certainly should affirm the technical/artistic skill of our volunteers, but they can get that kind of affirmation in other arenas. What they can't get is the reminder that when they serve, they are directly impacting people for Christ. This is what the Church offers that other artistic venues can't.

When people are pointed back to the vision and affirmed as they use their gifts to further that vision, our volunteers serve with better motive, are more satisfied, better equipped, and ultimately will give their lives for the cause of Christ.

CONNECT THE DOTS.

Chewing...

2008-10-05T22:08:00.003-04:00

I've been chewing on a worship song for a while now. It's basic premise is that God is good. This is a basic concept that I would love for our people to internalize and truly believe. Mark Beeson spoke of it this weekend that even through tough circumstances, we must trust and believe that God is ultimately GOOD. It's the premise behind Romans 8:28 - "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose."

A few thoughts/verses that I've been thinking about for the song:

His love and mercy endure for all eternity
Taste and see that the Lord is good.
His unfailing love draws us in
He is close the brokenhearted
The Cross is the ultimate example of his goodness
His kindness leads us to repentance
We (His people) will declare His goodness to all nations

Anything that you might suggest?

Worship Smackdown

2008-10-03T09:45:00.003-04:00

So, lately, three of modern worship's BIG GUNS have released new CD's:

Chris Tomlin's "Hello Love"

Charlie Hall's "The Beautiful Sadness"

Lincoln Brewster's "Today is the Day"

I'm going out on a limb here and saying that Chris Tomlin's has to be my favorite due to it's accessibility for corporate worship. MANY good songs that can be used in the church setting. My favorite new ones for the congregation (post-Passion releases) are: You Lifted Me Out and Praise the Father, Praise the Son. I'm thinking that Jesus Messiah will be a great song for Christmas this year to give some variety. For personal times, the song I Will Rise is absolutely stunning! Musically, both Charlie and Lincoln have some edge (some great theology in Charlie's stuff which is usual of him), but for the group setting, Chris' album seems to win hands down.

If you had to pick - which one would be your favorite?

Anticipation vs. Expectation

2008-10-02T09:45:00.003-04:00

As I was approaching our time of worship for our 1st Wednesday (midweek) service yesterday, I had a few thoughts. For this particular service, I had done more spiritual prep than I probably ever have for a service at GCC. Regular intentional prayer for about 4 weeks using the prayer (by N.T. Wright) that we presented to the congregation last night:

Abba, Father, maker of heaven and earth:

Set up your Kingdom in our midst.

Lord, Jesus Christ, son of the living God:

Have mercy on me, a sinner.

Holy Spirit, breath of the living God:

Renew me and all the world.

Check out the online version here.

What struck me in my preparation was that I wanted to wary of expectation for the night. I wonder if that is how we as people who plan worship (and worshippers in general) might approach corporate times. Do we come to God with a list of expectations as to how He needs to show up? Do we have certain criterion that need to be met in order for us to engage?

Do we come in anticipation of what God MIGHT do? That He might move in ways that are completely unexpected by us? Do we leave the slate open for God to reveal Himself in ways that are beyond our preconceptions?

Anticipation vs Expectation

My prayer changed the last day or so approaching last night - "God, do something unexpected - something I haven't planned for!"

It happened.

We were playing along, doing our normal thing - we entered into the song "Jesus Paid it All" by Kristian Stanfill (an arrangement of the old hymn). During the bridge section, my brother Trace Rorie boldly led, "Oh praise the One who paid my debt and raised this life up from the dead!" I WAS UNDONE!!! I could hardly hold back the tears. Immense gratitude for all Jesus has done and continues to do for us. I think approaching the night with anticipation rather than expectation made all the difference.

"I wait for you, O Lord; you will answer, O Lord, my God." Psalm 38:15

I was grateful for a great night of worship. I'm hopeful that the next month of using the this Trinity Prayer as a church focus, will help our people move further up and further in with their devotion and love for Christ. I believe that God was well loved by His people last night at GCC.

Words of Wisdom

2008-09-23T16:50:00.002-04:00

I'm reading the book "The Last Lecture" by Randy Pausch. It's about a man dying of pancreatic cancer. As I'm reading he reflects on life lessons. Here are two lessons from one chapter that particularly struck me:

One was about his youth football coach:

"Coach Graham used to ride me hard. I remember one practice in particular. "You're doing it all wrong, Pausch. Go back! Do it again!" I tried to do what he wanted. It wasn't enough. "You owe me, Pausch! You're doing push-ups after practice." When I was finally dismissed, one the assistant coaches came over to reassure me. "Coach Graham rode you pretty hard, didn't he?" he said. I could barely muster a "yeah." "That's a good thing," the assistant told me. "When you're screwing up and nobody says anything to you anymore, that means they've given up on you."

This is a different look into criticism and how we take it. I often think it's because someone doesn't believe in me, but is a great perspective.

The second quote:

"There's a lot of talk these days about giving children self-esteem. It's not something you can give; it's something they have to build. Coach Graham worked in a no-coddling zone. Self-esteem? He knew there was really only one way to teach kids how to develop it: You give them something they can't do, they work hard until they find they an do it, and you just keep repeating the process."

I like this. This is why we want our kids to be good at something. It is important for them to know they are loved beyond "doing" anything, but once a kid takes off at something, it can really build confidence. I remember learning the Rachmaninoff "Prelude in C# Minor" for my Senior Piano Recital. I honestly didn't think I could do it. But, after MUCH practice and hard work, I was able to get it down. I remember thinking, "if I can do this, I can do anything!"

My Dad: A Tribute

2008-09-19T09:50:00.003-04:00

There are a few things you only do once in your life. On Wednesday I did one of those - I buried my dad, Robert (Bob) Vukmirovich. Many friends and family gathered to pay tribute to a very special man. On Tuesday night, after a short Eastern Orthodox memorial service (my parents are Serbian Orthodox), I had the chance to talk about my dad. Though it was hard to do, I felt like it was something that I NEEDED to do. With my mother, wife, children, friends and family watching, I spoke of dad. This is basically what I said:

So many people over the past few days have told me how kind and patient my dad was. I thought about how they perceived these character traits. What it really came down to for me was that my dad was FULLY PRESENT wherever he was. If he was talking with you, he would put aside distractions and really focus on you. This was often in contrast to my mom and I who are frequently known to say things like "there's a bird!" during conversations. My dad gave of himself to you, enjoying the moment. A particular example of this was when he and my daughters would play "the quiet game" while they traveled in the car. Who could be quiet for the longest was the goal. My dad, (they call him Deh-da - the Serbian word for grandpa) would usually let the kids win as all grandparents should. On one particular playing "the quiet game", Deda "lost" by saying "I love rainbows!" - one of those random, kind of out-there statements. If you saw Charlie and the Chocolate Factory think "I love grapes!" So this phrase began to be adopted by our family as a message of being in the moment. You'll hear my kids every once in a while say "I love rainbows!" A great way to remember Deda.

My dad also had an incredible desire for touch. It would have been one of his top Love Languages - a book by Gary Chapman. This was true every time we got together. I wouldn't just give him a quick "hey there" hug. No, these hugs were the real deal. It was intentional touch time. I remember one time when I was very young. Waiting for Christmas Eve guests to arrive. Now our family is Serbian. And Serbian time runs anywhere from 15-45 minutes behind the rest of the world. So I was waiting for cousins to come open presents. I was getting tired too from all the excitement. So, I cuddled up to my dad in our sweet Avocado green La-z-boy recliner. This was the type with the smooth, kind of pleather finish. Bring on the 70's baby! So we squeezed in the chair together and we both took a little nap. I felt safe in the lap of my daddy. So I rested. I think that's kind of what my dad just went through. He was tired, so he crawled up into the lap of his heavenly daddy and is now at rest after a long and tiring journey.

So that's what I said. Much more could have been said, but I wanted dad to be honored by brevity. He would have liked that. More smiles about his life than tears about his death. I think that's the way I want to go out.

I thought I'd finish by letting people know some things about my dad:

- he loved tech toys - we had the first "portable" VCR (11 lbs) on our street

- he loved model trains - we used make a track that would go around the entire basement

- he loved to sing - a church choir member and director for over 50 years

- he was a chemist - 41 years at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit

- he loved crossword puzzles - everyday Detroit Free Press, New York Times on the weekends

- he loved gardening - especially flowers

- he hated eggs - any kind, prepared any way - even in this last hospital stay he asked "no eggs"

- he had the driest sense of humor - many a groan at his jokes

- he never had an unkind word to say about anyone

- he adored my mom - in his last years he called her "his hero"

- he was my biggest cheerleader (before my wife) - his words were always "you can do it!"

- he was enamored by his grandaughters - always on his mind and heart

- he was a man who was well loved

- he was a man who loved well (for this I am forever grateful)

Wanna Have Success Selling on iTunes

2008-09-11T16:25:00.001-04:00

Here's an article that might help.

Um....

2008-09-11T16:05:00.001-04:00

Thoughts?

Thanks, Jeff.

Baptism: A Dad's Perspective

2008-09-09T18:50:00.005-04:00

Just had to put these up. It was a sacred honor and privilege to baptize both of my girls. This was a next step in their growing faith in Christ. We've seen their growth as they pray, as they serve, as they share their faith. This was the year. On Sunday, both of my girls drove a stake in the ground to remember the covenant they made before God and many people - to love, follow and serve Christ all their days. It was, as I said before, a day to remember.

A Day to Remember

2008-09-08T09:35:00.003-04:00

Yesterday was one of those days. If you saw the movie, "Groundhog Day", it was one of those I would feel great about repeating.

Quick rundown of the day:

Slept in. (Bonus: kids slept in!)
Coffee mix was just right
Read Bible and praised God for some amazing things the day prior
Took a shower/shaved my head - NO CUTS
Prayed with Lisa and my girls for the upcoming baptisms
Came to church during the 9:30 service and there was ONE PARKING SPOT available!
Baptized a whole group of people with Dr. Bob, including my new neighbor Marcie Herman
Between baptisms, hung out with my brother, Jason Miller. I always walk away closer to Jesus after hanging with him.
Completely overwhelmed by the attendance at the 11:30 service and was brought to tears as almost half the crowd came forward to receive Christ. 427 at that service alone!
Baptized John Nace. A special guy with a special story.
Felt so loved by our church family and friends who came to watch Anna and Sophie be baptized! Our friends the Geschkes and Longcors (who came from Goshen) were cool surprises!
Baptized Anna. I couldn't even get the first words out. Seeing my wife in the pool and Dr. Bob. After catching my breath, I was able to finish. I saw a radiant young woman of God emerge from the waters.
Baptized Sophie. Her sweet, calm responses to the 3 questions about her commitment to Christ. Then as we lifted her from the waters, hearing the crowd around us cheer. That was great!
Gave each of the kids a cross necklace to commemorate the day. And they were fully grateful!
Went to Logan's after church and had a great steak, baked potato, and the ROLLS, baby! Our server, Kaitlyn, was top notch as well.
Hung out on the bench outside of Walmart with my brother, Corey Mann. Great to catch up and hear his heart.
Got home and a slew of little girls were hanging out around our house. Lauren Baker and Sophie got heavily into dressup. No fights between anyone!
Kids off to bed.
Watered our plants outside. Always a time for reflection on the day for me. Good time with God.
Spent some great time with Lisa

It was a great day. One of the best in recent history for me. God is good.

Holding Steady

2008-09-01T13:29:00.002-04:00

Thanks for everyone's prayers. My dad is holding steady. Fairly lucid - He asked for Diet Coke :). Yesterday the doctors were telling us that we had hours. Today they are telling us weeks. We are now asking what is next. This is where we will need a great deal of wisdom. Thanks for anyone who would lift up a prayer on behalf of our family.

Update on Dad

2008-08-30T08:24:00.002-04:00

Thanks for all your prayers. My dad is stable but in pretty rough shape. They didn't catch him before the 3 hour window that can make all the difference in rehabilitating most of the stroke damage. He is at Detroit's Henry Ford Hospital (where he worked as a chemist for 40 years) and they are performing an MRI today. I'll be heading up to Detroit after services tomorrow. My mom felt that not much will change between now and then, so we're going with that.

Specifics for prayer:

My mom and I will need to make some pretty tough decisions regarding my dad's care from here on out. This could include semi-permanent nursing home care.
My mom's house is way too big for her to handle and though she has been doing most of the maintenance (and hiring a lot), she'll probably need to move. The Detroit housing market STINKS, so we'll need that to pray about.
If my dad somehow is able to recover from all of this, his "good leg" often will get a bed sore on the heel which takes months to heal because of his diabetes and poor circulation. If we could pray for a well-taken-care-of heel, that would rock.

Thanks again everyone for all the well wishes and prayers.

Prayers Needed

2008-08-29T08:36:00.003-04:00

Hi everyone,

Just need prayers for my dad, Bob, who had a stroke this morning. He has total paralysis on his entire left side. He was taken to the hospital this morning by ambulance. My mom is shaken. Our hope is in Christ that His Kingdom is revealed in all of this.

5 Years (and 3 days)

2008-08-27T07:05:00.004-04:00

I just remembered that it was five years ago on August 24th that I came to Granger Community Church to be "Pastor of Music and Drama". Since then, my role has evolved to drop the "drama" part of the title. Kristin Baker is much more capable than I and is running point on an amazing drama ministry.

Five things I've learned in these past five years (I've learned a lot more, but this is a blog you know):

It's either about Jesus or about me; it can't be both.
Prepping to lead worship is much more than musical - it's "on your face time" before God
The team outperforms the individual in the long run, everytime.
The three P's of ministry with volunteers: PEOPLE, PEOPLE, PEOPLE.
Key friendships are just that, KEY.

We've grown so much here. I'm thankful for 5 great years. GCC is a great people to be part of.

Chalk Dan

2008-08-25T17:11:00.003-04:00

This is me through the eyes of my daughter Sophie. Check out the sweet KICKS!

"For we are God's masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so that we can do the good things he planned for us long ago." Ephesians 2:10