We're Back!

Hey there! Just in case you missed us, we're back from Disneyworld/beach vacation in sunny Florida! Much fun!

Several highlights:

1. We totally surprised the girls this time. We picked up Anna from school (which was supposed to be her last day until snow days arrived!) and brought her into the car. We had everything set since we drove down. The girls asked "where are we going?!!!" We told them to push play on the DVD player. "Welcome to Disneyworld!", said the narrator. (Cue happy tears from Anna) They couldn't believe it! We couldn't believe that we actually kept it a secret for over 6 months!!!

2. We got our own personal Spectromagic Parade at 11pm on the last day. The closest people to us were about 50 feet away. Several of the characters came an shook the girls' hands. Like this dragonfly!


3. Our hotel, Disney's Pop Century resort was fabulous. Here was the view of the pool (shaped like a computer!)


We stayed in the 80's/90's building. Our building had giant Rubik's Cubes for stairwell covers.


We would HIGHLY RECOMMEND this hotel to anyone who needs to stay within a budget. Very clean. Fun pop culture stuff all over from the 50's, 60's, 70's, 80's, & 90's.

4. We met one of the stars of the Lion King Show (Animal Kingdom) while we were on the street at MGM. Her name was, of all things, ANNA!


5. We met up with Lindsay Wasik and her mom Dixie at Magic Kingdom. Ask Lindsay about her pirate encounter!



6. Anna's teacher, Mrs. Wolff and her husband Stan, hosted us for a great day on the beach at Cocoa Beach.



One of my favorite pix from the trip in Paris!(Epcot)

The Zimmers

We had an AWESOME dinner/swim/hangout with our friends, the Hoefts, last night. Now, if you know the Hoefts, you know they love themselves some WHO! We're talkin' THE WHO, as in Roger, Pete, John, and Keith. They had us watch this very funny clip of THE ZIMMERS who sing My Generation. The guys is 90!!! Rock on!

Right Things

When I first got to GCC almost 4 years ago (hard to believe), my very first day of work was - A STAFF RETREAT! I couldn't believe that the whole staff, around 50 of us at that point went on an overnight excursion to Oakwood Conference Center. Nice place. Beautiful lake.

For one of the sessions, Mark Beeson brought in Dave Engbrecht from Nappanee Missionary Church. He gave us a message that I still haven't forgotten. It was so simple that I couldn't believe that I was actually saying "WOW!" His basic premise was the following formula:


RT(right things) - F(Feelings) over T(Time) = DR(Desired Results)

If we do the right things regularly, no matter how we feel at the moment, and if we do them for a while, we'll get the results we desire. This pretty much works for most anything. You want to lose weight? Exercise and eat less (no matter if you want to scarf the Krispy Kreme Dozen) and you'll eventually get there. Want to get financial peace? Save more and spend less (no matter if the plasma screen is calling your name) and you'll eventually get there.

I have found this true in running. I have literally had to fight my body to get up in the mornings to get going. I'm seeing results. Me happy.

I'm also working on this for my voice. Using the Vocal Artistry CDs that we got a couple weeks ago, I'm seeing initial improvement already. Trying to extend my range and get rid of tension. We'll see where 6 months of consistency can go.

I'm really thankful to Dave for bringing this memorable message to us. I am benefitting.

Marvel vs. DC

Simple truths here...



And here...


And here...


Finally, here...


Ha. Ha. Ha. Ha.

Vocal Artistry: A SMASH HIT!

I can't say enough about how great of an experience everyone had the Vocal Artistry event that we hosted at GCC this weekend. We had 200 singers attend! Tim Carson has such a wealth of knowledge to share. We had two of our singers, Angie Henry and Bill Moore sing at the event and Tim had a chance to clinic them. Great voices to start, but then BAM! With the knobs he tweaked, both Angie and Bill sang with marked improvement.

I know that our team is going to benefit from the resources that Vocal Artistry has. I'm looking forward to using both the CD on Vocal Freedom (reducing tension, etc) and another on Vocal Strength (range extension, endurance, register blending). I realized how HEAVY I sing in order to get volume. Kinda like a golfer "muscle-ing" the ball. I hope to get some freedom from these habits that I've developed over the years.

I would recommend to any singer to get to one of the Vocal Artistry events.

Tim, thanks for all your time. You were awesome!

Kickin' It Up a Notch

You may not know this, but I'm a big fan of Diet Coke. Now I prefer Diet Coke with Splenda, or certainly a good FOUNTAIN DC from Speedway (where every 7th one is free!) or Sam's Club. So I figured it was inevitable that I try the relatively new Diet Coke Plus - vitamins and minerals and other stuff that's good for you (I guess that balances out the other chemicals...)

The verdict: sure. I guess. Nothing earth shattering. I guess it's good to get extra stuff? The taste was pretty much the same. Though the Ace-K sweetner might make it a little closer to the Splenda. Definately Diet Coke, whereas Diet Coke with Splenda basically tastes like regular Coke.

For more extensive research, check here.

Barbie and Authentic Worship?

The other night, I had the awesome privilege of catching a glimpse of what true worship might be from my youngest daughter, Sophie. I was sitting at my computer while she and her sister were watching "Barbie and the Magic of Pegasus" which they got for Easter from their grandma. This was their first time watching it. As it was approaching the end of the movie, I caught a glimpse of Sophie. Her eyes were WIDE OPEN with anticipation about what might happen. Would good conquer evil? Would the princess save the day?

Then it happened. I saw her eyes open even wider. A soft, barely audible sound began to form in Sophie's mouth. It gradually crescendoed to a full out "YEAH!!!!!!!!", as the evil wizard was defeated!!! Then as the fairies (formerly held captive) streaked across the screen: "WOW!" And then, "BUTTERFLIES!!!" And finally, "Hey! The blush (a flower) made a rainbow!"

Yeah, I couldn't stop grinning. One of those moments where the absolute WONDER of a child is completely captivating. She was so enthralled in this movie that she couldn't help but verbally SHOUT OUT her excitement!

So let's recap. First, the evil one is defeated. Second, the captives are set free. And finally, a rainbow appears. Any similarities to worship here? When's the last time I shouted in praise of my King who conquered sin and death. The captives, like you and me, are SET FREE!!! And the promise of the rainbow - that God will never give up on us. I think I'll let my daughter take the lead for a while. I think she gets what this worship thing is all about. Hm... "Faith like a child..." Where is that from again?

Bono on Idol

News is that tomorrow night, Bono will make a guest appearance on American Idol. More about the ONE Campaign and less about singing. Which, in my opinion, is not a bad thing. It will be cool to raise the awareness of the non-Oprah watching, Gap shopping, iPod listening public in order to get the word out about possibly the greatest humanitarian crisis of our generation. Check out some of the details here.

A Little Old Cheese

Sometimes a little old cheese isn't all that bad. :)

Remember this:


And this:


And this:


Oh, yeah, finally this:


Enjoy!

A Greater Glimpse

It's in the shadow of a day like yesterday at Virginia Tech that value of our ministry seems to come into focus. Here's the dismal truth: if the Church was really being the Church, people like this dude wouldn't be slipping through the cracks. Now, I understand about the Fall and whatnot, but it seems that if somehow, someone would have intercepted this man as a kid, we wouldn't have 32 dead today. Hindsight is 20/20, but I just hope that this generation, the ones on our watch would catch a greater glimpse of hope. A greater glimpse of peace. A greater glimpse of the love of Christ.

Maybe it's because I have kids now that I'm even more keenly aware of what loss might be to the parents of these young men and women. Two days ago, these people were looking forward to graduation, jobs, their lives. Today, a much different story. Overwhelming grief. Unending questions. Pain so deep that it is beyond what words could say. My heart breaks for these. The heart of Jesus breaks for these. The only hope is in the fact that Jesus conquered death and can bring beauty from ashes. Hope is in the resurrected Christ who makes all things new and can take the worst the world can bring, and use it for His glory.

Lord, show the world a greater glimpse of who You are today.

300

Ah, for the glory of Sparta!!!

Okay, this post really isn't about swords, death, glory, really at all.

It's about the goal that I have for running 1,000 miles in 2007.

Today I passed the 300 mark!

I guess the only battle that I'm really fighting here is Type II Diabetes that my dad has. My grandpa also had it. So, I'm in the fight against this formidable foe. Literally, the fight for my life. I don't have the disease yet. But I'm hoping that a reasonably good diet and regular exercise will keep the insulin shots at bay. Who said that you shouldn't run from your enemies?

The Orange Cometh

Just under a month and a group of people from GCC will be heading down to The Orange Conference put on by the reThink Group. Reggie Joiner, Lanny Donoho, and Sue Miller are the most notable from this organization. With just these three speaking it would have been amazing, but to add Donald Miller and Nancy Beach is just icing on the cake. A shout out to Lanny who emailed me on Easter morning just to say "hey". And yes, I will be reading God's Blogs (check out his new book, it looks very cool!)

It will be great to get together with leaders from all around the nation who are looking at what it means to put together ministry that will truly help families be the main disciplers of their kids. Let's face it. Again, we know that only so many hours are spent at a church, whereas tons of hours spent at home. How we train/partner with parents to disciple their kids is going to be the wave of the future.

I'm also looking forward to getting a chance to hang out with people I don't normally get to hang with. Our Youth ministry peeps: DC Curry, Judy Gregory, Johnny Keim, and (my man) Corey Mann. Also our Children's ministry crew: Georgia Fawcett, Amy Rembold, and Brian Davis (my roomate). My sense is that God is doing something cool to bring these youth ministry and children's ministry worlds together for discussion and ideas, not just on our team, but all across the nation. My prayer is for an explosion in Kingdom potential for the next generation. More as we get closer.

Finally Finishing "Simply Christian"

A few quotes from N.T. Wright in the final chapters of his newest book "Simply Christian":

"You can't reflect God's image without returning to worship to keep the reflection fresh and authentic."

"In the same way, worship sustains and nourishes fellowship; without it, fellwoship quickly deteriorates into groups of the like-minded, which in turn quickly become exclusive cliques - the very opposite of what Jesus's people should be aiming at."

"At the heart of the Christian ethic is humility; at the heart of its parodies, pride."

If you haven't read it, I would recommend it if you like a little more talk about orthodoxy (right belief) and a little less about orthopraxy (right behavior).

Next book I am looking forward to is Rob Bell's Sex God.

Much Fun with Live Space Invaders!

Check out this very fun stop-action version of Space Invaders!!!

Big Easter at GCC!

WOW! What a fantastic group of artists and technicians we have! An amazing group of over 50 volunteers/staff helped put together the programming for an incredible EIGHT Easter services this weekend. Our attendance was just over 10,000 people which is also amazing considering that Easter came right at the end of Spring Break! You can check out the service HERE.

Some highlights:

DC Curry (our youth director/former Notre Dame football star) helped bring the heat as Trace Rorie (my brother with the kickin' voice and best hair), my wife, Lisa and I performed the Black Eyed Peas song "Let's Get it Started".

For worship, we sang Charlie Hall's "Marvelous Light" and Chris Tomlin's "Let God Arise". Chris' song has that line in it that continues to ring true in my heart "Our God is the God who saves." I LOVE THAT cause it's so true. Over and over again, I get to see it in the lives of people around me. Props to our whole team who really showed the energy that these songs demanded. Tim and Steph, you guys rocked!

Lisa and I then had the chance to sing the Elephant Love Medley from Moulin Rouge. My man, Jeff Petersen did an outstanding job getting the background to look SO COOL! The scene went from day to night and then to fireworks at the end. The moon looked incredible. Not to mention the dry ice that the tech team put together. Yeah, we were floating on clouds. Great work guys!

Later, Trace sang The Killers "When You Were Young", complete with weird movements that Brandon Flowers (lead singer from The Killers) does. He sounded awesome. Finally, at the end, in traditional Easter fashion, we ended with Goo Goo Dolls' "Better Days". Particularly at the 7:30pm service on Saturday, I could sense the Holy Spirit doing something amazing in the room. Grace was offered and accepted. Forgiveness met us during this song. I talked to Trace after and mentioned that it was one of those "Fix You" moments. Beautiful.

Thanks again to everyone who did such a great job! Especially the band, Adam, Brian, Dustin. You all did so well, with so many different songs.

All in all, a great weekend and a great launch to our Sound Vows series which should be very helpful to many people. I'm looking forward to it.

New David Crowder Band Video

Hey check out the brand new anime' video of Foreverandever etc from DCB here.

Fun.

New Linkin Park

Oh yes, my friends. I've been waiting on this for a while. Like Good Charlotte, LP have gone to a little more radio friendly sound, but in a good way. Their pre-release "What I've Done" has some pretty weighty Jesus lyrics with:

Put to rest,
What you thought of me
While, I clean this slate,
With the hands,
Of uncertainty,
So let mercy come,
And wash away…

What I’ve Done,
I’ll face myself,
To cross out what I’ve become,
Erase myself,
And let go of what I’ve done…

Check out the video with very insightful recognition of the each person's responsibility for the sin of the world.



New album "Minutes to Midnight" release on May 15th. I'll be buying.

At Long Last...

Lisa and I had the chance to perform this little number for our Volunteer Celebration back in February. It's "Taylor, the Latte Boy", made known by broadway singer, Kristin Chenoweth. Hope you enjoy it. BTW, I think my wife ROCKS!!!

MuteMath Video

If you haven't seen this, it is beyond cool. (props to my buddy Heredes for pointing this out) Every person in the band had to learn the song backwards to make it work. These guys are beyond talented!!! Hard to believe both they and Mat Kearney were just at GCC last year. Check it out!

If It's Helpful

About a year ago, God planted a phrase in my head that I've been using to focus. I generally say this in mornings while I run (which, by the way, is a great way to pray - yes, you can turn off the iPod!). Before I tell you this, let me give you the background.

First, there is the idea of God's will. Perfect. Sees the BIG picture. It's the part of the Lord's Prayer "Your kingdom come, Your will be done." I think anyone who believes in Jesus would say, "yeah, I'm down with that."

Second, there is this intersection of heaven and earth which takes place in the human heart - the will. As the Spirit resides in us, He is constantly conforming our hearts (our wills) into the likeness of Christ. The problem always is with our will. Often, we want to do, act, think in a way that is our own. We often feel that we know best. Or there are certain things/situations in which we often take control. As Christ takes over our lives, we want to not only act, but want to think/feel as Christ would. This isn't easy. As Corey Mann has said, "Sometimes we need to do laps." Just like the nation of Israel did in the desert.

So when, someone gets accolades for doing something great, our first impulse isn't jealousy, but praise. When someone rides up too close behind us in a car, we don't immediately throw back an expletive, but rather consider that they may be trying to get to something truly important. Or if someone doesn't call us back right away, instead of judging them in our hearts, maybe we grow some patience; understanding that maybe our agenda isn't the most important thing in the world.

OK... Finally... the phrase... (warning it's not earth shattering) ready...

"Lord, will in me Your perfect will."

Again, God's will intersecting our will. When I pray this, I'm asking that God would will (create, or form) in my heart (my will), His perfect will. I think the more I would approach situations from this perspective, the better off I'd be.

Recommendation: I have found it helpful to simply meditate on this phrase (as well as phrases like the Centering Prayer "Lord, have mercy on me, a sinner.") Or you could make up your own phrase. I advise to keep the phrase short. Repeating this all day in your inner dialogue with God might work. Or for a block of time focusing each word in the phrase and asking God to speak to your heart. Also, a great site for meditative prayer guidance is sacredgateway.com Hope this can encourage you today.

Guess Who's...

Yep, the birthday girl, Sophie, turned six yesterday!


And yes! She got a SWEET SET OF TAYE DRUMS!!! She is totally rockin' now! (Dad, may have to borrow them from time to time! :)) Really a family set as we try to give the VonTrapp family (think Sound of Music) a run for their Deutsch Marks. "The Hills are alive, with the sound of Vukmirovich..." I can hear it now... Okay, I can't.


It's hard to believe that our youngest is already SIX!!! We are so proud of her! The only unfortunate thing about her birthday was that THIS (see below) was what helped her get through the day...


Yeah, our girl has been sick. She made it through a half day of kindergarten, but then passed out at home. She was a trooper though!!!

Good Morning... Good Charlotte

Out 2day, Good Charlotte's - Good Morning Revival

They've lightened up the sound a bit with a bit more of All-American Rejects mixed in. A lot more radio-friendly than much of their earlier stuff. I particularly like the earlier released "The River", but the acoustic version (album only) is even cooler. The track "Misery" has the catchy hooks that these guys are famous for. We'll see where this album goes. Probably not as far as Green Day's "American Idiot", but it honestly seems to have a more positive outlook which I like. Though I do like me some Green Day on a regular basis.

God Tube

I may be about 10 months late on this, but have you checked out GodTube? Oh, man. So much potential for good, but CHOCK FULL of stuff that just about anyone could parody. Check out:

The Banana vs. The Athiest

I laughed OUT LOUD at this one:

Christian Clown Training

Check out this kid's potential:

Future Preacher Boy

We'll see where all this goes. Have fun.

Wisdom and Words

This is kind of difficult for me to say, since, in saying it, I might be the proverbial pot calling the kettle black. Alas, I think it needs to be said.

WORDS

"When words are many, sin is not absent. But he who holds his tongue is wise." Prov. 10:18

I've been thinking a lot lately about this issue of wisdom. It is an elusive thing. The whole beginning of Proverbs talks about how Wisdom cries out in the streets to be heard, and no one is listening. I wonder if we block out wisdom by our chatter. Three things to listen to:

1. God
2. Others
3. Yourself

In our constant noise, I think we really stop listening to all three - EVEN OURSELVES!

Some of the wisest people I know aren't necessarily older, nor have they been around the block a few more times. I think they're simply GOOD LISTENERS. These people don't rush to conclusions. They take time to consider things. Impulsive, they are not.(think Yoda, "hm...")


Another observation based on a conversation with a friend today:

BLOGS = WORDS

often:

BLOGS = MANY WORDS

potential for:

MANY WORDS = SIN

Warning to all: be WISE about what you put on your blog. There is so much potential for good things in this world of blogging, but to LISTEN as you type. Remembering that people don't know the inflection of your voice as they read your posts. My pastors Tim Stevens and Tony Morgan have a chapter on this in their book Simply Strategic Stuff. Ok. Now, go and blog wisely...

Odessy 2 and Me

Okay. So I've got this competitive streak in me. My earliest memory of me being this way, to a fault, was when I was 8. I owned an Odessy 2 video game. Now, everyone else had an Atari, but I wanted to be cooler, a little edgier, so I went with the Odessy (cool site here). One of my first games was Baseball.


Yeah, you could move your guys, but all three outfielders moved at the same time. Very high tech... My best friend, Greg, an Atari owner, came over one day to play. Greg was pretty much awesome at whatever Greg tried. So I should have known better than to challenge him to a game of Odessy baseball. I figured I had home-video-game advantage. Welllll, that didn't work out too great for me. He utterly STOMPED me, like 30-7. And, of course, Greg had to do the rub it in victory dance/chant after "oh-yeah! I'm awesome! oh-yeah! I'm the greatest!" or something like that. Yeah, this didn't settle too well with me, as you can imagine. I pretty violently through my game controller at him and began to bawl like a baby. "I should be the champion! It's not even YOUR game!!!" Not only did I want to win, I wanted to push my competition down and see them fail.

Yeah, we didn't play that game too much after that episode. I remember it so well, because I think I still carry it with me. The attitude, not the game. It manifests itself a little differently now. Sometimes I catch myself not only wanting to be the best at something, but wanting others to not be fully successful. I don't mind if they're good at something different than me (Atari), but when it's MY game, whoo baby, that can send me into places I don't like to go. The sad thing is that I stop focusing on doing MY best and just work on being better than others. Subtle difference, but way different outcome.

God keeps working on me with this one as he puts people in my path who challenge me. You'd be surprised that it's not the obvious people in my professional life that I compete with in my mind. My friend, Jason Miller gave me a good word: "It's not WANTING to win that's bad, it's NEEDING to win." Putting things like success and approval in front of God. Sounds like idols to me.

Galatians 1:10 "Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of God."

Have You Checked This Out?

I'm a BIG Beatles fan. I think they were (and are) masters of melody and of the unpredictable. This album has been out a while, but if you haven't already checked it out, check out the LOVE album. Based on the new Cirque du Soleil show out in Vegas. Check out the Beatles LOVE site HERE.


My wife, Lisa, who is even a bigger Beatles fan is more of a purist and isn't sure she likes the new stuff here. But if you likes you some Beatles and want to hear a new perspective from Sir George Martin's (their original producer) ears, then check it out. I particularly love the remix on track 16 "Octopus's Garden". Also the beautiful a cappella harmonies on the opening song "Because" are tight.

Coming in May to GCC

Cool opportunity that we're having this May (4th & 5th) to bring in Tim Carson, from Vocal Artistry.


Tim is a voice teacher/guru who will work with our vocal team (and others from the area) on topics like technique, stage presence, and communication. Check out the trailer and/or sign up for the workshop that's going to be here at GCC here.

Tim, we're excited to have you at Granger. Thanks for partnering with us.

Alright, I Admit It

Okay. When I was like 7 and 8, I watched Little House on the Prairie with my grandma. And, I even LIKED IT! Well, looks like Laura (Melissa Gilbert) is going to be playing Ma in a new musical version of the show with Patrick Swayze (think Chipendale dancing with Chris Farley)as Pa. Hm. Check it out here.

A Shout Out to a Brother in Miami (and his lady)

I thought I'd introduce you to a friend of mine from Miami. His name is Heredes (that's "air-uh-des") Ribiero. We met out at Saddleback's Purpose Driven Church conference last year, and then we hooked up again at Catalyst 2006. He's just accepted a new staff position at Flamingo Road Church in another part of Miami. Check out a hilarious video here of he and his wife singing. Talk about a guy with a heart for including people. Like Jesus would. I came to Atlanta alone, and soon he and his posse picked me up and treated me like a brother. Love you brother. Keep following God.

Helping Us Believe

One of the things that has hit me lately, (I'm going through the One Year Bible) is this issue of what it means to BELIEVE. I mean REALLY believe. Over and over again Jesus points out the faith of ordinary people who seem to "get it" and then contrasting it with those who SHOULD get it, but really don't.

One example is in Mark 9:14-29. A demon-possessed boy's father approaches Jesus. Having struggled for years with a boy that is untameable - he's at his end. He asks Jesus IF he CAN do anything to help. Jesus then reminds him (and us) that EVERYTHING is possible for those who believe. To which the man responds, (I LOVE THIS LINE) "I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief." So true. So honest. I've heard it said that that which is most personal is most universal. I think this applies here. That's SO ME!

I think that's why I can relate to the discples so well. One minute they're all, "YEAH, LORD! WHATEVER YOU SAY!" The next moment, "UH... 5000 people. Us... I mean, we don't even have the gift of hospitality." I wonder what would happen if our prayers would ask God to help us believe? How would that change our perspective? How would our time be spent? How would our resources be spent?

Pastor Mark really NAILED IT this weekend (check it out HERE)as he challenged people with "who do you say Jesus is?" It's this fundamental question that will literally shape our lives. For those of us who believe that He's God's son, and has died for us, and rose again, and sent His Spirit; we have to then live out of this dependence on God for EVERYTHING. Believing that God will follow through on His promises.

Dang it, now I gotta think about this stuff...

Big Bottoms...

No, I'm not talking about people's behinds. I am talking about a huge difference it makes to have a good subwoofer as part of the home studio set up. I was just able to get a kickin' new sub from M-Audio. The BX-10

It has a real punch without being muddy. Very cool feature of a footswitch kill if you want to hear your music without the sub. Much easier than reaching to find the off switch on the back, behind your desk. This is going to be so helpful in mixing for the large auditorium that we have. Since I create most of our backing tracks that go along with our music each weekend at GCC, it is going to make a huge difference to understand what the real impact of adding a few db to any given bass notes. More as songs develop.

My Dad

Hey everyone,

I thought I'd share a picture of my dad with you. His name is Bob. He's 72 and in pretty rough shape right now at Detroit's Henry Ford Hospital. He has had shingles (horribly painful) as well as some kidney failure, not to mention the possibility of meningitis. Yeah, prayers would severely be appreciated. Thanks.

Blessed to BE a blessing...

I was reading in Genesis the other day. I found the part where God talks to Abram (soon to be Abraham) and this passage struck me:

"I will make you into a great nation
and I will bless you;
I will make your name great,
and you will be a blessing.
I will bless those who bless you,
and whoever curses you I will curse;
and all peoples on earth
will be blessed through you."

How often I get kind of caught up in "bless me, God" or "bless this thing that I'm doing". Here's the thing. As children of Abraham (in an adoptive way), we are blessed. God finished each statement with an outward focus. Yeah, Abram will be blessed, but he is to be a blessing to ALL THE PEOPLES OF THE EARTH. No small order. Challenge to myself. Challenge to you (if you dare) - BE A BLESSING to someone today. Go out of your way. Be inconvenienced. Leave one thing off the checklist for tomorrow. I'd be curious to hear any stories. Now quit reading this and go do it :)!!!

iPhone is coming!!!

Finally, Apple enters the phone/iPod/mobile internet market with what sounds like a revolutionary phone. Check it out here.

Here is Steve Jobs giving more details about it.

I'm there if it doesn't cost me my first born child...

Tuesdays with Cindy (and Gene)

Here's a pic of my friends Cindy and Gene. For the past two years, Gene and I have had breakfast at Bob Evans on 933 in Roseland. Cindy has been our waitress for about 95% of those meals. Same thing each week: 2 english muffins dry for me (I kick out the peanut butter) and Gene gets his same oatmeal (check out the pic, baby...).



Cindy is a great lady who is raising her teenage kids and working her tail off. She provides great service, but now it has become more than just that, it's a friendship between all three of us.

Gene and I get together to do that Prov. 27:17 thing - iron sharpening iron. It honestly has been lifechanging. The past two years have seen soul revolutions in both of our lives. I'm thankful for God bringing Gene into my life. Good stuff.

FOUR - OH - OH

Today was the day! I set a goal back on the 15th of July to run 400 miles by December 31st. I honestly should have smoked by this goal in early December, but a wicked stomach flu hit me and then Christmas Eve (with seven services) hit. I finally made it! I'm currently assessing goals for 2007. We'll see where that leads. For right now though, I'm happy to say I MADE IT!!!


Just a little note of interest that it's approximately 400 miles from my house to Nashville, TN. New song idea: Running to Nashville? Hmm... I'll get on that.

New Favorite Quote

I heard this AWESOME quote from Jason Lee on "My Name is Earl" last week:

"No, I don't have a gambling problem. I'm winning, and winning is not a problem. That's like saying Michael Jordan has a basketball problem, or Def Leppard has an awesomeness problem. So pour some sugar on that!!!"

Can anyone relate? Oh yeah.

Because He's Sovereign...

I shared these thoughts about the sovereignty of God last night at our New Community service that might be helpful:

Because He's Sovereign...
We can have hope for the future
Because He's Sovereign...
We can come here tonight and experience this mystical communion with Him
Because He's Sovereign...
We can experience joy though we're in great pain
Because He's Sovereign...
We can know that we're not alone
Because He's Sovereign...
We can find the strength to forgive
Because He's Sovereign...
We understand that He alone can judge the hearts of people
Because He's Sovereign...
We are free from the chains of sin and death
Because He's Sovereign...

Because He's Sovereign...

I am so thankful to be part of Granger Community Church. It is a privilege and honor to serve and worship here.

There is No "I" in Meatloaf...

Yep. GCC's team at Hope Rescue Mission did it again. About 20 meatloaves, mashed potatoes, corn, eggs, cookies... oh yeah, good stuff! They helped serve 116 hungry people on Sunday evening. We had a great time meeting some new people and reconnecting with some old friends. Anna, Sophie and I had the great privilege of serving alongside some of the following faces:


Susie Peters and Two Eggs. Nice.


Anna, Soph, Me and Six Eggs. Nice X 3.


Vernard and Al. Two dudes who work down at Hope Rescue Mission.


Mr. Bob, Soph, Anna and 7 dozen Eggs. Nice x 84.


Site leader, Richard Measell. Nice apron Richard!


The BOSS (in a good way) of the kitchen and site leader, Nancy Measell. We love you Nancy!


Ingrid helped keep the supplies coming!


Connie serving up the salads. Two cukes, two tomatoes, raisins, cheese and lettuce. Yum!


Dick and Susie were really great. Keep shining you two!


Resident, Philip, getting the cleanup work done.


And finally, the line that got it done! Great work everyone! So great to serve with you.

6 Words Every Parent Likes to Hear...

So I'm giving my oldest, Anna (age 7) a piano lesson. We get to a song that is pretty difficult for a seven year old brain to comprehend. Hands moving in different directions at the same time. So, she's just played another piece pretty well. This one stumps her on the first try. She says, "Okay. That's enough for tonight," and begins to close her book. I tell her to take each hand separately first and give it another shot. She plays, then stops, and I can literally see her brain working through the look in her eyes. She then says six words that I loved to hear: "I THINK I CAN GET IT." And then she procedes to do just that! TEACHING MOMENT AT THE V'S HOUSE! If that is the way I could think all day, or even more so, the way the world would think all day, just IMAGINE what the world would be like. Call me an optimist. My daughter, teaching me life lessons. Thanks Anna.

Iron Sharpening Iron

Wow. A great Leadership Event. 27:17 promised men a chance to meet with God for 27 hours. Our group met with God. It was great! Thanks to all the guys who helped put it together. Alan Mock, Mark Meyer, Ted Bryant. Met a lot of great guys: Loren, Eric, Josh, Mike, Lee, and many more.


A pic of the band from 27:17. Alex, Jeff, and Brian: you guys ROCKED.

Had the chance to debut a song that I had written called "We'll Fight". It seemed to be well received. Kind of a rallying cry. Happy to be able to use the gift I've been given.

Here's a quick summary of the sessions:

Mark Beeson -
- Each man needs a Nathan in his life. Someone who can be brutally honest.
- the way David responded to Nathan showed his true, repentant heart
- David then publicly admitted his sin and even wrote a song (Psalm 51) to be sung about it at the temple. Amazing humility. Made me wonder about what it would look like if during the Clinton scandal, if he would have confessed up front, what a difference it would have made.
- This prayer Mark wishes we'd all pray: " Lord, I want what you want. I want to be confronted with truth rather than being safe from the truth."

Dr. Bob (I) -
- It's not what you put in physically, but what you put in spiritually that makes the difference.
- Gave some stats: Women are 2X more likely to be involved in discipleship and/or service in the church.
- It starts with the family
- if a youth comes to know Christ, 6% of their family usually comes to know Christ
- if a woman comes to know Christ, 11% of her family usually come to know Christ
- if a man comes to know Christ, 89% of his family comes to know Christ
- The world is watching what we men will do
1. We live a life opposed - we will suffer for our faith
2. Be real. Be yourself. - we live to impress too often - people looking for authentic men
3. Seek God's approval, not man's. Gal. 1:10 - God tests our hearts each day
4. Be a man of generosity
5. Look out for the meeker ones - our job to stand up for those less fortunate
6. Become a true lover of people. Seek to understand rather than be understood
7. Get a faith that works - get active in our faith
8. What's it take to get angry? A holy discontent. Important to feel what I believe

Pastor Glen Bone:
- "If you hold back your gift, you are robbing not only this world, but eternity."
- Our journey is to make our inside lives and outside match up.
- Men follow men. This became more clear over the time we had together. I realize that that is what we men are looking for. A man to follow. We see it inside and outside of the church. Gangs, etc.
Men don't often get involved in the church because they are B.O.R.E.D.
B - Busyness - too busy for God
O - Obligations - other stuff in our lives that distract us from real purpose
R - Rituals - don't just GO to church, BE the church
E - Education - we shy away from educating ourselves in God's word. We'll study sports stats, but not His word
D - Duty -
- He challenged us to become a spiritual father to someone. Our job, not just the pastor's.

Dr. Bob (II)
- He mostly challenged us to live a life that counts, a life that stands in the gap for our families.
- Highlight was Dr. Bob talking about a young man, Kyle who had a rough night on Friday night in a bar fight. Called his dad Saturday who told him to come down to the event. A few guys surrounded him in love and led him to Christ. Very cool.

Time to Rock...

This weekend: Men's Leadership Event

We're at Camp Mack for our first run at a Men's Leadership Event. (The event formerly known as Men's Retreat - kinda like Prince, but hopefully better)

Should be a good time. We've got Mark B., Pastor Glen Bone (of Good Seed Ministries in Chicago) and Dr. Bob - all bringing the heat! Praying for more men to get the vision of stepping up to leadership. Pics and stories when we get back.

Wanna Help Some Kids in Need?

A few months back, I was challenged by the Bill Hybels interview with Bono at Willow's Leadership Summit to make a difference in the AIDS pandemic that is currently happening in Africa. One of the tools that I got from this was a DVD called Hope and Action



I would highly recommend it to anyone who needs a catch up on the AIDS crisis.
Fast facts:
· 29.4 million people living with HIV/AIDS
· Approximately 3.5 million new infections in 2002
· An estimated 2.4 million deaths in 2002
· 10 million young people (aged 15–24) and almost 3 million children under 15 living with HIV
· Africa has the greatest proportion of children who are orphans.
· By 2010, the number of orphans will reach 42 million. Twenty million of these children - or almost 6 percent of all children in Africa - will be orphaned due to AIDS

Imagine the entire population of ALL PUBLIC SCHOOLS IN THE U.S. without parents to watch them, help them grow, show them right from wrong. I was challenged by this DVD I watched to take action, so, if you'll join me, I'd like to help some orphans directly through a ministry called AIDSbracelets.org


These bracelets are made by AIDS orphans and/or their caregivers. The suggested donation for each bracelet is $20. The funds gathered go to support four outstanding charities working specifically with AIDS orphans in Africa--Compassion, International Justice Mission, Opportunity International and World Vision

Post a comment here if you're interested in helping AIDS orphans. I can get you a bracelet; or if you'd like to order some to collect donations for yourself, you can do that at their website. Thanks.

Catalyst '06 Day Two

Day Two and Catalyst certainly did not disappoint.

I was really impressed by the sound of the band. Super tight kick drum/snare combination. One small criticism, though I LOVE U2, it was almost comical by the end of day two when the guitarist would bust into an "Edge-style" riff, AGAIN! And AGAIN!

Great new song by Steve Fee, called Glorious One. Great energy, message and song hook. I really like to look at it for a weekend song for GCC.

Okay, just for fun - we made it into the Guiness Book of World Records for having the largest pillow EVER! All 10000 of us whacked each other for a solid minute. To the fire marshall's dismay, all the pillows began to bust open with flammable pillow inerds flying everywhere! Much fun!

First up - Donald Miller and his pastor, Rick McKinley
I have decided that Donald Miller looks like a cross between Matthew Broderick and Tom Hulce (add 70 lbs).

The first point that the guys was that it's not so much a question of "how" to love the world, but more of "if" we will love the world. This is the idea of the missional church - loving without an agenda and the fact that God is everywhere, we just need to align with his workings in the world.

Rick talked a lot about RISK and what it means to tell his church and our churches to GO. Go out and love the world. Sometimes our people freak out about this since they feel like they may get "infected" by the world. Here is where he made the point that the Christian walk can't be reduced to a set of rules to protect us (reminds me of the Pharisees). It means that we must teach our people discernment. Imagine that - intelligent, Spirit-sensitive, thinking individuals who would engage culture? Hmm. Sounds too crazy...

Donald is in the process of writing a new book about the need for men to mentor young people who don't have dads. He has set up his Belmont Foundation to help facilitate this.

Finally, when we're ON MISSION as a church, the world gets the right idea about the Church. When we're OFF MISSION, a very destructive image of the Church is displayed.

Next Louie Giglio,
The Church is the God's plan to change the world. It isn't plan B, or some kind of oops. With all the church's imperfections, we sometimes tend to look at it like that. The government - not God's plan. Social organizations - not God's plan. Educational system - not God's plan. The Church - God's plan.

Interesting quote: "The local church should be the least "safe" place on earth." Meaning, that is not a cush-cush comfy place to hang, but a place that sends us out ON MISSION. It should be dangerous. Radical. Messy.

We must develop God lovers first. This is key to the sending out. I'm reminded of Matt Redman's song "Mission's Flame". Lyrics "let worship be the heart of mission's flame." This is how we literally FIRE UP to be sent out.

Surprised to see AMBER COX (BEESON) here! She, her boss, Dawn, and Dawn's son ate lunch with me. Nice to hang with them and get their impressions.

Next, Kevin Carroll who wrote Rules of the Red Rubber Ball
This was introduced by the National Champion Dodgeball Team who were, in fact, youth pastors! They came out to the center stage and 30 people whipped balls at them. Then the whole crowd began to whip small red balls at them and each other. Very cultured.

Kevin had a good deal to offer in his narratives about dreaming big dreams. He was actually employed by the Philadelphia 76ers as a trainer and then Nike. He helped come up with the idea for Lance Armstrong's rubber bands that many of us wear today. He called us to BHAGs (big, hairy, audacious goals). We have 86,400 seconds each day. What if each of them were $1? How would we spend them?

Good quote: "The master of the art of living makes little distinction between work and play." - James Michener.

Finally, Donald Miller closed us out on a rather serious note, pointing out that, as he sees it, there are three major influences on the Christian Church in America:
1. Free Market Economic System
2. Darwinian Theory
3. The Bible

We often fall into selling Christianity as a commodity. Selling it by saying "it will make you HAPPY!" Kind of the God infomercial.

As we insulate ourselves from the culture, we tend to role play. The "I'm doing great, how 'bout you?" syndrome.

We really need to be prophets to the culture.

Final thoughts on Catalyst 2006:
- As a first time attendee, I was blown away by the excellence level. It really helped me worship. "Excellence honors God and inspires people". They embodied that this week.
- Interesting that we heard so much about how the church needs to lose its ties with consumerism and yet, in the concourse area there were literally hundreds of vendors peddling their Christian goods to all the churches across America.
- The transitions were very thought out and well prepared.
- I like the idea that the Drive Conference, Orange Conference, and Catalyst Conference keep it simple by using only one word. I mentioned this to Amber Cox and Dawn, that I thought it might be a good idea to shrink the name of our Innovative Church Conference down to just INNOVATE. Simple is clear. We'll see where that goes.

Well, that's about it. Looking forward to applying what I've learned and sharing it with our teams.

Catalyst '06 Day One

I have to say from the getgo here:
"CATALYST KNOWS HOW TO PUT ON A CONFERENCE!!!"

Incredible. What a great first day! The planners of this event really took us on a journey. From laughing, to thinking, to crying, to celebrating.

First thing - I drive into the Gwinett Center parking lot, I see this:

Okay, I have to apologize for the small pic, it's from my phone and the resolution stinks!!! Yes, it's a hot air balloon. They were giving out free rides for conference attendees.

As I got closer to the door, this:

Bungee jumping for free! FUN! I'm going to try it tomorrow. My friend Ray got a minor wedgie when he jumped. I'll be sure to use proper precautions.

The conference began as all good conferences do with some way phat breakdancing. These people got air. Of course, then came the gospel choir singing with Steve Fee, a combo that kinda actually worked. We were then led in some worship songs - the standard Passion fare. Excellent sound with kewlio video panels in the back of the stage converted images into a giant pixel format. Kinda new, retro, if you will.

A picture:


Just before the message began, Candie Pearson came out and sang "Unwritten" by Natasha Bedingfield along with the gospel choir. Now, I may be a little biased here, but I really think that GCC's own Angie Henry did a better job of it. Plus, I think our track (created by Jeff Myers) was a bit more accurate than theirs. Just my biased opinion though.

The keynote was Andy Stanley who "brought the goods". He stuck to a new thesis of his "the birth of the one point sermon". He literally had ONE point, but yet made it interesting.

He preached out of Daniel 4 "The Most High is sovereign over the kingdoms of the men and gives them to anyone He wishes."
- Our positions of leadership are not of our own making. God places us.
- Leadership is a stewardship - a gift from God.
- It is temporary.
- We are accountable for how we steward it.
This was true in King Nebuchadnezzer's life. The position of king was given to him by God. The Lord took it away (he went crazy) until the king would confess that the LORD of the Israel was sovereign.
Since this leadership is given TO us, we must be:
- Diligent - We're here for a purpose. He placed us in the position. Now it's up to us to be faithful.
- Fearless - who shall we fear if God has us where He wants us. Gal. 1:10 "Am I trying to win the approval of men or of God?..."
-Humble - Christian leaders should be the MOST humble people in the world. Most often this is not the case.

Next, in the most elaborate set up that I've ever seen, Reggie Joiner and Lanny Donoho set up Marcus Buckingham by finding international conference attendees. They found a "brit" pastor, or so it seemed. Bringing him up on stage they begged him to sing "God Save the Queen". He acted very shy. Ultimately he was a ringer and busted into "Let it Be" by the Beatles with the band. They then covered: "Can't Buy Me Love", "Help!", and "Hey Jude". THEN, they marched in a set of UK flags along with "knights" on horses (from the local Medieval Times). And finally brought up Marcus with much pomp and circumstance.


Marcus Buckingham - Marcus mostly covered the idea that great managers help turn people's talents into performance for the team. They are catalysts for spotting people's strengths and then helping them to use them for the betterment of the mission of the organization.

- Not everyone is a great manager. I, Dan, admit that I am probably not the best at this. I like to plug people in, but I often like to bend their giftings to what I really need in a given role.
- (as his book Now, Discover Your Strengths covers, people tend to focus on their weaknesses that maximize their strengths.
- new series of short films are now available called "Trombone Player Wanted" that Marcus made with the makers of the Nooma films. These are about finding and living out of your strengths. View the trailer here.
- talked to Butch and I've purchased them for our team to go through and use. Should be enlightening hopefully.
- Lies we believe:
1. "As I grow my personality changes." Nope. Our habits might, our beliefs might, but our basic personality remains much the same. I simply become more and more of who I really am.
2. "You'll grow the most in the areas that you're weakest." He used the example of studying disease to understand health. We can't study the bad to get the good. Otherwise we end up with "not bad" rather than "good."

Lunch at Mama Wu's (should have been called Mama Patel's, since it was an Indian run Chinese place :))

Opening song after lunch: U2's "With or Without You". I thought they could have done the Rattle 'n Hum version having just had the gospel choir up there, but it was the Joshua Tree version. Massive U2 influence in their band. Dustin Maust would have been happy.

Next, George Barna and his book Revolution
. He talked about 7 things that make up a new revolutionary for Christ. He wanted us to focus on these seven things. Focusing on seven... Hmm... Sound familiar GCC folk? Almost carbon copy of our Focus on Five, only plus 2!

1. Have a posture of worship 24/7 - aka Take your next step
2. Evangelism by relationship - aka Invest and Invite
3. Discipleship in the Word - aka Read Your Bible
4. Here to Serve - aka Serve 1x per month
5. Build and sustain community - aka Have a friend. Be a friend.
6. Manage God's resources - good steward of time, treasure, talents, ideas, the environment for the Kingdom
7. Family as the primary expression of the church - can I get an amen to that?!

I keep hearing down here that there is so much to teaching our families to BE THE CHURCH on a micro scale. If each of our families were to disciple our kids well, we would have massive revival throughout our schools. The problem is that we as parents are WAITING for someone else to do it for us! The church, Awana, Christian schools, etc. These are all good things, BUT they should be reinforcement of what our kids are learning at home.

Our major challenge - LIFECHANGE in the hearts and minds of this generation and the next. It starts at home. We need to continually give our parents tools to use in discipling their kids. Familywise is a great resource that I'll mention again.

Next John Maxwell, who helped found the conference was interviewed.

As most of this conference seems to be confirming, he restated the importance of playing to your strengths.
- If you are at a level 4 at something, at best, you might improve to a 6. So focus on those things that you perform consistently at 6+ to improve to 8-9. This will help you make the greatest impact.
- leadership is influence, not position. It doesn't matter where you are in the org chart, you can influence your organization.

He wrapped up with a touching prayer for each of us to maintain purity in our lives through accountability, being in the Word, and being frightfully cautious.

The final session of the day wrapped with Gary Haugen of International Justice Mission who basically expanded his talk from yesterday (see below). A really great communicator, especially considering he's a lawyer.

They closed out with United's "Mighty to Save" with pictures from people who have been saved by IJM's ministry. And then - TOTAL POWER OUTAGE!!! Right in the middle of the song. Yikes! They slowly got things back up to at least get the sound back up. Lighting never got together. Hopefully no glitches tomorrow.

All in all a great day of learning, worship, and, I believe, kingdom expansion. More tomorrow.

Catalyst Pre-Lab and Lab Day

A great day, packed with good info.

It started this morning with Reggie Joiner. He's no longer on staff at North Point. He is CEO/founder of Rethink. A group interested in helping churches literally "rethink" their strategies particularly focused on children's and youth ministry.

Brief synopsis:
- 60-70% of kids who grow up in church abandon their faith post-high school
- the church is not speaking to issues that our youth face each day in their schools
- Reggie challenged us that having our students "go to church" is not the goal. It's to have our kids "BE the church" that matters.
- He used the great example of the Church being described as a lampstand in Revelation. The only light in the temple that revealed, reminded, and showed the priest God's provision for His people. This suggests that the purpose of the Church is to "reveal God to the world".
- When we drift from this main purpose we use our "lampstand" to fight battles, make political statements, and often try to make our church look good. It becomes a 4-H Club - exposing Homosexuality/Hollywood/Halloween/style="font-weight:bold;">Harry Potter.
- When the lampstand is in it's proper place (shining it's light on what God's up to) , it will incite wonder, provoke discovery, and fuel passion. How often can we describe this experience in our churches today?
- Finally, Reggie reminded us about how much time we really get with our students in a year. On average, for a good attending student - 40 hours! This is opposed to the 3000+ discretionary hours that a family has together (on average). We've got to reach the parents to reach the kids. Countless parents surveyed (96%) have stated that they need help with their parenting. Here is where they most often turn to the church for help. Let's give them the skills they need.

Next, Eugene Peterson (author of The Message translation of the Bible)
A little disappointed since the topic was "The Contemplative Pastor" (which he wrote a book about), and he didn't really discuss this.
Briefly, he compared the mindset of Christ again the mindsets of Herod the Great and the Pharisees. Ultimately he spoke of Herod being a "successful" king with many building projects and relative stability during his reign. Jesus could have taken that as His model for building His kingdom, but instead chose to initiate it through the poor, lame, and second class citizens. I enjoyed this lecture, but it was literally that - a lecture. I felt like I was gonna have a test at the end - COLLEGE FLASHBACKS AHHHH!!!!

Next, Lauren Winner
Again, a topic that I was interested in "Sleep, Kids, Technology: Why They Matter" - no talkey. Completely different topic. But pretty good. Synopsis:
- Taking up where Reggie left off she made the statement:
"Part of the role of the church is to render those things invisible, visible."
- Culture is the script that a society has that makes us not have to think about everything we do all the time. (e.g. stop lights) A cultural script that is embedded. All of those scripts combined.
- We need to be aware of culture and it's affects on us. This is truly an impossible task. She challenged us to read Not Buying It: My Year Without Shopping by Judith Levine. This book chronicles how a couple spent a whole year pretty much disengaged with consumerism. I have to say, very much a challenge. They ate and did buy a few necessities, but no eating out, no new clothes, no movies, etc. Brought the realization that so much of people's time is spent "consuming".
- She went into a list of cultural artifacts and what they say about our culture. Things like a Blackberry reflect a value in our culture. The drive-thru window. Cell phones for kids. All things that tells us what is important to our culture.
- How can we as the church affect culture? Going from beyond merely understanding it to influencing it. Even changing it?
- Small steps can make a difference. Don't let satan's lie that "a token gesture doesn't make a real difference" stop us from challenging the culture. She gave an example of a group of parents who started a "No Sundays" Soccer League for their kids to allow their kids a proper Sabbath. Not a "Christians only" league, but one just giving kids a day off.

Next, Gary Haugen of International Justice Mission
Their purpose:
To provide:
Rescue to victims
Justice to perpetrators
Transformation to communities

Fast facts:
•Slavery – 27 million victims worldwide
•Sexual violence – engine of AIDS pandemic
•Illegal Detention – 50% of people illegally detained
•Forced Child Prostitution – 1 million taken in each year
•Torture – more than ½ world’s governments practice
•Widow Land Seizures -
•Police Abuse – rather than running to them for safety

What can churches do?
Educate themselves. Train themselves when they go on short-term missions trips to spot injustice and then report it.

Finally, he inspired us by a story of how this commitment to justice (following Micah 6:8) can be a witness. A young woman went to a rally about international justice, saw what the people were doing in the name of Christ, and committed her life to the Lord. Very cool.

Last session: Chris Seay and Rick McKinley

Probably the most interesting session of the day. Rick and Chris are hilarious and at the same time profound. Having experienced Chris back at Emergent Convention 2003, I was a little leary since he came out "guns 'a blazing" at anything that would be considered not "post-modern". Today, much different story. A real humility and meekness that I didn't see before.

Both of these guys challenged us to the missional purpose of the church. To reach out to those in the margins. To address the big issues of the day and not the easy ones. Things like the environment, AIDS, extreme poverty, etc. I like the idea of granola environmentalists and Christians lining up on the same issues but for different reasons. God created this thing called earth and everything in it. He also called it good and gave us dominion over it. That means to take care of it. And be part of recreating it. The kingdom in environmentalism. Good stuff.

Well, that's about all I have to say about that.

More tomorrow when 10,000 people hit the arena! Yeeehaaaa!

Howdy ya'll, from Catalyst!

I'm down in Atlanta getting ready for Catalyst '06.
I think I'm the lone person attending from the GCC staff this year. I'll try to keep up with the play by play. Now I'm not promising Corey-league reporting here, but I'll do my best.

Weather is awesome - 80 degrees. Flew down with Steve Miller (no, not the old school rocker - the old school bank man - yeah, Jason's dad).

Tomorrow, I'll be part of the Pre-lab session with Reggie Joiner (founder of
Familywise) who is highly influential in family-based ministries. Familywise is a pretty cool tool for parents who are looking for some structure in integrating faith into the everyday.

Then, I head into Lab sessions, hopefully discussing how the church can influence and help shape culture. More coming soon.