Visit to Vinings Lake

April 13, 2008 in churches doing it right with 89 Comments

Last Sunday, I had the privilege of hanging out with the folks at Vinings Lake Church in Mableton, GA. I was on my way out of town with my family, and spending the morning at VL turned out to be the perfect transition from my crazy schedule at West Ridge to some wind-down time with the fam.

Several folks from the VL lead team were on a short-term missions trip to the Dominican Republic, so they asked my friend Paul Richardson to come in to teach for the morning. I got the invite to lead worship for the morning.

I hear that they are experiencing a ton of momentum right now. It’s not difficult to see why. They have taken an older church facility and turned it into something spectacular. The landscaping is top-notch. The building has been painted and drastically renovated inside and out. And the volunteers are PHENOMENAL! I felt welcome from the moment we pulled into the parking lot until the moment we packed up and left.

As a Service Programmer, I was most impressed by their use of space in the Worship Center. Very smart. They’ve taken a pretty basic church sanctuary, turned its focus 90 degrees, and completely changed the environment. The colors are warm, the lobby is cozy. It feels like you’re walking into a well-decorated home. The stage is spread along the right wall, and though I’m sure audio is a challenge with the full band, the teacher and band are close to the crowd. Very easy stage to lead from. They’ve just recently brought in some new LED lighting, trusses, and spandex. I don’t know what it looked like before, but the new stuff fits the room well and created a great backdrop. Nice work!

The team at Vinings Lake should be encouraged. I’m already trying to find an excuse to hang out with them again! Keep up the good work, gang!

Jumping Ship

April 5, 2008 in thought of the day with 2 Comments

I\'ll TAKE it!It has been an insane few months in my world… There’s been a lot of growth and good change at West Ridge since last summer. But with growth and change comes the inevitable invitation to more constant activity. For me as a leader, it has been mostly wins, but some critical losses.

So as I pack up a bunch of camping gear into the bed of my crew cab (McKenna’s putting her shoes on right now to help), I am thinking about one of the wins. What is it? Simple… My team.

God has surrounded me with some of the most non-self-promoting, capable, servant-hearted team- Continue Reading…

To Click or Not to Click: Keeping Your Worship Time in Time

April 1, 2008 in service programming / worship with Comments Off

Our musicians used to struggle with keeping tempo. The result was sloppy transitions, or the emotion of a moment would knock the tempo out of whack. Like it or not, those kinds of things DO affect the crowd and how they engage with the moment you are trying to support from the stage.

Several years ago, a very well respected musician in our church gave our team a nudge by suggesting they use a click track. At the time, that kind of rubbed some of our fellas the wrong way. “Is he saying we’re not good players?” “I’m sorry, but that’s just not ‘authentic’ enough.” But after some thought, we came to grips with the fact that if he could win a Grammy while using a click track, maybe it was worth some thought.

[SIDENOTE: As an artist, nothing is more authentic than taking your craft seriously. And the first step toward taking your craft seriously is to spend substantial time developing your skill(s) in private. A close second is developing how effectively you can bring your craft into a group setting. That means 'dying to yourself,' and in turn being open to criticism rather than resisting it. Anything that you can learn from others is valuable... Especially if they're better than you, but sometimes even if they're less experienced than you. ]

So we thought it out and decided to give it a try. Continue Reading…

low-budget romance [number 1]

March 29, 2008 in family with 1 Comment

Chocolate graham crackers, ginger ale in wine glasses, and rain.

recovering rain hater

March 29, 2008 in thought of the day with Comments Off

I love being outside. Sitting inside for too long gives me the creeps. I get irritable. I bought the house we’re in mostly because it had 2 patios AND a deck. Being cooped up in the Winter is torture for me.

But several months ago, something began to change in me. I don’t love the outdoors any less, and I don’t love my couch any more. But when Georgia started drying up like stale bread last summer, I began to wonder if we were all just one gubernatorial decree away from buying Dasani out of the back of an Impala.

What changed? The short of it: I’ve become a recovering rain hater. I still get annoyed when I find out the hard way that my wife has ‘borrowed’ my umbrella…again. But when the rain falls these days, there’s something in me that says a quick “thank You.”

While I was braving the rain to grab something from my truck today, McKenna followed me out the garage door in nothing but her T-shirt and ‘big girl panties.’ She said she wanted to ‘play in the sogginess.’ I have no clue where she adopted that terminology. In short order, she was carelessly splashing around in the puddles. Then she looked up into the clouds and blinked repeatedly as the drops hit her eyes. I think ‘the sogginess’ has always been what I liked least about rainy, wet days like today. But the last few times we’ve seen some good soakers these last couple of months, I’ve felt more like she did today than I care to admit.

I’m starting to like the rain again.

Kenni Hears a Horton: The Best $5 I Ever Spent

March 28, 2008 in family, wow with 1 Comment

Yesterday Kenni pooped in the potty, so Mommy promised her a Horton stuffed animal. Kohl’s has them “exclusively, for a limited time only.” But when they got to Kohl’s, poor Kenni was told they were sold out. So Mom called around. Kohl’s in Acworth had plenty. So we planned a family trip.

With the sun this morning, Kenni was up and by our bed. She hadn’t forgotten. “It’s today. The sun came up. Mommy, can we go to a different Kohl’s and get a fluffy blue Horton?” It was an irresistible request. We got dressed, hopped into the car.

“Where are we going, Daddy?”

Continue Reading…

Easter @ West Ridge, 2008

March 24, 2008 in service programming / worship with Comments Off

Just posted a bunch of photos from our Easter services at West Ridge. I am so proud of my team, and amazed by what they are able to do with their talents. The lighting, audio, band, choir, singers, stage crew, scenic teams…all way above and beyond. The morning was deeply authentic, and amazingly powerful. Record crowds (somewhere around 7000), several dozen baptisms, and most importantly, hundreds of lives impacted by the doors opened by the resurrection of Christ.

You have to wonder…

March 24, 2008 in interesting with Comments Off

Hokey Pokey

From chaos to confusion, and back again [almost]

March 17, 2008 in service programming / worship with Comments Off

It has been an eventful week…
Tornadoes.
Help wife make two custom cakes.
Very sick family.
Vomit [lots of it]
Sleepless night [but I got this blog going]
Started tweeting on Twitter [love the concept, but my staff and closest friends aren't on yet]
Cancelled surprise birthday party.
Family better.
Tornadoes.
Host baby shower.
Daddy day with the girls.
Tornadoes.
Horton [and another tornado].
Sleep [well, I laid in my bed].
Awesome morning at church.
Host makeup birthday party [no longer a surprise].
Failed attempt at nap.
Teething baby.
3-year-old poops in her hands and tries to hand it to me [she couldn't make the 11-inch trip from the bathtub to the toilet quick enough].
Girls go to bed.
Host St. Patrick Swayze’s Day party for wife’s sisters and friends. See Dirty Dancing for the first time.
Type this entry.

I had every intention of writing some really good stuff last week. Maybe this week.

Oh…wait. 9am tomorrow: meet my team to get them striking and resetting the stage for Easter. Rehearsal Monday night. 80+ person choir, set, full band. Rock on. Will be praying all week for the folks we’ll meet for worship next weekend. Expecting 6000+ folks spread over 5 services Saturday and Sunday.

Gearing up for the Deadly Viper series beginning the Sunday after Easter. That’s gonna be a good one.

How was YOUR week? What’s happening this week? Register and tell us!

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Sick day… [warning - graphic]

March 13, 2008 in family with Comments Off

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So Caia [almost 8mo] started throwing up Wed afternoon. No biggie, right? I mean, she’s an infant with severe gastro-esophioial reflux. What else is new.

But then at 10-something, we find Kenni [she's 3] asleep in a pool of her own mess.

My gut tells me it’s contagious. [-:

Then, 3am, while dealing with a spell from one of the tots [don't remember which one at this point]… ANNETTE: “I’ve got to get to the bathroom.”

&%#*@

So I’m the lone soldier. Good thing I had already taken a PTO for today…to help clean the house…for my brother’s surprise birthday party…that he had to find out about so we could reschedule…but apparently he’s busy every night from now until his NEXT birthday.
Maybe I can eat the 100% from-scratch chocolate cake that my wife baked before the bug unleashes its torment on me. At least it would taste good coming up.

The Sunny Side: laying on the bed with a tiny princess who just can’t seem to settle down until she finds that perfect spot for her head… Daddy’s chest. Beautiful redemption.

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