Roadside Dancers

Everyday I see them. Have you? Have you ever been driving along and all of a sudden you see a guy on the side of the road dressed as the Statue of Liberty or a hot dog or a giant taco? Maybe he waves. Maybe he dances. Maybe he twirls a sign. Admit it….you laugh don’t you? I’m sure that you at least smile….I know that I do!

In recent years they have appeared on many street in America – Sign Dancers. A search on YouTube will bring up thousands of results of people holding signs, twirling signs and dancing with signs. 

I will admit that at first I was a little put off by the sign dancers. They were sort of distracting and let’s face it, the last thing we need in America is MORE distractions while we drive. But, in time, they have grown on me. There is a guy near the church who dresses in red, white & blue every single day and dances his heart out. I have no idea what he is advertising for but it always makes me laugh.

Jobs are necessary. I consider myself very blessed that I actually enjoy my job and look forward to coming to work every day. But, if I had to dress up and dance on the side of the road I am pretty sure that would change. 

Today I salute you, Sign Dancer Dude. Way to go after it with everything you’ve got!

Enjoy.

 

MPCC Music & Worship Ministry Value: Excellence

We have been talking about values that we embrace as a team. So far we have talked about the values of Preparation, Authenticity, Character & Teamwork.

This week, I want to talk with you about Excellence.  Leading God’s people in worship is an awesome responsibility. It is also a privilege.

It is my goal that each and every weekend we would make incredible music. We will always rehearse our parts and work at technical cues like sound, lights and video because we want our services to be sharp, creative, well crafted and Excellent.

In my life I have had the chance to work in churches as small as 100 people and now, as large as nearly 3,000 and many in between. I remember back in the smaller church days when I was just a part-time worship leader while attending college that something used to really get to me. In this particular church there was very little organization, preparation or planning. We just basically “let it roll” every Sunday. One part that got to me was the special music. I can remember a young man who sang a lot in that church and when it came to the special music time in the service he would stand up, pull his accompaniment trax out of his back pocket, walk back to the sound person and hand it over and then slowly walk to the platform. The whole thing took at least 3 minutes. That’s 3 minutes of a group of people just sitting and waiting. I’m all for moments of silent worship from time to time but this took it to an extreme!

I remember watching this and thinking, “Wow, we can do better than this.”

If you got called to sing with Celine Dion or on Broadway or with Chris Tomlin or with The Eagles (seriously, insert your favorite group) or got the chance to play in your favorite band, how would you prepare? How carefully would you prepare the details of the music? How much time would you take to get ready?

Each and every week we come before God Almighty, who spoke the world into existence. HE deserves the very best gift that we can offer and so do His people. We want our services to be Excellent but not just for the sake of being so. We are offering ourselves and our gifts back to God as we lead in worship and we want to do that to the very best of our ability. Whether you sing in the choir or praise team, play in the band or serve through technology (sound, lights, video, etc…) I would encourage you to pursue Excellence as your offering of worship unto the Lord.

“Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. … And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly … and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God through him.” (Col. 3:12, 15-17)

We offer our Excellence as a gift of thanks and praise to the Lord. 

Bucket List – See The Eagles – *Check

Ok so, some of you may read the title of this blog and think, “You are way too young to have a bucket list!” First of all, God bless you for thinking I am young! Secondly, yes, I would say that I am getting an early start on the list. I have a lot of things that I want to get done and experience in this life so I thought it best to get started!

I have been a fan of The Eagles for a very long time and I have always wanted to see them in concert. I really enjoy their music. As a musician I love the excellence that they pursue. At the risk of sounding like an old dude, their music isn’t noise….it’s music. It’s classic and timeless. They have a string of hits that would challenge virtually any artist in history and have been in the business of making music for a very long time.

I had the chance to see The Eagles in concert last night (March 22, 2009) at Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. You will notice that the title of this blog ends with *Check. Why the star? Well we were encouraged by a friend who was supposed to go with us to buy cheaper seats, which we did. That friend ended up bailing on us and we were stuck with less than desirable seats. So the reason for the title is that I have now seen The Eagles from bad seats. Remaining on my list will be seeing them from good seats, which I plan to do as soon as possible.

Made up of mostly original members – sort of – the group changed quite a bit in the early years (Timothy B. Schmit – vocals & bass; Glenn Frey – vocals, guitar, keyboard; Don Henley – vocals, guitar, percussion, drums; and, Joe Walsh – guitar & vocals) the band sounds as good today as they did when they laid down their very first track over 30 years ago. Actually, they were formed to be a back-up band for Linda Ronstadt in the early 70’s.

I really was amazed at how tight the vocals were and the band’s overall sound. They are joined by a back-up band of various keyboards and percussion along with a smokin’ horn section. In recent years they have also been joined by Stewart Smith on lead guitar. This dude is totally amazing….a monster player that recreates every single original guitar lick & solo with perfect accuracy (Smith replaced Don Felder, an original member who was fired in February 2001).

The concert was awesome and if you are even a casual fan I would highly encourage you to catch a show if you have the chance. The Eagles are a band with more hits then they can even include in a single performance and they will leave you wanting more!

Here is a video of The Eagles performing one of their hits, “Desperado.” Enjoy:

My Thoughts – 3.11.09

I know it’s been a while since I’ve written. Somewhere between a new job, a long commute and life in general it’s been a very busy few weeks. Life really does get busy doesn’t it? Just writing these first 2 lines I have had to stop and answer 7 emails and 4 text messages. Seriously, life is really busy these days for all of us!

Here are some of my thoughts…..

Heaven on earth.....

 

 

 

I think that the Reese’s Peanut Butter Eggs that come out before Easter are absolutely the perfect candy. I always enjoy a good Reese’s peanut butter cup but there is just something about the Easter version that takes me to a new level. I’m not sure what it is. I also enjoy the other seasonal shapes but the Easter one, for my money, is the absolute best!

I think that Matt Maher is a phenomenal songwriter, worship leader and performer. He has given The Church songs like “Your Grace Is Enough,” “For Your Glory,” “Resurrection Day,” “On The Third Day” and “As It Is In Heaven” among many, many others. If you ever have the chance to see him live I would highly encourage you to take advantage of the opportunity. You will be blessed and encouraged.

I think that our team at MPCC is really developing and that blesses me. I am grateful to work with wonderful people and I believe that God has great things in store! We are talking about values that we embrace as a team….things like Preparation, Communication, Teamwork, Community and many others. I can see people investing themselves and I am grateful for that.

I still think that Chick-fil-A is the perfect restaurant. Great quality food prepared in-house at a great price…are you kidding me? What else do you need? This place rocks. Bonus: there is one less than 5 miles from MPCC!

I think that the Cardinals have a chance to be good this year. All signs point to Chris Carpenter and Adam Wainwright being healthy and anchoring the starting rotation. Plus, anytime you have Albert Pujols (the reigning NL MVP) in your line-up you have a serious chance. El Hombre (AP) will be on the cover of Sports Illustrated this week and I cannot wait to read the article. You can read a sample here.

I think that the move Juno is great and entertaining. Now, before I go any further understand this: it is not a Christian movie. They most likely will not be showing it at churches. Having said that, it offers some great alternatives to unfortunate situations. There are also some incredible one-liners that will really stick with you.  

I think this season of 24 rocks! Jack Bauer is keeping us on the edge of our seat as we watch. He’s also delivered some great one-liners this year too. He is one bad man.

I think that my wife Kim absolutely knocked the ball out of the park last weekend in her first featured speaking gig ever. She worked very hard to prepare and God used her in an incredible way. I am so proud of her and proud of the Woman of God she is becoming!