My Worship Revolution

Here it is, the video from our service this Sunday morning.  My last shoot and edit at Revolution Church.  Charlie and I had a good time shooting this at Eric and Ashley’s farm in Norwalk.

This morning was about the parable of the seeds from Matthew 4.  Often we want to "plant seeds" in the lives of others, but we are so afraid that someone might not be ready.  Don’t get me wrong…we definitely need to be sensitive to where people are at, but often times we can’t really know what God is doing in someone’s heart, and it is our job to plant the seeds and trust God.  Imagine how ridiculous it would be for a farmer to wait for the soil to tell him when it was time to plant the seed…

That’s what I’m spending with my Macbook Pro – some quality time.  Only one more day and then I am banished back to the dreaded world of PC’s.  It’s a sad day my friends.  But hopefully it won’t last long.  If we can find a way to get together the cash, we will soon, hopefully VERY soon, update our home computer with an iMac.

I’ll miss you my MP.  You’re the sexiest silver box I’ve ever known.  Till we one day meet again…

P.S. – Revolution e-mail is down.  You can see why on David’s blog.  Use my new address found to your left in the sidebar.

               
Sorry…haven’t really had the chance to post about this, so thought I’d throw it up here real quick.

On Wednesday night Rachel and I had a date night and we went to a live taping of American Idol.  We got there at like 3 o’clock and barely made it in.  Random thoughts from the night:

• I know a lot of you were bummed Sanjaya didn’t go home.  Not me.  It’s selfish, but sorry, I enjoyed listening to Brandon perform his song from the night before way more than I would have Sanjaya.  And in a sick way, I kinda hope he makes it past one more week so he’s on the tour.  I do feel bad for the kid though.
• Diana Ross is DIVA.  As she was finishing her song I turned to Rachel and said, "Wow, she knows how to perform."  You could definitely tell you were watching a seasoned performer.  There’s a good reason she’s a legend friends.
• That theater is smaller than it looks on TV.  Every seat was a good one!
• It would have been nice to hear the judges at least say a word or somethin.  Oh well.  Instead I just had to watch Paula dance all night.
• I should be a warm up guy for TV tapings.  There was a time that i seriously considered doing that.  They make bank.  And I could do it at least as well as this guy.  I could see Charlie doing it, too.

That’s it.  Good times.  My faves – Guys: Blake, Chris Sligh (who, by the way, I understand is a worship leader from Seacoast Church).  Gals: Melinda, Lakeisha (like everybody else…but I don’t think they’ll end up in the finals together.  They’re too similar in style and will split the vote). 

Who’s your faves?  Extra credit to you if you say Sanjaya.

Rachel and I just got back from a trip to Santa Cruz to look for a place to live.  It was a LONG day of looking at about 10 different places.  Thanks a ton to Ed and Julie (the pastor and his wife) for cruisin with us all day.  To be honest, we didn’t expect to get back to Southern California with a place in the bag, but God does awesome stuff sometimes!

We got a call before getting on the plane today offering us our top choice!  It’s actually a 2 bedroom house in Soquel, just outside of Santa Cruz city.  I may have liked to be a little closer to downtown, and Rachel may have liked something in the redwoods, but after looking all day yesterday, this is definitely the place.  Yeah God!  We’re pretty pumped about the place.  Kinda crazy, it is becoming more of a reality with this step, though. 

Anyway, here are a few pics.  Enjoy!

P.S.  Ummm, definitely a rental.  Lifetimers baby!

First morning at Pace Elementary in Bellflower.  It was a crazy week of picking up lots of new equipment, racking it all up, connecting it, testing it out, shooting and editing a videocast…

Check out the video and see how it went:

So that was my Sunday!  Bellflower team – you rock!  Lakewood peeps – way to hold down the fort!  It’s fun sharing my Sunday with you.  Hope yours was great!

That’s what I am right now, thus the absence of poss this week.  Bellflower, videocast, look, Bellflower, video bumper, Sunday, Bellflower…did I mention Bellflower?  Lots of equipment to have ready for the preview Sunday this week.  Still got lots to do.  But I’ve had a couple of great reminders this week about the importance of prayer and intimacy with Jesus.  I guess the stress level is really makin me lean on Jesus and that’s a good thing.  So here’s a real quick Friday rewind with a couple of the fun highlights:

Monday – I love Jack Bauer!  24 is definitely my saving grace as I start my week.  Gets it started right!

Tuesday – I love the people in my life group.  I’m gonna miss them the most.  This was one of those weeks where the Spirit took over and we just had some amazing organic conversation.  Good Stuff.

Wednesday – Got to visit with our friends Rob and Leah and introduce them to Caleb.  They just got back (well, several months ago) from a trip to Turkey and Qatar.  Had our first cultural experience with hookah and ended the night with a great time of prayer with each other.  Good stuff!

Thursday – Actually, Wednesday and Thursday were crazy days picking up equipment and getting it all racked and tested for Bellflower.  Still working on that actually.  Thursday night we decompressed a bit, though, by hangin at Jenny and Darrenn’s for dinner and Survivor.  Darrenn shared this Weird Al video with me.  Enjoy!

Friday – Tonight (yeah, I know, that’s more like fast forward) we join our 4×4 group for what will have to be our last date with them to do dinner and see Amazing Grace.  Can’t wait to check out the movie!

Was hoping to get all my work done by today, but I’ll definitely be back here tomorrow.  So that being said, I’m gonna get back to editing that videocast!  Catch ya later!

It was almost three years ago that I was at The Happiest Place On Earth every day.  I was a dwarf.  Sounds funny, I know, but it actually paid quite well and was a fairly steady gig.  At that point in time though, about 6 months or less into married life, I knew God was calling me back into occupational ministry.  I had a desire to affect lives for Christ in a different way.  That was when I was hooked up with Revolution Church.  God had captured mine and my wife’s heart for church planting and this was the perfect opportunity for Rachel and I to be a part of a new church, to invest in that community, and to really experience some of the realities of planting and growing a faith community.  That was the first of several transitions in our life as a married couple.  Some of those transitions have been small, some big, and there will be many more to come throughout our life.

Yesterday at Revolution Church it was announced that my wife and I are once again about to enter another season of transition, this time along with the newer family addition of Caleb.  If you weren’t there, we recently accepted a new position as Worship and Connections Pastor at Christian Life Center in Santa Cruz, CA.  Our last Sunday at Revolution will be March 18th.  Two more left.

It has been an amazing two years and nine months at Revolution Church.  I have grown exponentially in a number of ways.  I have become a better leader. A better time manager.  I discovered gifts I didn’t even know I possessed.  I’ve learned to navigate different aspects of ministry through great times and through really discouraging times.  My knowledge in areas of production, team building, and worship leading has increased.  And that’s really just the tip of the iceberg.  Man, I am stoked for the time I’ve had here to prepare myself and my wife for our next adventure in life and ministry.  Above all, we have met numerous people who have touched our lives and our souls in ways that will change us forever.

And now, God has guided us north.  This transition is one of the big ones for us, and it brings about lots of emotions, including excitement, fear, and sadness.  I am so excited to see what this next season brings, to discover all that God has in store for us as we move forward.  Afraid at times of the unknown – area, church, people, expectations.  And, of course, bummed about many of the friends who mean so much to us that we won’t see every Tuesday at Life Group or every Sunday at Artesia High School, in addition to our families that all reside in Southern California.  But I know that God has brought us to this point to use us in incredible ways.  I know that he will continue to bring people into our lives that we will love and that will love our family, and I am pumped as I see how he has used our prior ministry experience to prepare us for this next move.

A few friends have actually asked me if I’ll be keeping this blog.  Heck YEAH I’ll be continuing to blog!!  And I hope that you all stay tuned to share with us all the ride that will be this transition.  So there’s our big news.  It should be a blast to see where things go from here!

Today Rachels parents were in town for her cousins volleyball tournament.  We went with them to see some games, and did some hangin at the house throughout the day.

Our roommates three-year-old daughter, Kaelyn Corns, came out to join the fun with her keyboard to play with.  Rachel’s dad taught her everything she needs to know to become a PC owner!

(Sorry Jenny…it’s another "Jesus post.")

So Monday I mentioned the supposed "discovery" of the bones of Jesus Christ.  Y’all left some great thoughts.  And I agree.  I don’t believe for a second that these could be proof of no resurrection.  But for just a moment let me encourage you to really use your imagination.  I know that may be tough, especially since the thoughts kinda border on heresy.  But what if there were proof, undeniable, flat out proof that Jesus had not risen from the dead?  Would it really affect the way you live?  (Notice I intentionally said how you live…not what you believe.)

The reason I suggest this is that as it got me thinking, it reminded me of one of my favorite messages I’ve listened to.  It was John Piper from Passion ’06.  In the message he tells the story of a Catholic monk that was interviewed by an Italian news station.  When he was asked what would happen if he got to the end of his life and atheism was true and there was in fact no God, his response was something to this effect:

"Silence, solitude, and sacrifice are beautiful things in and of themselves.  Even if there is no God, I will have done well with my life."

Piper points out that this is NOT the attitude that Paul had.  If it were he would not have said in 1 Corinthians 15:19 –

"If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men."

Paul could say this because he took serious risks throughout his life for the sake of Jesus that brought about suffering in his life.  Had it all been untrue, it would have been stupid to take many of these risks.

So back to my original question.  Would MY life really look any different if I found out today that Christ hadn’t raised?  It’s easy to say that being a Christian and believing in the resurrection of Jesus is truly the core of who I am.  But does my life and my actions really reflect that?  I hope so.  I want to be so sold out to Jesus that I am willing to risk all I have as a result.  The Bible promises that if we are Christ followers, pain and persecution will most definitely follow.  There are Christians around the world who know this truth in a much more real way than I do.  So I’m gonna choose to be prepared for whatever difficulties the world might bring, cause I know they’re gonna come.  That is, IF the resurrection really impacts the decisions I make.

How about you?  Do you take risks for the sake of Jesus?  Have you experienced any difficult times lately,  perhaps as a result of your faith in Christ?  And as a result, are you able to step back, see the big picture, and count it all joy?  Sure we believe without a doubt that Jesus raised from the dead and ascended into heaven, but does that really make a difference in the way you live daily?  Wow…that ridiculous news story really got me thinking. 

I really want to see this movie.  And Chris Tomlin is da bomb.  This is one of my favorite tunes from his last album.  Enjoy!

HT: Two Blond Boys