Well, the extra hour after the time change didn't do any good since I went to bed an hour later than normal. It never fails...something always comes up to take up more time than normal to eat up my extra hour of sleep...
I got to see my brother in Dayton though, so that was a good thing since we only see each other a couple of times a year.

We had a great time this morning in corporate worship...people shouting, clapping, and belting out praise in response to the unmatching mercy we have been shown by the savior of the world. This morning and the preparation for it made me take a step back and really try to get my mind wrapped around the concept of what Christ did for all creation.
It was the closest our Sunday morning corporate time of worship has ever come to what I experienced at Catalyst. I think as we continue to shape and mold the ethos of our community we will continue to see this kind of natural response to the "Good News" we saw this morning...I hope our response to the incredible message of Christ continues to break though from the "ho-hum" we have relegated it to.

The rest of today has been spent as some relaxing time with family. I really have been enjoying my time with my wife and daughter. We have had a great time this afternoon and evening. In fact Macee is on my lap right now as I type playing with her "jam with elmo" guitar that has probably made it onto the list for the 5 most annoying toys of all time... but even still...I love it.

I am really beginning to enjoy this philosophy I have adopted. I am doing less and less for the "church" so I can do more and more for God. Being able to slow down...enjoy relationships...share a meal...relax with family...build friendships...otherwise known as the "abundant life" Christ talked about.
Tim Sanders at Catalyst said if we could just take the next year and demonstrate a sincere interest in just two people around us we would be amazed at the far reaching impact that would have. Especially in this culture where our common practice is to spend that year trying to get two people interested in us.
Ouch...

We might try to go up to another Passion concert Thursday this week up in Michigan. I hope we can make it...what a powerful time.

I have beed draggin' some serious tail since I got back from Catalyst. Just can't seem to recover from acting like a college kid again. Staying up half the night playing poker with snickers, sugar packets and sweet 'n low packets takes its toll on a person. I must be getting pretty old to feel this way...

This past Sunday was pretty cool. Another church meets in the same building we do on BGSU campus and we joined for a combined service. We lead the music and they supplied the preaching. It was nice to see two different "denominations" come together and worship One God putting aside their differences in doctrine.(at least for a few mintues)
Still though, I am looking forward to the day when our corporate common meeting time is truly a celebration of worship for the One who called us to this Kingdom. We have been tought "reverence, respect, and reserve" for too long and now we have adpoted it as our theology. It is time we give people liscense to do what feels natural in praise and worship and pay attention to the descriptions of authentic praise and worship we see in the scriptures.

As tired as I am getting with the Sunday event of things in the church, I still just wish that if we are
going to keep it as an integral part of who we are that we at least begin to make it what it should be:: A corporate time to come and celebrate the King.
It will become just that as we continue to shape the ethos of our community. Sometimes I just get tired of waiting...ethos shaping is no quick and easy job...

Catalyst was more than I expected...it wasn't just a leadership conference...where do you begin? I found myself listening to the speakers and thinking, "these are the things I have been feeling and thinking for the past year, how did they know that." I thought maybe they were reading my blog!!!!! But seriously, I was to a point that I needed some clearer direction as to what my specific purpose is in this area of "ministry" I find myself in. I got some answers to my some of my questions, but I got a lot more than that...

I am sure I will be blogging more for the next several days about th events of the past 4 or 5 days. But one thing that I am still astounded by is the Passion concert on Friday night. Going into it I was a little leary about the whole "worship concert" concept. To me it seemed a little oxymoronic to use those two terms in the same discription. Then I saw the hearts of Chris Tomlin, David Crowder, and Loui Giglio as they spoke and lead songs of passionate worship of our God Most High. I was in awe... It was truly a 3 hour worship marathon experience. How men of that level of talent can still not take any credit for what they do is a lesson in humility...they made it very clear that all glory, honor, and praise was to be given to Christ alone. And it wasn't one of those things that have become so cliche at the end of every Christian concert..."oh ya, and all this if for Jesus" type of things. It was obvious that they were there to entertain...but they had an audience of One, with 7,000 other people joining them in the celebration. Over half of those I would estimate were college students that were hungry for worship....what a sight...

The overnight pre-teen retreat was a great time. A great time of bonding with the band and support crew, and to see the faces on those 11 and 12 year olds as they worshiped with all of their hearts was truly humbling. We had a great time in worship as well. It was a great experience and I look forward to more of those. Music is definately a tool for us to use as an offering of worship, and I am so glad that God has chosen me to be involved in that.

The only bummer, was how much I missed my wife and daughter. It has been a while since I have been away overnight from them and I didn't much care for it. They are my best friends and my number one supporters...
What's worse is that I leave for Atlanta and the Catalyst conference on Wednesday night and I won't be back until Saturday. That will be a definate struggle. I know I will have a great time and learn so much, but I have never been away from the both of them for that long. Not looking forward to that part of this.


Still trying though, to make sure it is all about Him as we lead worship. I know some of it is just having fun, but He needs to remain the focus or we are no different than any other band that would come in and jump around and make people laugh. The battle between entertainment and worship is a constant struggle. Keeping them in perspective requires an intentional effort and constantly reminding myself why we are here. We don't want the spotlight and its hard not to hog the spotlight when you are jumping around the platform like a crazy person.(ok, it wasn't quite that bad)

God continues to provide me with oportunities at work to build relationships that I would never have sought out for myself. I am continually trying to see "ministry" as just the stuff of the daily life of a disciple. No special apppointments...scheduled meetings...or forced conversation...just life in its simplest form. It's hard not to feel like things aren't moving fast enough since we are so "end result" driven. We want to see the vine ripened tomatoes hanging off the branches, but we don't want to be bothered with the tilling of the soil, planting of the seed, watering of the seed, and caring for the small sprout.
That goes for our own lives and investing in the lives of others. I just want to live life...simply live life...I love that

No word yet on the battle of the bands...I hope it pans out.
We do have a pre-teen retreat though next weekend I am looking forward to as well as a teen lock-in next month. Things are pretty busy. So busy that sometimes I begin to forget why I do what I do. I know I have eluded to this before, but I hate being so busy with "Kindom work" that I don't have any time for Kindom work.

Speaking of...we had a faith promise deal this weekend. Over $71,000 was promised over the next year from a congregation of around 220. Quite impressive. However...let me be the one to rain on the parade. I don't have a problem in doing what we just did. World missions is of utmost importance especially in a rediculously rich culture like this one(which might make one wonder why it was only $71,000). However, I don't see us spending $71,000 a year in meeting needs here in our own neighborhoods, cities, or counties. Oh, we spend a ton of money keeping the local church running, paying bills and ministering to the people that show up, but what about all of those that don't come to us...are we going to them?
Has this faith promise thing given us that feel good feeling knowing that we have done our part for the kingdom by writing a check or putting a couple of Ben Franklins in the plate.
Don't get me wrong...as I said earlier...we have more than enough money to go around and it is our responsibility to give away this wealth that we have been so undeservedly blessed with. At the same time though, I wonder if this has been a way for us to soothe the guilt of our own inactivity for the Kingdom.

I have said this before and I think is just so true of our western culture; we find it easier to give of our pocket books to let someone else do the work of ministry so that we don't have to actually do it ourselves.
Let someone else build relationships, meet needs, heal wounds, and be Jesus...I'm too busy working for the church. I can't do those things...I have Sunday morning and Sunday night church...and what about wednesday prayer meeting...and thursday small groups...I just don't have time for all that other stuff. All to often that is our excuse and response to a life of meaning and significance. We can't leave our Christian cocoon of comfort long enough to even realize that there are hurting people just next door.

I guess I better get out of here and leave the cocoon behind. Ouch...that hurts when it hits you where you live.