- Now that was fun!
- For those of you not with us, we recapped every series from 2009.
- That’s 52 hours worth of content that we condensed into an hour’s worth of highlights.
- I figured this was going to be one of those hit or miss type of things.
- Luckily it was a hit…I’m not sure I’ve ever had this much feedback so soon after an Experience.
- One of my big fears was whether it would translate to people who were guests.
- I had one lady come up afterwards who was from North Carolina and she said the format helped it all to make sense and she was wishing she lived close so she could attend all the time.
- The other cool part was the number of people who shared with me how it brought back memories to the week/series which they got saved or for some it was a reminder of when they first started attending.
- I was so excited for today that I was wide awake at 5am and ready to go.
- Set-up and the warm-up time were super easy today!
- That’s a good thing because the tech for today was crazy.
- Great job by Chris, Andy and Crissy making things happen behind the scenes exactly when they should have!
- Also I’ve got to give a big thank you to the band.
- In the midst of Christmas and everything else, they have spent 20+ hours at the church in the last week getting ready for and playing in Experiences.
- If you haven’t thanked them in awhile for what they do, please be sure to do so soon.
- In fact, I thought the standing ovation you gave them Christmas Eve after the Trans Siberian song was cool and I know they appreciated it.
- Back to today…it was strange for both me and the band because we were basically doing something the entire Experience…usually it’s one or the other at a time so you get a bit of a break. Not complaining, just different.
- It would be hard to post the audio online for today, but I am going to try to put together a video at some point in my “free” time.
- So in the meantime take the outline from today and go through each of the application questions so you see your growth from 2009 and evaluate in what ways you need to grow in 2010.
- The funniest/most painful moment of the day occurred backstage during the 2nd Experience during the 1970’s medley. Andrew wasn’t playing but was watching from the side wing. He got excited and went to do an “Elvis like” windmill with his arm, but didn’t realize I had come up and was standing behind him. When his arm came (rather hard and fast I might add) it grazed me in the face then hit me squarely in the upper chest. I t hurt but we had a quick laugh about it.
- He wasn’t laughing though when he then went back on stage and dropped his guitar, breaking a part of it.
- I guess that’s what God does to people who punch the pastor. :)
- All in all a very good day and hopefully an inspiring look back at all that God has done in 2009.
- Enjoy the pics below.
Archives for December 2009
Primal
I’ve had the privilege through the years because of my past job working for Purpose Driven of meeting and getting to know some of the top pastors throughout the country. One of my favorites and someone I’ve been able to get together with on quite a few occasions is Mark Batterson. I love going to Mark’s office because he always has a fascinating stack of book lying on his desk that he’s either about to read or is reading. Mark has a philosphy that every “-ology” is a branch of theology and teaches us something about God. I bring all this up for a reason…
Today Mark’s 3rd book he’s authored, Primal, hits the bookshelves. Thanks to Mark and the good folks at WaterBrook Multnomah I was given an advanced copy for review. As in his previous books, In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day and Wild Goose Chase, you’ll feel smarter for having read Primal because of Mark’s extensive research into so many “-ologies” and application of those to practical Christian living.
Of course the goal is not to just get head smart, Mark wants your relationship with Jesus to be transformed. So the basis of Primal is simplifying what it means to be a follower of Christ. Jesus Himself said that it boils down to “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul and strength” so Mark uses that as a jumping off point to discover what it truly means to loves God. In 179 pages, broken into 4 sections you will explore the words, compassion, wonder, curiosity and power.
For me personally the first section on compassion and the last section on power spoke greatly to me. However the nice thing about Mark’s writings is that even in the sections that may not be as relevant to you at the time, there are always a thought or sentence that will strike you and cause you to think and pray about the implications to your life.
I highly would recommend you take the cash that your grandmother stuffs into your Christmas card and go out and buy this book. I don’t say that because Mark is a friend, but because it really is a good book and he is an important voice to the church in our time and generation.
Inside Today’s Experiences
- Well that was interesting.
- Figures that on Christmas weekend we get a huge snow storm that kept all but the die-hards from coming out.
- 2 or 3 times per year the message is purely evangleistic in anticipation that many unsaved people will be in attendance.
- We you have 50 feet of snow (give or take a few feet) it means basically only Christians are going ot be there.
- Surprisingly though we still had 2 people commit to Jesus for the first time.
- That’s awesome!
- The team had fun with today’s Experience.
- Did you ever in your life think that you would go to church and get to hit beach balls around?
- The Party series has been both fun and impactful.
- 18 people have now become Christians during this series.
- I loved the music today…a great mix of hard and fun to soft and thought provoking.
- As Lisa said, “It was amazing to see the same people who were having fun with beach balls at the beginning, crying at the end as they reflected on the condition of their souls”.
- Cressa, Jenny, Andrea and Gayle did awesome on both O Holy Night and It Is Well.
- I laughed in both Experiences during the Awareness Test videos when people realized they had been tricked.. In case you weren’t with us, check them out. Awareness Test 1. Awareness Test 2.
- When I walked off stage during the 1st Experience I was carrying my chair off as well so I forgot to turn my mic pack off. Apparently you could hear me briefly talking backstage…oops.
- All in all not a bad considering all that was happening.
- I’m currently typing this and observing the team as they practice for Christmas Eve.
- Be sure to join us at 5:30 for what should be a memorable Experience.
Inside Today’s Experiences
- Wow what a day!
- 13 more people became followers of Christ today…amazing!
- Wish the roads hadn’t been so bad so more people could have been there, but God knows exactly who needed to be there and they were.
- The set-up for the morning was interesting with people rolling in when they could because of the bad weather.
- In fact, Aaron never made it to church until the 2nd Experience which kept us from having the dance part of the Experience that we had planned.
- Oh well at least he and everyone appear to be safe.
- Great to be able to dedicate 6 children this morning.
- Even better was I was able to get the baby to stop crying during the first one.
- Usually I have the opposite effect. :)
- The first Experience had a lot of behind the scenes technical issues, but as usual the team covered them well and for the most part I don’t think it was too evident.
- To be honest God really did something awesome with today’s message. I felt comfortable with it, but once it was actually being delivered I realized that God might be up to something special.
- As I shared after each message, we can never allow God showing up like that and people giving their lives to Christ to get old.
- What an honor that we get to serve Him!
- Met a group of people after the first Experience from the Hanover First Church of God.
- They are getting ready to start a contemporary Experience and came by United to get some ideas.
- I absolutely love being able to help other churches in any way that we can!
- Please pray for them as they get started.
- I also had some family in attendance at the 2nd Experience including 3 from FL.
- Welcome to our weather!
- Well time for a nap…day’s like this always kick my butt.
Inside Today’s Experiences
- Wow that was too much fun as we kicked off our Party series.
- I love it when things just sort of click and everything comes together.
- Even better two more people became followers of Christ today!
- The morning started out normally but something happened to my right contact during the set-up time. I couldn’t see…so I had to call Lisa to bring me a fresh set.
- Missy Kibbe did a great job of getting the refreshments set up and welcoming the early crowd to the party.
- By the time Brian got the party song started, the energy was already high.
- We’ve been wanting to do that song for a few years now and it finally made sense to do it.
- Loved seeing everyone singing, dancing, shouting, pumping their fists in the air…awesome!
- Brian and his team created an incredible stage design.
- When during the middle of Party all the lights finally came up…you could see the wow look on people’s faces.
- When it came time for the band to cover Trans Siberian Orchestra’s, Carol of the Bells, I was super nervous.
- They worked for hours on Thursday night just on that song.
- In case you couldn’t see it, Adam and Andrew were both getting quite the finger workout.
- Basically if you can pull off something like that you can do anything…both of them stepped up big time and did an awesome job.
- Thanks also to the rest of the team for their parts as well…especially Gayle who played what is meant for 4 keyboards on one by dividing our keyboard into basically two. Her left hand was playing one instrument her right hand the other.
- If you’ve ever been to or seen Trans Siberian, you know the crazy light shows that accompany their music. I thought considering our budget is a good million or two less than theirs, Brian did an awesome job creating a light show to match.
- I told the 11:15 crowd how rowdy the early crowd was and gave them a chance to outshout the early group…man I couldn’t believe the lungs you people have. :)
- I was pleased with both messages and pray that it will have a lasting impact on people.
- I also found out afterwards that over $6000 more dollars came in today to benefit needy families in our area. Thanks for stepping up to the challenge that both Earl and myself gave this past week.
- Again this year we should be able to help approximately40 families who wouldn’t have a Christmas except for our help.
- Already looking forward to next week…going to keep the Party going!